Chapter 5: The Missing Evidence

Believe Her

Lemonada Media

True Crime

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2021

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A 12-person jury convicted Nikki of murder, but they didn’t see the whole picture. Many key pieces of this puzzle didn’t make their way into the courtroom. In this episode, Justine follows up on disturbing gaps in the evidence. Through conversations with Nikki’s lawyers, digital forensic experts, Nikki’s therapists and Nikki’s children’s therapist, Justine explores what was not shown at trial. Resources: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at www.domesticshelters.org/. If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) at www.rainn.org or call 1-800-656-HOPE. Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent. Learn more about criminalized survival in New York State at www.survivedandpunishedny.org/. Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA. Read Justine’s May 2020 investigative piece on Nikki’s case at www.gen.medium.com/nikki-had-proof-shed-been-abused-but-was-it-enough-for-self-defense-bd9f196396eb. Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki and on their webpage at www.westandwithnikki.com. Justine van der Leun is the host and lead reporter. This series is produced by Justine van der Leun and supervising producer Kristen Lepore. The associate producer is Giulia Hjort. The production assistant is Rory James Leech. Additional reporting by Kristen Lepore and Giulia Hjort. Mixing and sound design by Kegan Zema. Music by RRA aka Sara Abdelaal. Fact checking by Justin Kloczko. Additional audio engineering by Ivan Kuraev. Story editing by Jackie Danziger. Story consulting by Amy Metsch. The executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Spiegel & Grau. Believe Her is created in partnership with Spiegel & Grau. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram at @spiegelandgrau. Follow Justine on Twitter at @justinevdl and on Instagram at @jvanderleun. Stay up to date with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you want to continue the conversation with other listeners, please join our Believe Her podcast community on Bookclubz at www.bit.ly/believeherbookclubz and our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/. Interested in bonus content and behind the scenes material? Subscribe to Lemonada Premium right now in the Apple Podcasts app by clicking on our podcast logo and the "subscribe” button. Stay up-to-date on everything in the Lemonada world by becoming a superfan at https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan. Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. To follow along with a transcript, go to www.lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher shortly after the air date. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Marguerite Casey Foundation, 2023 Freedom Scholar, Professor Charmaine Chua, wants everyone
0:06.0	to understand that freedom is a democratic enterprise, and we have to colonize in order to shift
0:10.8	the balance of power for ourselves.
0:12.8	To learn more about Charmaine and see the full list of 2023 Freedom Scholars, visit the
0:17.0	Marguerite Casey Foundation at their website www.kcgrants.org or on social media at KC Grants.
0:24.8	Hey Boo Hey, it's me, Xmaio. I'm a comedian, writer, producer, and taco expert. Also, when it comes to
0:33.0	confidently managing my finances, your girl is a beginner, for sure. So I want you to join me on the
0:39.5	dough. Limanada Media's new 10-episode podcast series, as I dive into better understanding the
0:45.5	financial trap doors that any of us could fall into. And I'll fall in, you know, I keep on falling
0:51.3	like Alicia Keys, okay? But if you've ever stayed in a bad relationship to avoid moving out
0:56.5	costs or just found yourself swimming in debt, you are not alone. Each week, I'll be exploring all
1:03.0	types of financial flops and money myths that stand in the way of our financial freedom. On this
1:08.7	show, Cash is queen. We hardly know her, but baby, we are determined to be her best friend. The dough
1:17.0	is out now, wherever you get your podcast. Limanada
1:27.2	Hi listeners, if you're just tuning in, I suggest you go back and start listening from Chapter 1.
1:33.7	And before we start, a content warning. This episode contains accounts of domestic and sexual
1:39.7	violence. Less than a month after the jury found Nikki Guilty, something major happened for her and
1:50.2	other criminalized survivors in New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new act into law.
1:56.9	It's called the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, or the DVSJA. We should mention
2:02.1	Cuomo would soon resign following his own sexual misconduct allegations. He's gone, but the law still
2:08.0	stands. Under the DVSJA, a judge can give a shorter than normal sentence to a person who can show
2:14.6	that abuse played a significant role in their participation in a crime. If Nikki was granted DVSJA
	...

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