Nikki Addimando is a young mom in prison for murder. But she claims that she was acting in self-defense. This is the story we don’t tell, the one where the woman doesn’t die. Hosted by journalist Justine van der Leun, Believe Her -- Lemonada Media’s first true crime series -- premieres October 21, aligned with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Nikki Addimando is a young mom in prison for murder. But she claims that she was acting in self-defense. This is the story we don&rsquo;t tell, the one where the woman doesn&rsquo;t die. Hosted by journalist Justine van der Leun, Believe Her -- Lemonada Media&rsquo;s first true crime series -- premieres October 21, aligned with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Believe Her is true crime, upside down. In September 2017, young mom Nikki Addimando shot and killed her partner, Chris Grover. She was sentenced to nineteen years to life in prison for murder. Through rare access to police audio, a month-long trial, conversations with Nikki, and original reporting, journalist Justine van der Leun lays out the killing, the evidence, and the aftermath. As this six-part series unfolds, listeners will put together different pieces of a disturbing puzzle. One thing is clear: perception ≠ reality. Believe Her is a riveting chronicle that grapples with assumptions we make about domestic and sexual violence, the long reach of trauma, and the ways in which survival is criminalized, leaving us shocked at how far people will go to avoid seeing what's right in front of them. From Lemonada Media and Spiegel & Grau.

Believe Her is true crime, upside down. In September 2017, young mom Nikki Addimando shot and killed her partner, Chris Grover. She was sentenced to nineteen years to life in prison for murder. Through rare access to police audio, a month-long trial, conversations with Nikki, and original reporting, journalist Justine van der Leun lays out the killing, the evidence, and the aftermath. As this six-part series unfolds, listeners will put together different pieces of a disturbing puzzle. One thing is clear: perception ≠ reality. Believe Her is a riveting chronicle that grapples with assumptions we make about domestic and sexual violence, the long reach of trauma, and the ways in which survival is criminalized, leaving us shocked at how far people will go to avoid seeing what's right in front of them. From Lemonada Media and Spiegel &amp; Grau.

Believe Her

Believe Her (Official Trailer)

On January 4th, 2024, Nikki Addimondo was released from prison and reunited with her family. To celebrate, we are sharing two excerpts that were previously only available to our Lemonada Premium subscribers. These two conversations speak to the range of the incredible reporting in this series – one touches on the heart of Nikki’s personal story and the other reminds us that Nikki was not the only person put behind bars for trying to save her own life – this is an issue still impacting so many others.





Resources:
Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki, and on their webpage at www.westandwithnikki.com.
Nikki’s sister, Michelle Horton, wrote about Nikki’s story in her book Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds
Check out Justine van der Leun’s book We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American, a South African Township, and the Search for Truth and Reconciliation
Read Monica Cosby’s writing here 
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.  





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 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.

On January 4th, 2024, Nikki Addimondo was released from prison and reunited with her family. To celebrate, we are sharing two excerpts that were previously only available to our Lemonada Premium subscribers. These two conversations speak to the range of the incredible reporting in this series – one touches on the heart of Nikki’s personal story and the other reminds us that Nikki was not the only person put behind bars for trying to save her own life – this is an issue still impacting so many others.
 
Resources:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki, and on their webpage at <a href="https://westandwithnikki.com/">www.westandwithnikki.com</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Nikki’s sister, Michelle Horton, wrote about Nikki’s story in her book <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/michelle-horton/dear-sister/9781538757154/?mc_cid=9abafc8dfc&amp;mc_eid=7fb39be00e">Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Check out Justine van der Leun’s book <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/224791/we-are-not-such-things-by-justine-van-der-leun/">We Are Not Such Things: The Murder of a Young American, a South African Township, and the Search for Truth and Reconciliation</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Read Monica Cosby’s writing <a href="https://truthout.org/authors/monica-cosby/">here </a></li>
<li aria-level="1">If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at <a href="http://www.thehotline.org">www.thehotline.org</a> or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at <a href="https://www.domesticshelters.org/">www.domesticshelters.org/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse &amp; Incest National Network (RAINN) at <a href="https://www.rainn.org/">www.rainn.org</a> or call 1-800-656-HOPE</li>
<li aria-level="1">Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at <a href="https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent">www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Learn more about criminalized survival in New York State at <a href="https://www.survivedandpunishedny.org/">www.survivedandpunishedny.org/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at <a href="https://www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA">www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA</a>. </li>
<li aria-level="1">Read Justine’s May 2020 investigative piece on Nikki’s case at <a href="https://gen.medium.com/nikki-had-proof-shed-been-abused-but-was-it-enough-for-self-defense-bd9f196396eb">www.gen.medium.com/nikki-had-proof-shed-been-abused-but-was-it-enough-for-self-defense-bd9f196396eb</a>.  </li>
</ul>
 
 
Believe Her is created in partnership with Spiegel &amp; 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 Facebook group at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/">www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/</a>. 
 
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 <a href="https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan">https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan</a>.  
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: <a href="http://lemonadamedia.com/sponsors">lemonadamedia.com/sponsors</a>.
To follow along with a transcript, go to <a href="https://lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher/">www.lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher</a> shortly after the air date.

Nikki is Free

Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there.

When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust around Charles Warren, he wasn’t the only suspect when Sheree went missing. She also had a boyfriend, a former cop named Cary Hartmann, who lived a sinister double life.

Season three follows two suspects– men who both raised suspicion for investigators. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. This season, host Dave Cawley, digs into the lives of these two men, the details of the case and examines the intersections between domestic abuse and sexual violence. The COLD team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren?

Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, COLD, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today: www.amazon.com/COLD_us_pfd_AA_110122.

Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished. When her car mysteriously surfaced weeks later, hundreds of miles away in Las Vegas, no one could say how it got there.
When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust around Charles Warren, he wasn’t the only suspect when Sheree went missing. She also had a boyfriend, a former cop named Cary Hartmann, who lived a sinister double life.
Season three follows two suspects– men who both raised suspicion for investigators. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. This season, host Dave Cawley, digs into the lives of these two men, the details of the case and examines the intersections between domestic abuse and sexual violence. The COLD team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren?
Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, COLD, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/COLD_us_pfd_AA_110122" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amazon.com/COLD_us_pfd_AA_110122&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1668185344544000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Kbd50ZfR1B0P0a8uyWma8">www.amazon.com/COLD_us_pfd_AA_110122</a>.

Amazon Music Presents COLD: The Search for Sheree

In this bonus interview, Justine sits down with Sandra Brown, the criminalized survivor who you heard from in Chapter 6. Sandra was recently released from prison, where she worked on rebuilding herself over the course of 21 years, and is now working toward her Ph.D. This conversation has been edited for time and clarity.

 

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.
Ask Governor Kathy Hochul to grant Nikki clemency: https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-freenikki 
Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent.
Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA. 
Learn more about criminalized survival across the U.S. at https://survivedandpunished.org/.
Read Justine’s Dec. 2020 article on criminalized survival in the U.S. at https://newrepublic.com/article/160589/women-prison-domestic-violence-survivors.
Support incarcerated survivor Tanisha Williams by visiting https://standwithtanisha.com/.
Support incarcerated survivor Tomiekia Johnson by visiting https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-grant-commutation-for-incarcerated-survivor-tomiekia-johnson.
Read Sandra Brown’s writing by visiting https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004441651/BP000023.xml.
Learn more about incarcerated survivor Kelly Harnett’s story at https://www.survivedandpunishedny.org/kelly-harnett/.
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.

In this bonus interview, Justine sits down with Sandra Brown, the criminalized survivor who you heard from in Chapter 6. Sandra was recently released from prison, where she worked on rebuilding herself over the course of 21 years, and is now working toward her Ph.D. This conversation has been edited for time and clarity.
&nbsp;
Resources:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at <a href="http://www.thehotline.org/">www.thehotline.org</a> or call 1-800-799-7233. You can also search for a local domestic violence shelter at <a href="https://www.domesticshelters.org/">www.domesticshelters.org/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, visit the Rape, Abuse &amp; Incest National Network (RAINN) at <a href="https://www.rainn.org/">www.rainn.org</a> or call 1-800-656-HOPE.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Ask Governor Kathy Hochul to grant Nikki clemency: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-freenikki">https://www.change.org/p/president-trump-freenikki</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Have questions about consent? Take a look at this guide from RAINN at <a href="https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent">www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Learn more about the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act at <a href="https://www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA">www.nysda.org/page/DVSJA</a>.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">Learn more about criminalized survival across the U.S. at <a href="https://survivedandpunished.org/">https://survivedandpunished.org/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Read Justine&rsquo;s Dec. 2020 article on criminalized survival in the U.S. at <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/160589/women-prison-domestic-violence-survivors">https://newrepublic.com/article/160589/women-prison-domestic-violence-survivors</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Support incarcerated survivor Tanisha Williams by visiting <a href="https://standwithtanisha.com/">https://standwithtanisha.com/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Support incarcerated survivor Tomiekia Johnson by visiting <a href="https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-grant-commutation-for-incarcerated-survivor-tomiekia-johnson">https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-grant-commutation-for-incarcerated-survivor-tomiekia-johnson</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Read Sandra Brown&rsquo;s writing by visiting <a href="https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004441651/BP000023.xml">https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004441651/BP000023.xml</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Learn more about incarcerated survivor Kelly Harnett&rsquo;s story at <a href="https://www.survivedandpunishedny.org/kelly-harnett/">https://www.survivedandpunishedny.org/kelly-harnett/</a>.</li>
<li aria-level="1">Follow the We Stand With Nikki campaign on Instagram at @westandwithnikki, on Twitter at @standwithnikki and on their webpage at <a href="https://westandwithnikki.com/">www.westandwithnikki.com</a>.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
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 &amp; Grau.
&nbsp;
Believe Her is created in partnership with Spiegel &amp; 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 <a href="http://www.bit.ly/believeherbookclubz">www.bit.ly/believeherbookclubz</a> and our Facebook group at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/">www.facebook.com/groups/believeher/</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
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&rdquo; button.
&nbsp;
Stay up-to-date on everything in the Lemonada world by becoming a superfan at <a href="https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan">https://joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: <a href="http://lemonadamedia.com/sponsors">lemonadamedia.com/sponsors</a>.
To follow along with a transcript, go to <a href="https://lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher/">www.lemonadamedia.com/show/believeher</a> shortly after the air date.

Believe Her (Official Trailer)

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