The estranged husband of Fox News anchor Julie Banderas is set to be cleared of charges of holding a knife to her throat amid their divorce. According to The Daily Beast, Banderas’ husband was found not guilty of criminal charges after being accused of holding a steak knife to her throat.
The court’s decision follows Banderas revealing her divorce in a bit of a brazen segment on Fox News back in February. Police arrested Andrew Sansone, 55, back in December over the alleged incident on charges of menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. The Daily Mail was the first to report the ruling.
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“This malicious accusation against my client was a blatant misuse of the criminal justice system, using it as a sword and not a shield, purely to gain leverage in divorce court,” Sansone’s lawyer told The Daily Beast. Sansone has also hit at Banderas allegedly using her position on Fox News to “smear him.”
“Spousal abuse is not a joking matter,” Banderas’ lawyer responded to the outlet. “Control and jealousy in divorce are abundant. After a year of divorce litigation an estranged spouse should not point a knife at his wife, period.”
The arrest came two months before Banderas made waves with a Valentine’s Day segment on Gutfield! and was sparked by a disagreement over food for their children — specifically mashed potatoes.
“Defendant contends that the Complainant took an innocent interaction with him and twisted it into the criminal complaint now before the court to gain matrimonial action,” Judge Gary Weber wrote in the ruling for the non-jury trial that kicked off in June. “[T]he complainant acknowledged that she had made other remarks evincing to the Defendant her willingness to engage in any actions necessary to prevail financially in the divorce case. These candid admissions might be viewed as bearing upon the Complainant’s credibility.”
Basically, the judge didn’t find Banderas’ point of view to be as believable due to differences in her statement to police and her testimony in the court. That said, the divorce is still in the process and will likely continue to move forward now that the criminal complaint is resolved. You can read through the entire rundown of the trial over at The Daily Beast.
