And the saga continues.
Eliana Lopez, wife of suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, spoke to ABC-7 exclusively this week about her relationship with her husband and the possibility of divorce.
From her home in Caracas, Venezuela, Lopez recounted the infamous New Year's Eve fight during which Mirkarimi allegedly grabbed her arm hard enough to cause a bruise, continuing to maintain her husband's innocence. She insists that neither her nor her two-year-old son were ever in danger from Mirkarimi.
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Lopez also spoke out against the alleged deceptions of her neighbor, Ivory Madison, claiming that Madison represented herself as a lawyer and promised the infamous video of her bruises would be kept confidential. The video has since been used as public evidence against Mirkarimi and will be reviewed again by the city's Ethics Committee, who will decide whether to remove the sheriff from office permanently.
Although Lopez is supposed to return to San Francisco by court order on June 16, she expressed a longing to stay in Venezuela, where she will be able to "share her motherhood' with her family. According to the video, she had been considering divorcing Mirkarimi for a long time before the scandal erupted.
The five-member Ethics Committee panel's next Mirkarimi-related meeting is scheduled for May 29.
This is only part one of ABC-7's two part series, so check back to see what else Lopez will say. In the meantime, take a look at the first chapter below: