Saifullo Saipova’s bike path massacre victim in Lower Manhattan shared a trial of pain

NEW YORK. The Belgian, whose wife lost her legs in a terrorist attack on a New York bike path, said he contemplated suicide after largely recovering from his physical injuries. He testified Tuesday as jurors are considering the death penalty for an Islamist militant.

Aristide Melissas testified in federal court in Manhattan to help the government hand down the death sentence for Saifullo Saipov. If all 12 jurors do not agree to commit suicide, the 35-year-old will automatically spend life in prison.

Melissas said he was in rehab for 22 months for physical injuries, including a skull fracture while he went through an 18-month mental breakdown “where I thought about taking my own life.”

“Then I said, ‘Don’t do this. Do you have a family. You are strong. Get help,” he said.

Saipov was convicted in late January on charges of assault on October 31, 2017. He was driving a rented truck along the lower Manhattan bike path along the Hudson River at high speed, and a few hours later he was bragging to the FBI agents that he hoped to kill more people. Prosecutors say he has immersed himself in online propaganda by the Islamic State group.

As part of a week-long presentation of evidence designed to convince jurors to opt for the death penalty, prosecutors called survivors like Melissa to describe their ongoing pain.

They also contend that Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, remains dangerous and committed to terrorism even while incarcerated.

Two women who have worked in the federal prisons where Saipov has been held since his arrest say he frightened them with his antics after he got angry.

One of them said he was so angry about meeting the guard the night before that he said he wouldn’t take off the tape he put on the camera’s video camera until the guard’s head was cut off.

Another prison officer who works as a guard testified that Saipov once became so angry that he kicked the door of his cell several times and hit the window so hard that it cracked when he threatened to cut off her head.

Melissa, who previously testified in court like his wife, returned to the stand as prosecutors tried to demonstrate the ongoing pain experienced by the 15 people seriously injured in the attack.

Melissa said he was riding bikes with his wife, youngest son, and nephew when he heard a loud screech and crackle behind him before he passed out, only to regain consciousness in a pool of his own blood when an alien voice told him to come soon ambulance.

The former chief executive of the family business said he could no longer work full-time. And every night he misses hugging his wife’s legs so much that he seeks solace by holding the socks she wore the night before she lost her legs.

“It doesn’t change anything,” he said, hinting at what was lost. “I still love her so much.