Opening statements began December 4th in a criminal trial against Jonathan Majors.
The Loki star is accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in a March altercation. The actor, who has pled not guilty to the charges against him, faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 03: Jonathan Majors, and his girlfriend, Meagan Good, flanked by his lawyer Priya Chaudhry (R), arrive to Manhattan Criminal court for his pre trial hearing on August 03, 2023 in New York City. If convicted, Majors could face up to a year in jail over misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Prosecutor Michael Perez began the proceedings by laying out the details of the events that led up to Majors’s arrest.
What Happened on the Night Majors Was Arrested
The couple, who had been together for two years, had previously discussed marriage and kids.
“This was a serious relationship,” Perez told jurors.
Photo: AFP via Getty Images
The couple took a private car service from a Brooklyn party to their Chelsea apartment on the night of the incident. Jabbari then saw a text message on Majors’s phone from someone named Cleopatra that read, “Wish I was kissing you right now.”
Jabbari allegedly took the phone from Majors’s hands to see who sent the message. At this point, Majors began grabbing the right side of Jabbari’s body and prying her fingers off the phone. According to prosecutors, this caused bruising, swelling, and substantial pain.
Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
“He intended to cause Grace Jabbari physical injury and, in fact, he did cause her physical injury,” Perez asserted.
The Defense Says Jabarri Was the Violent One
The defense did not deny that a text message from another woman started the alleged altercation. Still, they argue, it was Jabbari who assaulted Majors, ripping two of the buttons of his coat and tearing his pocket.
After they parted ways, Jabbari reportedly ran into three strangers on the street who invited her to go to a club. She went, said the prosecution, to “block out the experience.” At this time, Majors checked into a hotel room and ended their relationship.
(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for The Gotham Film Media Institute)
Jabbari reportedly returned to Majors’s apartment and called him 23 times before taking two sleeping pills. When Majors arrived at the residence the following day, the defense says, he found Jabbari on the floor in the closet.
Majors Was Arrested The Following Day
According to Majors’ attorneys, the actor called the police “out of concern” for Jabbari, who was unconscious and had allegedly threatened suicide the night before.
When officers arrived, Jabbari was allegedly hesitant but eventually told officers she had sustained injuries from Majors, who was then arrested. Jabbari was subsequently taken to the hospital.
Photo: Entertainment Weekly
On October 26, Jabbari was arrested and charged with assault and criminal mischief in relation to the March incident. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, however, “declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit.”
The Relationship Had Soured
According to prosecutors, the “honeymoon period” of Majors and Jabbari’s relationship had ended, and “things began to sour.”
Perez stated that ““the defendant’s true self began to show. He began to snap at, manipulate and strategically withhold affection from [Jabbari].”
Actor Jonathan Majors is photographed for Los Angeles Times on May 28, 2019 in El Segundo, California. PUBLISHED IMAGE. CREDIT MUST READ: Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times via Contour RA. (Photo by Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times via Contour RA by Getty Images)
For their part, the defense stated that the history between Majors and Jabarri had “nothing to do with what happened in the car.”
“Mr. Majors’s lifetime of hard work was coming to fruition and his career seemed unstoppable until […] he ended his relationship with Jabbari and she made these false allegations,” the defense said. “[This is] a man who spent 30 years working hard to get to where he was on March 25. A man with the world at his fingertips.”
The Trial Will Last Two Weeks
The defense then concluded their opening statement by saying:
“This is a case about the end of a relationship, not about a crime…at least not one that Mr. Majors committed. In revenge, she made these false allegations to ruin Mr. Majors and take away everything he spent his life working for.”
Photo: Marvel
The trial is expected to last two weeks. It will include testimony from Jabbari and potentially the private vehicle driver, a medical professional, and the three strangers that Jabbari met on the street.
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