Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
At the end of December, in the middle of the New England Patriots’ playoff run, Stefon Diggs the star receiver for the team was arrested on strangulation and other charges after an altercation with his former personal chef. The specific charges are felony strangulation or suffocation along with misdemeanor assault and battery charges. Diggs’ lawyer, David Meier, denied the allegations on Diggs’ behalf.
According to AP News, Meier was quoted as saying Diggs, “categorically denies these allegations” and that, “The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction.” The Patriots have also released a statement of support for Stefon Diggs.
In a police narrative used in court, the incident in question happened in the bedroom of the personal chef. She went to the Dedham Police Department on December 16th and alleged that two weeks earlier Diggs entered her room, and the two had a discussion about money. During the discussion, Diggs grew angry and struck her across the face. She then tried to push him away, and he retaliated by attempting to choke her by putting the crook of his elbow around her neck. Officer Kenneth J. Ellis further wrote that, “She said that she did feel like she had trouble breathing and that she felt like she could have blacked out.” He added that Diggs then tossed her onto the bed and said, “lies” when she said that she had not been paid. She left the position on December 9th and two weeks later changed her mind on filing criminal charges.
Diggs was arraigned in Dedham District Court on February 13th, and a not guilty plea was submitted on his behalf. According to Sports Illustrated, the original arraignment date was January 23rd but Diggs’ legal team managed to push it back until February 13th because The Patriots made the post season. The original court summons was December 30th, and that is when the arraignment date was pushed back.
Diggs spoke to reporters in the locker room in January saying, “Obviously, it’s a different time, a very emotional time. I’ve been taken aback by some of the things that’s been going on, but I want to be here to say sorry, I wasn’t available for those couple of days. It’s a different kind of time. Dealing with everything, it’s definitely an open case, so I can’t even say anything about it.”
Diggs is currently under a court order to have no contact with the victim. The pretrial court date is set for April 1st, 2026. Diggs has been released on his own recognizance which means a defendant is released without paying bail, but they have to sign a statement saying they will return for all scheduled court appearances.
Leave a Reply