Abuse case against Greg Hardy falls apart

Nicole Holder, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend, told prosecutors last fall she did not want to go through another trial after Hardy’s initial conviction in July 2014, District Attorney Andrew Murray said in a statement Monday as jury selection was about to get underway at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

In the days leading up to Hardy’s trial, Zamora refused to say whether Holder would appear.

In July, with Holder at his side, Zamora said Hardy’s conviction “sent a strong message to the people of Mecklenburg County that it doesn’t matter if you’re an average Joe or if you’re a professional athlete that plays for the Carolina Panthers: If you assault a woman and you communicate to that woman that you will kill them, you will be arrested.

In the Hardy case, Murray alluded to apparent inconsistencies between Holder’s initial statements to police on the morning of May 13, and the testimony she gave at Hardy’s first trial.

Hardy was convicted last summer of assaulting and threatening to kill Holder – one of several abuse cases involving professional football players that dominated the headlines for much of the NFL season.

As Hardy left the courthouse, at least one reporter asked whether he’d left the impression that he paid Holder off.

According to police records, Holder told police that she and Hardy lived together for a few months before their relationship ended.

Laura Iwanicki, a one-time co-worker of Holder’s at Suite, an Epicentre club, said Holder and Hardy had a relationship that was “really good, really bad, with nothing in between.” Holder testified at Hardy’s first trial that the attack sent her to the emergency room and left her fearing for her life.

Hardy, who called 911 that morning to report that Holder was attacking him, said his former girlfriend erupted after he told her she could not spend the night.