Vanessa Bryant broke down on the witness stand Friday, as she testified in the federal trial for her negligence and invasion of privacy lawsuit against Los Angeles County, over photos taken at the helicopter crash site where her husband Kobe Bryant and 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed.
Bryant told the court she was devastated when she learned first responders had snapped and allegedly shared personal pictures of the victims’ remains after the helicopter crashed killing all nine people on board in 2020.
“I expected them to have more compassion, respect,” she testified, according to the Los Angeles Times. “My husband and my daughter deserve dignity.”
Related Story: Trial Over Leaked Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash Photos Begins With Gruesome Testimony
Bryant said she lives in fear the pictures will end up on the internet. “I’m worried about any photographs that might identify my husband and daughter becoming public,” she told jurors.
She added that she’s concerned her daughters might see the disturbing images.
“I don’t want my children to ever come across them,” she said. “I have three little girls.”
Friday marked the eighth day of the trial in downtown Los Angeles. During previous testimony, witnesses said L.A. County sheriff’s deputies and fire department personnel showed off pictures of the victims’ body parts in a bar and at an awards gala.
During her testimony about the ordeal, Bryant talked about her life with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
“He was this well known and beloved icon to some people, and at home he was just Kobe,” Bryant said. “He knew he did not rule the household.”
Vanessa Bryant arrives at the federal courthouse for her civil trial against LA County, over photos taken of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna. She is expected to testify this morning. @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/cGzhpPs5JU
— Tina Patel (@tina_patel) August 19, 2022
On the day of the crash, Bryant said she went to the sheriff’s station near the site. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva informed her that her husband and daughter had died. She recalled the sheriff asked if there was anything he could do to help, and she asked him to secure the crash site.
“I’m concerned about paparazzi,” she recalled telling Villanueva. She said he assured her authorities established a “no-flight” zone over the wreckage.
Last month a federal judge ruled to combine Bryant’s trial with that of Chris Chester, an Orange County, California financial advisor whose wife, Sarah, and their 13-year-old daughter Payton, died in the crash when the helicopter slammed into a hillside in Calabasas on Jan. 26, 2020.
Bryant and Chester say they’ve suffered mental anguish amid fears that the photos will one day be released. The two are suing the county for millions of dollars.
The county says all images taken by sheriff’s deputies and firefighters were deleted after their supervisors ordered them to erase the photos.
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