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After a two-week trial, a verdict has been reached in Vanessa Bryant’s civil suit against Los Angeles County over helicopter crash photos.
In the case, Bryant claimed photos of the bodies of her late husband Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna were improperly taken by authorities in the wake of their deadly chopper crash.
A federal jury ruled in Bryant’s favor, awarding $16 million to Bryant for pain and suffering. Chris Chester, whose wife Sara and daughter Payton perished in the crash, has been awarded $15 million.
The verdict was reached on Kobe Bryant Day.
After the verdict, Vanessa posted a photo of herself with Gianna and Kobe. She wrote on Instagram, “All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi! #Betonyourself #MambaDay 8•24•22 💜💛💜💛 #MambaMentality.”
Last week, Bryant testified for nearly three hours about how she found out Kobe and Gianna had been in an accident: The family’s assistant, Kate, had broken the bad news.
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Vanessa Bryant Testifies: ‘As a Mom, All You Want to Do Is Protect Your Babies’
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She then said that she had a feeling of helplessness once she discovered that L.A. Sheriff’s Department employees and emergency personnel had allegedly taken the images of her loved ones — and seven other victims — after the January 2020 accident, sharing them.
Vanessa expressed that she will “live in fear of being on social media and having these photos pop up.” She referred to her reactions as “blindsided, devastated, hurt” and also “betrayed” that photos exist at all.
The anguished mom also said she fears the impact the photos could have on her surviving kids with Kobe — Natalia, 19, Bianka, 5, and Capri, 3.
“I want to remember my husband and my daughter the way that they were,” she testified.
The 40-year-old widow testified under oath that when she went to the Lost Hills Sheriff Station the morning of the crash, she asked Sheriff Alex Villanueva to secure the area from paparazzi and others.
She remembered imploring, “If you can’t bring my babies back, can you please secure the area?”
Days later, it was revealed that first responders had taken and shared photos of the gruesome scene.
“I trusted them not to do these things,” Vanessa said on the stand, making the point that first responders photographed Gianna’s corpse the day after the crash only because “her daddy wasn’t there to protect her — he was at the morgue.”
“[I] expected [first responders] to have more compassion and respect,” she said. “My husband and my daughter deserve dignity.”
Vanessa testified she brought the suit because she is “willing to go through hell and back to get justice for my husband and my daughter. As a mom, all you want to do is protect your babies.”
Throughout the trial, Vanessa was accompanied by Natalia and close friends Ciara and Monica.