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Vanessa Bryant shares heartbreaking details of how photos taken of Kobe and Gianna’s death affected her

Vanesssa is in an ongoing lawsuit with L.A. County


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
DECEMBER 6, 2021 10:27 PM EST

Vanessa Bryant is in an ongoing lawsuit with L.A. County and she recently went into detail regarding photos that were taken of her husband Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna. The county filed a motion to have the case thrown out and Vanessa filed a hearbtreaking declaration in response. In docs obtained by TMZ, the mother explained that she asked Sheriff Alex Villanueva specifically on the day of the crash, to secure the crash site and not allow anyone to take photographs. A month later, Vanessa sys she found out Sheriff deputies and firefighters were sharing photos taken of Kobe and Gianna’s remains which has caused her to live in fear that they will eventually be made public.

Premiere Of Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time"   Arrivals© GettyImages

In the declaration filed by Vanessa, she explain that upon learning there were no survivors she specifically told the Sheriff, “If you can‘t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them.” When she learned that people were taking photographs of the remains she said hearing this infuriated her and sent her into a constant cycle of distress that the photos would be leaked and shared online.

Her documents were filed in response to the county’s motion to have the case thrown out. According to the outlet, Vanessa says she has reason to believe at least 20 different people obtained copies of the photos. The county assured her that the photos have all been secured but Vanessa says she has already seen one photo purportedly showing Kobe’s remains. “Since viewing the photo, I‘ve been tormented with thoughts of who took it and whether it depicts my husband,” she said. ”It infuriates me that the people I trusted to protect the dignity of my husband and daughter abused their positions to obtain souvenirs of their deaths, as though possessing pictures of their remains somehow makes them special. I imagine Kobe watching over what occurred at that crash scene, and I am overcome by anger and emotion.”

The emotional declaration continued with Vanessa describing the extreme sadness and anger she feels. “I feel sick at the thought that deputies and firefighters have gawked at photos of my husband‘s and child’s bodies without any reason. I also feel extreme sadness and anger knowing that photos of my husband‘s and daughter’s bodies were laughed about while shown at a bar and awards banquet,” she added.

Vanessa also noted how easy it is for photos to be stored and transferred and is scared that they will show up at some point and eventually be seen by her surviving daughters. “For the rest of my life, one of two things will happen: either close-up photos of my husband’s and daughter’s bodies will go viral online, or I will continue to live in fear of that happening,” she said, per TMZ.