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Vanessa Bryant took the stand for the first time. She reportedly gave a nearly 3-hour testimony recounting the moment she learned first responders took graphic images of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant’s remains and shared them with unauthorized people for entertainment purposes and not as part of the accident’s investigations.
The 40-year-old philanthropist and businesswoman is suing Los Angeles County for emotional distress and mental anguish. In addition to her late husband and daughter, the father of two of the other victims flying at the time in the same helicopter said the images were shared on at least 28 devices owned by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and many more phones belonging to the first responders.
“I just remember not wanting to react because the girls were in the room,” Bryant said, referring to the time she learned about the images and her daughters Capri, 3, Bianka, 5, and Natalia, 19.
“I bolted out of the house, and I broke down and cried, and I just wanted to run down the block and scream,” Bryant continued. “I can’t escape my body. I can’t escape what I feel.”
On Thursday, Chris Chester, who lost his wife Sarah Chester and their 13-year-old daughter Payton Chester also spoke about the crash for the first time in court.
“Lots of things were going through my head, but I thought I was going to a hospital,” he explained, referring to the time they learned about the crashing. “I had started to get an eery feeling.” Chris, Vanessa, and the other families learned at the same time there were no survivors. “It was heavy,” he said. “My life will never be the same.”
According to Chris, he was told that all of the photos were part of a secured investigation and was shocked after learning officers in the Los Angeles sheriff’s department publicly shared photos from the crash scene.
On January 26, 2020, the helicopter crash also killed 14-year-old Alyssa Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, 46, John Altobelli, 56, Christina Mauser, 38, and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.