Kobe Bryant’s widow wins $16m over leaked photos of crash that killed husband and daughter | US News
Kobe Bryant’s widow has been awarded $16m (£13.5m) after first responders took and shared graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash basketball stars, their teenage daughter and 7 others were killed.
A federal jury has concluded that Los Angeles County must pay damages for photos of the NBA star’s body at the location of the NBA. Helicopter crash of 2020 kills him.
The jurors agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that she privacy is violated as delegates and firefighters took and shared photos of the remains of Bryant and their daughter Gianna.
Ms. Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that the news of the photos made her more grief-stricken after losing her husband and daughter.
Speaking at the witness stand on Friday that lasted more than three hours, Ms Bryant said she wanted to begin grieving the loss of her husband and daughter, but faced “new horror” after know the leaked photos a month after the crash.
“I felt like running, running down the block and screaming,” she said. “It’s like running down a pier and jumping into the water.
“The problem is that I can’t escape. I can’t escape my body.”
Bryant (L) leaves court on Friday. Photo: AP
She told the court she called about the story in the Los Angeles Times while holding her 7-month-old daughter and spending time with friends and family.
“I’m blind again, devastated, hurt. I trust them. I trust they won’t do these things.”
The court was told how a deputy sheriff shared photos of BryantThe body of a bartender as he drank, and the firemen rotated them together at a party.
Although the pictures have never been made public, Ms. Bryant said: “I live in fear every day on social media and these things come up. I live in fear about the girls. mine showed up on social media and these showed up.”
Bryant poses with his daughter Gianna (Image: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
According to district attorney J Mira Hashmall, the photos were taken because they were deemed important for site evaluation, but after LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva learned they had been shared, he requested that all be deleted. all copies.
Ms. Hashmall later, while cross-checking Ms. Bryant, said the person in charge of the photography, Doug Johnson, was only trying to use the photos as part of an investigation.
“You can see why he wants the same information as you did,” Ms. Hashmall said.
“I don’t think you need to take close-up photos of people to determine how many people are on the plane,” Ms. Bryant replied. “I think he might have just counted.”
