Photo: Getty Images
Vanessa Bryant broke down in tears Friday (August 19) as she described the "disgust" she felt after finding out responders leaked photos of the remains of her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna following the fatal 2020 helicopter crash.
Amid the ongoing invasion of privacy trial over photos from the crash site, Vanessa wiped away tears after nearly every sentence and appeared to be gasping for breath as she testified in a Los Angeles federal court, TMZ reports.
The wife of NBA legend Kobe Bryant said on the stand that her assistant was the first to inform her about the crash.
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva eventually told her that there were no survivors from the January 2020 incident, Vanessa testified.
Vanessa said that she begged Villanueva to keep the area secure and free of paparazzi, but the L.A. County Sheriff failed to inform her that his deputies had already taken pictures of her deceased family members' bodies.
According to her testimony on Friday, Vanessa was "blindsided" when she learned of the graphic photos taken by first responders through media reports.
"I felt like I wanted to run down the block and scream," she said in the courtroom. "I can’t escape my body. I can't escape what I feel."
"I trusted them," Vanessa added, noting that she felt "devastated, hurt, and betrayed" by authorities. "I trusted them to not do these things."
Due to where Gianna was located at the crash site, Vanessa also believes officials disturbed her 13-year-old daughter's body in order to photograph it.
"They took advantage that Daddy couldn't protect her," she testified. "He was at the morgue."
The widow added that if the photos ever got out, it would wreck her.
"I don't ever want to see my babies in that way," she said. "Nobody should ever have to see their family in that way."
According to TMZ, Vanessa is expected to speak further about the crash later today in court.
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