On Wednesday, August 10, 2022, Vanessa Bryant’s lawsuit against Los Angeles County opened. Kobe Bryant’s widow has filed a complaint after photos of the bodies of her husband and daughter were released.
On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash alongside John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; Sarah and Payton Chester; Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan. More than two years after their tragic death, the lawsuit brought by the widow of the basketball player opened on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Indeed, Vanessa Bryant accuses the county of Los Angeles of having taken and disclosed photos of the crash site.
The case began in September 2020, when Kobe Bryant’s widow sued Los Angeles County for “emotional distress and mental anguish“. Indeed, she had asked after the accident that the site be secured in order to that no unauthorized photos are taken. A request that had not been respected since agents had taken pictures of the crash with their personal cell phones. At the opening of the trial, Luis Li, Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer said: “First responders walked around the wreckage of the helicopter and took photos of broken bodies. They took close-ups of limbs, burnt flesh. It shocks the conscience“.
Vanessa Bryant collapsed after the release of photos of the bodies
In addition to accusing Los Angeles County of taking photos, Vanessa Bryant denounced their dissemination. According RollingStonea witness allegedly accused Deputy Joey Cruz of showing unauthorized persons, photos of Kobe’s bodies and Gianna Bryant, while at a bar in Norwalk. The photos were also reportedly shown at an awards banquet.
Collapsed, Vanessa Bryant said in December 2021: “It infuriates me that the people I trusted to protect the dignity of my husband and daughter abused their position to obtain mementos of their deaths, as if possessing photos of their remains somehow makes them specials“. She then went on to explain about photo sharing : “Given how many people had the photos, I’m confident that these weren’t the only times the photos were shown.The trial promises to be particularly difficult for the 40-year-old woman, who hopes that justice will be done for her. restore dignity of her husband and daughter.
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Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa and their daughters Natalia and Gianna
Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa Laine and their daughters at the premiere of “A Wrinkle in Time” at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on February 26, 2018.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
90th Academy Awards 2018 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on March 4, 2018.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles. February 24, 2019.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Photocall for ‘The 2019 Baby2Baby’ Gala Party at 3Labs, Culver City, Los Angeles on November 9, 2019.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Press room at the 90th Academy Awards 2018 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, United States, on March 4, 2018.
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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant
Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles. February 24, 2019.
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Vanessa Bryant and her daughters Natalia and Gianna
Vanessa Bryant and daughters Natalia and Gianna attend the ‘Rebel’ cartoon premiere on June 18, 2012 in Los Angeles.
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Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa and their daughters Natalia and Gianna
Kobe Bryant with his wife Vanessa and their daughters Natalia and Gianna.