Vanessa Bryant arrives at Federal Court to testify Friday.Photo: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty
First to represent the county’s defense was attorney Mira Hashmall, who repeatedly told the jury throughout her closing, “This is a pictures case with no pictures.” Hashmalls asked the jury to consider the perspectives of the first responders who examined the site on the day of the 2020 helicopter crash. “Can you imagine what it was like for our first responders that day? We expect a lot from our first responders, but they’re not superhuman. Their focus was to save lives, contain a brush fire and see if there were any survivors,” she said.
Additionally, she criticized the plaintiff’s case, calling their lawsuit “the first case of this kind” and full of “diversions and distractions.” Hashmall hypothesized the negative consequences a verdict in the plaintiffs' favor could have on future first responders, who may shy away from collecting helpful evidence in fear of similar accusations. “Imagine if they had to rely on oral reports. Sometimes too many words get in the way,” she said.
The county’s closing statement reminded the jury “not a single picture” from the scene has been leaked. “They say it’s a cover-up. It’s the worst cover-up I’ve ever seen,” the defense attorney laughed, adding how both departments immediately started investigations when complaints came in. Hashmall said the plaintiffs are “trying to pin all the blame on the county when the photos never got out.”
“Mrs. Bryant has never once throughout this case asked for a specific dollar amount,” he said. “She’s always wanted accountability for Kobe and Gianna and to shine a light on their legacies. This is for every family who may face tragedy someday. This is a case about people standing up when they witnessed wrongdoing.”
Friends and family of Vanessa’s showed their support on Wednesday in the packed courtroom. Natalia Bryant was in court with her mom, as well as Los Angeles Lakers general manager and Kobe’s best friend, Rob Pelinka, who brought his wife Kristin. Soccer star Sydney Leroux, whom Gianna Bryant idolized, sat beside Natalia.
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Witness Luella Weireter also arrived at the courthouse for Wednesday’s closing statements. Weireter, who is married to a Los Angeles firefighter, earlier testified in the trial that she overheard and saw photos from the crash being shared at a gala.
Craig Lavoie delivered a powerful closing argument in Vanessa’s case against the county on Tuesday. Lavoie opened his statement with a reminder that Kobe would have turned 44 years old Tuesday if he was still alive. “Forty-four years ago today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant was born. Today is his birthday,” Lavoie began, adding what an honor it is to represent Vanessa. He asked for “justice and accountability” for Kobe and Gianna, who would have turned 16 in May.
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Lavoie described the January 2020 helicopter accident as “devastating and life-shattering” before he condemned the conduct of the sheriff and fire department defendants, “who were supposed to protect the dignity of those who perished on that hillside.” More than once during his closing statements, Lavoie said the behavior “shocks the conscience.”
Jackson asked for damages of a combined $75 million for both families.
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Vanessa took the stand on Friday togive an emotional three-hour testimonyabout what she experienced following the deaths of her husband and daughter.
“I want to remember my husband and my daughter the way that they were,” explained Vanessa, who also shares Capri, 3, Bianka, 5, and Natalia, 19, with Kobe. “I don’t ever want to see these photographs. I have three little girls!” The revelation, she told a Federal Court, has caused her to “live in fear every day of being on social media and having these photos pop up.”
source: people.com
