A federal jury awarded Kobe Bryant's widow $16 million after first responders snapped and shared disturbing photographs from the scene of the chopper accident that killed the basketball legend and their teenage daughter.
The jury ruled that Los Angeles County must pay compensation for images of the NBA star's body taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that killed him, his daughter, and seven others in 2020, Sky News reported.
The court found that her privacy was violated when officers and firefighters snapped and shared images of Bryant and their daughter Gianna's remains.
Vanessa Bryant testified painfully throughout the 11-day Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Trial that learning about the images added to her anguish after losing her husband and daughter.
Blindsided and Devastated
On Friday, she spoke for more than three hours on the witness stand. She said she wanted to start grieving the loss of her loved ones but was met with "fresh horror" after discovering the leaked photographs a month after the tragedy.
She said: "I felt like I wanted to run, run down the block and scream. It was like the feeling of wanting to run down a pier and jump into the water. The problem is I can't escape. I can't escape my body."
Meanwhile, Christopher Chester, a co-plaintiff, will receive $15 million.
In January 2020, Kobe Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna, 13, and six family friends were killed after their helicopter crashed in California. Chester's wife Sarah and daughter Payton were among the casualties.
The Los Angeles Times reported that county personnel snapped photos at the crash site and shared them with others, which infuriated the victims' families.
Last November, the county agreed to pay $2.5 million to two families who lost relatives in the crash, but Vanessa Bryant refused to accept the offer.
Vanessa Bryant, who was sobbing on the witness stand last week, recalled being at home with her other children when she read the LA Times story.
She had felt "blindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed" by news of the leak and feared that the horrific images would "pop up" on social media.
"I don't ever want to see these photographs. I want to remember my husband and my daughter the way they were," Bryant said.
Jurors at the Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Trial heard how sheriff's deputies and firefighters took mobile phone photos at the accident site and showed them to others, including at a bar and a gala event.
Bryant's lawyer, Luis Li, said during opening comments last week that this personnel "poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in."
A county lawyer failed to convince the court that site photography was necessary and that the photographs had not been publicly posted, according to BBC.
Justice Served
Vanessa Bryant and her counsel argued that the images breached her privacy and caused mental anguish.
The panel pondered for four and half hours before reaching a decision on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated in Los Angeles on August 24, the day after the Lakers legend's birthday and depicts his jersey numbers (8 and 24). Bryant would have turned 44 on Tuesday.
As the judgment was pronounced, she sobbed silently.
Vanessa Bryant shared an Instagram photo of herself with her husband and children following the judgment.
The post caption reads: "All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi!"
Outside the courtroom, a county attorney refused to speak on the judgment, per ESPN.
