More than two and a half years after the heartbreaking helicopter crash which took the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others on board, the first day of trial was held in the invasion of privacy case. Bryant’s wife, Vanessa sobbed quietly as her lawyer made stern statements regarding the accident.

A complaint was filed against Deputy Joey Cruz after he allegedly showed pictures of Kobe’s decapitated body to people in a bar.

Luis Li, Vanessa’s lawyer called the day of the accident the worst day of Vanessa’s life. He said, “County employees exploited the accident. They took and shared pictures of Kobe and Gianna as souvenirs. They poured salt in an unhealable wound.”

Li also claimed that first responders took pictures of the broken bodies and burnt flesh. Deputies shared the photos with colleagues without the intention of investigating the accident. While one of them used the photos to impress a woman at a bar, another detective tried showing them to his wife.

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Chris Chester, who lost his wife and daughter in the crash, filed another lawsuit. While the photos haven’t leaked to the public yet, they claim that they have been shared with many people.

County lawyers have argued that they did not violate Kobe Bryant and his family’s constitutional rights

While county lawyer Mira Hashmall deeply regretted the actions of Deputy Cruz, she insisted the photos were never made public. “It is undisputed that the complained-of photos have never been in the media, on the Internet, or otherwise publicly disseminated”, the lawyers argued. She stated that no one related to Vanessa had seen the photos.

Meanwhile, accountability was the main factor from Vanessa’s point of view. Li vowed to bring justice to the families by proving that the photos were distributed. He continued, “Every single day since the county did what it did, Mrs. Bryant and Mr. Chester have the risk, have the fear, have the anxiety, have the terror that they might have to re-live the loss of their family members in the most excruciating way.”

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Kobe Bryant passed away along with his daughter and seven others after the chopper crashed. It took the lives of everyone on board, including the pilot.

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