Vanessa Bryant files lawsuit against LA County over Kobe Bryant crash photos

Vanessa Bryant took a cell phone picture taken by a first responder on Friday shortly after the helicopter crash of her Lakers star husband Kobe Bryant and their daughter. He took a position in a federal lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles over phone pictures.

Bryant, 40, is the final defendant in a federal trial in a consolidated lawsuit filed by her and Chris Chester, an Irvine financial adviser who lost his wife and daughter in the same accident. The plaintiffs are witnesses. They are suing the county for an unspecified number of millions of dollars, claiming that Los Angeles County's first responders have claimed human remains at the Calabasas crash site for their own amusement as "souvenirs." He claims to have taken cell phone pictures and shared them with other law enforcement officials and the public.

The plaintiffs allege the Lakers star, his daughter, Chester's wife Sarah, The couple's 13-year-old daughter Peyton dies He did not see the gruesome crash site photos, which were among the nine. Crashed on January 26, 2020.

Bryant testified that a first responder who took pictures of her dead 13-year-old daughter Gianna "raped" her, and Sheriff Alex Villanueva assured that the scene was filmed. Nevertheless, she was devastated to learn that such images were taken. will be secured. She said she continues to struggle with grief and anxiety given that photos of the crash site will one day surface.

"It's like COVID. I can't," she said.

County has determined that all images taken by Sheriff's Deputies and Firefighters have been deleted at the order of their superiors and have never existed in any way or He claims that he did not enter the public domain or on the Internet. However, Bryant and Chester claim that they are tormented by the mere thought of the day these photos will be published in the future.

On Thursday, Chester testified that his reaction was "disbelief that turned to anger" when he learned first responders had taken and shared pictures with their cell phones from the crash site. . He said he learned of the crash site photos on his 46th birthday and that they were shown to others at bars and awards ceremonies and texted to others in his messages. rice field.

"We couldn't have constructed a scenario where that would happen," Chester said in response to a lawyer's question. "I kept my family mostly isolated from the details [of the injuries sustained by loved ones]. Now I thought there would be pictures [on the Internet] of the bodies."

During the trial, defense attorneys repeatedly noted that the photos had not been posted online for two and a half years after the tragedy. Several county fire and sheriff officers testified in a federal civil trial that they deleted photos of the accident scene that were stored on their cell phones. But that didn't reassure Chester, he said.

"I am terrified every day," Chester testified. "Things that people thought didn't exist are now showing up on the internet."

Chester, for his nine jurors, including a nun, killed his wife in an accident. and the day I learned I had lost my daughter. He left the lacrosse game he was supposed to be playing and drove to Calabasas with his friend. At the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he "understood" that the area had to be "locked down" to keep the media and fans away, adding that the crash site was "carefully

When Chester heard about sharing the photos a month later, Chester immediately told his sons, "Don't start Google for them." Please," he testified.

Plaintiffs' attorneys claim the images have been circulated to at least 10 people, but no evidence has been presented that the photos still exist or have been published. .

A crash killed his 14-year-old Alyssa Altobelli, along with Chester and Bryant's loved ones. Keri Altobelli, 46 years old. John Altobelli, 56 years old. Christina Moser, 38 years old. Pilot Ara Zobayan, 50 years old.