Sean Combs trial: Cassie concludes four days of testimony

Cassie Ventura (left) and Sean Combs astatine the Met Gala successful New York City successful 2017. Ventura testified for the prosecution successful the transgression proceedings of Combs, who is charged with enactment trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transporting to prosecute successful prostitution. Combs has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

After spending astir of 4 days connected the witnesser stand, Cassie Ventura concluded her testimony successful the criminal proceedings of Sean Combs connected Friday afternoon. Ventura, who dated Combs connected and disconnected for implicit a decade, was 1 of respective witnesses to instrumentality the basal during the trial's archetypal week. But the grade and item of her grounds showed however cardinal she is to the government's lawsuit against Combs.

Ventura filed the archetypal prominent civilian lawsuit against Combs successful 2023, alleging that the rapper and grounds enforcement had physically assaulted, trafficked and raped her. That suit was settled quickly, but Combs was indicted successful September 2024 connected charges of enactment trafficking, transporting to prosecute successful prostitution and racketeering conspiracy. He pleaded not blameworthy to each charges.

Starting connected Tuesday afternoon, a visibly large Ventura testified that her narration with Combs was marked with violence, cause usage and powerfulness imbalances. The vocalist was 19 years aged erstwhile she signed a 10-album woody with Combs' label, Bad Boy Records, successful 2006. Combs, who is 17 years older than Ventura, pursued her romantically not agelong aft they began moving together. Ventura told prosecutors that wrong the archetypal twelvemonth of their relationship, Combs began physically abusing her. She testified that helium coerced her into drug-fueled, highly-orchestrated intersexual performances with antheral escorts that became "like a job" and enactment her vocation connected the backburner (Ventura lone ever released 1 of the 10 albums from her woody with his label). Ventura said she loved Combs, but helium was often "scary" — and she did not ever consciousness similar she could safely permission the relationship.

One of Combs' defence attorneys, Anna Estevao, spent 2 days cross-examining Ventura. Again and again, she presented texts and emails exchanged betwixt Combs and Ventura implicit that showed Ventura agreeing to intersexual encounters with antheral enactment workers and helping program the logistics for these meetings. She besides asked astir Ventura's vocation and the opportunities she gained from being connected to Combs. When she asked if Ventura was easy capable to permission her declaration with Bad Boy upon breaking up with Combs successful 2018, Ventura responded: "I had to combat my mode out."

Estevao's cross-examination focused connected coating Ventura and Combs arsenic mutually invested successful the relationship, and Ventura arsenic a consenting subordinate successful unconventional intersexual encounters. She asked Ventura to picture their usage of drugs the mode they would some turn jealous implicit alleged infidelities and the lengths they went to to support the intersexual performances with escorts a secret.

During her nonstop questioning from prosecutors, Ventura testified that Combs filmed these encounters and blackmailed Ventura with them erstwhile she tried to determination connected from their relationship. She said that successful 2014, idiosyncratic she was moving with astatine an lawsuit successful Atlantic City hinted helium had cognition of a sexually explicit video of Ventura. She testified that she assumed it was a video of the "freak-offs" — a word she and Combs utilized to picture their encounters with escorts — and she anxiously texted Combs, who responded, "This is crazy. Do not fto him retired of your sight." Ventura said she ended up taking Combs' information with her to "intimidate" the man.

In transverse introspection connected Friday, Estevao referenced that grounds and played an audio signaling of Ventura astatine that meeting, successful which she tin beryllium heard repeatedly threatening to termination the antheral if helium doesn't cooperate. "I've ne'er killed anybody successful my life, but I'll termination you," she says successful the recording. "It's not going to beryllium humor connected my hands. Someone other is gonna bash it."

Estevao questioned Ventura connected whether Combs besides disquieted the videos would beryllium leaked and whether they would wounded his estimation arsenic well, not conscionable hers. Ventura agreed.

When the prosecution resumed questioning her, Ventura said she was acting nether Combs' instructions astatine the clip of that audio recording. She besides testified that aft they'd had an statement successful Cannes and Ventura was trying to make region betwixt herself and Combs, helium insisted connected sitting adjacent to her connected the formation from France to New York. She said helium spent the entirety of the travel showing Ventura explicit videos of her with an escort — and past pressured her to enactment successful a show hours aft landing.

Towards the extremity of the defense's transverse examination, Estevao asked Ventura astir the colony she received from her civilian suit against Combs. Ventura confirmed that the magnitude of the colony was $20 million. When asked whether the colony came astatine a clip of fiscal hardship for her family, Ventura denied this was the case. Later, prosecutors besides asked Ventura astir the settlement. "I'd springiness that wealth backmost if I ne'er had to person freak-offs," Ventura said done tears. "If I ne'er had to person freak-offs, I would person bureau and autonomy. I wouldn't person had to enactment truthful hard to summation it back."

After Ventura's grounds concluded connected Friday afternoon, 2 much witnesses were called to the stand. The archetypal was peculiar cause Yasin Binda with Homeland Security Investigations. Binda, who said she works with the quality trafficking radical astatine HSI, testified that she helped program the logistics for Combs' arrest successful September 2024 and carried retired the hunt warrant connected his country astatine the Park Hyatt Hotel successful New York City. Binda testified that her relation was to instrumentality photographs of the items recovered during the search. Those items included aggregate bottles of babe lipid and lubricant, amerciable substances, a lighting instrumentality that could beryllium utilized for "mood lighting" and $9,000 successful currency — each items that matched Ventura's grounds of the supplies she and Combs utilized for "freak-offs."

After Binda finished testifying, the vocalist Dawn Richard took the stand. Richard was a subordinate of the radical Danity Kane, which Combs helped to enactment unneurotic successful the mid-2000s arsenic portion of the world TV contention Making The Band. Danity Kane was signed to Combs' Bad Boy Records for respective years; Richard was besides a subordinate of the electrosoul trio Diddy Dirty Money alongside Combs and vocalist Kalenna Harper. Last year, Richard filed a civil lawsuit against Combs alleging a toxic and abusive moving situation passim her nonrecreational narration with him — the suit besides stated that she witnessed Combs violently assaulting Ventura connected much than 1 occasion.

Richard testified briefly; she volition stay connected the basal adjacent week. When she began her grounds connected Friday, Richard described being contiguous astatine an altercation successful Combs' location successful which helium became "belligerent" arsenic Ventura attempted to marque him eggs; Richard testified that Combs grabbed the skillet Ventura was utilizing and attempted to deed her implicit the caput with it. She alleged Ventura dropped to the crushed into fetal presumption portion Combs punched and kicked her, yet putting his limb astir her cervix and dragging her upstairs by her hair. "I was frightened for her," Richard told the court. "I had ne'er seen thing similar that before."