Vanessa Bryant Awarded $16M After Jury Reaches Verdict in Trial Over Helicopter Crash Site Photos
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Vanessa Bryant and her co-plaintiff, Chris Chester, have been awarded a combined $31 million by a Los Angeles jury.
The final verdict was reached late Wednesday afternoon with the jury finding Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) and Fire Department (LAFD) did share photos of the bodies of Bryant and Chris' loved ones and in doing so invaded their privacy and caused emotional distress.
The jury ordered the LASD to pay Vanessa $10 million and to pay Chris a total of $9 million. While the LAFD is ordered to pay the pair $6 million each.
The decision came down coincidentally on Kobe Bryant Day aka Mamba Day which is a day honoring the late Los Angeles Lakers legend whose jersey numbers were #8 and #24.
Patrick T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Vanessa Bryant, her daughter Natalia Bryant and close friend Sydney Leroux leave court room
RELATED: Fire Captain Says the Trauma of Photographing Kobe Bryant Crash Site Still Haunts Him: 'Horrifying'
The emotional trial concluded just hours after Los Angeles County's legal team made its closing arguments.
Vanessa and Chris' lawyers did not speak outside the court. Following the verdict, Mira Hashmall, partner at Miller Barondess law firm and the lead outside counsel for the county, thanked the jury for its hard work.
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"While we disagree with the jury's findings as to the county's liability, we believe the monetary award shows that jurors didn't believe the evidence supported the plaintiffs' requests for $75 million for emotional distress," Hashmall said in a statement provided to PEOPLE.
"We will be discussing next steps with our client," she said. "Meanwhile, we hope the Bryant and Chester families continue to heal from their tragic loss."
Since it began on August 10, the trial revealed harrowing details about the aftermath of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed NBA legend and 13-year-old Gianna Bryant, and the seven other people on board.
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Vanessa and Chris Chester, who tragically lost his wife Sarah and their 13-year-old daughter Payton in the crash, sued Los Angeles County for emotional distress and mental anguish after learning members of the department had shared photos of the victims' remains. At the time of the crash, Kobe and Gianna were traveling to a youth basketball game with seven others.
Chris and Vanessa claimed photographs of the victims' bodies were publicly shared on at least 28 devices owned by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and by more than a dozen first responders.
Former bartender Victor Gutierrez was one of the first witnesses to testify in the weeks-long trial. Gutierrez told the courtroom on Thursday that shortly after the Jan. 26, 2020 crash, he was approached by sheriff's deputy trainee Joey Cruz during his bartending shift, who asked if Gutierrez wanted to see a photo of the victim's bodies.
The jury also heard from Ralph Mendez Jr., a bar patron who said he witnessed the interaction and then filed a formal complaint with the sheriff's department.
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While on the stand, the 40-year-old widow recalled visiting the Lost Hills Sheriff Station the morning of the accident and asking Sheriff Alex Villanueva to protect the Calabasas crash site from the paparazzi. "If you can't bring my babies back, can you please secure the area?" Vanessa recalled telling Villanueva at the station.
Just three days later, the photo-sharing allegations amongst the first responders came to light in an article in the Los Angeles Times published on Feb. 27, 2020. "I trusted them not to do these things," the bereaved mother said during her testimony, adding that she was angry with the sheriff and fire departments for not telling her about the pictures being shared.
RELATED VIDEO: Inside Vanessa Bryant's Heartbreaking and Powerful Testimony About Kobe and Gianna's Deaths
Kobe's body was recovered on the day of the crash, while Gianna — a basketball player with the Mamba Sports Academy with dreams of playing in the WNBA — was found a day later in a ravine.
In a moment that saw a wave of emotion wash across those in the courtroom, Vanessa accused emergency personnel who allegedly photographed and shared images showing Gianna's body of "taking advantage that her daddy wasn't there to protect her."
"He was at the morgue," she said.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Vanessa Bryant and Kobe Bryant with two of their daughters, Natalia and Gianna, in 2018
During his testimony, Chris recounted learning about the crash while driving to Lost Hills sheriff's station after texts to Payton and Sarah went unanswered.
"Lots of things were going through my head, but I thought I was going to a hospital," he explained, believing Payton and Sarah would be injured but still alive. But the station was alarmingly quiet, he said, and "I had started to get an eery feeling."
