Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa first learned of his death online

Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s widow, said she learned of her husband’s death by seeing “RIP Kobe” notifications on her phone.

Basketball star Bryant died with her daughter, 13-year-old Gianna, and seven other people in the January 2020 accident.

Bryant is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for negligence and invasion of privacy.

He claims the agents shared graphic photos of the crash scene, including the bodies of Kobe and Gianna.

During a deposition, a county attorney asked Ms. Bryant when she was first informed of the incident.

Ms. Bryant said she was informed by a family assistant that her husband and daughter had been in a helicopter crash, but that five people had survived. He thought they were probably among the survivors.

But then the messages started popping up on his phone.

“I was holding my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe,'” Bryant said, according to a transcript of the deposition. .

“My life will never be the same without my husband and daughter,” she added.

In March, Ms. Bryant posted the names of Los Angeles County police officers who she said shared explicit photos of the accident scene.

He claims that one of the agents shared photos of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and the others handed out “free photos of the dead children, parents and coaches”.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper reported in February last year that an internal police investigation they found that officers shared photos of the victims’ remains.

“I don’t think it’s right that I’m here today fighting for responsibility,” Bryant said.

“Because no one should ever endure this kind of pain and fear of their family. The images are released, it’s not good.”

Ms. Bryant said she asked Sheriff Alex Villanueva to make sure no one took pictures at the scene.

The sheriff’s department declined to comment on the pending lawsuit.

Ms. Bryant said she kept the clothes her husband and daughter wore when they died.

“And if their clothes represent the condition of their bodies, I can’t imagine how anyone could be so numb and have no regard for them or our friends, and share pictures as if they were animals in a street,” he said. said.

You might also be interested in …