LOS ANGELES — Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the trial over graphic photos that Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters took and shared of the helicopter crash that killed Lakers star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others.
Attorneys for Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, who sued over the emotional distress they claim they suffered when the photo sharing came to light, want jurors to find that the sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who passed around the illicit photos of the crash victims’ bodies were negligent and violated their right to privacy. Chester lost his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Payton, in the crash.
“We’re not here because of an accident,” Bryant’s attorney Craig Lavoie told jurors during his closing arguments Tuesday, on what would have been Kobe Bryant’s 44th birthday. “We’re here because of intentional conduct. Intentional conduct by those who were charged with protecting the dignity of Sarah and Payton, and Kobe and Gianna.”
