Follow all our Sean Combs trial coverage
Dawn Richard testified she “frequently” saw Sean Combs beat his longtime ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, while on the stand for her second day of testimony at Combs’ sex trafficking trial.
“He would punch her, choke her, drag her, slap her in the mouth,” Richard said. “I saw him kick her, punch her in the stomach.”
Richard added that Combs would get violent with Ventura for a variety of reasons, whether it was a response to Ventura “speaking up for herself,” or just a “random” outburst. “We didn’t even know where it came from,” Richard said.
Richard entered Combs’ orbit as a breakout talent from his MTV reality series Making the Band. She later joined the Bad Boy girl group Danity Kane, and was also part of the R&B trio Diddy-Dirty Money with Combs and Kalenna Harper.
One instance of alleged abuse Richard testified to witnessing took place at Combs’ home in New York City in 2009, with Harper also present. Richard said Combs “punched [Ventura] in the face” during an argument, leaving Ventura’s face so swollen she had to wear sunglasses and make-up to hide the injury.
The jury was then shown a photo of Ventura, Richard, and Harper in public, with all three women wearing sunglasses. Richard said she and Harper wore the sunglasses “to have solidarity, to be a friend, to be a support system for someone who needed it.”
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Another alleged attack occurred at a restaurant where several record label personnel were also present. Combs and Ventura had been arguing quietly, according to Richard, when Combs punched Ventura in the stomach. In the car home afterward, Richard continued, Ventura told Combs the public incident had “embarrassed” her. In response, Richard said, Combs allegedly “grabbed [Ventura] by the neck and popped her, slapped her in the mouth.” Combs’ security personnel were present, but did not do anything, Richard said, and the ride continued in silence.
Richard went on to say that she encouraged Ventura to leave Combs after witnessing these alleged instances of abuse. Richard described Ventura as “torn,” during these conversations, adding, “She would listen but you could see, I could see the fear…” (her statement was cut off by an objection from the defense, which the judge sustained).
But when Combs heard about these conversations, Richard continued, the mogul told her to stop “or else we would pay for it.” Richard added: “I made a decision that it would be best for the safety of myself to not interfere, because I don’t think that she was really ready to do anything.”
Richard began her testimony last Friday, May 16, taking the stand after Ventura finished her own lengthy and emotional testimony. During her time on the stand, she corroborated and bolstered Ventura’s claims that Combs brutally beat her throughout their relationship.
During her testimony last week, Richard alleged that she saw Combs attack Ventura with the same skillet Ventura was using to cook him eggs. “It didn’t seem that it hit her fully,” Richard said. “She went into the fetal position … I was scared for her.”
When Combs’ defense lawyer, Nicole Westmoreland, took over for cross-examination, she focused on this incident, suggesting Richard’s account had changed over time. She first cited a demand letter Richard’s lawyers sent Combs last year, which claimed that Richard heard the skillet hit the wall, but didn’t see the alleged altercation. They mentioned two interviews Richard gave to prosecutors, one in which Richard claimed Combs struck Ventura with the pan, and another in which she said Combs threw the eggs at Ventura.
When asked about these changes, Richard responded, “I said the best that I could recall.”
Westmoreland also asked Richard about her claim on the stand that, the day after the alleged skillet attack, Combs told her, “If you say anything, there will be consequences. People end up missing.” Westmoreland said Richard told prosecutors in an interview that Combs said “this was a love thing,” and not, “people go missing.” When pressed on this, Richard said, “I didn’t remember it,” adding that she did remember “everything I am telling you now.”
After Westmoreland finished her cross, Combs gave her a tap of approval on the shoulder.
On the re-direct, the prosecution attempted to reaffirm Richard’s testimony by asking if she’d given much thought to these incidents in the years since she allegedly saw them. “No, it was a hard time, a bad time for me,” Richard said. “It did not all come back immediately … the environment was traumatizing, so I tried to erase those things from my memory.”
Richard went on to say that memories came back to her the more she spoke to investigators, and that she tried to recall them “as best and accurate as I can.”
While on the stand, though, Richard did not touch on her own allegations against Combs. Last year, she filed a civil suit against the mogul, accusing him of violent outbursts and sexual abuse, claiming he groped her on numerous occasions occasions, threatened her life, and trapped her in a locked car for two hours as a form of punishment. Richard’s civil suit remains ongoing.
This story is developing.
From Rolling Stone US
