Cassie's brutal admissions as jury 'reach verdict' in Diddy trial
The verdict on Sean 'P Diddy' Combs is imminent as the jury nears concluding their deliberations after two days of intense consideration. The jury adjourned on Tuesday without a final judgement on all charges against the 55-year-old rapper.
They've reached an agreement on four of the five counts but are still stuck regarding count one. Judge Arun Subramania sent the jurors home on Tuesday with the instruction to keep mulling over their decision, stating: "I received your note that you have reached verdicts on counts two to five but not on count one. I ask at this time that you keep deliberating."
The dramatic case nearing its conclusion comes almost two months on from Combs' former partner, Cassie Ventura, giving evidence during the first week of the trial in May. The singer, who was called as an early witness due to being eight months pregnant at the time, testified that she was in an on-off relationship with Combs that last over a decade.
Combs allegedly forced Cassie to take part in 'freak offs'
During her time on the stand, Cassie told the court that her relationship with Combs had begun loving but he quickly became violent towards her. The mum-of-three, 38, testified that Combs pressured her to take part in the drug-fueled sex parties dubbed 'freak offs'.
"Every freak-off was directed by Sean. Like, he knew specifically where he wanted everyone to be, the lighting and such," Cassie said at one point. She told the court how they would hire an escort and entail her "setting up this experience so that I could perform for Sean."
She continued: "Eventually it became a job for me, pretty much, so I knew if it was something he wanted me to do, I had the contacts to set it up and get a hotel room and all of that, but in the beginning, Sean set it up. He was in charge."
On the second day of her four-day testimony, explosive texts between Cassie and Combs were laid bare for jurors to scrutinise. Cassie, while on the stand, alleged that Combs had threatened on several occasions to release explicit 'Freak Off' videos of her, warning it could shatter her reputation by portraying her in an extremely unflattering light.
Expressing fear over her blossoming career and the impact the potential release could have, Cassie pointed out her anxiety that Combs might let his anger get the better of him and divulge the recordings.
The jury was shown a text from Cassie to Combs pleading: "Please delete any video out of your iphone you have. Too many people have access to your stuff." Combs responded reassuringly: "I did yesterday an no icloud. All Good. Ambien kicking in. Goodnight."
Following their split, Cassie claimed that Combs had sent threatening texts in 2019, one reading: "If I as you, I would get me my money." Reports suggest he was seeking repayment from his ex following her nuptials with Alex Fine. Combs had originally enlisted the fitness guru for Cassie.
Alleged text message exchanges include: "YOU WILL NOT BE THREATENING ME," and he purportedly followed up stating Ventura possessed "too many iPads full of skeletons". Cassie hit back with: "Do you want me to tell the truth? It's way deeper than iPads."
Celebrity mentions
Many celebrity names cropped up during Cassie's testimony. She recounted an incident from 2013 involving preparations to travel to Drake's music festival in Canada.
Allegedly, Combs got into a dust-up with Cassie's friends, resulting in her being flung into a bed frame, causing a purportedly severe cut above her left eye. The narrative suggests that Combs' security took her to see a plastic surgeon for stitches.
After the altercation, Cassie is said to have sent Combs a photo of her injured face along with the message: "So you can remember." Combs' alleged reply to the image was damning: "You don't know when to stop. You pushed it too far. And continued to push. Sad."
The testimony also touched upon an image where Cassie appears beside French Montana at the Canadian event.
Hotel hell
Combs' full attack on Cassie was shown in new unedited footage from the Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The soundless video shows security footage from the alleged hotel attack in 2016. Prosecutors initially played the entire video before replaying it while the hotel's assistant security director at the time, Israel Florez, narrated the sequence of events.
Additional footage, captured off a monitor using Florez's phone, was subsequently shown. However, when Combs' lawyer replayed the video, she attempted to find discrepancies in Florez's account of the incident.
In the video footage, Cassie can be seen walking down a corridor when Combs suddenly grabs her head from behind and violently throws her to the ground. The rapper is also caught on camera kicking her as she lies helpless on the floor.
Florez, who has since become an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, gave evidence in court in May. He appears at the end of the clip, reportedly attempting to calm the situation.
He presented an email containing his account of the incident. In it, he alleges that Combs tried to bribe him, claiming the rapper said: "You take care of this, I got you, let's go to my room.' Florez claims he responded to Combs by acknowledging his identity and shaking his hand. His email read: "'[I] said all I ask is for respect for the guest and myself, so do me the favour and lets return you to your room.
"Florez also alleges that the rapper saw Ventura approaching down the corridor and 'raised his voice' towards her. "I then told him that if he didn't respect the guest, then he would be escorted out of property," Florez added. He stated that Combs attempted to bribe him, but he refused.
During her own testimony, Cassie became emotional and had to wipe away tears during her questioning. "When I chose to leave, I grabbed what I could and I got out and Sean followed me into the hallway before the elevators and grabbed me up, threw me on the ground, kicked me, tried to drag me back to the room," she said of the 2016 hotel incident.
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