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Sky News
3 days ago
- Sky News
Diddy trial live: Diddy jury deliberating final charge after reaching partial verdict
Latest from court Diddy trial jurors reach verdict on four counts These are the sex-trafficking charges and transportation for prostitution charges No verdict yet on the racketeering charge Jurors to continue deliberating today Updates by culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow Full story What is racketeering conspiracy? Count 1 on the prosecution's indictment against Sean "Diddy" Combs is the most complicated of the five charges - racketeering conspiracy, which covers a number of alleged crimes. This is the one jurors are split on. Racketeering broadly means engaging in a criminal scheme or enterprise, and the charge falls under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) in the US. According to the US justice department's definition of RICO statute, it is also illegal to "conspire to violate" the laws, and this is what Combs is accused of, over 20 years from 2004 until his arrest last year. Racketeering conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, Judge Arun Subramanian has said. This doesn't have to be a formal agreement, but can be a mutual understanding, spoken or unspoken. "You may, of course, find that the existence of an agreement to achieve the unlawful object has been established by direct proof," jurors have been told. "However, since conspiracy is, by its very nature, characterised by secrecy, you may also infer its existence from the circumstances of this case and the conduct of the parties involved." The eight acts Combs is accused of that fall under the racketeering charge are: Kidnapping Arson Bribery Witness tampering Forced labour Sex trafficking Transportation to engage in prostitution Possession with intent to distribute drugs Racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial: Day three of jury deliberations - with partial verdict reached Good afternoon on what could be a huge day in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Yesterday, not long before the end of the court day in Manhattan, New York, there was a flurry of activity as jurors sent a note confirming they had reached a verdict on four of the charges against the hip-hop mogul. These are two counts of sex-trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. However, they said there were jurors with "unpersuadable" views on the most complicated charge - racketeering conspiracy. The court did not hear the verdicts reached so far yesterday. Instead, Judge Arun Subramanian encouraged jurors to continue deliberating on the racketeering conspiracy charge - which they will start to do today at 2pm UK time. We will bring you all the updates from court as soon as we have them. Goodnight - and see you back here tomorrow After an eventful day, that's it from our live coverage for today. We'll be back tomorrow as jurors continue to deliberate the charge of racketeering conspiracy against Sean "Diddy" Combs. They have reached verdicts on the other four counts - two of sex-trafficking and two of transportation for prostitution - but Combs will have to wait to find out what they have decided. Deliberations will resume at 2pm UK time. You can read our report on today's events here - and we'll see you again tomorrow. Sean 'Diddy' Combs will have to wait to hear his fate Just over seven weeks since they first sat down to hear the evidence in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, jurors have now reached verdicts on four out of the five counts against him. They have been deliberating for about 13 hours. There were tense scenes as the news was delivered to both the prosecution and defence towards the end of the court day today - but the hip-hop mogul will have to wait to hear his fate. Jurors have been asked to deliberate further on the charge of racketeering, and will continue to do so tomorrow. Judge asks jurors to keep an open mind as they continue tomorrow The judge calls jurors back in again very briefly to thank them for all their hard work so far. He tells them they won't need to come into the courtroom first thing tomorrow, but once all 12 jurors have arrived they can return to their deliberations on the racketeering charge. Reminding them once again to keep an open mind, he wishes them all "a great evening" and says he will see them tomorrow. Jurors to continue deliberating tomorrow Judge Arun Subramanian has welcomed the jury back into the courtroom in Manhattan, New York. He acknowledges they have reached verdicts on four of the five counts, and asks that they keep deliberating on Count 1 - racketeering conspiracy. The judge reminds them of the instructions they were given yesterday, that they should not hesitate to change their opinion if convinced and follow his instructions on the law. Jurors are dismissed from the courtroom, but quickly send a note back. They have completed their deliberations for the day and will return tomorrow at 9am (2pm UK time). Diddy gestures to family as judge and laywers discuss options As he awaits news, Sean "Diddy" Combs gestures to his family in the courtroom - putting his hands in prayer and giving them a thumbs up. Jurors first went out to consider the charges yesterday and have been deliberating for about 12 to 13 hours in total. In case you missed it earlier, they have reached a verdict on the sex-trafficking and transportation for prostitution charges, but say they have so far been unable to come to a unanimous verdict on the charge of racketeering conspiracy. What could happen next? After a flurry of activity in court, it seems there may be a wait now to see what happens next. Judge Arun Subramanian has said there are a few options. First of all, he could tell the jury to keep deliberating. The second option is a modified "Allen charge", also known as a "dynamite charge", to encourage the panel to reach a unanimous decision on Count 1 - racketeering conspiracy. The third option would be for the court to advise the jury to return a partial verdict, but as they have been deliberating for less than two days the judge says he doesn't think they are at the stage for this yet. Diddy's family arrive in the courtroom Several of Sean "Diddy" Combs's children have arrived back in the courtroom and taken their seats next to their grandmother, the rapper's mother, Janice Combs. She has been in court to support him throughout the trial. Combs is now standing up chatting with one of his lawyers, Xavier Donaldson, while Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who are also on his team, are in their seats. Prosecution and defence want jury to continue deliberating Both prosecutors and the defence have said they would like the jury to keep deliberating on Count 1, which is the racketeering conspiracy charge. Judge Arun Subramanian has asked both teams to send their proposed instructions for jurors.
Sky News
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Oscars 2025: Zoe Saldana gives emotional message in win; host Conan O'Brien pokes fun at controversial Emilia Perez co-star
Firefighters who took on LA wildfires honoured The audience is now on its feet appluading a group of firefighters who were among the crews that battled the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Scores on the doors so far By Gemma Peplow, culture and entertainment reporter We're just over halfway through the show now, so let's take a look at how things stand. Emilia Perez, Wicked and Anora each have two wins, while Conclave, The Substance and A Real Pain have one, and there's nothing for The Brutalist or A Complete Unknown - yet. Best supporting actor and best supporting actress have gone to Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez), as expected. With the best original screenplay and best editing awards under his belt, Anora filmmaker Sean Baker could be heading for a big night. He just has to get past Conclave and The Brutalist now to take the best picture award. If he takes that and the best director prize, he would become the first person ever to take home four Oscars in one night for the same film. (Walt Disney also won four in 1952, but for separate projects). Watch this space. And this Oscar goes to... No Other Land It's an emotional acceptance speech, with a call to end the "ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people", in reference to Israel's destruction of Gaza. They also call for Israeli hostages to be freed. Next up... Best Documentary Feature Film The nominees are: Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat Sugarcane The Only Girl In The Orchestra wins That's the winner for best documentary short film confirmed. Next up... Best Documentary Short Film The nominees are: Death by Numbers I Am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl In The Orchestra It's a win for Emilia Perez A second award for Emilia Perez, which wins best original song with El Mal. Next up... Best Original Song The nominees are: El Mal from Emila Perez The Journey from The Six Triple Eight Like a Bird from Sing Sing Mi Camino from Emilia Perez Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late And the Oscar goes to... Wicked That's a second award for Wicked, which wins best production design. Next up... Best Production Design And the nominees are: The Brutalist Conclave Dune: Part Two Nosferatu Wicked
