在肖恩“吹牛老爹”库姆斯的性交易和敲诈勒索审判的两周证词中，联邦检察官传唤了16名证人，试图证明这位说唱大亨采用暴力和威胁强迫妇女发生性关系，并保护他的音乐帝国。
除了听取明星证人凯茜·温图拉四天的证词——他声称库姆斯对她实施了十年的虐待——陪审团还听取了五名证人的证词，他们目睹库姆斯对文图拉、两名据称帮助他犯罪的库姆斯雇员、两名声称库姆斯付钱给他们的陪同人员以及两名搜查库姆斯财产的联邦特工实施暴力。
检察官传唤了多名证人，他们认为，这些证人证实了文图拉的证词，包括一名化妆师和一名男性陪同，他们都作证说目睹了库姆斯的暴力行为。文图拉的母亲说，在库姆斯涉嫌勒索她的女儿后，她申请了房屋净值贷款，说唱歌手卡迪小子作证说，库姆斯闯入他的家，并说他怀疑库姆斯协调了他的汽车燃烧弹，以报复他与文图拉的关系，凯丽摩根告诉陪审员，她恳求她以前最好的朋友离开她所说的与库姆斯的有毒和虐待关系。
库姆斯不认罪，否认性侵或贩卖任何人。库姆斯的律师辩称，这位说唱大亨的家庭暴力是由嫉妒和毒瘾驱动的，他的偷窥性活动虽然不是主流，但却是他的私人业务，不构成性交易。
周二开庭时，联邦检察官计划传唤库姆斯的前助理摩羯·克拉克以及洛杉矶消防和警察部门的代表。
以下是目前为止被传唤的联邦证人:
伊斯雷尔·弗洛雷斯，酒店保安
检察官通过传唤一名证人开始了他们的案件，这名证人的证词允许他们向陪审团展示2016年3月5日在洛杉矶一家酒店里库姆斯袭击文图拉的多个视频。
保安伊斯雷尔·弗洛雷斯(Israel Florez)在接到一名女性遇险的报告后作证称，他在洛杉矶世纪城洲际酒店六楼的电梯前厅发现了库姆斯和文图拉。
“我能描述它的最好方式是像恶魔般的凝视。他只是看着我，”弗洛雷斯谈到第一次遇到库姆斯时说道，并补充说他注意到文图拉有一只“紫色的眼睛”
在护送文图拉离开酒店后，弗洛雷斯说库姆斯试图向他行贿，但他拒绝了。
“他手里拿着一大堆钱，”他说。“他几乎是在告诉我，‘嘿，处理好这件事，不要告诉任何人。’”
在弗洛雷斯的证词中，检察官将涉嫌殴打的多个视频作为证据，显示库姆斯抓住文图拉，将她摔倒在地并拖着她。辩护律师认为，该视频——他们承认描述了家庭暴力——将对陪审团产生不公平的偏见，但法官允许陪审团观看这些视频。
辩护律师还指出，他关于“魔鬼般的凝视”的评论并没有出现在关于该事件的书面报告中。
丹尼尔·菲利普，男伴
对于他们的第二个证人，检察官传唤丹尼尔·菲利普作证，证明目击库姆斯对文图拉施暴。
菲利普-他说他每次和文图拉发生性关系都会得到高达6000美元的报酬，而库姆斯坐在角落里手淫-作证说他看到库姆斯向文图拉扔瓶子，然后在她没有立即听从他的指示后拖着她穿过地板。
“库姆斯先生从房间里出来，我就看到一个瓶子从她身边飞过，撞到了墙上，”他说。"他抓住她的头发，开始拽着她的头发把她拖进卧室。"
他作证说:“我能听到凯西大喊，‘对不起，对不起’，然后我又能听到什么声音，好像她被扇了耳光，或者有人被扇了耳光，在房间里猛敲。”。
菲利普告诉陪审员，由于他和库姆斯之间的权力动态，他感到不舒服干预。
“我的想法是，这是一个拥有无限权力的人，即使我去找警察，我也可能最终失去我的生命，”他说。
在反诘问中，库姆斯的律师试图强调他的陈述中所谓的不一致——库姆斯是否在所谓的暴力事件后要求他离开或继续与文图拉发生性关系——但菲利普坚持他最初的证词。
凯茜·温图拉，音乐家和库姆斯的前女友
库姆斯的前女友和音乐家凯茜·温图拉在审判的第一周作证了四天，因为检察官试图为他们对库姆斯的刑事案件奠定基础。检察官将她作为第一批证人之一，部分原因是她作证时已有八个月身孕。
库姆斯将文图拉签入坏男孩唱片公司后，她作证说，他们开始了持续十多年的分分合合的关系。虽然文图拉说他们的关系有一个充满爱意和积极的开始，但据称库姆斯对她越来越暴力，威胁她如果她不服从他，并要求她参加被称为“怪胎”的毒品性爱派对。
“每一部怪诞电影都是由肖恩导演的。就像，他明确知道他希望每个人在哪里，灯光等等，”文图拉说。
文图拉还就库姆斯涉嫌虐待她的多起暴力事件作证，包括陪审员在视频中观看的2016年事件。
“当我选择离开时，我抓住了我能抓住的东西，我走了出来，肖恩跟着我到了电梯前的走廊，抓住我，把我扔在地上，踢我，试图把我拖回房间，”她说。
文图拉作证说，库姆斯的威胁和不断的性要求，以及强迫与陌生人发生性关系的模式，使她上瘾，使她经常遭受暴力，并导致她考虑自杀。
这对夫妇于2018年分手，2023年，文图拉起诉库姆斯，称其为“虐待、暴力和性贩运的循环”。尽管这起诉讼很快得到了和解——据Ventura称，和解金额为2000万美元——库姆斯没有承认任何不当行为，但她在诉讼中的指控促使联邦调查人员开始调查库姆斯。
文图拉告诉陪审团，她决定在此案中作证，因为这是“正确的事情”。
“我再也受不了了。我不能承受同样的，罪恶感，我被引导去对待别人，就像他们是可抛弃的。对的就是对的，错的就是错的。我是来做正确的事情的，”她说。
在交叉询问期间，辩护律师试图利用库姆斯和文图拉之间多年的短信来表明她是性派对的自愿参与者，他们的关系是由相互嫉妒和不忠驱动的。辩护律师认为，库姆斯的暴力行为受到他吸毒的影响，并从根本上受到嫉妒的驱动，而不是像检察官所指控的那样，是为了强迫他人发生性关系。
亚斯明·宾达，联邦探员
负责国土安全调查的联邦特工亚斯明·宾达作证说，库姆斯在2024年9月被捕后不久，就对他的酒店房间进行了搜查。
根据宾达的说法，调查人员发现了9000美元的现金，摇头丸和氯胺酮检测呈阳性的物质，以及其他目击者称在疯狂行为中常用的润滑剂和婴儿油等用品。在宾达作证期间，陪审员们看到了库姆的柏悦酒店房间内部的照片。
道恩·理查德，前丹尼蒂·凯恩成员
康姆斯流行乐队丹尼蒂·凯恩的前成员道恩·理查德(Dawn Richard)告诉陪审员，她亲眼目睹康姆斯在多个场合袭击文图拉，包括2009年在洛杉矶文图拉试图做早餐时的一次爆发。
“他怒气冲冲地下楼，说他的鸡蛋在哪里——请原谅我的语言——他告诉凯西，她从来没有做对任何事情，他的食物在哪里，他走向她，拿起装有鸡蛋的煎锅，试图用它打她的头，她摔倒在地上，”她作证说。
理查德还告诉陪审员，她目睹库姆斯在2009年中央公园的一个音乐节之前用“握紧的拳头”打了他当时的女朋友文图拉的脸。在文图拉戴上墨镜和化妆来掩饰伤势后，理查德说她戴上墨镜是为了“声援”文图拉。评审团随后看到了理查德、文图拉和另一名丹尼蒂·凯恩成员在电影节上戴墨镜的照片。
理查德还告诉陪审团，所谓的暴力行为延伸到了其他公共场合，他作证说，在亚瑟、尼欧和Interscope Records的联合创始人吉米·艾奥文出席的一次集体晚宴上，库姆斯打了文图拉的肚子。理查德在对库姆斯的民事诉讼中提到了这一指控，但辩护律师强调，理查德之前对晚宴的讨论没有提到高调的客人。
理查德在2024年起诉库姆斯袭击，侵犯版权和非法监禁，指控-除其他外-他在许多场合摸她，并强迫她忍受不人道的工作条件。库姆斯否认了所有指控，他的律师在5月份提交了一份动议，要求驳回此案。
在反诘问中，辩护律师尼科尔·威斯特摩兰说，理查德对所谓的攻击的陈述已经改变了几次，并暗示理查德同意指证库姆斯，因为他毁了她的音乐生涯，解散了她曾经是其中一员的音乐团体。
凯瑞·摩根，文图拉以前最好的朋友
文图拉以前最好的朋友凯丽·摩根作证说，她亲眼看到库姆斯袭击了文图拉。她说，她看到康姆斯在他在好莱坞山租的房子里打了文图拉，她还作证说，第二次康姆斯在去牙买加的途中袭击了文图拉。
“我听到她尖叫，我走到走廊。走廊非常长。他们从主卧室出来，他在地板上拽着她的头发，”她就此事作证。
检察官还向摩根询问了2016年库姆斯被指控袭击文图拉事件的后果。摩根的叙述与文图拉上周告诉陪审员的相符，他说警方在事件发生后赶到，但文图拉拒绝合作。
摩根说，她与文图拉的关系在2018年结束，此前她说库姆斯试图掐住摩根的脖子，并用木制衣架打她。摩根作证说，库姆斯要求她告诉他“凯西和谁在一起”，而文图拉把自己锁在浴室里。摩根说，在她威胁要起诉后，她后来接受了库姆斯支付的3万美元。她作证说，作为金钱的回报，她同意了一项保密协议。她作证说她和文图拉的友谊就此结束。
大卫·詹姆斯，康姆斯的前私人助理
库姆斯的前私人助理大卫·詹姆斯就他担任库姆斯私人助理的任期作证，向陪审员讲述了他第一次进入坏男孩娱乐公司总部参加工作面试的轶事。
“这是库姆斯先生的王国。詹姆斯说，一名员工指着库姆斯的照片告诉他。
詹姆斯向陪审团讲述了他为这位说唱大亨完成的各种任务:从储备酒店房间和据称购买毒品，到当库姆斯(据称携带多支枪)想要对抗竞争对手唱片公司高管马里恩·“苏格”·奈特时担任司机。
陪审员在文图拉作证期间首次听说了库姆斯和奈特之间所谓的互动，詹姆斯说这种互动促使他最终离开了为库姆斯工作的工作。
“我真的被它打动了。我第一次意识到，作为库姆斯先生的助手，我的生命处于危险之中，”詹姆斯作证说。
莉贾娜·文图拉，凯茜·温图拉的母亲
明星证人凯茜·温图拉的母亲雷吉娜·文图拉告诉陪审团，她向库姆斯借了一笔房屋净值贷款，以阻止他实施所谓的威胁，公开她女儿的性爱录像。
2011年12月23日，文图拉在给母亲和库姆斯的助手摩羯座·克拉克的一封电子邮件中写道:“肖恩·库姆斯对我的威胁是……他将公开我的两盘色情录像带。”。凯茜·温图拉作证时，陪审员看到了这封邮件。
“我身体不舒服。很多东西我都不明白。性爱录像让我大吃一惊。我不认识[库姆斯]，但我知道他会试图伤害我的女儿，”她告诉陪审员。
Regina Ventura作证说，她和她的丈夫决定贷款，这样他们就可以给Combs他要求的2万美元，尽管他最终归还了这笔钱。她还作证说，她拍下了她女儿据称受到梳子伤害的照片，这样他们就会有据称虐待的记录。
在她记录这些伤害大约15年后，检察官上周向陪审团展示了这些照片，以强调凯茜·温图拉关于她在库姆斯手中遭受暴力的证词。
沙雷·海斯，男伴
男性陪护沙雷·海耶斯在职业上被称为惩罚者——这是一个基于他打篮球风格的绰号——他告诉陪审团，他被库姆斯和文图拉雇佣了十几次。
他说他第一次见到库姆斯和凯茜·温图拉是在2012年，当时他被雇来帮助为库姆斯的生日创造一个“性感的色情场景”。他作证说，文图拉指示他来特朗普国际酒店&在曼哈顿中央公园西塔表演脱衣舞。海斯说，当他到达时，文图拉让他在库姆斯的注视下给她涂上婴儿油。
“我被明确告知...尽量不要看他，我和他之间没有交流或任何东西，”他说。“房间里光线很暗。…所有的家具都盖着床单，有一个地方几乎是为我和她准备的，我坐在她的对面，那里有一些小碗，里面装着婴儿油。”
海耶斯告诉陪审员，库姆斯在会面时是裸体的，戴着面纱，在互动过程中偶尔手淫，并为文图拉提供“微妙的指导”。
在他们第一次互动后，海耶斯说他为这对夫妇工作了多达12次，每次收到1200到2000美元。
在库姆斯律师的盘问下，海斯作证说，他认为在库姆斯的一些指示下，文图拉有时会退缩，但在交流中却显得很自在，这可能削弱了她被迫参与的说法。文图拉是被迫还是自愿参与的问题是康姆斯一案中最关键的问题之一。
杰拉尔德·甘农，联邦探员
Gerald Gannon是美国国土安全部调查的一名特别探员，他向陪审团介绍了一些证据，他说这些证据是从这位说唱明星在迈阿密专属海滩星岛的家中找到的。
甘农作证说，联邦特工找到了两支AR-15突击步枪的零件，上面有污损的序列号，距离库姆斯据称存放怪胎用品的地方只有几英尺远，包括婴儿油、内衣、厚底高跟鞋和性玩具。检察官辩称，暴力威胁让库姆斯得以强迫他所谓的受害者参与疯狂行为。
甘农在法庭上拿着部分武器让陪审团看，他作证说，调查人员在库姆斯住所的一件行李中发现了一把装满子弹的手枪。
陪审员还看到了据称在库姆斯住所发现的大量药物，包括各种药片、大麻、粉末和其他药物，检察官指控这些药物用于让女性在反常情况下顺从，并允许她们在筋疲力尽后继续表演。
道恩·休斯，专家证人
检察官传唤心理学家道恩·休斯(Dawn Hughes)向陪审团解释说，许多人选择留在虐待关系中，因为他们觉得被困住了，或者形成了一种“强烈的心理纽带”，将他们吸引到施虐者身边。
“在最好的情况下，我们很难和一个人分手，”休斯说。“当你有所有这些暴力和虐待时，你只是试图以这种非常微观的方式过一天又一天。”她解释说，受害者的情感力量往往会致力于避免挨打，而不是想办法摆脱虐待关系。
虽然休斯作为专家证人不被允许直接分析库姆斯与文图拉的关系，但她为文图拉在证词中提到的一些话题提供了间接背景。休斯告诉陪审团，如果受害者能够逃离虐待关系，他们通常会回来，因为文图拉作证说，她曾多次与库姆斯在一起。
休斯还表示，受害者往往会采取不会激怒施虐者的被动自卫机制，比如“蜷缩成一团”。早些时候的目击者Dawn Richard和Kerry Morgan都作证说，他们看到Ventura在被Combs殴打时变成胎儿的姿势。
乔治·卡普兰，前私人助理
库姆斯的前助理乔治·卡普兰(George Kaplan)根据豁免协议作证，这样他就不会因他承认的任何事情而被起诉，他告诉陪审员，他在15个月后辞职，因为在这位大亨多次实施暴力行为后，他再也无法继续为库姆斯“解决”问题。
卡普兰作证说，他三次看到库姆斯变得暴力，包括一次他被传唤到库姆斯的卧室，却发现文图拉在床上哭泣和受伤。他还作证说，在飞往拉斯维加斯的航班上，他看到库姆斯将一个威士忌酒杯举过文图拉的头顶，2015年的另一个例子是，一个“非常愤怒”的库姆斯向他的另一个女朋友扔苹果。
“在我内心深处，我知道发生了什么，我感到内疚，因为我没有做任何事情来阻止它，”他告诉陪审员为什么他停止为库姆斯工作。
卡普兰还向陪审团讲述了为这位说唱大亨布置和打扫酒店房间的过程。他作证说，他经常只接到几个小时的通知就去布置房间，并准备了一个“酒店包”，里面装满了梳子的必需品:蜡烛、婴儿油、Astroglide润滑剂、一个音频扬声器和额外的衣服。他还说，库姆斯做完后，他将负责打扫房间，因为他担心，如果库姆斯离开后，酒店工作人员立即打扫房间，他们可能会试图出售怪异事件后的图像视频。
斯科特·梅斯库迪，音乐家兼演员
卡迪小子——他的法定姓名是斯科特·梅斯卡迪——告诉陪审员，他和凯茜·温图拉的短暂关系中充满了库姆斯的暴力威胁，这促使他和文图拉不再见面。他告诉陪审员，他怀疑库姆斯涉嫌闯入他的家，并协调他的高端跑车燃烧弹。
梅斯卡迪说，在与这位歌手兼模特开始一段与库姆斯断断续续交往多年的恋情后，他突然接到文图拉的电话，警告库姆斯已经知道他们在约会。他说他接了文图拉，很快就接到库姆斯助手的电话，告诉他库姆斯闯入了他的家。
“我说，‘我————，你在我的房子里?”他说，‘怎么了?’‘你在我家吗?我只想跟你说“我现在正在过来的路上，”他作证说。
梅斯库迪说，他很快开车回家，但没有找到库姆斯，尽管有他所谓的访问的痕迹。他说，他为家人买的圣诞礼物被打开了，他的狗被锁在浴室里。他还作证说，他向警方报告了这一事件。
梅斯卡迪说，他和文图拉最终分手了，因为“事情变得无法控制”，他担心他们的安全。
文图拉在作证时说，库姆斯威胁说，如果他们的关系继续下去，就要伤害她和梅斯库迪，并发誓要炸毁对手说唱歌手的汽车。梅斯卡迪作证说，他怀疑库姆斯在2012年初实施了威胁，他告诉陪审员，有人切开了他的保时捷软顶，在里面放了一个点燃的莫洛托夫鸡尾酒。当检察官将烧焦车辆的多张照片作为证据时，陪审员们看到了那一事件的结果。
辩护律师否认库姆斯在汽车燃烧弹事件中有任何作用。
化妆师Mylah Morales
检察官传唤化妆师迈拉·莫拉莱斯(Mylah Morales)就2010年的一起事件作证，当时库姆斯据称在他们的酒店套房里袭击了文图拉。根据莫拉莱斯的说法，库姆斯在一夜外出后冲进了他们在贝弗利山庄酒店租的房间。
“她到底在哪儿?”根据莫拉莱斯的证词，库姆斯据称在走进文图拉所在的卧室并关上门之前大喊大叫。
莫拉莱斯说，在库姆斯离开酒店房间之前，她听到了“叫喊和尖叫”。她说事故发生后，文图拉眼睛肿了，嘴唇破了，“头上有疙瘩”。
据莫拉莱斯说，事件发生后，文图拉陪了她几天以恢复健康。根据她的证词，莫拉莱斯作证说，一位当医生的朋友检查了文图拉，看她是否有脑震荡，并建议她去急诊室，但文图拉据称表示，“她希望不要去急诊室。”
在反诘问中，库姆斯的律师强调说，莫拉莱斯没有直接目睹所谓的攻击，因为她在卧室外面。
弗雷德里克·泽莫尔，酒店经理
L'Ermitage Beverly Hills的总经理弗雷德里克·泽莫尔(Frederick Zemmour)说，库姆斯经常住在这家酒店，他的客人资料指出了一些其他目击者所说的以毒品为燃料的性派对的特征，这些派对被称为库姆斯将举办的“古怪聚会”。
“总是在所有东西上洒蜡烛，使用过量的油，在离开房间进行深度清洁时把房间弄得乱七八糟，”Zemmour说，引用了酒店在梳子上保存的笔记。
当文图拉上周作证时，她说库姆斯经常在比佛利山庄预订房间招待怪人。她讲述了一个例子，据说库姆斯要求她进入一个装满“润滑油和油”的充气池。
约书亚·克罗夫特，特别探员
来自国土安全部调查的特工约书亚·克罗夫特(Joshua Croft)简要介绍了在调查库姆斯期间检查一些电子设备的过程。
他告诉陪审团，他对属于凯茜·温图拉的三台笔记本电脑进行了电脑提取。他说，其中一台笔记本电脑里有弗兰克·布莱克的用户资料，弗兰克·布莱克是尚恩·库姆斯的化名。
Everyone who has testified in the Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial so far: Recap
Across two weeks of testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, federal prosecutors called 16 witnesses, attempting to prove the rap mogul embraced violence and threats to coerce women into sex and protect his music empire.
In addition to hearing four days of testimony from star witness Cassie Ventura – who alleged that Combs subjected her to a decade of abuse – the jury has heard from five witnesses who testified they saw Combs be violent toward Ventura, two of Combs' employees who allegedly helped him commit crimes, two escorts who said they were paid by Combs and two federal agents who conducted searches of Combs' property.
Prosecutors called multiple witnesses who, they argue, corroborate Ventura's testimony, including a makeup artist and male escort who both testified about witnessing Combs' violence. Ventura's mother said she took out a home equity loan after Combs allegedly blackmailed her daughter, rapper Kid Cudi testified that Combs broke into his home -- and said he suspected that Combs coordinated the firebombing of his car in retaliation for his relationship with Ventura -- and Kerry Morgan told jurors that she pleaded with her former best friend to leave what she said was a toxic and abusive relationship with Combs.
Combs has pleaded not guilty and denies sexually assaulting or trafficking anyone. Combs' lawyers have argued that the rap mogul's domestic violence was driven by jealousy and drug addiction, and that his voyeuristic sexual activities, while not mainstream, are his private business and do not amount to sex trafficking.
When court resumes on Tuesday, federal prosecutors plan to call Combs' former assistant Capricorn Clark and representatives from Los Angeles fire and police departments.
Here are the federal witnesses who have been called so far:
Israel Florez, hotel security guard
Prosecutors began their case by calling a witness whose testimony allowed them to show the jury multiple videos of Combs assaulting Ventura on March 5, 2016, in a Los Angeles hotel.
After receiving a report of a woman in distress, security guard Israel Florez testified that he found Combs and Ventura in the elevator vestibule on the sixth floor of the InterContinental Hotel Century City in Los Angeles.
"The best way I can describe it is like a devilish stare. He was just looking at me," Florez said about first encountering Combs, adding that he noticed Ventura had a "purple eye."
After escorting Ventura out of the hotel, Florez said Combs attempted to offer him a bribe, which he rejected.
"He was pretty much holding like a stack of money," he said. "He was pretty much telling me, like, 'Hey, take care of this, don't tell nobody,' pretty much."
During Florez's testimony, prosecutors entered into evidence multiple videos of the alleged assault, showing Combs grabbing Ventura, throwing her to the ground and dragging her. Defense attorneys argued that the video – which they acknowledged depicted domestic violence – would be unfairly prejudicial to the jury, but the judge allowed the jury to see the videos.
Defense attorneys also noted that his comments about a "devilish stare" were not in written reports about the incident.
Daniel Phillip, male escort
For their second witness, prosecutors called Daniel Phillip to testify about witnessing Combs being violent toward Ventura.
Phillip – who said he was paid as much as $6000 each time he had sex with Ventura while Combs sat in the corner masturbating – testified that he saw Combs throw a bottle at Ventura then drag her across the floor after she did not immediately follow his instructions.
"Mr. Combs came out of the room, and I just saw a bottle fly past her and hit the wall," he said. "He grabbed her by her hair, and started dragging her by her hair into her bedroom."
"I could hear Cassie yelling, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and then I could hear again what sounded like she was being slapped or someone was being slapped around and slammed around the room," he testified.
Phillip told jurors that he did not feel comfortable intervening because of the power dynamic between him and Combs.
"My thoughts was that this was someone with unlimited power, and chances are that even if I did go to the police, that I might still end up losing my life," he said.
On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers tried to highlight an alleged inconsistency in his account – whether Combs asked him to leave after the alleged violence or resume having sex with Ventura – but Phillip stood by his original testimony.
Cassie Ventura, musician and Combs' ex-girlfriend
Combs' former girlfriend and musician Cassie Ventura testified for four days during the first week of the trial, as prosecutors attempted to lay the foundation of their criminal case against Combs. Prosecutors called her as one of their first witnesses in part because she was eight months-pregnant at the time of her testimony.
After Combs signed Ventura to Bad Boy Records, she testified that they began an on-and-off relationship that lasted for more than a decade. While Ventura said their relationship had a loving and positive start, Combs allegedly became increasingly violent with her, threatened her if she ever disobeyed him and required her to participate in drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs."
"Every freak-off was directed by Sean. Like, he knew specifically where he wanted everyone to be, the lighting and such," Ventura said.
Ventura also testified about multiple violent episodes where Combs allegedly abused her, including the 2016 incident that jurors watched on video.
"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.
Ventura testified that the threats and incessant sexual demands from Combs -- as well as a pattern of coerced sex with strangers -- drove her into addiction, exposed her to regular spates of violence and led her to contemplate suicide.
The couple broke up in 2018, and in 2023 Ventura sued Combs over what she alleged was a "cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking." While the lawsuit was quickly settled – according to Ventura for $20 million – with no admission of wrongdoing from Combs, the allegations in her lawsuit prompted federal investigators to begin looking into Combs.
Ventura told the jury that she decided to testify in the case because it was the "right thing" to do.
"I can't carry this anymore. I can't carry the same, the guilt, the way I was guided to treat people like they were disposable. What's right is right, what's wrong is wrong. I'm here to do the right thing," she said.
During cross-examination, defense lawyers attempted to use years of text messages between Combs and Ventura to suggest that she was a willing participant in the sex parties and that their relationship was driven by mutual jealousy and infidelity. Defense lawyers have argued that Combs' violence was influenced by his drug use and fundamentally driven by jealousy, not as a desire to coerce others into sex, as prosecutors have alleged.
Yasmin Binda, federal agent
Yasmin Binda, a federal agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified about the search conducted on Combs' hotel room shortly after he was arrested in September 2024.
According to Binda, investigators found $9,000 in cash, substances that tested positive for MDMA and ketamine, and supplies like lubricant and baby oil that other witnesses have said were commonly used during freak-offs. Jurors were shown photos of the inside of Comb's Park Hyatt hotel room during Binda's testimony.
Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane
Dawn Richard, a former member of the Combs' pop group Danity Kane, told jurors that she personally witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura on multiple occasions, including a 2009 outburst in Los Angeles while Ventura tried to cook breakfast.
"He came downstairs angry and was saying where the f--- was his eggs – excuse my language – and he was telling Cassie that she never gets anything right, where the f--- is his food, and he proceeded to come over to her and took the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head with it and she fell to the ground," she testified.
Richard also told jurors that she witnessed Combs punch his then-girlfriend Ventura in the face with a "closed fist" in 2009 before a music festival in Central Park. After Ventura put on sunglasses and makeup to hide the injury, Richard said she put on sunglasses "in solidarity" with Ventura. The jury then saw a photo of Richard, Ventura and another member of Danity Kane wearing sunglasses at the festival.
Richard also told the jury that the alleged violence extended to other public settings, testifying that Combs punched Ventura in the stomach during a group dinner attended by Usher, Ne-Yo and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Richard mentioned that allegation in her civil lawsuit against Combs, but defense lawyers highlighted that Richard's prior discussion of the dinner did not mention the high-profile guests.
Richard in 2024 sued Combs for assault, copyright infringement and false imprisonment, alleging -- among other things -- that he groped her on numerous occasions and forced her to endure inhumane work conditions. Combs denied all of the allegations and his attorneys in May filed a motion to dismiss the case.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland said Richard's account of an alleged assault has changed several times and suggested Richard agreed to testify against Combs because he ruined her music career by dismantling the music groups she had once been a part of.
Kerry Morgan, Ventura's former best friend
Ventura's former best friend Kerry Morgan testified about two instances when she said she personally saw Combs assault Ventura. She said she saw Combs hit Ventura in a home Combs rented in Hollywood Hills, and she testified about a second instance when Comb assaulted Ventura during a trip to Jamaica.
"I heard her screaming and I went to the hallway. The hallway was extremely long. And they were coming out of the master bedroom and he was dragging her by her hair on the floor," she testified about the incident.
Prosecutors also asked Morgan about the aftermath of a 2016 incident when Combs is accused of assaulting Ventura. Morgan's account matched what Ventura told jurors last week, saying the police arrived after the incident but Ventura refused to cooperate.
Morgan said her relationship with Ventura ended in 2018 after she says Combs tried to choke Morgan and hit her with a wooden coat hanger. Morgan testified that Combs demanded she tell him "who Cassie was cheating on him with" while Ventura locked herself in a bathroom. Morgan said she later accepted a $30,000 payment from Combs after she threatened to sue. She agreed to a confidentiality deal in return for the money, she testified. She testified her friendship with Ventura ended at that point.
David James, Combs' former personal assistant
David James, Combs' former personal assistant, testified about his tenure working as Combs' personal assistant, offering jurors an anecdote about his first time entering the headquarters of Bad Boy Entertainment for a job interview.
"This is Mr. Combs' kingdom. We're all here to serve in it," James said an employee told him after pointing to a photo of Combs.
James told jurors about the wide range of tasks he completed for the rap mogul: from stocking hotel rooms and allegedly buying drugs to being the driver when Combs – allegedly armed with multiple guns – wanted to confront rival record executive Marion "Suge" Knight.
Jurors first heard about the alleged interaction between Combs and Knight during Ventura's testimony, and James said the interaction prompted him to eventually leave his job working for Combs.
"I was really struck by it. I realized for the first time being Mr. Combs' assistant that my life was in danger," James testified.
Regina Ventura, Cassie Ventura's mother
Regina Ventura, the mother of star witness Cassie Ventura, told the jury that she took out a home equity loan to pay Combs in order to prevent him from following through on an alleged threat to release a sex tape of her daughter.
"The threats that have been made towards me by Sean 'Puffy' Combs are that … he is going to release 2 explicit sex tapes of me," Ventura wrote in an email to her mother and Combs' assistant Capricorn Clark on Dec. 23, 2011. Jurors saw the email when Cassie Ventura testified.
"I was physically sick. I did not understand a lot of it. The sex tapes threw me. I did not know [Combs] but I knew that he was going to try to hurt my daughter," she told jurors.
Regina Ventura testified that she and her husband decided to take out a loan so they could send Combs the $20,000 he demanded, though he ultimately returned the money. She also testified that she took photographs of the injuries her daughter allegedly suffered from Combs so that they would have a record of the alleged abuse.
Approximately 15 years after she documented the injuries, prosecutors last week showed the photos to the jury to underscore Cassie Ventura's testimony about the violence she suffered at Combs' hands.
Sharay Hayes, male escort
Known professionally as The Punisher – a nickname based on his style of playing basketball – male escort Sharay Hayes told the jury that he was hired about a dozen times by Combs and Ventura.
He said he first met Combs and Cassie Ventura in 2012, when he was hired to help create a "sexy erotic scene" for what, Ventura said, was Combs' birthday. He testified that Ventura instructed him to come to Trump International Hotel& Tower on Central Park West in Manhattan to perform a strip act. When he arrived, Ventura asked him to cover her in baby oil while Combs watched, Hayes said.
"I was specifically told to ... try not to look at him, no communication or anything between me and him," he said. "The room was very dimly lit. … All of the furniture was covered in sheets and there was an area pretty much set up for me to sit and her to sit across from me, and there were little bowls in the area with baby oil in them."
Hayes told jurors that Combs was nude for the encounter and wore a veil, occasionally masturbating during the interaction and offering "subtle directions" to Ventura.
After their first interaction, Hayes said he worked for the couple up to 12 more times, receiving $1,200 to $2,000 on each occasion.
Cross-examined by Combs' lawyers, Hayes testified that he believed Ventura sometimes flinched during some of Combs' directives but otherwise appeared comfortable during the exchanges, potentially undercutting the argument she was coerced to participate. The question of whether Ventura was forced or participated voluntarily is one of the most critical issues in the case against Combs.
Gerald Gannon, federal agent
Gerald Gannon, a special agent from United States Homeland Security Investigations, walked the jury through some of the evidence that he said was recovered from the rap star's home on the exclusive Miami Beach enclave of Star Island.
Gannon testified that federal agents recovered the parts of two AR-15 assault-style rifles with defaced serial numbers only feet from where Combs allegedly stored materials for freak-offs -- including baby oil, lingerie, platform heels and sex toys. Prosecutors have argued that the threat of violence allowed Combs to coerce his alleged victims to participate in freak-offs.
Holding parts of the weapons in court for the jury to see, Gannon testified that investigators recovered a fully-loaded handgun in a piece of luggage found in Combs' residence.
Jurors also saw the trove of drugs allegedly found in Combs' residence, including a variety of pills, marijuana, powders and other drugs that prosecutors have alleged were used to make women compliant during freak-offs and would allow them to perform long past the point of exhaustion.
Dawn Hughes, expert witness
Psychologist Dawn Hughes was called by prosecutors to explain to the jury that many people opt to stay in abusive relationships because they feel trapped or form an "intense psychological bond" that draws them to their abuser.
"It's hard for us to break up with someone under the best of circumstances," Hughes said. "When you have all this violence and abuse, you're just trying to live day to day in this very micro way." She explained that oftentimes victims' emotional strength becomes devoted to avoiding beatings instead of plotting a way out of an abusive relationship.
While Hughes as an expert witness was not allowed to directly analyze Combs' relationship with Ventura, she offered indirect context for some of the topics Ventura touched on during her testimony. If victims are able to escape an abusive relationship, Hughes told the jury, they often return, as Ventura testified that she did repeatedly with Combs.
Hughes also said that victims often adopt passive self-defense mechanisms that don't provoke their abusers, such as "curling up in a ball." Earlier witnesses Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan both testified that they saw Ventura drop into a fetal position during beatings they said they witnessed Combs inflicting.
George Kaplan, former personal assistant
Testifying under an immunity deal so that he cannot be prosecuted for anything he admits to, Combs' former assistant George Kaplan told jurors he quit his job after 15 months because he could no longer continue "fixing" problems for Combs after the mogul's repeated acts of violence.
Kaplan testified that he saw Combs become violent on three occasions, including one episode when he was summoned to Combs' bedroom only to find Ventura crying and bruised in bed. He also testified seeing Combs holding a whisky glass over Ventura's head during a flight to Las Vegas and another instance in 2015 when a "very angry" Combs threw apples at another one of his girlfriends.
"In my heart of hearts I knew what was happening and I felt an element of guilt that I didn't do anything to stop it," he told jurors about why he stopped working for Combs.
Kaplan also told jurors about the process of setting up and cleaning hotel rooms for the rap mogul. He testified that he often was given only a few hours' notice to set up a room and came prepared with a "hotel bag" filled with what were essentials for Combs: candles, baby oil, Astroglide lubricant, an audio speaker and extra clothing. He also said that he would be tasked with cleaning the rooms after Combs was done because he was concerned that if hotel staff had cleaned the rooms immediately after Combs left, they might try to sell videos of images of the aftermath of a freak-off.
Scott Mescudi, musician and actor
Kid Cudi – whose legal name is Scott Mescudi – told jurors that his brief relationship with Cassie Ventura was marked by violent threats from Combs that prompted him and Ventura to stop seeing one another. He told jurors that he suspected Combs allegedly broke into his home and coordinated the firebombing of his high-end sports car.
After starting a romance with the singer and model who was involved with Combs on and off for years, Mescudi said he received an abrupt phone call from Ventura to warn that Combs had learned they were seeing each other. He said he picked up Ventura and soon received a call from Combs' assistant informing him that Combs had broken into his home.
"I said, 'M—----, you in my house?' And he said, 'What's up?' 'Are you in my house? I just want to talk to you. I'm on my way over right now,'" he testified.
Mescudi said he quickly drove to his home but did not find Combs, though there were traces of his alleged visit. He said the Christmas gifts he bought for his family had been opened and his dog was locked in the bathroom. He also testified that he reported the incident to police.
Mescudi said he and Ventura eventually broke up because "things were getting out of hand" and he felt concerned for their safety.
During her testimony, Ventura said that Combs threatened to hurt her and Mescudi if their relationship continued and vowed to blow up the car of the rival rapper. Mescudi testified that he suspected Combs followed through with the threat in early 2012, telling jurors that someone had cut the soft top of his Porsche open and placed a lit Molotov cocktail inside. Jurors were shown the results of that episode when prosecutors entered into evidence multiple photos of the charred vehicle.
Defense lawyers have denied that Combs had any role in the firebombing of the vehicle.
Mylah Morales, makeup artist
Prosecutors called makeup artist Mylah Morales to testify about a 2010 incident when Combs allegedly assaulted Ventura in their hotel suite. According to Morales, Combs stormed into the room they rented at the Beverly Hills Hotel after a night out.
"Where the f--- is she?" Combs allegedly shouted before he walked into the bedroom where Ventura was and closed the door, according to Morales' testimony.
Morales said she heard "yelling and screaming" before Combs exited the hotel room. She said Ventura had a swollen eye, busted lip and "knots on her head" after the incident.
According to Morales, Ventura stayed with her for a few days to recover after the incident. Morales testified that a friend who was a doctor checked on Ventura to see if she had a concussion and suggested she visit an emergency room, according to her testimony, but Ventura allegedly said it was "her wish not to go to the ER."
On cross-examination, Combs' lawyers highlighted that Morales did not directly witness the alleged assault because she was outside the bedroom.
Frederick Zemmour, hotel manager
The general manager of the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills, Frederick Zemmour, said Combs frequently stayed at the hotel, and his guest profile noted some characteristics that other witnesses said were features of the drug-fueled sex parties called "freak offs" that Combs would host.
"Always spills candle wax on everything and uses excessive amounts of oil, place rooms out of order upon departure for deep cleaning," Zemmour said, citing notes the hotel kept on Combs.
When Ventura testified last week, she said Combs often booked rooms at L'Ermitage Beverly Hills to host freak-offs. She recounted one instance when Combs allegedly requested she get into a blowup pool that was filled with "lube and oil."
Joshua Croft, special agent
Joshua Croft, a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations, briefly testified about the process for examining some of the electronic devices recovered during the investigation into Combs.
He told the jury that he conducted computer extractions from three laptops that belonged to Cassie Ventura. One of the laptops included a user profile for Frank Black, an alias used by Sean Combs, he said.
