Though it seems extremely obvious, Vanessa Bryant is being forced to explain why those unauthorized photos taken of her husband and daughter’s remains have caused her so much pain.
Source: Amy Sussman / Getty
She says she told the Sheriff, “If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them.”
A month later, she learned Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters were sharing photos taken of Kobe and Gigi’s remains. Of course, Vanessa says hearing this infuriated her, also sending her into a constant cycle of distress they would leak and be disseminated online. She went on to say she has reason to believe at least 20 different people obtained copies of the photos, and despite the County’s assurance that they’d all been secured and scrubbed, she has strong doubts.
In the docs, Bryant says she’s already seen one photo purportedly showing her late husband’s remains, saying, “Since viewing the photo, I’ve been tormented with thoughts of who took it and whether it depicts my husband.”
She adds, “It infuriates me that the people I trusted to protect the dignity of my husband and daughter abused their positions to obtain souvenirs of their deaths, as though possessing pictures of their remains somehow makes them special. I imagine Kobe watching over what occurred at that crash scene, and I am overcome by anger and emotion.”
“I feel sick at the thought that deputies and firefighters have gawked at photos of my husband’s and child’s bodies without any reason,” Vanessa continues in the documents. “I also feel extreme sadness and anger knowing that photos of my husband’s and daughter’s bodies were laughed about while shown at a bar and awards banquet.”
The mother of four went on to say she’s triggered when she types Kobe’s name in Google and a suggested search of “Kobe Bryant body” appears. Plus, trolls have threatened her by claiming to have the photos and promising to release them, adding fuel to the fire.
Vanessa is afraid that one day, her children might come across the photos while doing a family tree project for school, saying, “For the rest of my life, one of two things will happen: either close-up photos of my husband’s and daughter’s bodies will go viral online, or I will continue to live in fear of that happening.”
These heartbreaking documents from Bryant were filed in response to LA County’s motion to have the case thrown out.
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