“The Trial Of Sean Combs” Episode Ten | Dawn Richard and Cassie’s Ex-Bestie Testify

0:10 Get ready to dive deep into one of the most gripping legal battles of our time. I'm your host, Jim Chapman, and today we're unraveling the high stakes drama surrounding one of the music industry's most enematic figures, Sean Diddy Combs, in a case that has captivated millions. The courtroom has become a battleground for fame, fortune, in the dark secrets that lurk beneath the glittering surface of celebrity life.

0:51 As the gavel. Comes down, we'll explore the allegations, the testimonies, and the shocking twists that could change the course of Diddy's legacy forever. Was this case merely a clash of lifestyles or something much more sinister? With each episode, I will bring you exclusive insights, analysis, and witness testimony accounts that will. Leave you on the edge of your seat. So buckle up as we embark on this thrilling ride through the trial of the century, where the stakes are high, the drama is real, and the truth is anything but certain.

1:37 This is the Trial of Sean Combs. Let's get started, and we are picking up where we left off in episode nine, of this series. And when I left you last, Cassie had just left the stand and prosecutors called their fourth witness of this trial. Madison Smiser, is leading the questioning of Yessin Binda, a Homeland Securities Investigation special agent who worked in the Human Trafficking division at that department.

2:21 Now a little bit about Madison. She is the lead prosecutor in this case. She graduated from Harvard Law School, and she holds the position of Assistant US Attorney at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. So she approaches that witness box and she started her direct with Binda, who searched that hotel room at the Park Hyatt, which is where comes with staying when he was arrested on September sixteenth of twenty twenty four. The jury is then shown some pictures of the room that Binda had taken. The pictures included ziplock bags filled with Johnson's Baby Oil in lubricant, which were recovered from bags in an entryway closet inside that hotel room. Now, more bottles of baby oil and lubricant were found in the bathroom and elsewhere in the room. The jury also saw a photo of a lighting device that was found in the living room, and Binda testified that she would describe it as potentially mood lighting. A big bottle of medication with the name Frank Black found on it was found in a Louis Vatine bag that was sitting on a night stand in the bedroom, and bind It testified the label on the bottle said the medication was clonazepam. There were also two little bags with pink powder that were

3:52 found inside another bottle of medication on the nightstand in the bedroom. The pink powder in one of the bags tested positive for ketamine and the other tested positive for MDMA and ketamine. According to Binda's testimony, And if you'll keep in mind, that's exactly what Cassie said Combs would take as far as drugs the majority of the time, as well as herself. And this is years after their relationship ended. So the important thing here, did he at this point in time, This is after the search of his homes in la. In Miami weeks after, And.

4:34 What I'm getting at is he knew full well the freaking federal government was all over him, yet and this is what pisses me off the most personally. He still continued this wild ass behavior even knowing the federal government was all over him. By this point, they're searching everything he owns, right, speaks a little bit to his decision making skills. So we move on and bind A testified that nine thousand dollars in cash was found in a black fanny pack hanging off the bed in seean Combe's hotel room. And it's at that point that Smiser pulls out an evidence bag with the fanny pack and tells Binda to open it up in front of the jury.

5:19 So Binda opens it up, and she pulls out cash, nine thousand dollars in cash that was in that evidence bag, and she basically fans that out in front of the jury so they can see it. Now, why did she do that? Well, now the jury is seen with their own two eyes this what of cash? Nine thousand dollars to be exact. It's being fanned out in front of them. And this was the money allegedly that Diddy would use to pay these sex workers when they would come to these hotel rooms. Remember, they're trying to prove they would fly people in from out of town and them to participate in these freak offs.

6:02 The jury is also passed another evidence bag, and that evidence bag had two bags of kennemine and MDMA pink powder that were also found in that hotel room that I referenced. They got to see those up front in personal and at that point Smiser had no further questions, and defense attorney Teeny Gergo she starts her cross examination. Now she only asked Binda one question, which was did it appear to. You that a woman was staying with Cones. At that hotel upon his arrest, to which Binda said, yes, it did appear a woman was staying there with him.

6:42 And at that point she had no further questions. And I'm not really sure where the defense was going with that. Maybe she was insinuating, oh, that could have been the woman who was staying with Diddy, that could have been all her stuff, which obviously would be preposterous, but again you're trying to sprinkle in doubt. And then prosecutors, after that witness is released, they call Dawn Richard. To the stand. And Dawn Richard, she's a former member of Dandy Kane. She filed her own lawsuit against Shawn Comb's that I covered for you in the Diddy Saga series, and she was a part of a musical group that Shawn Combs formed as part of the MTV reality series Making the Band, and primarily her testimony centered around an attack in two thousand and nine that she actually witnessed involving Ventura and Combs.

7:42 She testified that he came downstairs, he was screaming, he was belligerent, and he was asking where his food was. He proceeded to hit her over the head, kicked her and beat her to the ground in front of us. Now, she said, leading up to the alleged in two thousand and nine, Richard was in the kitchen with Ventura, who was cooking eggs. Combs comes downstairs and like an asshole, he demands to know where. His eggs were. She testified that he proceeded to go over to Cassie and took the skillet with the eggs in it and tried to hit her over the head with the skillet and she fell.

8:23 To the ground. Richard added in that testimony that it didn't seem like he hit her fully, saying it seemed like Ventura dropped to the ground because she was kind of anticipating the hit, and those in the boxing industry would call that rolling with the punch, right. She said that Ventura then went down into a fetal position, which makes a lot of sense if you go back and you examine that twenty sixteen assault video in that hotel hallway, if you'll notice that's what Ventur does. She always kind of divets to that fetal position on the ground. She doesn't fight back against Diddy. She then testified that Sean Combs at that point dragged Cassie Ventura up the stairs by her hair with his arm around her neck. She said at that point she could hear glass breaking and yelling from upstairs.

9:20 Richard testified she didn't say anything to intervene or call the police because she was afraid. She actually said she was scared to do anything in fear of what that might mean for me too. And that was a lot of people, many people in Diddy circle. Right. She also said, the next day comes asked Richard and the other woman that was present during all that, her name was Colleena Harper. He kind of summoned them to his home. They get there, he brings them into the recording studio, He locked the door, and he told them that what they went the night before was quote passion in what lovers do. Combs then told them it was in their best interest if they didn't say anything. In that where he comes from, people go missing if they talk.

10:17 And he wrapped up that threat by giving the ladies flowers. And that's what he does, right. He strikes fear into people. He threatens them if they say anything, they might just go missing. And so of course these women are freaked out and scared, and then he gives them flowers before they leave. So at that point, Courte gets dismissed for Friday. The trial then picked up Monday, May nineteenth, and Dawn Richards takes the stand again to finish her testimony. Assistant US Attorney Mitzi Steiner is handling the direct examination this time, and singer Dawn Richard picks up with more instances of violence that she personally observed involving Shawn Combe's and Cassie Ventura in the years were between.

11:09 Two thousand and nine. In twenty eleven, Richard testified that she frequently saw Combs be violent with Ventura. He would punch. Her choker dragger slapper in the mouth. She also said, I would see him kick her and punch her in the stomach. Richard went on to tell of another incident where, while writing in a Sprinter style van with Ventura in Combs, she saw Combs grab Ventur around the neck, smack her in the mouth. And tell her to shut the fuck up. What a man. She even described an incident where at a Central Park concert, she saw Combs punch Ventur in the face with a closed fist. Richard said, the reason did he allegedly assault a Cassandra vent Her varied. She said it could be cast speaking up for herself. It could be random. It could be her just having an opinion that he didn't like.

12:11 Richard named other Combes employees who allegedly witnessed this violence, including former bad Boy executive Harvey Pierre, assistants Capricorn Clark, and Mia, who was another alleged victim of Combs who's expected to testify, as well as security staffers d Rock and Roger Bonds. So, at this point, the government had no further questions for Dawn Richard and they complete their direct The defense then approaches the box to start their cross examination, which is being conducted by Defense team member Nicole Westmoreland, and west Morland starts it off by kind of interrogating Dawn Richard regarding her testimony on Friday, where Dawn Richard described an incident in two thousand and nine where she saw Sean Combe's attempt to throw or hit Cassie Ventura.

13:12 With a frying pan and then drag her down the stairs. I just told you about that. Wes Moreland referenced to other interviews Richard gave to her lawyers and then to the government, and they concerned that skillet incident, we'll call it, And the attorney questioned Richard on why her description of the event differed in those conversations. Richard's lawyers described Combs as actually hitting Ventura with the frying pan when she had discussions with the government. She said that comes through eggs at Ventura and what's Moreland Riley brought this up. She said, quote, would you agree with me that it's been hard to keep your story the same in reference to this egg incident, and Richard responded with no, I wouldn't agree with that. She did add that she was sharing her recollections to the best of her.

14:10 Ability, and look, that's not a great look. Certainly you can understand this wasn't just yesterday, This was nine, ten, twelve years ago, fifteen years ago. In some cases it's hard to remember exact details. Did he actually hit her with the frying pan, or did he throw the frying pan at her, that sort of thing, But it's a legitimate point the defense wanted to bring up, and it makes sense. And I'm someone that has always said the truth never changes. So if you're telling the truth, the story's not going to change. But that certainly comes with a caveat of how long in history are we talking about. Was this a year ago, four years ago, ten years ago?

14:52 Makes a difference. Wes Morland also pointed out that Richard didn't tell the government about handguns that Richard said she's saw in Combe's possession during this trial, And when she asked, why didn't you mention those two the government when they were interviewing you, she said, simply, I wasn't asked. Now, another alleged incident of Comb's being violent towards Ventura that was included in Richard's lawsuit but was not mentioned during Richard's testimony, was a misquote from her lawyer. Richard said then wes Morland also asked Richard to revisit her previous testimony in interviews about Combe's alleged drug use, and Richard said on the stand that she had seen Comb's do cocaine, but in notes from her questioning by investigators prior to this trial, she said she hadn't ever seen Combs do cocaine.

15:49 Wes Morland then asked Richard about her attempt to work with Combs after she left Bad Boy. She asked Richard if she was upset about not being signed to a solo contract with the label, and Richard responded that she could basically care less about that. Wes Moreland said, quote, you were trying to succeed for a long time, right, and Richard responded to that with I have succeeded, so obviously. The defense team here, they're trying to paint a picture of Dawn Richard as this being a personal thing with Ditty and she's just basically trying to essentially lie about Dinny because she's pissed off at him for personal reasons related to his career.

16:39 And with that, the defense says, you know, we have no. Further questions of Dawn Richard, and the prosecution gets up and they're going to do some rediract. Dawn Richard explains why her accounts over time may have been missing some details, her stories slightly changing those sorts of things, and she says, quote, every day it gets easier to remember certain things. I try my best to do it in the best of my ability, and she's right. As time goes on, it's harder to remember, especially small details. Now. Prosecutor Mitzi Steiner then asked whether Richard had any doubt as to whether Seawan Combe's Dragcasti Ventura up those stairs in two thousand and nine after striking her forward not cooking his eggs fast enough, and Richard responded with no doubt.

17:35 She went on to say, I have no doubt about hearing glass breaking as if it was being thrown directly afterward, and I have no doubt about a meeting Combs held the next day with me and another bandmate to warn us to stay silent. And with that the redirect concluded. And it was interesting that during the government's redirect, Shawn Comb's at one point sketches his chair up at the defense table and he leans forward on that defense table and he's appearing to look very intently at Prosecutor Mitzi Steiner.

18:16 So the government then calls its next witness, Carrie Morgan. If you'll recall from Cassie Ventura's testimony that I brought you in prior episodes. She mentions a best friend that she had that she lost that entire friendship over the fact that Diddy hit this best friend with a wooden hangar back in twenty eighteen. Well, this is that former friend, Carrie Morgan. So Carrie takes a seat at the witness stand and she discusses how Cassie's demeanor shifted after she began initially dating Shawn Combe, and she described Diddy as a psychologically and physically abusive man. She said she stopped talking to Ventura after she was assaulted by Combs when she was at Ventura's home in twenty eighteen and got hit with that wooden hangar. And she also spoke to Cassie Ventura's confidence, saying quote, she lost her confidence big time.

19:26 She went on to say that Cassie appeared to just lose her spark. She went on to say that she has seen Comb's hit Ventura, pull her hair, kick her, and push her and she goes on to describe an incident where she saw Combs push Ventura when the pair were in a bedroom in their California home. She couldn't recall the date, but she said she was in the four Yer. Area and she had a direct view of that room, and she described seeing Comb's push Ventura and was pretty sure that he also punched and kicked her. Morgan said Ventura did nothing in response. Morgan said at that point she yelled at a security guard she was standing next to.

20:14 It was a man named Rubin, and she basically said, Rubin, do something, and the guard made it clear that he was not going to do anything, according to Morgan. Afterwards, she said she and Ventura they left the house and hid behind steps at a neighbor's home as Comb's and that security guard looked for them. Morgan then described another altercation between Comb's and Ventura that occurred in Jamaica in twenty thirteen. Morgan said Ventura went to the bathroom and Comb started complaining that she was taken too long in the bathroom and he starts looking for her. A few minutes later, Morgan said she heard Ventura screaming sounds that Morgan described in open court as terrifying. She said she then saw Combs dragging Ventura by the hair. Just these horrific instances of physical abuse. And it was also discovered when Morgan was on the stand that she was the one who called the police after that twenty sixteen Hotel Hallway incident with Cassie and Diddy. She testified that Cassie had her hoodie like over her head and she was kind of slumped and just dropped her bags when she walked in her home, which at this point Morgan was living with Cassie. She said, at that point, Cassie pulls

21:45 her hoodie back and she had a black eye. After about a half hour of Ventura's arrival, Morgan said, Combs starts banging on the front door with a hammer, and she said Ventura appeared numb quote. I don't think she cared if he came in and killed her at that point, she said. When police arrived, they asked what happened, and Ventura said nothing. She didn't respond. Morgan testified that they asked for her license and she said she didn't have it. Meredith Foster, the assistant US attorney, then question Carrie Morgan about the conversation she had about Shawan Comb's kind of behind the scenes obviously when Combs didn't know about it, and Morgan said she would sometimes tell Ventur to leave Combs, and Ventur would just say that she couldn't because of her job, her car, her apartment. She told Morgan that Combs controlled everything and she would have lost all of her livelihood and everything she's worked so hard for now Prompted by prosecutor Foster, Morgan said Ventura did not have many friends the time, and that Morgan was the only one of those friends who was not employed by Shawn Combs.

23:08 Imagine that another typical thing with these controlling wife beaters, girlfriend beaters, et cetera. They try to keep you in their circle. They don't want you having friends outside their circle because you may talk to them and tell them all the horrible things these folks are doing to you. Morgan said she also noticed that Ventura would feel more positive about a relationship with Combs after spending time with his circle of friends. Quote, you could tell they were convincing her it was okay, and there you have it. And at that point the prosecution was done.

23:49 In court breaks for lunch when they return from Lunch Defense Council Mark Agnifilo. He takes over on Cross Examine Nation, and he pressed Carrie Morgan about the end of her seventeen year friendship with Cassie Ventura. In twenty eighteen, Agniffelow asked Morgan to recount her last meeting with Ventura, and this apparently took place at a pizza shop in West Hollywood, according to Morgan, and Morgan said Ventura offered her thirty thousand dollars in exchange for signing an NDA, a non disclosure agreement regarding I'm assuming that incident in which she pulls the hoodie off and sees that black eye and all of the shit that went down with that. Apparently she signed it and the two haven't spoken since that deal was made. Now you may wonder, well, if she signed an NDA, how she testifying about it. Well, an NDA doesn't stop you from testifying in court to something.

24:58 It just stopped you from going on on a podcast and talking about it those sorts of things. And obviously Agnifilo is trying to make it look like this story is not true and it was made up to get money to what they do on defn's teams. Right. As a matter of fact, Agnifilo pressed her on why this was enough that money to end such a close relationship, and Morgan said, look, I drew the line at physical abuse, but didn't offer much more than that. When Agnifilo followed up about the lack of content, she basically just said, quote, I don't know why she hasn't reached out to me.

25:42 I'm sure she doesn't have the same number. So at this. Point her cross wraps up in the prosecution. They didn't have any redirect for her, so they called up Sean Combe's former assistant during the years did he was dating Cassie. His name is David James, and David James testified that he applied to work for Sean Combs after seeing a New York Time story and he noted that Diddy was seeking a personal assistant. In that New York Times story mentioned that he was hoping to break in the fashion industry at the time, and look, Shawn Combs, you definitely want to work for him if you're in the fashion industry, right. So, James describes an interaction he had with the head of human resources at Bad Boy during the interview process, and he said the HR head pointed to a picture of Combs on the wall in that office, and she told James, this is mister Combe's kingdom. We're all here to serve in it. And he made it past that process, and then he had an interview with Combs himself, and he described that interview with Combs as professional. He said, at one point, I quoted a popular Combs catchphrase, which was quote can't stop, won't stop in the interview because Combs had asked him about his work ethic, and he said

27:13 Combs appeared to really like that. He also testified that Combs had a relatively unique writer when he would stay at hotels. And let me just quickly explain what a writer is. A writer is basically a less that stipulates what a prominent guest would like in their room when they stay somewhere. They give this. Writer to Hilton Hotels. And if you're showing Combs and you're staying at the Hilton and you like baby oil, it's on that rider. If you like Reese's peanut butter cups, it's on that writer. In these concierge they make sure that that room is stocked with whatever you like, alcohol, certain types of alcohol, whatever, now, James didn't stipulate exactly what was on the writer itself, and they didn't ask the prosecution, So I'd be curious to know what that was.

28:11 Maybe we'll find out at a different time. James said he would prepare writers for Combs for hotels as well as green rooms and music venues. James also described being told by Comb's various security guards to quote stay in his lane unquote when he would ask too many questions, which he understood to mean do the job I was hired to do in only my job, and he probably understood correctly. He then testified about the fact that he suggested to Cassie Ventur early in her relationship with Shawn Combes that she should bail on this crazy party life.

28:53 His words, that she found herself in with Diddy, so even early on in the relationship, it was obvious to everybody around Cassie and Seawan that this relationship was toxic. He said that he and Ventura they were outside smoking cigarettes. This was during a trip to Miami with Combs when she said, quote, man, this lifestyle is crazy unquote, and he agreed with her based on the grueling hours and the triveal schedule he had as it relates to a Comb's employee. He said. At that point he asked her, quote, Cassie, if it's so crazy, why don't you just leave? And he said she responded with, quote, I can't get out. Mister Combs oversees so much in my life. Now, James said, Cassie told him that she depended on Combs for her career, her home, and her salary. And he went on to tell the prosecutor quote, I just didn't think she could easily leave. And doesn't that sound like the same exact thing that her former best friend was told by Cassie?

30:07 And I would agree with that. I mean, some of these music artists, they sign pretty much their entire life away to these record companies. And in Cassie's case, not only was it her professional life tied so deeply into Sean Comb's, but also her personal life. So when you wonder why she didn't just walk away, folks, it's just not that easy, not when you're in the position that Cassandra Ventura found herself in. I can assure you Cassie.

30:47 Didn't want total strangers. Pissing in her mouth and all that bullshit that she had to put up with in that relationship, including the ass weapons she would get on the regular, So keep that in mind now. At this point, court recesses for the day and tomorrow May twentieth, they're going to pick up with that testimony of David James, the former assistant to Sean Combs, and they're going to wrap that up in the defense will takeover with their side in that cross examination, and I'll be bringing you all of the details of that. I want to thank all of you for listening. Check out the Patreon commercial free early releases, bonus episodes, quarterly gifts, so much more. You can get it for as little as two dollars and fifty cents a week. Patreon dot com slash Exposed podcast files. Also a new series that I am doing with award winning host Kelly Jennings of Unspeakable, a true crime podcast by Kelly Jennings.

31:53 We are doing a weekly. Wrap up of all the crime headline throughout that particular week. This is called the Crime Wire Weekly Good Stuff. We've dropped a couple of episodes already. On each of our individual feeds. Hopefully you're enjoying that content that will be. Going to its own home if you will its own feed the first week of June, so shortly, I'm going to put a link on the Facebook, so make sure you follow on the Facebook page. You click on that and you can follow that show as well if you're enjoying that content and. You like to get a weekly update on the world of crime.

32:38 And until next time for exposed scandalous files of the elite, I'm your host, Jim Chapman. Much love,