Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - DIDDY'S $10 MILLION DOLLAR DEFENSE STARTS TODAY, JURORS IN FEAR

Episode Date: May 12, 2025

A jury has been seated in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial. Prosecutors delivered their opening statements, followed by witness testimony. Still unclear is whether “Victim 3” will testify. A prosecutor said last week that both the witness and her attorney were missing. “Victim 1,” Cassie Ventura, will be the prosecution's third witness. Combs’ team may try to counter her testimony by portraying her as confrontational and violent—someone with a personality too strong to be coerced. Joining Nancy Grace today: Eric Faddis - Partner at Varner Faddis Elite Legal, Former Felony Prosecutor and Current Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation Attorney; Instagram: @e_fad @varnerfaddis; TikTok: @varnerfaddis Dr. Bethany Marshall -  Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Robert Crispin - Private Investigator with “Crispin Special Investigations," Former Federal Task Force Officer for the United States Department of Justice [DEA and Miami Field Division], Former Homicide and Crimes against children investigator; Facebook: Crispin Special Investigations Inc. Lynn Shaw - Founder and Executive Director of Lynn's Warriors - an organization committed to ending human trafficking and sexual exploitation,  Host of Lynn's Warriors on YouTube; X: @lynns_warriors Youtube: @LynnsWarriors  Lauren Conlin - Investigative Journalist, Host of The Outlier Podcast, and also Host of "Corruption: What Happened to Grant Solomon; X- @Conlin_Lauren/ Instagram- @LaurenEmilyConlin/YouTube- @LaurenConlin4V   Sydney Sumner - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Diddy's $10 million defense starts today. This, as we learn, the jury is in fear of sitting on the Diddy trial. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. Cassie Ventura is set to take the stand with prosecutors expected to highlight a 2016 hotel assault caught on video. This trial of Sean Combs started early this morning in a Manhattan

courtroom. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. Straight out to Lauren Conlon joining us. Co-host, Pop Crime TV. Lauren, thank you for being with us. Tell me about what happened first thing this morning. Court began this morning with Diddy asking the judge for more water. Or the judge said something like, do you have enough water? And he said, could I have some more, Your Honor? Diddy appeared to be

wearing a light cream colored sweater, which I thought was a great choice for a defendant. He had his glasses on. He was looking through some paperwork at the beginning of the morning and he would turn around to smile at his mom and wave to his family who were in the front row. He gave a thumbs up at one point. I actually saw Janice Combs, his mother, in the lobby this morning and she was wearing an all black suit, a black purse, and she looked like she was going to a funeral, to be honest. I also want to point out that when the jury walked in, Diddy did not take his eyes off of them. He watched their every move.

This, as we are learning, the jury is actually in fear. In fact, the judge was afraid to impanel a jury on Friday, thinking they would back out with cold feet over the weekend. Listen. The original plan was for jury selection to be completed on Friday. But Diddy's lawyers asked for a delay, raising concerns more jurors would get cold feet between Friday and Monday. The court received an email from one potential juror asking to be left off the panel

for issues of personal well-being, according to the Combs team. Prosecutors strongly opposed the delay. Judge Arun Subramanian agreed with the defense. Okay, to Eric Faddis, veteran trial lawyer joining me out of the Denver, Colorado jurisdiction, partner, Varner Faddis, elite legal former prosecutor. That's not good when the jury is afraid to be in the box, the jury box. Yeah, yikes. I mean, this is a high profile case. There is a ton at stake.

And Nancy, I'm sure you'll recall the judge actually declined to give Diddy Bond because there were concerns that he was engaging in witness tampering or witness intimidation. Those same concerns could translate to this jury and it could cause them to get gold feet or otherwise be considering that when they're deciding the case, which is obviously a problem. It wouldn't be the first time that a jury had been harassed, put in fear or tampered with. Listen, John Gotti earned the nickname Teflon Don after he was acquitted in multiple trials, likely due to jury tampering and witness intimidation. This seems to be confirmed when a juror who helped acquit Gotti in a racketeering case was convicted of taking a bribe. Jimmy Hoffa was also charged with unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly conspiring with six co-conspirators to influence members of a jury. He was accused of offering $10,000 to the families of two jurors for an acquittal vote and offering to get the police husband of another

juror a promotion. Clarence Darrow was in the company of his chief investigator when the two men were arrested for bribery. Darrow was defending brothers on bombing charges. Police say Darrow's investigator passed $4,000 to a prospective jury member for a not guilty vote. You would have to be living under a rock in a cave on the other side of the world not to know that there are allegations that Sean Combs ordered a hit, a murder on Tupac Shakur. Listen. Dwayne Keefie D. Davis claims credit for Tupac's murder on BET and in his memoir. He says Puffy Combs wanted Knight and Tupac's heads after their diss track hit him up. When Davis offers to carry out the hits,

Combs agrees to pay him $1 million. Davis, Anderson, Terrence Brown, and DeAndre Smith stake out the club where Shakur's performing, but Tupac's a no-show. Driving down the strip, they spot Knight and Tupac stopped in traffic. Brown flips a U-turn in their white Cadillac. Davis passes Anderson the strip, they spot Knight and Tupac stopped in traffic. Brown flips a U-turn in their white Cadillac. Davis passes Anderson the gun, and Anderson leans over Smith to shoot Tupac.

We don't wipe the a** out quick, you know. It's nothing. Who brought up the amount of $1 million? He did. Puffy did? Yeah. Biggie ever involved in any of these conversations about hitting people? As long as it's just Puffy. This is all Puffy's doing.

Straight out to Robert Crispin joining us. Private investigator, former federal task force officer, USDOJ, also with DEA. Now at Crispin Special Investigations. Crispin, thank you for being with us. You are staked out in front of Diddy's home there in Florida, where it all started with the bust. I want to hear how the neighbors are taking today, but more important, you think if this jury has seen the Cassie video and they all have an opinion on it, you think they don't know about the hit on Tupac Shakur? Yeah, that's going to kind of tie it in, isn't it? And they're going to wonder like, boy, that's kind of interesting. But you know, Nancy, I'm coming to you live out in front of

Diddy's house here in Star Island in Miami Beach. And if today is any indication of what's going on in Diddy's world as his trial starts, it's a dark, rainy day. The neighbors, they're really happy that there's no more attention. There's no more late parties, three, four day benders, the drugs. In that white gate behind me, that's where the feds went in with their search warrant. That's where the drugs came out. That's where the electronic evidence came out. That's where everything started to unfold for Diddy before he got indicted. I just find it very difficult to believe that if the jury has seen the Cassie video already, which they're going to see at trial anyway, that they don't know about the hit on Tupac Shakur, which gets to my point, Crispin, that jurors, one juror backed out and said he was afraid for his own and his family's safety, got cold feet and wanted off the panel.

And that's the one that would speak out. Have you ever had a case where jurors or witnesses were actually afraid? Oh, absolutely. And that's a very real fear because if he's found guilty, revenge is best served on a cold plate. And these people are gonna be looking over their shoulder all the time.

In drug cases in Miami, same thing. You wanna sit there and look a drug lord in the eye and convict him when you have a wife, kids. These are everyday people that get jury subpoenas and end up sitting on these high profile cases. And there's a lot at stake when you hit either that guilty or that not guilty box on that jury form. That's an issue. And I would be afraid. To Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us. High profile psychoanalyst out of the L.A. jurisdiction, author of Deal Breaker. You can see her currently on Peacock and find her at Dr. Bethany Marshall dot com.

Dr. Bethany, I think that the jury wants to do the right thing. I think in their heart of hearts they want to serve on the jury. Yes, they want to be impartial. But the reality is when you have a family at home, children, right? It's not just about you anymore. I've had jurors on gang related cases, gang cases, say right up front, I've heard about the case. I can't sit on this jury. I've got children. They're very, they were in inner city Atlanta, Fulton County. I don't know if they're being upfront in the DD trial, but I do know that one juror said, I want off the panel because I'm afraid. I mean, I think they want to do the right thing, but when push comes to shove and it's going home to their children and their family, I don't know. What do you think? This is

real. Very often, Bethany, do you think? This is real. Very often, Bethany, you hear me say, that's BS. That's just in the movies. That's in a book. You know, that's on a TV series. That doesn't happen in real life. This actually happens, I know for a fact. Nancy, this is no fairy tale. This is no novel. This is a real life story. And yes, jurors want to do their civic duty. I think we all do. But as I tell my patients in my practice, your duty is always to your family first. Above all, your spouse is at risk. You and I have covered many cases where judges and their families have been targeted. And then what about when the case is over? These jurors forever will be known as the people who either vindicated or convicted P. Diddy. And there are people on both sides that will love and more importantly, hate them. And finally, Nancy, what about all those celebrities who could be exposed throughout the course of this trial?

Or if he did, he gets convicted, information starts to roll out. Those celebrities may have a vested interest in quieting these jurors as well. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. This morning it all kicked off with Sean Combs walking into the courtroom with a dry mouth asking for more water. And I know for a fact that at every jury trial, each side state and defense has at least one huge pitcher of ice water and glasses, usually plastic glasses for the lawyers and the defendant to have. So I'm wondering why first thing in the morning, he needed a whole nother pitcher of water. Huh? What about it? Lynn Shaw joining me, founder, executive director, Lynn's Warriors committed to ending human trafficking and

sexploitation of girls. Host of Lynn's Warriors on YouTube. Lynn, thank you for being with us. Diddy got a dry mouth. Yeah, well, Diddy just wants to get up again and parade through the courtroom and say he needs another bathroom break so everybody can look at him in his little pullover sweater, his little gray hair, looking all pudgy or skinny, there's varying reports, and try to gain sympathy with anybody in this courtroom. Just the other day, there was a pregnant local reporter here in New York City, and he was asking her or mouthing to her, how are you doing or how are you feeling, something to that effect. So there's plenty of water in the courtroom already. Another clever ruse just to distract away from the real story here. Victims, victims, victims. And I just want to say something,

being here in New York City, living here for decades, there are many dirty diddy disciples lurking in the background who will get ready to do some dirty deeds for him. No matter how this goes, I would be very afraid anybody, judges, jurors, anybody in that courtroom, reporters of this dirty ditty. Joining us in addition to Lauren Collin at the courthouse, Sidney Summer joining us, crime stories investigative reporter also on the case. Sidney, I understand that first thing this morning, Combs comes in, demands a whole nother pitcher of water. I wonder why he's got dry mouth. But that said, his mother, his mother, Janice Combs, also came into the courtroom. In the past, she's been very flamboyant in her dress,

but she's taking a page out of Sean Combs' playbook and it dressed like she's going to a funeral, Sydney. That's right, Nancy. Dressed all in black. And Combs' mom isn't the only family member in attendance today. Six of his children are also in the courtroom and they're dressed very similarly. All of them walked in in sunglasses and all of their clothing is black and white. They all had on sunglasses in the courtroom? At least as they were walking in. I want to go back to the fact that Sean Combs, that we know of, is laying out $10 million for his defense, but jurors in fear. Back to Sidney Sumner joining us, Crime Stories investigative reporter. This is a big deal,

Sidney Sumner. We know that one juror, as I said earlier, asked the judge, begged the judge to be taken off the jury panel because he's got a family and got, quote, cold feet. But I know the defense struck a juror that said they had seen the Cassie video and that Combs looked angry and hostile. They struck that juror. Yes, that juror is gone. They commented on that video, said Combs looks angry and hostile, but the government has struck a candidate who said he heard about the Combs case on Joe Rogan's podcast. So we've already had a tit for tat. As if the jury didn't know about the Tupac Shakur hit, the alleged hit, where multiple witnesses say Combs ordered a million dollar hit for Tupac Shakur's head and he got it. What about the fact that these jurors have seen, they've already seen the Cassie Ventura beat down video. Listen. As potential jurors are questioned about

their ability to maintain impartiality, an obstacle quickly rears its head. The video of Combs attacking Cassie. Numerous potential jurors have seen the video and formed opinions on it. Of those who have watched it, only a few were able to say they did not think it would affect their impartiality. The Cassie beat down video from our friends at CNN. We expect that particular version not to be introduced at trial. Why? Because the defense said it had been sped up and it wasn't in its original pristine form. Well, be careful what you ask, my dear, for you will surely get it.

Now the jury will probably see the entire version in its entirety and in regular motion, right at regular speed. They'll probably wish they had kept the sped up CNN version. You know, Robert Crispin joining us there at Sean Combs' mansion in Florida. So they know about the Tupac Shakur murder hit, the million dollar hit. They know about the Cassie beat down video. They've seen it. We've got one juror begging off the panel because he got cold feet. The jury is afraid. They don't care that Sean Combs is spending $10 million on a defense, a slick defense. Yeah, well, I think what the jury's starting to think is, wow, these are some violent people.

What have I gotten myself into? Like I said before, that video was a gift to the prosecution. But what that video does do, it gives a look inside Diddy's real world when he thinks nobody's watching, nobody's around, and it's just him and his victim, or him and an ex-girlfriend or him who doesn't agree with him. Explosive surveillance footage allegedly showing Combs assaulting Ventura has been admitted into evidence. The jury was finalized in the Sean Combs federal indictment trial at 9.45 a.m. Straight out to Lauren Collins standing by at the courthouse.

Lauren, what happened? The opening statements for the prosecution said that we are going to hear from Cassie this week, along with another witness named Jane. They said we're going to hear or we're going to see videos of these freak offs and it's going to be very uncomfortable for a lot of people. The prosecution also said things that I had never heard before. They said things like Cassie was forced to allow an escort to urinate in her mouth at one point. And this was per the instructions of Sean Combs. The other witness, Jane, is going to testify that she and Diddy got into an altercation where he allegedly stomped on her face and that she would run into every single room, lock the door, he would chase after her and kick the door down. And it was, it was very graphic.

Straight out to Lynn Shaw, founder, director, Lynn's warriors committed to ending sexual exploitation of girls and women. What? It sounds like he's going to college. He's wearing reading glasses. Have you ever seen Sean Combs wearing reading glasses? Oh, okay. That's fake. And the sweater, the white shirt, the khaki pants. What is he, a freshman at Harvard, Lynn Shaw? Well, he's pretending to be one dirty diddy. Listen, none of us are fooled anymore. None of us, we can all see through this. He's reading, wearing reading glasses. I'm sure it's plastic in the frames or clear glass. Nobody.

We're New Yorkers. This is a New York jury. We do not get fooled, especially about this case. He has been for decades now since the early 90s on the lips, I'm telling you, of New Yorkers. So many people here know about him already. I don't know what he thinks he's doing. None of this is going to help him. Let us keep the focus on victims, survivors, and not only the alleged ones of this case, but of all victims and survivors of all of this exploitation, because Nancy, they are seeking some kind of justice from this case. They want

some answers. They want somebody powerful, money, who has been flaunting this in everybody's face, this exploitation. They want somebody held accountable. And I say, dirty ditty going down. This is the case. To Eric Faddis, veteran trial lawyer, former prosecutor joining us out of Colorado. Eric, I mean, what's next? A wheelchair and a neck brace? He can't go in there wearing a bejeweled cape or something right this is court and another another take on it is that yeah where did he is that fatus yeah we would never want him to reveal his true self i mean have you seen the met gala pictures that's the real sean combs right there with the cape going down the steps. There you go. Yeah. So you just said

that he can't go in wearing a cape. Well, why not? Because that's what he normally wears. So you're going along with the eye tricking the mind with him dressed up like a Harvard freshman. You know, I'm not sure that's what's going on here. Look, he doesn't have the stylus on retainer anymore. That's obvious. But on top of that, maybe this is Diddy's true self currently. You know, he is no longer this high profile, powerful mogul with all these resources. He is incarcerated. He is facing a serious federal trial. And so his life has changed.

You know, he has gray in his hair. My understanding is his appearance has been drastically transformed. And part of that could just be a reflection of what's going on around him, of the current state of his life. This is who he is today. That's who those jurors are seeing. To Dr. Bethany Marshall joining us, high profile psychoanalyst, Dr. Bethany, it seems trite, very trite, that visual tricks are being used on the jury. Khaki pants. You know, you heard Fatah say he doesn't have a stylist.

I bet you anything he does have a stylist. Those outfits were carefully chosen. Very carefully chosen. Have you ever, ever, time immemorial, ever seen Sean Combs in a pullover sweater and khaki pants. Think back. Use that time machine. I mean, all the way back, whether he's on stage at the Met Gala, walking around L.A. or where Crispin is joining us down his Miami mansion.

Never once. These are serious charges, Bethany. I have seen women rape victims, much less with it videoed in front of a whole crowd of people while they're drugged, according to the prosecution that basically stay indoors the rest of their life. There is a profound impact on rape victims. And there is Sean Combs in a fake pair of reading glasses. What's he doing? Reading Proust?

War and Peace? I don't know. It's BS. It's a trick. And there's serious charges here, Bethany. We know not only is it a trick, but it's manipulative. And we know that if the allegations are true, Huff Diddy is a manipulative person and may have hired manipulative defense attorneys.

And jurors are not stupid, Nancy. They do see through this. Jurors can feel bored, offended, devalued, treated like they don't have minds and they can't think. They are not going to like that. And you know what they also wouldn't like, and the defense knows this, to see a man with carrots and carrots of diamonds around his neck in the form of a cross who then uses his power to exploit other people. That is a very unsympathetic character, Nancy. And of course, the defense wants to hide that. The other thing is that I think ordinary people tend to look at very wealthy people with the suspicion that maybe,

you know the saying, beneath them behind every great fortune lies a great crime. The jurors can see that too, that how did P. Diddy get to the top? How did he accrue all this wealth? Why is he hanging around with people who are some of the most vulnerable people in society? So, hey, these defense attorneys have a lot to camouflage and these jurors are going to see through it. I guarantee that. Joining us at the courthouse, Lauren Conlon. Lauren, tell me about the challenge Sean Combs' defense team made to these jurors. He, the defense team, the lead attorney, argues that African-Americans were systematically excluded from the jury for racial reasons. What happened?

They started with the jury strikes and the defense pointed out that the feds or the government struck seven black jurors out of nine. So the prosecution gave their reasoning behind these strikes and it was very valid. I mean, some of these jurors, they had said something like they were going to lose 30% of their income by being on this trial, but that wasn't a concern for them, which actually led the prosecution to say, well, I have questions about their intent here and the fact that they might want to be here for ulterior reasons or they might have an ulterior motive. Eric Faddis, this argument is as old as dirt, and it has been addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky, B-Brother A-T-S-O-N v.S. Supreme Court in Batson versus Kentucky, B brother, A-T-S-O-N-V Kentucky. In that case, the prosecutor was accused of striking from the jury, the big, the grand jury panel, you know, 80 to 100 people in order to get 12 for the petit jury of 12 striking for racial reasons, which is unconstitutional. Therefore, whenever you strike anyone, anybody, whether they're white, they're black, they're Asian, doesn't matter.

You better have a good reason for striking. When I struck juries, typically my defendant was black. My victims, usually there were more than one, were black. There was no real racial undercurrent going on in the courtroom. So I didn't have a lot of Batson arguments against me. But what the state has to do, and I'm sure that they did, you have to write. I would keep the jury list. And what that is, is a huge printout. I don't know if they do them the same way in your jurisdiction. I'm sure they do, Faddis, where you have the juror's name, whether they're married, maybe where they work, whether they live to ensure they live in that county or that jurisdiction, or else they're not qualified for the jury. Maybe a little bit more

identifying information. But that said, I would put notes, my notes beside each name. So if there was a challenge, I could say, well, I struck him because he doesn't have a job. And if he can't show up to a job every day, then why do I think he's going to show up to court and pay attention? Or juror fell asleep, invoidaire, jury selection. Or let's see, here's a good one. Juror's husband convicted of rape. If I'm trying a rape case, yeah, I don't want her on. So I would always keep notes, brief notes beside each juror,

whether I wanted them or didn't want them of my impressions of that juror as we were striking the jury, as I was questioning them on voir dire. So Batson v. Kentucky, easy solution to have your reason as to why you struck the juror when the challenge arises. Weigh in on Batson v. Kentucky, Faddis. I'm sure you faced it in court. Yeah, no, great minds think alike, Nancy. That's exactly how I did it when I was a prosecutor because here's the thing. Breezing a Batson challenge is kind of a big deal because it's really insinuating that

the other side is kicking somebody off based on their race. That's inflammatory you know, inflammatory and problematic. And so you need to have a race neutral reason for excluding those folks. You know, this wouldn't be the first time that the defense has brought up race. And, you know, historically, race has played a role in the justice system, let's be honest. And so, you know, is the Diddy team sort of using that as one potential argument to this jury in terms of why some rich black man is facing these federal offenses? I think they're going to take that route in some form or fashion. The trial is just getting started, expected to

last eight weeks with shocking testimony from accusers and insiders on deck. Witness three is still missing. The court was informed last week that prosecutors have lost communication and cannot locate her. In fact, prosecutors cannot reach her attorney either, meaning they are not sure victim three will show up in court. The woman does not live in New York. TMZ reports the woman never wanted to appear in court at all, refusing to cooperate and never agreed to testify against Diddy. Prosecutors said victim three would disclose very personal and exclusive details concerning abuse she suffered under Combs. Plenty of respect to Harvey Levin over at TMZ, but they had to speak to her at some point in order to put her on the witness list.

Right now, the state is down a victim, victim gone, even though we know at some point she had to speak to the feds. Even the lawyer is not responding to calls. Joining me there at Diddy's Mansion in Florida, where the neighbors are happy this thing may finally be put to rest. Robert Crispin joining us, Crispin Special Investigations, former Federal Task Force Officer, Department, U.S. Department of Justice. Robert, a witness, not just a witness, but a victim is in the wind.

I've had it happen to me on a child sex trafficking case. The victim disappeared and was in no show the first day and a half of trial. Let me just say I was out all night, literally with my investigator going to every flop house in inner city Atlanta, trying to find the girl. We found her and went forward. Then I would try the case all day long. We found her not so easy in the Diddy case. This victim could be anywhere in the U S and the lawyer's not picking up the phone. Yeah. We call that being scared to death. That's exactly what that is. This person doesn't want to testify. She's already related to the government that she doesn't want to testify because if she testifies and he's found guilty, she's damned.

If they find him not guilty, she's damned because they let an alleged sexual predator back on the street. It's a lose-lose situation for a victim. And it's very intimidating, very intimidating, even though you're a victim with all the victim's rights and the victim advocates. When it comes down to you getting up and sitting in that chair and raising your right hand and actually telling your story, it's very intimidating. Not only is it intimidating, it brings up bad pasts in your mind and in your heart. It's really something that a lot of people, they don't want to be part of anymore. It just wants to go away. Intimidating.

They all know what happened to Cassie Ventura. Okay. And that was at a public hotel. They know what happened to her. No wonder she's disappeared and the lawyer's not picking the phone up. And we know that even from behind bars, prosecutors have produced evidence Combs is

tampering with witnesses. Listen. Prosecutors say even behind bars, Sean Combs has an uncanny ability to get others to do his bidding. Diddy has been accused of obstructing his sex trafficking case by paying off witnesses and even enlisting his own children in a public relations campaign. Namely, the video posted by seven of his children wishing dad a happy birthday in November. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Now we heard Faddis spout out that Sean Combs doesn't have a stylist. B.S. He does have a stylist. If he's focusing that much on what he's wearing to court, you want to tell me he hasn't tried to get to the victims?

Listen. Prosecutors say evidence from Sean Combs' cell shows the accused rapper made relentless efforts from jail to contact potential witnesses, including victims. These methods reportedly involved three-way calls using other inmates' phone access codes, a third-party communication service, and directing family members to contact potential witnesses. The aim, to blackmail victims and witnesses into either silence or to provide testimony helpful to Combs. Speaking of getting to the victim, straight out to Sidney Summer joining us, Crime Stories investigative reporter. Sidney, isn't it true prosecutors are planning to introduce evidence that Sean Combs forced one of his victims to undergo an unwanted medical procedure. I mean, was it an abortion? I don't know. But what can you tell me about that? If he could force a victim to undergo an operation,

a medical procedure, what makes the state think he's not trying to scare or intimidate the victims in this case, Sydney? No, that's right, Nancy. Prosecutors intend to introduce this evidence and we don't know yet what that unwanted medical procedure was. You're completely right. It definitely could have been an abortion going along with the fact that Diddy coerces all of these women into unwanted sexual encounters and then doesn't want to keep relationships with them. So prosecutors are introducing this to show that pattern of behavior, to show the level of control that Sean Combs exerted over his victims. So that could be really powerful this morning that the jury came into the courtroom with Sean Combs standing at attention

to impanel and swear in the jury. This is a day that's been long in coming. The state claims that decades of abuse of women and so-called free coughs have occurred. Finally, will there be justice? This as one of the victims disappears. Can't find her or her lawyer. Straight out to Sydney Sumner, joining us, Crime Stories investigative reporter. I understand in light of victim number three, a no-show, the state has added victim five to the roster. Now, victim five, who is not mentioned in charging documents, will not be able to just replace victim three. Judge Subramanian has ruled that they will not be able to include all of the intended testimony, only part of it, because this victim is a similar transaction. This victim will also

not be granted anonymity. We know that one of the victims is not asking to testify under a pseudonym. It's Cassie Ventura. Cassie Ventura is heavily pregnant at this juncture. And her cross-examination by the defense is going to be very tricky. Listen, when you have a pregnant lady, a mom up on the stand, I mean, you know, how cruel can you be? You can't really, you know, shred her on the stand. That one of our friends at Tubi, and of course, Mark Geragos gave me a very vague answer on that. But Eric Faddis, if the defense team comes across as bullying Cassie Ventura, that's going to totally play against Combs. That's going to rub the jury the wrong way. Absolutely. I mean, you know, not only do you have this superstar already sympathetic victim, but there's a video of her being brutalized. And the person being brutalized is going to be on the stand pregnant, telling you how she was verbally and sexually brutalized. And so it's going to be a delicate dance here. The defense has to kind of approach this in a sensitive fashion, but also be firm enough to get their points across. And so the balance to be struck here cannot be understated. Well, I got to say this to Dr. Bethany Marshall.

Cassie Ventura is going to be able to handle whatever they throw at her. She is the one that broke the whole thing wide open when she filed that civil lawsuit. And basically the feds had a red flag waved in front of them like a like a bull because it was out there and they were left looking emasculated. They had done nothing. And here's this video. Let's take a look at the video, everybody. This is coming into court in a different iteration. There you see Cassie Ventura. Oh, and here he comes. Thank goodness that towel didn't slip. She's trying to get away reportedly from a freak off. Now, Geragos tells me it wasn't a freak off at all, that she was the aggressor. She, Cassie Ventura, is the aggressor in this video. She, according to Geragos, was angry when she saw Combs had gotten texts from another woman. Okay, She looks like she weighs about a hundred pounds soaking wet in that

video. But yet Garagos said with a straight face, this is from our friends at CNN, by the way, a straight face that she was the aggressor. Now, okay. Um, Dr. Bethany, Garagos, his daughter is on the defense team, Tenny Garagos, is saying that you're not seeing what you think you're seeing. She's actually the aggressor in that video. Really? Are they actually going to say that to a jury? 100-pound Cassie is giving Diddy the beat down? I sound like a broken record, but Nancy, jurors are not stupid. And jurors can feel like they're being kind of manipulated or mistreated. And I think the defense should be very careful with

this line of reasoning. You know, the truth is, you see this young Cassie Ventura running for her life with bare feet. The allegations that he was on the phone doing business deals while he coerced her into having sex with somebody else while he was watching could come out. He kicks her in the back. She has to pretend to play dead. He drags her back down the hallway. And then the jurors see this beautiful, resilient woman who has reestablished her life, probably has a new relationship, is going to create a family. This is a woman to be admired. She rose above the trauma. She did the work, whatever she did to reconstitute herself. She is a very admirable witness. So they are going to hang on every single word, Nancy, because most victims do not establish themselves like this.

Bombshell in the courtroom. The defense is actually going to argue that Cassie Ventura was the aggressor, that she was the one giving Sean Combs the beat down. What juror is going to believe that, especially in light of this? It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life. Sometimes you got to do that. I was f***ed up I mean I hit rock bottom But I make no excuses My behavior on that video Is inexcusable I take full responsibility

For my actions in that video I'm disgusted I was disgusted then when I did it I'm disgusted now I went and I sought out professional help I was disgusted then when I did it. I'm disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. Had to go into therapy. Had to go into rehab.

Had to ask God for his mercy and grace. Second verse, same as the first. So if he didn't do it, why is he apologizing for it? And that's on comes as official Instagram. I'm wondering if they're going to play that. We know the Cassie Ventura tape is in straight back out to Lauren Collins standing by. I understand the courtroom holds about a hundred people and I guess it was packed, right? Okay. We'll get the answer to that. You know, I'm hearing Lynn Shaw combs in that video stating he wants to be a better person. He's disgusted with himself. He's going to rehab. But yet, that's out of one side of his mouth. Out of the other side of his mouth, he's actually going to argue to the jury that

Cassie was the violent one. Please stop, Nancy, because I'm getting sick. I'm getting sick watching that video over and over again. We have to remember people are visual. Once they see that video, this will stick in their minds. Now, listen, we work with a lot of survivors and victims at the Warriors. What do they tell me repeatedly? When they are being attacked, they play dead. They do not move. They don't want to further enrage that person. They don't want more beatings.

So they remain very still. Where is her video of her beating him? That's what I want to know. Why is this playbook the same thing? We're in court a lot. Flipped on putting it on the victim. Oh, it's their fault. They caused me to do it. That's consensual. You know what? The jury, again, like Dr. Bethany said, like I'm saying as a New Yorker, New Yorkers are smart. They're not going

to buy this. And you know what? Dirty ditty going down. Sidney Sumner, where are we getting the $10 million defense bill. Nancy, that's coming from several expert defense attorneys who all believe that each day of trial could be costing Combs more than $100,000. This is coming top lawyers charge million dollar retainers for complex federal cases like this. They charge about $1,600 an hour and their support staff behind them costs about half that much per hour. So several people agree that a $10 million price tag is a reasonable estimate. Whoa, Faddis, I don't know about you, but I got paid just to seem like a little over minimum wage. If you equal it out over all the overtime hours I worked as a prosecutor, I had two night jobs teaching school at night to pay the house and the car note. Ten million dollars. They better they better produce.

This is a high price tag. No question. It's a very complex case. You know, the decades are excuse me. The allegations span decades. There are umpteen witnesses, several jurisdictions. It's just very involved. And so surely it is going to warrant a high fee from the attorneys,

and they're going to have to come with it because $10 million, you know, a person expects results. All I can say is they better bring it. We wait as justice unfolds. And now we remember an American hero, patrol officer Stephen Arkell, Brentwood PD in Hampshire, shot and killed in the line of duty. Served law enforcement 17 years, leaving behind wife turned widow, Heather, daughters, Kimberly and Lauren. American hero, patrol officer Stephen Arkell. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.