The federal trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs continued on Tuesday, with Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s mother, Regina Ventura, testifying that she was “scared about my daughter’s safety” and revealing that she had paid Combs $20,000 “to recoup money he had spent” on her daughter “because he was unhappy she was in a relationship with Kid Cudi”.
Casandra Ventura, Combs’s former girlfriend and the key witness in the case, testified last week. Combs, 55, is facing charges of sex-trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September 2024 and has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday morning, Combs’s former personal assistant David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 and 2009, continued his testimony after first taking the stand on Monday afternoon. His testimony was followed by that of Regina Ventura, and exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, whose nickname is “The Punisher”.
Regina Ventura testified that in December 2011, her daughter emailed her and Combs’s assistant while flying home for Christmas. She told them that Combs was threatening to release explicit videos of Ventura after learning she was dating rapper Kid Cudi. Ventura also said in the email that Combs had told her that he would “be having someone hurt” her and Cudi.
Regina Ventura said that Combs demanded $20,000 to reclaim what he said he had spent on Cassie. She and her husband took out a home-equity loan to get the money for Combs because she was “scared about my daughter’s safety”. Regina Ventura allegedly received instructions from Combs’s bookkeeper about how to wire the money and sent it to him. However, the money was returned several days later.
When Cassie Ventura returned home for Christmas, her mother said, she then learned of Combs’s alleged violence. The elder Ventura took photographs of the bruises on her daughter’s body to document them.
Earlier in the day, during James’s testimony, he detailed his duties, which had included setting up hotel rooms for Combs, laying out Combs’s clothes and toiletries, and procuring “personal items” like baby oil, lubricant, condoms and snacks. He also described Combs’s medicine bag, which allegedly contained dozens of pill bottles that contained ecstasy and Percocet.
In one part of his testimony, James spoke of a New Year’s Eve party where he took an ecstasy pill. After the event, James said, Combs had a video of him dancing at the party and allegedly told him: “I want to keep this footage in case I ever need it.”
James also recounted an incident from 2008 where he, along with a member of Combs’s security, saw rival record executive Suge Knight at a diner in Los Angeles. He said Combs ordered them to return with him to the diner, noting that en route he saw three guns on Combs’s person but that when they arrived, Knight was gone. James told the jury he was “shook up” by the incident.
“This was the first time as his assistant that I realized my life was in danger,” James said, adding that after the incident, he gave his six-month notice.
On cross-examination, Combs’s defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies in James’s account of the Knight incident, referencing prior statements James had made to the government.
They questioned James about a physical altercation with Combs’s chef, which he admitted to, saying that he “squeezed her wrists” and told her to “stay in her lane”. James testified that after the incident, Combs told him, “you can’t be putting your hands on a woman”.
After Regina Ventura concluded her testimony, the prosecution called on exotic dancer Hayes.
Hayes said that he had been hired by Ventura and Combs between eight to a dozen times to take part in Combs’s “freak-offs”, with the last session being in 2016. He testified that Combs had never appeared intoxicated and gave directions during the sexual encounters.
Asked whether Ventura seemed to enjoy herself during “freak-offs”, Hayes said that his understanding had been that “we were creating a scene, a sexy scene, that was enjoyable to her partner”. He noted that sometimes he observed her “wince” and “sigh” at the frequency of Combs’s instructions.
Under cross-examination, Hayes said he had not perceived any discomfort from Ventura “with what was going on” and never saw any violence.
After Hayes, Gerard Gannon, the Homeland Security Investigations special agent who led the March 2024 search of Combs’s Miami Beach home, took the stand.
Gannon testified that AR-15 rifle parts had been found in closets in the main bedroom. Jurors were also shown photos of other items found in the room, including high heels, sex toys, baby oil, lubricants and lingerie.
Gannon’s testimony will resume on Wednesday morning.
Earlier this week, the jury heard from singer Dawn Richard and Kerry Morgan, a former close friend of Ventura’s during her relationship with Combs. Both women testified that they had witnessed Combs assaulting Ventura.
Morgan also recounted a separate incident from 2018 where she said she was personally attacked by Combs, telling the court that Combs struck her in the head with a wooden hanger and choked her while Ventura was in the bathroom.
Morgan claimed that after the attack, Combs sent her money and she signed a non-disclosure agreement. She also testified that during Ventura’s relationship with Combs, Ventura would tell her that she couldn’t leave him because he “controlled everything” in her life.
The trial is expected to last seven more weeks. If convicted, Combs could spend the rest of his life in prison.
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
