First witnesses in Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial share graphic testimony

  27m ago Court to resume Tuesday morning

Court will resume Tuesday morning with cross-examination of Phillip starting at 9:30 a.m. 

Ventura is then expected to take the stand. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-40a29875   2:09 PM / May 11, 2025 Luigi Mangione defense attorney also represents Combs

Combs' defense team is being led by New York lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who along with his wife, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, is also defending Luigi Mangione in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Atlanta lawyer Brian Steel, who represented Young Thug in a trial that went on for almost two years before the rapper pleaded guilty to gang, drug and gun charges, is also defending Combs. 

Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, speaks with his attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Karen Friedman Agnifilo at New York State Supreme Court in New York City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. Curtis Means/Daily Mail/Bloomberg via Getty Images By Mark Prussin https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-20120c6d   4:42 PM Cross-examination of Phillip begins Daniel Phillip testifies in the sex trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.  Jane Rosenberg

The defense started its cross examination by asking Phillip if the male revue service he worked for prohibited prostitution. Phillip said it was prohibited. 

The defense asked if it was his job to help build up the revue, and whether he helped develop the business model. Phillips said he did. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-5d94fd17   Updated 4:24 PM Witness testifies he saw combs attack Ventura

Phillip testified he saw Combs attack Ventura at her residence. 

He testified that Ventura was on her computer when Combs called to her. She told him to hold on a second, and then a bottle flew past her and struck the wall. He testified that Combs walked over to her and dragged her by her hair into the bedroom, and that it sounded as though he was slapping her as she was screaming "I'm sorry." 

He testified the violence came out of nowhere, that he found it terrifying, and that he didn't know what to do. 

Phillip said he didn't intervene or report the incident because he was afraid.  

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-2660875e   Updated 4:07 PM Further encounters followed, witness testifies

Phillip testified he engaged in similar encounters with them at two hotels as well as Combs' personal residence and Ventura's. 

The witness testified that whichever rooms they had encounters in, the curtains were always fully shut, there were candles, bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant. He testified he was asked to pick up those things from the pharmacy on a few occasions. 

He testified that Combs would tell them what sex acts to do, and shared graphic details. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-b107a136   3:50 PM Witness describes encounter at hotel

Phillip testified he entered the room and saw a man sitting on the right side of the room wearing a white robe with a bandana over his face from the nose down with a baseball cap on his head. He couldn't see the man's face clearly. 

He testified there were bottles of baby oil and another personal lubricant on the table. 

Phillip testified that as soon as the man spoke, he knew it was Combs. 

He testified that he and Ventura ended up having sex while Combs observed and performed a sex act. 

Ventura then gave him several thousand dollars, Phillip testified. 

Combs then asked if he would like to continue seeing them, Phillip testified. Ventura then took his phone number and he left the hotel. 

A few minutes later, Ventura texted him, asking him to send her an intimate photograph, he testified. 

She then asked him if he could come back to see her again, which he then did, Phillip testified. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-601c3b3b   3:29 PM Second witness starts testimony

The next witness called to the stand, Daniel Phillip, testified he was the manager of a male revue show in New York who said he received money from Ventura "to have sex with her," and that Combs was present at the time. 

He testified he met Ventura through his boss in 2012 or 2013. He said his boss contacted him one evening and couldn't find any Black dancers, as requested, so Phillip was asked if he'd mind going to do the job himself. It was at a hotel in Gramercy Park for a bachelorette party. 

Phillip testified that he was expecting to do a strip tease and then leave. When he arrived however, Ventura greeted him at her hotel room and asked him if it was OK if it would be just the two of them. He said he was expecting to see a group of women in the room, but it was only her. She was wearing lingerie, and she invited him into the room. 

Ventura told him him it was her birthday, and her husband wanted to do something special, he testified. She asked if he wouldn't mind rubbing baby oil on her and giving her a massage and see where things went from there. 

Phillip testified he didn't know her name at the time, but later learned it was Ventura. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-6e8f1834   3:14 PM Florez testimony wraps up

During re-direct, prosecutors asked Florez if he was to document every single detail in his reports. He replied "no." 

Florez also said Combs did not appear drunk or high during the encounter. 

Florez said Combs told him he didn't want anyone to know about the incident when he handed him a stack of cache. 

He added that the hallway video is from motion sensor-equipped cameras. 

His testimony then concluded. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-615999ce   3:00 PM Cross examination of Florez begins

Florez said Combs was cordial to him when he arrived at the scene, and that he didn't see him making any aggressive movements toward Ventura when he arrived. 

Florez said nobody alerted law enforcement about the incident. 

Florez was asked why he didn't note in his report that he made at the time that Venture wanted to leave and that Combs said something to the effect indicating she couldn't leave. He responded he didn't think it was significant at the time, because the two were going back and forth. 

Florez was questioned about why he remembers it nine years later but it wasn't important enough to write down at the time. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-50f4e531   Updated 2:42 PM Combs' lawyers wanted video excluded from trial

Prosecutors played for jurors the 2016 hotel security video of Combs and R&B singer Casandra Ventura, his then-girlfriend, in Los Angeles. 

Combs' lawyers tried to convince Judge Arun Subramanian to exclude the footage from the trial by arguing it was only a "glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship." But Subramanian said they failed to convince him and he ruled prosecutors could use it.   

In 2024, CNN obtained and published the video of Combs throwing Ventura to the floor, kicking her and dragging her. 

Ventura had accused Combs of rape and physical abuse in a 2023 lawsuit, which also alleged he paid the hotel $50,000 for the footage.

Combs apologized for his actions in the video but denied Ventura's allegations in the lawsuit, which was settled the day after it was filed.

By Mark Prussin https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-60c209ba   2:27 PM Prosecution plays 2016 hotel security video

After the jury was shown the hotel's incident report from 2016, which included pictures of damage, prosecutors started playing the security tape.

The video does not have audio, so Florez was describing it frame-by-frame. 

Florez said he recorded the video of the incident on his cellphone, because his wife would not have believed him otherwise. He said there are no other copies and that he did not download the video from the hotel because he didn't have the password.

Florez said he discussed the incident with a supervisor and other security guards, and showed them the tape. 

The prosecution had no further questions. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-a4fd0aaa   2:23 PM Combs pinned after trying to grab guard's phone

Ventura left the hotel, but Florez said he didn't know what happened to her afterwards. He asked if she wanted police called, but she kept saying she just wanted to leave. 

Florez said Combs thought he was being recorded and grabbed a security guard's phone when they were advising him about the hotel's rules. 

Florez said he grabbed Combs and pinned him, then went into the hallway to take a picture of the property damage. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-0b002d7a   2:17 PM Combs threw a stack of money at guard

Combs and Ventura continued arguing before she ultimately left the hotel room, Florez said. 

He said Combs called over to him. He turned around and Combs was holding a stack of money. 

"He threw it at me," Florez said. 

"Don't tell anyone," he said Combs told him. 

Florez did not remember how much money Combs threw, but showed it was about the length of one's thumb to pinky. He said he did not take the money. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-267760e3   2:11 PM "You're not gonna leave"

Florez said Ventura appeared scared and was in the corner covered up in a hoodie. Combs was slumped over wearing a towel and socks, he said. 

Florez said Ventura wanted to get her phone and bag, but Combs told her "you're not gonna leave." He said he told Combs she's leaving if she wants to. 

He went back to the room with them and stuck his foot in the door to keep it open, he said, There was also another man sitting in the bedroom who was not engaging, he said. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-43c37b96   2:02 PM Officer describes 2016 hotel incident

Florez said there was a call about a woman in distress at the hotel. 

He said he checked the cameras and saw a male pacing back and forth on the 6th floor. He did not see a woman in the video and thought something must've happened, he said. 

He said he did not know who the man was at first, but recognized Combs when he arrived on the floor and saw him in a towel.

Ventura was in a corner, he said. But he didn't know who she was until he went home and told his wife what happened. 

By Alice Gainer https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/live-updates/sean-diddy-combs-trial-day-1/#post-update-d7d59327   1:41 PM Prosecution calls LAPD officer as 1st witness