Diddy trial: Judge rejects mistrial request, Cassie's friend Deonte Nash details alleged abuse

NEW YORK - Prosecutors in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial called four more witnesses on Wednesday, including Cassie's friend and stylist, Deonte Nash, who testified about her experiences and the abuse she endured.

In his testimony, Nash recounted several instances where Diddy became violent with Cassie. He described how there were times she didn’t want to participate in drug-fueled "freak-offs," but felt she had no choice.

Midway through the day, Diddy’s lawyers moved for a mistrial, arguing that fingerprints taken from Kid Cudi’s burned vehicle had been destroyed.

What did Deonte Nash say?  

Nash said Diddy would physically assault Cassie and threaten her music career and reputation by threatening to release recordings of their sexual encounters.

In one instance, Nash said he saw Diddy grab Cassie by the hair, hit her repeatedly, and bash her head into a bed frame. When Nash tried to intervene, he said Diddy bucked at him and threw him to the ground.

When asked how many times he had tried to protect Cassie from Diddy, Nash responded that it was too many times to count. He said Diddy controlled every aspect of her life—often hitting her in the face and giving her black eyes.

Nash testified that Cassie told him, "I don’t want to freak-off," but said she felt she had to because Combs was making her.

Diddy's lawyers seek mistrial

Midway through the day on Wednesday, Diddy’s lawyers moved for a mistrial, arguing that fingerprints taken from Kid Cudi’s burned vehicle had been destroyed.

Arson investigator takes the stand

Lance Jimenez, an arson investigator for the Los Angeles Fire Department with over 20 years of experience, also took the stand. 

He testified that someone from the Los Angeles Police Department—who was not part of the investigation, ordered the destruction of the fingerprint cards. Jimenez said this was not standard protocol.

No arrests were made following Jimenez’s investigation, but federal prosecutors allege that Diddy was responsible for the fire and are using the incident as one of several acts of alleged wrongdoing to support the racketeering charge against him.

The jury was shown photos of the damage to Kid Cudi’s Porsche, including images of burn patterns, a cut in the canvas roof, and a Molotov cocktail bottle left on the driver’s seat.

LAPD Christopher Ignacio takes the stand

Los Angeles Police Officer Christopher Ignacio, who responded to Kid Cudi’s home in 2011, also testified. 

He said that when he arrived, he noticed a black Escalade parked outside the house. 

As his marked patrol car approached with lights and sirens, the SUV sped off up the hill.

Ignacio said he ran the plates and found the vehicle was registered to Bad Boy Productions Inc.

Did Cassie give birth?

Meanwhile, Cassie Ventura has reportedly given birth to her third child with husband Alex Fine, just days after testifying for four days in the federal sex crimes case.

The couple, who married in 2019, already share two daughters: Frankie, 5, and Sunny, 4. 

Their third child is a boy, according to PEOPLE, which confirmed the news after sources said Cassie was rushed to the labor and delivery unit of a New York City hospital on Tuesday.

What we know:

Diddy is accused of running a violent and abusive criminal enterprise for more than a decade, marked by sexual abuse, coercion, and intimidation.

Cassie Ventura, who spent four days testifying while in her third trimester two weeks ago, was taken to a New York City hospital’s labor and delivery unit on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

On Tuesday, the jury heard from Capricorn Clark, a former assistant and marketing team member. She was the third ex-assistant to testify for the government and the only witness to take the stand that day.

Clark said Diddy threatened to kill her on her first day after learning she had worked for Suge Knight. She described a workplace ruled by fear, including an incident where she was taken to a mostly empty Manhattan building and forced to take lie detector tests for five days. 

She also claimed Diddy kidnapped her at gunpoint in 2011 and brought her to rapper Kid Cudi’s home in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors say her account supports a broader pattern of abuse, including "Freak Offs", which were multi-day sex events involving coercion and violence.

What happened on Tuesday? 

Clark gave emotional testimony claiming she was kidnapped at gunpoint in 2011 and forced to go with Diddy to rapper Kid Cudi's house, allegedly to help kill him.

Clark said Diddy showed up at her home with a gun, demanded she leave with him, and they drove to Cudi’s house in Los Angeles. While Diddy and a bodyguard went inside, she stayed in the car and called Cassie, saying, "Combs got me with a gun and brought me to Cudi’s house to kill him." 

She testified that Cudi could be heard in the background asking, "He’s in my house?" Clark said that after the incident, Diddy told his team they had to convince Cudi it was not him or he would "kill them."

She also testified that early in her job, she was threatened with death and taken to a mostly empty building in Manhattan after some diamond jewelry went missing. There, she was given repeated lie detector tests by a large man who told her, "If you fail this test they are going to throw you in the East River."

Lauren London

During cross-examination, Clark corrected the record, saying she was not on a three-way call with Cassie and Lauren London as previously claimed.

She said she called London first so someone would know where she was "in case this all went really bad."

What happened last week?

• Jurors heard from a dozen witnesses, as prosecutors sought to prove sex trafficking and racketeering.
• Kid Cudi was on the witness stand. So was singer Dawn Richard, formerly of the group Danity Kane.

What is Diddy charged with?

Federal prosecutors have charged Combs with a series of crimes including:

• Count 1: Racketeering Conspiracy. Count One charges that, from at least in or about 2004 through in or about 2024, the defendant participated in a racketeering conspiracy during which he agreed with other employees and associates of his businesses to commit kidnapping, arson, bribery of a witness, obstruction of justice, drug distribution, forced labor, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of engaging in prostitution.
• Count 2: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, or Coercion. Count Two charges the defendant with sex trafficking an adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 3: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Three charges the defendant with transporting that female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2009 and ~2018.
• Count 4: Sex trafficking. Count Four charges the defendant with sex trafficking a second adult female victim through force, fraud, and coercion between ~2021 and ~2024.
• Count 5: Transportation to Engage in Prostitution. Count Five charges the defendant with transporting that second female victim and male commercial sex workers to engage in prostitution between ~2021 and ~2024.

He also faces more than 60 lawsuits from alleged victims.

Cassie says in a lawsuit that Combs subjected her to years of abuse, including beatings and rape. Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, signed to Combs' label in 2005, and the two were on-again-off-again romantic partners for more than a decade starting in 2007. The lawsuit filed in federal court says Combs was "prone to uncontrollable rage" and subjected her to "savage" beatings. It says he plied her with drugs, forced her to have sex with other men, and raped her in her home as she was trying to end the relationship in 2018. Combs, through his attorney, "vehemently denies" the accusations.

If convicted, the 55-year-old Diddy could face 15 years to life in prison. 

When was Diddy arrested? 

Diddy was arrested in Oct. 2024 at the Park Hyatt New York in Midtown Manhattan. 

He's been in jail ever since.

The trial, which began Monday, May 12, with opening statements, is expected to last eight weeks. 

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