Kobe Bryant’s widow awarded $16m leaked crash photos 

The widow of US basketball legend Kobe Bryant has been awarded $16m in damages over leaked graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter in 2020. 

Vanessa Bryant, 40, said she had panic attacks after learning LAPD cops and firefighters had taken images of the deceased victims and shared the images. 

A jury has now said the county must pay Mrs Bryant for emotional distress. 

Co-plaintiff Christopher Chester will be paid $15m. He lost his wife Sarah and daughter Payton in the crash. 

Her husband Kobe, 41, their daughter Gianna, 13 and six family friends died when their helicopter crashed in California in January 2020. 

Jurors at the trial heard how police officers and firefighters took gruesome cell phone photos at the accident site and showed them to others, including at a bar and a gala event.