Cliff Notes
- Dawn Richard, former member of Danity Kane and Dirty Money, is testifying against Sean Combs, alleging assault and threats against her and Cassie.
- Richard recounted witnessing Combs attacking Cassie, including instances of physical violence, such as hitting her with a skillet and dragging her upstairs.
- Despite the alarming incidents, Richard felt too frightened to intervene or notify authorities at the time.
Diddy trial – as it happened: Combs ‘acted strangely’ at dinner before alleged rape; as Cassie says she doesn’t hate him
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Dawn Richard, a former member of girl group Danity Kane and trio Dirty Money, is now giving evidence.
Danity Kane is the girl group Combs put together on the MTV reality competition Making The Band, while Dirty Money was made up of Richard, singer Kalenna Harper and Combs.
Richard sued Combs last year, alleging that he groped, assaulted and imprisoned her, and threatened her life when she tried to intervene in Cassie’s defence.
She tells the court of various times she says she observed Combs attacking Cassie, including a time he “hit her over the head with a skillet of eggs” in 2009.
She says on that occasion, when Combs attempted to kick Cassie, “She fell to the ground and went into the foetal position, literally trying to hide her head”.
She says Combs went on “kicking and punching her,” before “he put his arm around her neck and dragged her upstairs to the first floor”.
She goes on: “Then I heard glass breaking… I was scared for her, I was scared to do anything.”
She says she didn’t intervene or call the police, adding “I had never seen anything like that before, and I was scared for myself, he was punching his girlfriend”.