The Diddy Trial: The Witness List

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial

Episode Title: The Diddy Trial: The Witness List
Release Date: June 25, 2025
Hosts: Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes, and Guest Katherine Townsend
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In this episode of Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, joined by guest Katherine Townsend, delve deep into the intricacies of the high-profile Diddy trial. The discussion provides listeners with a comprehensive overview of the trial's progress, key testimonies, and the potential implications moving forward.

Current Status of the Trial

At the outset of the episode, the hosts inform listeners that the jury is currently off, marking the end of witness testimonies for the day.

• Katherine Townsend (03:22): "It's Wednesday, June 25th. The jury is off today in the Diddy trial. There are no more witnesses for them to hear from."

Despite the jury being off, significant proceedings continue behind the scenes.

• Amy Robach: Both the defense and prosecution are meeting with the judge to finalize what the jury will hear during deliberations. Katherine adds, "This should be a fun day in that lower Manhattan courtroom," highlighting the gravity and tension of these meetings.

Jury Instructions and Deliberation Timeline

A substantial portion of the discussion centers around the jury instructions—a critical component that guides the jury's deliberations.

• Katherine Townsend (05:12): "They want a unique set of instructions, tailored specifically to this case."
• T.J. Holmes (06:03): References past trials, noting that jury instructions can vary significantly in length and complexity, citing Judge Ito's 40-minute instructions in the O.J. trial and Judge Nelson's two-hour instructions in the Zimmerman case.

The hosts speculate on when deliberations might begin, considering factors like the length of the instructions and the jury's workload.

• Katherine Townsend (06:57): Suggests deliberations might start on Monday to ensure a fresh perspective after a long week.
• T.J. Holmes (07:28): Agrees, emphasizing the importance of a rested jury.

Comprehensive Overview of Witnesses

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has presented 34 witnesses, ranging from former assistants to industry friends. The hosts systematically review these testimonies, highlighting their significance and impact.

Key Witnesses Discussed:

1. Israel Flores (07:59):

   • Role: Hotel security guard at the Intercontinental.
   • Testimony: Responded to an incident involving a woman in distress, providing initial surveillance footage to the jury.

2. Daniel Philip (08:20):

   • Role: Male escort known as "The Punisher."

   • Testimony Highlights:

     • Received $6,000 per event.
     • Witnessed Diddy engaging in violent acts against Cassie Ventura.
     • Revealed disturbing behaviors, including Diddy's private acts involving a veil and self-pleasure (09:03).

   • Katherine Townsend (09:16): "That disturbing image is still with me today. It is one you can't unsee."

3. Cassie Ventura (09:34):

   • Role: Diddy's ex-girlfriend and primary accuser.
   • Impact: Her heartfelt and emotional testimony positioned her as the most sympathetic witness, garnering empathy from both the jury and the public.
   • Katherine Townsend (10:01): "She was a very, very powerful witness. We all felt for her; it was hard not to feel emotion towards her."

4. Carrie Morgan (13:20):

   • Role: Former friend of Cassie Ventura.
   • Testimony Highlights:
     • Describes Diddy's violent behavior towards Cassie, including choking incidents.
     • Highlights financial coercion, where Cassie was given $30,000 to remain silent.
     • Katherine Townsend (13:50): "She wanted nothing to do with Cassie or with Diddy after what she experienced."

5. George Kaplan (21:38):

   • Role: Former assistant to Diddy.
   • Testimony Highlights:
     • Discussed the setup of "freak-off rooms" and the logistical aspects of maintaining these spaces.
     • Granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.

6. Capricorn Clark (20:40):

   • Role: Witness claiming to have been kidnapped by Diddy.
   • Testimony Highlights:
     • Detailed threats from Diddy, including being thrown into a river.
     • Underwent a lie detector test to validate her claims.
     • Katherine Townsend (20:44): Emphasizes the severity and corroboration of her testimony.

7. Robes (26:53):

   • Role: Security guard implicated in bribing to secure exclusive surveillance footage.
   • Testimony Highlights:
     • Admitted to splitting bribes to keep Diddy's video control.
     • Katherine Townsend (27:42): "Proper attribution of quotes: 'His boss got 50, he took 30, and his other guard friend took 20.'"

8. Brianna Bongalin (28:21):

   • Role: Injured party alleging assault by Diddy.
   • Testimony Highlights:
     • Claims of being dangled over a balcony.
     • Defense successfully challenged her alibi timeline, questioning her presence during key dates.
     • T.J. Holmes (28:53): "No mistrial granted. But that was a very big moment for a very important witness."

Additional Notable Witnesses:

• Gerard Gannon (15:31): Former Homeland Security agent detailing Diddy's possessions found during searches.
• Milo Morales (19:25): Makeup artist who observed injuries on Cassie.
• Lance Jimenez (19:52): General manager exposing Diddy's meticulous control over hotel room availability and financial transactions.
• Enrique Santos (28:53): Tech analyst verifying critical text messages.
• Joseph Sociello (32:38): Expert connecting receipts and transactions to demonstrate Diddy's central role in orchestrating events.

Host Insights and Analysis

The hosts provide insightful commentary on the testimonies, often reflecting on the emotional and psychological dimensions of the case.

• Katherine Townsend (11:35): Discusses Cassie's resilience, outlining her pregnancy during the tumultuous events and her swift recovery post-trial onset.
• T.J. Holmes (12:07): Highlights the complexity of witness motivations, especially when financial incentives are involved, potentially compromising their testimonies.

Implications and Expectations Moving Forward

As the trial progresses towards its conclusion, the hosts speculate on the possible outcomes and the jury's next steps.

• Katherine Townsend (07:28): Predicts that deliberations will commence on Monday, ensuring the jury approaches the case with a fresh perspective.
• T.J. Holmes (33:26): Reflects on the strategic use of witnesses by both prosecution and defense, noting the depth of information presented.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reflection on the intense nature of the trial and the profound testimonies heard thus far. Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, along with Katherine Townsend, emphasize the importance of staying informed as the case continues to unfold.

• Amy Robach: "We will keep you all updated on the very latest on the Diddy trial."
• Katherine Townsend: "Thank you so much for listening. I'm Amy Robach and on behalf of TJ Holmes, we hope you guys have a wonderful day."

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Key Takeaways

• The Diddy trial remains a pivotal legal battle with numerous impactful testimonies.
• Cassie Ventura stands out as the most emotionally compelling witness, providing a central narrative to the prosecution's case.
• The detailed testimonies of assistants and acquaintances reveal a pattern of coercion, violence, and meticulous control by Diddy.
• The timeline for jury deliberations is uncertain, with expectations leaning towards a start on the upcoming Monday.
• Both prosecution and defense are strategically presenting witnesses to bolster their respective cases, indicating a complex and multifaceted trial.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Katherine Townsend (03:22): "The jury is off today in the Diddy trial. There are no more witnesses for them to hear from."
• Katherine Townsend (09:16): "That disturbing image is still with me today. It is one you can't unsee."
• Katherine Townsend (10:01): "She was a very, very powerful witness. We all felt for her; it was hard not to feel emotion towards her."
• T.J. Holmes (11:14): "If he settled with her, I don't believe that he would be in court facing life in prison somewhere down the road."
• Katherine Townsend (13:50): "She wanted nothing to do with Cassie or with Diddy after what she experienced."
• Katherine Townsend (20:44): "Remember, remember a true victim can actually not sound like one."
• T.J. Holmes (28:53): "No mistrial granted. But that was a very big moment for a very important witness."
• Katherine Townsend (32:31): "And she was someone who really cared for Cassie and seemed heartbroken that the relationship had to end."

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the main content of the episode, omitting advertisements, promotional segments, and non-relevant sections to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the Diddy trial as discussed by the hosts.

Transcript

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[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Katherine Townsend]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Katherine Townsend]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Katherine Townsend]

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

Hey there, folks. It is Wednesday, June 25th. The jury is off today in the Diddy trial. There are no more witnesses for them to hear from. In the past seven weeks, they've heard from 34 witnesses, including six former Diddy assistants, four hotel workers, two ex girlfriends, a rapper, a former pop star, and a male escort who goes by the Punisher. And with that, welcome to this Diddy update episode of Amy and TJ Robes. They are. The jury's out, but work is still. We need to explain that even though the jury's out today, work, very important work actually is still going on at the court.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes. So both the defense and the prosecution are meeting with the judge today to decide what the jury is going to hear when they're instructed by the judge about how they go about deliberations. And each set of instructions is unique to each court case. So this should be a fun day in that lower Manhattan courtroom.

[TJ Holmes]

Some fighting going on in that.

[Katherine Townsend]

Well, yeah, fun was very sarcastic.

[TJ Holmes]

I mean, these things are taken so serious. Every little word matters. They want to. This is their last chance, I guess, right, to get a word in while the jury is deliberating. I am. I've seen different. Different reporting on whether or not they will physically get a copy of the instructions once they get in there. But there, he's gonna have to read every single word to them is how it goes. And that could take a while.

[Katherine Townsend]

It certainly could. And I. I can't imagine how long. If they have a very limited amount of time this afternoon because they're meeting at 12 noon, correct Eastern time to meet with the judge to hash it out. And they're both gonna want different things and they're both gonna not want certain things said. So, you know, I. I don't envy what a judge's job is in this entire process, as I've watched really closely with this trial. And just that is a, That's a.

[TJ Holmes]

Tough job to be a referee for confident, borderline arrogant, successful folks who have this much on the line. I mean, the bickering it can get. It doesn't seem like it has at least an open court here, but we've seen in places and times. And it's amazing that people this educated and this successful can also be this petty and childish in some of their older.

[Katherine Townsend]

You know, I mean, you heard, you heard Diddy yesterday telling the judge he was doing a good job. So he must be.

[TJ Holmes]

Been wanting to tell you, this judge doing great. I thought that was hilarious. I don't know how long. So I wonder. So the timeline we talked about closing arguments tomorrow. Both sides said they wanted about four hours. That could go long. Could. So if we go into Friday, finishing that up and then the jury gets instructions, will they have any time to deliberate on Friday? I guess is maybe the thing that's up in the air.

[Katherine Townsend]

Depends on how long the instructions are. And that is going to be determined today. So one thing affects the next down the line.

[TJ Holmes]

This is how deep of a dive I did into this. I mean, the George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin trial and then the O.J. trial. Okay. I couldn't find the instructions, the, the physical instruction to see how long they were online for OJ But I actually watched Judge Ito give the jury instructions. It went about 40 minutes.

[Katherine Townsend]

Oh, okay.

[TJ Holmes]

Didn't take long at all. But then in the Zimmerman trial, it was 27 pages of instructions. I think it took the judge there, Judge Nelson, about two hours. Okay, so it's up in the air. It could go a little while. It could take until lunch break, who knows, to get the instructions out. I'm just so curious if they're going to start deliberating this week, this week.

[Katherine Townsend]

Friday afternoon, or will he let them, after a very long seven weeks, take a break so that they can start fresh on Monday?

[TJ Holmes]

That's a good idea, actually.

[Katherine Townsend]

I think that would be my, my reasoning for a judge to say, you don't want a tired jury on the. At the end of the week after sitting there for so long. I know they got today off technically, but still to start in the afternoon and then start sitting out, you know, when you're angry, tired at the end of the week.

[TJ Holmes]

We just went through all this. It's Friday now. Y' all go in there and start fighting it out.

[Katherine Townsend]

Exactly.

[TJ Holmes]

That's Explosive.

[Katherine Townsend]

So I. Yes, that's a good question. After we just talk that out, I'm pretty sure they'll probably start deliberating on Monday.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, you make a good point. But do you even remember, folks, there were 34 witnesses and all of them for the prosecution. As you know, of course, Diddy Sai did not call anybody. And robes, we're gonna fly through for you. All right now, every single one of the 34, some of them more eventful and memorable than others. But did you remember first up, Israel Flores? Not exactly a blockbuster when we first heard it, but this was a hotel security guard at the Intercontinental who responded to that incident, that of a woman in distress.

[Katherine Townsend]

I'm gonna be honest, I did not remember that. And it is an interesting choice to not start off with a bang, but perhaps because we don't remember, that's the whole point. Probably the jury doesn't either.

[TJ Holmes]

But they said this allowed them though right off the bat to enter the surveillance video corre record. So right off the bat, the jury was starting to see that. Next up already got a male escort. Ropes.

[Katherine Townsend]

Okay, so then they did have a little flash there. You want to kind of excite the jury. Hey, look what we got for you. And this is just the beginning. But yes, this was Daniel Philip. I don't remember his name either. And this is crazy because we really paid close attention to this every single day. This is interesting. But yes, he talked about getting paid $6,000 per freak off. And he did say he. He witnessed personally Diddy being violent to Cassie.

[TJ Holmes]

And this was a guy also that we got. Look, there were a lot of freak off details. And I guess early on we weren't. I guess we weren't ready yet for some of what we were going through here. Later on in the trial we go, okay, that sounds.

[Katherine Townsend]

And we got desensitized. Oh, okay, wait, how many bottles of baby oil? That's nothing.

[TJ Holmes]

But this guy off the top started dropping bomb after bomb. And one of the things we found out is that Diddy likes to sit in the corner in the dark, buck naked with a veil over his head and masturbating while he's watching his girlfriend have sex with another man.

[Katherine Townsend]

And that disturbing image is still with me today. Yes, that is one that you actually, I don't think you can ever unsee. So that was a very powerful, powerful witness. And yes, that was probably just the first of so many disturbing and jaw dropping pieces of testimony that we were about to hear.

[TJ Holmes]

And again, number three, look, Cassie Ventura. Fine between her, I Guess. Capricorn, Clark, mia, Jane. It's tough to find a witness that was. I mean, that last Jane testimony was pretty heavy, but this stuff, I think Cassie Venterfine had to be, would you say, the number one, the star witness and the most powerful, impactful witness for the prosecution?

[Katherine Townsend]

I believe so. Because she honestly, she was also just. So we all felt for her, like it was hard not to feel emotion towards her. And for her, you wanted to comfort her. And she was a very sympathetic witness and seemingly a true victim when you heard her testimony. So, yes, she was very, very powerful. Of course, she was his ex girlfriend for over a decade. Correct. And the accuser who actually started this entire trial, so to speak, because it was her lawsuit.

[TJ Holmes]

And.

[Katherine Townsend]

And she files this lawsuit the next day, she gets $20 million from Diddy. But it caught the attention of federal investigators and boom, the investigation began. And here we are now, all because of Cassie.

[TJ Holmes]

Have we talked about this before on any episode? What if he'd have settled with her.

[Katherine Townsend]

Right the first day, like as soon.

[TJ Holmes]

As he threatened and said, you need to buy the rights to my book. What if he settled with her?

[Katherine Townsend]

If he did that, I don't believe that he would be in court facing.

[TJ Holmes]

Life in prison somewhere down the road, some of this somewhere. You think anyone would have come forward.

[Katherine Townsend]

If they hadn't for decades?

[TJ Holmes]

That is so true. But yeah, just to think about through.

[Katherine Townsend]

The MeToo movement, you know, no one said anything that would have been a real opportune time to come forward.

[TJ Holmes]

Wow. Well, yeah. And you talked about her being sympathetic. She was eight plus months pregnant through all this. Did she have. When she got done, she had the baby the following.

[Katherine Townsend]

The next week.

[TJ Holmes]

Week, Right.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yeah.

[TJ Holmes]

That's amazing.

[Katherine Townsend]

That is amazing. As someone who has been pregnant before, that is remarkable.

[TJ Holmes]

Witness number four, Homeland Security, a Special Agent Yassin Benda did one of the searches at the hotel, was actually there when Diddy was arrested. Now, that was in 2024, when Diddy was arrested. Now, with the time, if we heard about Diddy had $9,000 in cash on him, ketamine, MDMA and a bunch of baby oil back then, maybe we would have scratched our heads and go, what the hell is that about? But now we know exactly what all that.

[Katherine Townsend]

Right. It's all. All the pieces of the puzzle have come together. And so when you hear this type of testimony, what was there in the room with him? Well, it all just makes sense now.

[TJ Holmes]

Dawn Richard was witness number five. She's a former member of Danity Kane, the group that Diddy put together on his show making the band. And there was a lot to her. But it seemed like isn't this where the defense made a lot of inroads, where she didn't seem to be the greatest of witnesses for the prosecution?

[Katherine Townsend]

That is correct. And she says that she witnessed violence against Cassie that was powerful because she was there in the room and she could speak directly to seeing Diddy beat up on Cassie. Although fair to point out once again, Diddy is not on trial for domestic violence or any kind of assault. But she did back up Cassie in that. So in, in one way at least she bolstered Cassie even to her fines testimony. But she also has a lawsuit against Diddy and that is complicated when you're a witness taking the stand and you're also seeking some sort of financial compensation.

[TJ Holmes]

Witness number six was Carrie Morgan. She had some pretty powerful testimony, Rose, because she seemed to be somebody. She's a former friend of Cassie Ventura FY and she seemed to be someone who really cared for Cassie and seemed heartbroken that the relationship had to end and. And the way in it was really shitty.

[Katherine Townsend]

She describes Diddy trying to choke her and her leaving immediately and that Cassie coming to her and giving her $30,000 from Diddy not to talk about the incident. But to her credit and to her credibility, she ended her friendship with Cassie immediately. She wanted nothing to do with her or with Diddy after what she experienced. It was that horrific. One could assume that she just didn't want to be a part of that group, period.

[TJ Holmes]

I remember she said she talked about the disappointment of how Cassie didn't come to her defense in any way. Didn't try to. Was immediately trying to explain Diddy's behavior. I guess just didn't comfort her in that moment. How disappointing she was. She gave some powerful and powerful and got some sad testimony. Yeah, deported. David James was witness number seven. He was a former Combs assistant. He testified to again. Was this the first assistant we've heard?

[Katherine Townsend]

The first of many, yes, I believe of many.

[TJ Holmes]

But he was the first that started to tell us about rope some of these freak off rooms and some of the responsibility they had in setting these things up.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes. So usually for most of these assistants who we heard testify, it was about. Yes. Setting up the hotels. It was about making sure all of what he would need in those rooms for the freak offs that could last days on end. So yes, he talked about just getting baby oil and even drugs. And so all of these details started to come out and we were all Shocked as he. He said, this is Mr. Combs kingdom. We are all here to serve in it.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. He said he remembered when he first went into the offices. That's what was explained to him. That's setting the. Setting the standard here. This is Mr. Combs Kingdom and we are all here to serve him. So get on board. He said he ended up quitting, though, after 15 months after this incident where Diddy apparently had guns and they were supposed to go confront Suge Knight. He said that shook him to the point that eventually that made him want to.

[Katherine Townsend]

That would shake anybody. Given 90s rap beefs have turned deadly in the past. So that would not be something most people would want to be a part of.

[TJ Holmes]

All right, after that, we had witness number eight, which was Regina Ventura. That's Cassie Ventura finds mom. She wasn't up there long. I don't think the defense cross examined her.

[Katherine Townsend]

I don't believe they did either.

[TJ Holmes]

I think she might have been up there 15 minutes, half hour. And I guess that incident that's sticks in the mind is when she. I guess a fair way to say it, tried to buy her daughter back to save her, if you will, from Diddy.

[Katherine Townsend]

I thought this. Yes, she was short, but very powerful because, yes, she talked about how she wired Diddy $20,000 basically to get Cassie back. Because Cassie had called her and said, he is threatening to release these sexually explicit videos of me and he needs money. And so you know her, she mortgaged her home to get this money to Diddy. But I think what was just so eerie is to know a few days later, he wires it back, meaning, she's mine.

[TJ Holmes]

She wasn't up there long. But that was a powerful moment to hear. To hear. Witness number nine was Sheree Hayes, the infamous Punisher. Of course, we heard so much about during it. And yes, he was somebody that was regularly used. I think he testified at least a dozen times in some of these free calls. This is the guy who told us about the veil. My mistake.

[Katherine Townsend]

I get right. The veil was not really revealed until a couple. Yes, a couple exotic dancers in. But that was just. That was a. Oh, God. That was just a horror movie esque detail that again added to the visual that I had in my head of Diddy in a corner naked masturbating.

[TJ Holmes]

Will you get that and will you stop? You. You keep.

[Katherine Townsend]

I know, but every time we talk about it, my. Did you not see it in your head?

[TJ Holmes]

No, I didn't actually, I do.

[Katherine Townsend]

And it's like, stop. I don't keep talking about It. I don't want it in my head.

[TJ Holmes]

Don't see it. All right, winner number 10 was Gerard Gannon. Another Homeland Security special agent went through some items found in Diddy's Miami home. This is when we started first hearing about lingerie and platform heels and baby oil kept close by where some guns were. So went through some of that stuff. The next witness was an expert and this one was important. Dawn Hughes robes. And she wasn't necessarily testifying for either side. She wasn't someone who had treated or examined or interviewed Cassie Ventura. Fine. But she helped us all kind of understand, I guess, the psyche of abusers. People who are abused.

[Katherine Townsend]

Right. And she did not interview anyone who was a victim or a part of this trial. This is just based on her experience. Experience as an expert psychologist. But talking about why women are complicit or seem to say they want to go along with it or pretend like everything is okay when actually they're being abused and they don't have control. They try to just soothe. It's the person who is actually abusing them or even love bomb them. So it seems strange to know that these women. But she was explaining it. You can say you love someone, you can do what you want for them and it's still doesn't mean that you were free to act otherwise.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, it's crazy. I'm just remembering. You remember they wanted to bring her back. Yes, the prosecution did. And the judge said, nope, you had your shot. But it was after one. I can't remember. One of the victims, alleged victims had testified they wanted to bring her back for something they said nope.

[Katherine Townsend]

Because. Because what she was saying was very inconsistent with what her texts were showing. And that's why they wanted to bring her back. To say remember, remember a victim, a true victim can actually not sound like one. But still is.

[TJ Holmes]

All right, we had witness number 12 was George Kaplan, another former duty assistant. Again, talked about setting up freak off rooms and the some of the violence he saw ended up getting immunity. And then witness all important. Witness number 13 was rapper Kid Cudi. This was a highly anticipated and this was some explosive stuff. But this is the guy who says Diddy broke into his home and did he firebombed his car because he found out the Kid Cudi was dating. Cassie said, did he even threaten to kill him. That was a very powerful Witness. Witness number 14 was Milo Morales. I don't remember the makeup artist at all.

[Katherine Townsend]

You know, I, I do because she was talking about. Didn't she talk about the bruises? She Said she didn't actually see Cassie get injured, but, oh, yes, she saw when Cassie came running in to the hotel room after a violent incident, she claims. And she said Diddy then came into the hotel room looking for Cassie. So just more eyewitness accounts of the relationship between Cassie and Diddy and how violent it could be.

[TJ Holmes]

Footage number 15, Frederick Zamor. Had some very powerful testimony. General manager of the La Meritage Hotel in Beverly Hills. But talked through Diddy's guest profile. This was some sticky, icky stuff.

[Katherine Townsend]

Sticky, icky stuff. That's a good way to put it. Yes. So he talked about just how there were memos in Diddy's file about, you know, you're going to have to do a deep cleaning and you won't be able to release the room for a day and make sure you take X amount of dollars for a deposit, that kind of thing.

[TJ Holmes]

All right. Joshua Croft. I can't remember. The forensics agent went through the laptops belonging to Cassie and Diddy. Then we had a witness. Number 17 was Capricorn Clark. Very powerful testimony. She claimed she was kidnapped by Diddy. Claimed he threatened to kill her. Threatened? He said one of his goons threatened to throw her in the river. That she was gonna end up thrown in the river five days.

[Katherine Townsend]

Right. She was lie detector test and was kidnapped and all of that. So, yeah, she testified to some very crazy, crazy evidence. If what she says she experienced, then we had.

[TJ Holmes]

Number 18 was Christopher Ignacio. LAPD officer responded to Kid Cudi's house. He said he actually ran the place of an SUV out there and saw that that vehicle did belong to Bad Boy Entertainment. We had number 19 was Lance Jimenez, an arson investigator who looked into what happened with Kid Cudi's car. And this rooms was where the defense actually asked for a mistrial, remember? Because they accidentally asked a question, if you will, that kind of suggested that the fingerprints went missing from that investigation, as if Diddy had something to do with it. They asked for a mistrial right after.

[Katherine Townsend]

This, and the judge denied that request.

[TJ Holmes]

Deontay Nash was witness number 20, a Styles, very good friend of Cassie and saw a lot of her injuries, but didn't know a lot of what was going on. He was the guy, right? Said he helped her hide on several occasions.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

From Diddy.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes. And, and, and witnessed that attack in the hotel room where she got that nasty bruise on the headboard.

[TJ Holmes]

All right, well, stay with us here, folks. When we come back, we're going to go through these last few witnesses. And one arguably was the most important Mia who was on the stand. Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for.

[Katherine Townsend]

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[TJ Holmes]

With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.

[Katherine Townsend]

Over the past six years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned one thing. No town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've received hundreds of messages from people across the country begging for help with unsolved murders. I was calling about the murder of my husband. It's a cold case.

[TJ Holmes]

They've never found her and it haunts.

[Katherine Townsend]

Me to this day.

[TJ Holmes]

The murderer is still out there.

[Katherine Townsend]

Every week on Helen Gone Murder Line, I dig into a new case, bringing the skills I've learned as a journalist and private investigator to ask the questions no one else is asking. Police really didn't care to even try.

[TJ Holmes]

She was still somebody's mother. She was still somebody's daughter. She was still somebody's sister.

[Katherine Townsend]

There's so many questions that we've never gotten any kind of answers for. If you have a case you'd like me to look into, call the Helen Gone murder line at 678-744-6145. Listen to Hell and Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and.

[TJ Holmes]

They get asked all the time, have.

[Katherine Townsend]

You ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

[TJ Holmes]

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

[Katherine Townsend]

Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution.

[TJ Holmes]

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

[Katherine Townsend]

Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for good and the team.

[TJ Holmes]

That brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi.

[Katherine Townsend]

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[TJ Holmes]

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[Katherine Townsend]

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

[TJ Holmes]

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app.

[Katherine Townsend]

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

Binge episodes 1, 2 and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5 and 6 on June 4.

[Katherine Townsend]

Ad free at Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

The American west with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. Hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores and brought to you by Velvet Buck, this podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode I'll be diving into some of the lesser known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best selling author and Meat Eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were. And I'll say it seems like the Ice age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the west and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to the American west with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The summer of 1993 was one of the best of my life. I'm journalist Jeff Perlman and this is Rick Jervis. We were interns at the Nashville Tennessee Inn. But the most unforgettable part, our roommate, Reggie Payne from Oakland, sports editor and aspiring rapper and his stage name, Sexy Sweat. In 2020, I had a simple idea. Let's find Reggie. We searched everywhere, but Reggie was gone. In February 2020, Reggie was having a diabetic episode. His mom called 911. Police cuffed him face down. He slipped into a coma and died. I'm like thanking you, but then I see my son's not moving. No headlines, no outrage, just silence. So we started digging and uncovered city officials bent on protecting their own. Listen to finding Sexy Sweat on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right folks, we're gonna pick back up here as we go through the witness list. Witness number 21, Robes was MIA, another powerful witness who spent days on the stand.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes, that was her pseudonym because she was is an alleged victim of Diddy's, but she talks about him repeatedly sexually assaulting her. She said she saw multiple assaults on Cassie as well. She was on the stand for three full days, but she got very specific about some of these attacks that she experienced and witnessed.

[TJ Holmes]

Witness number 22, Sylvan O. Sylvia Okin went over what some of the hotel charges were at the Beverly Hills Hotel about some of the cleaning charges. Eddie Garcia was witness number 23, a very important one here. Robes. He was the security Guard who talked about. And this is where we heard so much about the bribe and how it was split up, even among the security staff.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yes. His boss got 50, he took 30. And his other guard friend took 20. But this was all to give Diddy what he thought was the only copy of that video. The hotel surveillance video.

[TJ Holmes]

Wrong. It was not. Derek Ferguson was witness number 24. I thought this was interesting, Rose. He was the CFO for bad boy Entertainment. But he worked with him all these years. He said, I ain't see nothing wrong. I didn't see a crime committed. I didn't see any violence. And he kind of went through what the books were. He was kind of boring, if you will. But it was amazing to think somebody that close to Diddy had no idea this stuff was going on.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yeah. Or he just didn't want to know. And so ignorance is bliss.

[TJ Holmes]

You know what? Well, he was up there with his blissful self. Frank Piazza was witness number 25 of forensic video Expert just verified the authenticity of that surveillance video. Witness number 26, Brianna Bongalin. This was another chance.

[Katherine Townsend]

They.

[TJ Holmes]

They asked for a mistrial on this one too. Ropes.

[Katherine Townsend]

It was a Perry Mason moment for sure though. She says that of course, very quickly. I'm sure you can't forget Brianna Bonglin. But she claims Diddy dangled her over that 16 story balcony. The problem was, the defense was able to point out he was never there. She had a specific date where she said this happened. She said she did it based on photos and it could have been off a day or two. That didn't even work because Diddy was not there for the entire week. He was in New York. He was on tour and they have the hotel receipts.

[TJ Holmes]

So yes, no mistrial granted. But that was a very big moment for very important witness. Enrique Santos was witness number 27, tech analyst. He verified some text messages. Then we had witness number 28. I had to go back. This was the longest witness on the stand. Like six days. Yeah, I didn't. Six days. So this is an ex girlfriend and accuser. This testimony was bonkers.

[Katherine Townsend]

It really was. Because throughout it she said she still loves him. But yes, he is still paying her rent as she was on the stand right there. They had a two year love contract that apparently isn't up yet. He also paid for her legal fees initially. I. It was said that she was on the defense side and then she switched over to the prosecution side after he was arrested.

[TJ Holmes]

But she, I mean, some. She said 90 of the time.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yeah.

[TJ Holmes]

That she was with him was her.

[Katherine Townsend]

Being with another man, and that's not what she wanted. Yeah, 90% of the time. That was crazy.

[TJ Holmes]

Andre Lemon was witness number 29. Another Homeland Security agent talked about the raid on the LA home. This is where 900 robes, bottles of Astro Glide, and, excuse me, 200 bottles of baby oil were found. 900 bottles?

[Katherine Townsend]

Where?

[TJ Holmes]

Like Astro Glide?

[Katherine Townsend]

Obviously, Diddy has a mansion, but where would you put 900 bottles of Astroglide.

[TJ Holmes]

In this apartment and this one here? 900. I don't know what it looks like. How many boxes is that? How's. I don't know.

[Katherine Townsend]

It feels like you'd need an entire room, like a pantry that's the size of, like, a New York City bedroom to house all of that. I just was trying to get a visual on that. See, I want to replace the other visual with this visual of 900 bottles of Astroglide and 200 bottles of baby oil. So you're talking 1100 bottles of lubricant.

[TJ Holmes]

I just fill up the tubs. Just fill up the tubs. All right, Jonathan Perez was witness number 30. Now, another former Combs assistant who was granted immunity. Jonathan Perez seemed like a good egg for the most part. Right. And talked about. Yes, as much as I had to do with these freak offs and whatnot. He said that wasn't really a big part of my job.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yeah, it was actually so nonchalant about some of that. It was interesting to me that the prosecution even decided to put him up because he really didn't see anything too damning in him. Fact, it kind of felt more favorable to Diddy.

[TJ Holmes]

All right, Anya Sanker, the US Attorney paralegal, a summary witness, as they say, used her to kind of help get some messages on the record. They did the same thing with the next witness, Delisa Penland, another special agent who showed how some hotel charges were paid through Bad Boy Entertainment. And then Brendan Paul seemed like he was delayed and delayed. Delayed to get to the stand.

[Katherine Townsend]

Yeah, we had some sick jurors, some issues with the jury, but, yes, one had to be removed. But former Combs assistant, and he, too, is another one where I was curious why it was so important for the prosecution to get him on, because he really talked about his loyalty to Diddy. He talked about the drug thing. The drug thing, yes.

[TJ Holmes]

But when he got arrested, he isn't.

[Katherine Townsend]

Being charged with any drug charges. So it's interesting to me that that was important, that he. Yes, he was the one who was referred to or known as in some of these other civil lawsuits as Diddy's drug mule. But the big. The big point he made in the defense's department was that he never saw Jane unhappy. He said he never saw her that in any way express or show any resistance to these freak offs or sex parties.

[TJ Holmes]

Said every. He saw her after every single one. He said, he said usually saw her beforehand, but he said he absolutely saw her after everyone and never saw her.

[Katherine Townsend]

That is. That is very powerful.

[TJ Holmes]

And the last witness who was up there longer than anticipated, Joseph Sociello. So Cello.

[Katherine Townsend]

You know what? I'm not really good with Italian names, sir.

[TJ Holmes]

Searchello, maybe Search yellow. Another summary witness, but went through a lot of some video. But this was the guy who's connecting the dots of. Okay, here's Diddy on the top. Then he pays for this. For this. He just connected the dots of all these receipts, transactions, travel itineraries, and people to show that he was the one who was pulling the strings and running the show.

[Katherine Townsend]

We thought he was gonna be quick and very dry and boring, but it turned out that both the prosecution and the defense were able to use him to read competing text messages. So it actually got really interesting and a little bit juicy. Plus, because he was there talking about these 50 explicit sexual videos, now you've got the jury watching freak off. So actually the last witness ended up being very interesting and had a lot of extra details we hadn't heard before.

[TJ Holmes]

They knew what they were doing, apparently. And we never questioned that, by the way. But that's it, folks. We are. We don't think they're an open court, do we, today for the.

[Katherine Townsend]

We don't. When we looked it up, it's very. It's not usually something that is public. And whatever happens, the discussions for the jury instructions typically are put in the record for people to look at later, but not in real time. But of course, if anything happens or anything comes out, out. We will keep you all updated on the very latest on the Diddy trial. But in the meantime, thank you so much for listening. I'm Amy Robach and on behalf of TJ Holmes, we hope you guys have a wonderful day. Over the years of making my true crime podcast Hell and Gone, I've learned no town is too small for murder. I'm Katherine Townsend. I've heard from hundreds of people across the country with an unsolved murder in their community. I was calling about the murder of my husband.

[TJ Holmes]

The murder is still out there.

[Katherine Townsend]

Each week I investigate a new case. If there is a case we should Hear about, call 678-744-6145 listen to Helen Gone Murderline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

What happens when we come face to face with death?

[Katherine Townsend]

My truck was blown up by a 20 pound anti tank mine. My parachute did not deploy, was kidnapped by drug cartel.

[TJ Holmes]

When we step beyond the edge of what we know, I clinically died. The heart stopped beating which I was dead for 11.5 minutes.

[Katherine Townsend]

In return, it's a miracle I was brought back.

[TJ Holmes]

Alive Again. A podcast about the strength of the human spirit. Listen to Alive Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Katherine Townsend]

I've seen a lot of stuff over 30 years. You know, some very despicable crime and things that are kind of tough to wrap your head around. And this ranks right up there in the pantheon of Rhode island fraudsters. I've always been told I'm a really good listener, right? And I maximized that while I was lying. Listen to Deep Cover the Truth About.

[TJ Holmes]

Sarah on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

[Katherine Townsend]

Or wherever you get your podcasts. Stay informed, empowered and ahead of the curve with a BI N News this Hour podcast updated hourly to bring you the latest stories shaping the black community. From breaking headlines to cultural milestones, the Black Information Network delivers the facts, the voices and the perspectives that matter 247 because our stories deserve to be heard. Listen to the BI N News this Hour podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Money doesn't have to be complicated.

[TJ Holmes]

It just has to make sense.

[Katherine Townsend]

Hey, it's Victoria Devine from the she's on the Money PODC podcast. I know talking about money can feel intimidating. Trust me, with the right tips, anyone can take control of their finances. Let me help you take the stress out of managing your finances and provide.

[TJ Holmes]

You with the tools to thrive from.

[Katherine Townsend]

Down under to the U.S. i'll show you how to make your money work harder for you, no matter your goals. Search for she's on the Money now on the free iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.