The Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial resumed on Monday when a singer said the hip-hop mogul threatened to kill her if she told anyone that she saw him beat his long-term girlfriend.
Dawn Richard told a jury in Manhattan federal court that Combs issued the threat the day after she witnessed the Bad Boy Records founder try to hit Cassie with a frying pan and then beat her.
She said he told her and another woman who saw the attack that “we could go missing” if either revealed what they saw.
Assistant US Attorney Mitzi Steiner asked Ms Richard what she took “we could go missing” to mean.
“That we could die,” Ms Richard responded, saying she was shocked because all this happened just as she was beginning to record with “Diddy — Dirty Money”, a musical trio she formed with Combs and another R&B singer.
Combs, 55, is on trial in New York on sex trafficking and racketeering charges alleging that he exploited his status as an entertainment power broker to abuse women, including Cassie, through threats and violence.
He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have argued that prosecutors compiled proof of domestic violence, but not federal crimes.
In four days in the witness box last week, Cassie gave evidence that she wanted a loving relationship with Combs during their nearly 11 years together but was instead subjected to weekly drug-fuelled “freak-offs” with male sex workers that left her too exhausted and damaged to pursue her music career.
Shortly after Cassie finished giving evidence on Friday, Ms Richard began her stint, saying she witnessed Combs attack Cassie on multiple occasions, including during a visit to Combs’ home recording studio in 2009, when Ms Richard said she and another woman saw Combs hit Cassie “on the head and beat her on the ground”.
She said Combs tried to hit Cassie over the head with a frying pan, but Cassie was able to deflect it.
He would punch her, choke her, drag her, slap her in the mouth. I saw him kick her, punch her in the stomach
On Monday, Ms Steiner asked Ms Richard how frequently she witnessed Combs beat his girlfriend.
“Frequently,” Ms Richard said. “He would punch her, choke her, drag her, slap her in the mouth. I saw him kick her, punch her in the stomach.”
Ms Richard said that on other occasions, she saw Combs punch Cassie in the face with a closed fist and that she saw him punch her in the stomach during an argument at a restaurant.
Cassie used makeup, clothing and sunglasses to cover up injuries, which included bruising on her face, eyes, lip, arms and knees, Ms Richard said.
Ms Richard said the beatings sometimes occurred when Cassie spoke up for herself, “if she had an opinion about something”.
At other times, she said, “it could be random. We wouldn’t even know where it came from”.
Ms Richard, who also performed in the group Danity Kane, said Combs’ staff, including his bodyguards, also witnessed violence.
“They wouldn’t react. They wouldn’t do anything,” Ms Richard said.
