http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/US/kobe_bryant_dismiss_040901-1.html
The victim no longer wants to testify.
(Am I first? What do I win? :))
Wow. I’m not surprised she’s declining to testify, after all the reports of threats made against her.
If he didn’t do what he was accused of, I feel a little sorry for Kobe. That accusation is going to follow him for the rest of his life. If he did do it, he needs more punishment than that.
What’s with the Pit being converted to CNN? What are you pitting here?
Somehow I didn’t think the replies would be all moonbeams and lollipops. Just saving the Mods some time.
Even if she refused to testify, the prosecution’s case was getting perilously thin. So thin, in fact, that they were milimeters away from dismissing the case on their own. Unfortunately, since the victim no longer wants to testify, Kobe’s name isn’t going to be cleared in any way. At least if the prosecution dropped the case or requested a dismissal, it’s SOMETHING better than the victim not testifying.
Do the reports say whether or not she was going to drop her civil suit? She filed it before the trial got under way in colorado, probably hoping to get a decision based not on proof of fact, but on the emotions of the jurors, as there was no decision, proof or a formal crime for which Kobe was found guilty.
Sam
Arnold was accused of similar things, and all he did was become a huge movie star and Governor of Caulifornia.
Most likely the prosecution discovered what a money grubbing, opportunistic little twat she actually is and started backpeddling before they got their asses handed to them.
Or to give her a marginally better case in the civil suit, they advised her not to testify so they could drop the charges without having to drop on the grounds of not having a case. It looks a shade better for her civilly if she decided not to testify as compared to the prosecution dropping the charges on the grounds of a lack of evidence.
Sam
Apparently the DNA evidence was going to show that she had sex with at least one other man *after * Bryant, but before she claimed rape (the evidence seems to have been her injuries, and nothing else - but who caused them?). She also got something like $20K from a state victim’s fund, already. She might well not have been willing to testify about either of those things.
So what we got here is a trophy-hunting DA looking to get his mug on TV every day for a few weeks, and go on to higher office as The Kobe Bryant Prosecutor. Shoulda made sure there was a case first, though.
I’m so confused.
I understood it to be that the prosecution had declined to use a witness - a forensic pathologist - whose testimony, they realized, could actually help Bryant’s case, but failed to notify the defense, and that on those grounds, the case was dismissed per the Defense’s request.
And the civil suit is still going forward.
Any word on the unconfirmed are reports OJ sent Kobe a bottle of champagne?
This prosecutor needs to shut the holy fuck up so ESPN can get back to the game.
Jesus Christ.
SHUT UP! SHUT UP!
How many goddamn hours have been dedicated on TV to this fuckin case?! Larry King, Jim Abrahms, Geraldo Rivera… I really hate the news in this country. As you can see, I just didnt give a shit about what happened day-to-day on the case.
But what was worse than the over exposure of the case was when all sorts of psychopaths took sides like they had ongoing interests, let the facts be damned. There were the loons who argued “Kobe’s rich and famous! Why would he need to rape the bitch?” and the maniacs who shouted “Of course he raped her! All these NBA players are scum and anyone accused of rape is guilty!” Especially that Nancy Grace (I avoid Larry King as much as I can, but I got to know her).
Well I’m glad its over. It sounds like Kobe deserves to get off and I feel pretty bad for him. This’ll definitely be mentioned in his obituary, probably first paragraph. But I gotta say, good riddance to this case… maybe these TV folks will start covering the dozens upon dozens of rapes in the Sudan now, but I won’t hold my breath.
My understanding, which may be wrong, is that the money paid for therapists, counselors, psychiatrists, and the like. It’s not like she got $20K cash. I’ll be interested to read in the paper whether the state has any chance of getting that money back since she’s declined to testify.
It was going to be an ugly trial, very nasty. Very “he said, she said.” I’m just as glad I don’t have to avoid the first ten minutes of the local news every night.
And I’d like to add that regardless of whether her charges had any foundation or not, the abuse and the rancor she had to take was completely unjustified. None of us know, or will ever know, which of them is telling the truth. It’s quite possible that they’re both telling the truth as they see it. Two people are going to spend time in jail for threatening her life. Such actions are bullshit.
Agreed. And folks will bicker mindlessly about it for years to come.
Let’s face it, no evidence directly linking Peterson to his wife’s disappearance has been brought up. I vote we end the circus and drop the charges…oh yes, and charge Amber Frey with adultery!
And then hang her for her sharp tongue?
If she made up the charges, she certainly deserves something. Perhaps a good, hard smack upside the head with the judge’s gavel for wasting the court’s time and the taxpayers’ money. She may not deserve to have her life threatened, but she needs something.
I totally agree with the “money-grubbing twat” reference made earlier.
This girl is truly a piece of work. She declines to cooperate with the criminal trial because the trauma would be too much for her. OK, I can see that. But apparently, the trauma involved in a civil trial won’t be too much for her to bear, because there might be a big paycheck at the end of it! Very nice…
The case was shit, and the prosecutor never should have filed it, according to my hubby, a former prosecutor himself. The ethical charges he could face with the Bar boggle the mind, let alone the issues with discovery. Let’s just assume he’s going to lose that re-election this fall… And did you hear him thank the Boulder DA’s office for their help and expertise?!? Yep, another big score for Boulder…
I sure hope that 8 minutes of (probably sub-par) sex with a 19 year old was worth it, Kobe. So far it’s cost him $2 million in legal fees, $4 million for the “sorry I fucked up, honey” ring for his wife, and millions more in endorsements.
I hate things like this. Girls who are legitimate rape victims are victimized anew every time some twit cries “rape” for money.
Don’t get me wrong, I think they are both hanging out in the moral cesspool.