‘All for you’: Vanessa Bryant posts touching tribute to Kobe and Gianna after winning legal fight

Vanessa Bryant paid tribute to her late husband Kobe and daughter Gianna on Wednesday night after winning $16million from L.A. county, whose first responders leaked photos of the helicopter crash that killed the pair, writing on Instagram that her legal fight was ‘all for you’. 

Bryant posted a photo of herself with Kobe and 13-year-old Gianna, known as Gigi to her friends, on Instagram after emerging triumphant from the courthouse in L.A. 

‘All for you! I love you! JUSTICE for Kobe and Gigi,’ she wrote, along with the hashtags ‘bet on yourself’ and ‘Mamba Day’ – in honor of Kobe’s birthday on August 23.

It was a gut-wrenching fight for Bryant, 40, who testified through sobs last week about the moment she learned photos from the horror crash had appeared online and in the press. 

Throughout the 10-day trial in Los Angeles; 

• Vanessa revealed was breastfeeding the couple’s youngest daughter when she learned of photos of her husband and daughter’s remains circulating
• The mother said she feared firefighters and sheriff’s deputies repositioned her daughter’s body in order to photograph her
• Sheriff’s deputies admitted showing the photos to bartenders and friends 
• Vanessa ran from the courtroom overcome with grief after hearing how the photos were being passed around publicly 

Kobe and Gianna were killed along with seven others, including the pilot of the helicopter, on January 26, 2020. 

They were on their way to a youth basketball game and flying in low visibility  

The cause of the crash was pilot error. 

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, photos taken by fire chiefs and first responders at the scene emerged online. 

Bryant and Chris Chester – whose wife Sarah, 45, and daughter, Payton, 13, also died in the crash – sued Los Angeles County. 

Yesterday, the jury awarded Bryant $16million and Chester $15million. The judge 

Bryant testified that she thinks they photographed both Kobe and Gianna’s remains, and that they may have even positioned her daughter’s lifeless body in order to photograph her. 

‘I felt like I wanted to run down the block and scream,’ Bryant testified about the moment she learned of the photos. 

She was breastfeeding her youngest daughter, Capri, at the time. 

Appealing to the jury to side with her, Bryant said she has panic attacks and fears the images of her daughter and husband’s remains may one day become public. 

‘I don’t ever want to see my babies in that way. Nobody should ever have to see their family that way.

In other moments throughout the trial, Bryant left the courtroom, overcome with emotion and grief. One such moment occurred when a bartender testified about a sheriff’s deputy showing him photos of Kobe and Gianna’s remains. 

Sheriff’s deputies confessed to texting the photos to each other and to friends. 

The jury found that the sheriff’s department and fire department’s photo policies. 

In closing arguments on Tuesday, Chester’s lawyer Jerry Jackson said of the departments: ‘They stole his dignity and his family’s privacy. They did it intentionally. They did it cruelly. They did it inhumanely. Then they laughed about it. Then they lied about.’

‘As long as they’re alive, there will always be somebody claiming to have these photos. For the rest of their lives, this stuff will pop up.’ 

The decision was handed down the day after what would have been Kobe’s 44th birthday.  

His wife’s lawyer Craig Lavoie said: ‘Today is his birthday. And it’s an honor to be standing here asking for justice and accountability.’

Bryant intends to donate the money to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, the charity set up by Kobe before his death which now operates in his memory to fund underserved children in sports.