Kerry Morgan
Appearances
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And he said Vashta, who was the senior vice president of HR at Bad Boy, pointed to a picture of Didi on the wall and said, this is Mr. Combs' kingdom and we're all here to serve in it. And he said he was given a kind of question packet that included different scenarios he had to answer and he was given a week to complete it.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
But he said he turned it in early and that meant that he was able to be the first to sit in front of Diddy for an interview. He said it was a very professional interaction and that Diddy asked him two questions. First, how do you compile a spreadsheet of my preferences? And then the second question was why he would be a good personal assistant.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And he said that he would be a good personal assistant because he's not concerned with Diddy's accomplishments of today, but concerned about what's to come and that he can't stop, won't stop. And he said Diddy loved that reference to one of the lines in his raps that he's really quite known for. And Diddy said, I like that. I like that. And he said he was hired on as one of his assistants.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Diddy becomes kind of the center of your universe. Yeah, that's right. So this is in 2007 to 2009. And he says that essentially some weeks he would work six to seven days straight. So no breaks. That his hours were 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. That it would start a half hour before waking Diddy up. He would get his schedule together. He would get news clippings for Diddy.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
He would get documents that he needed to approve and make sure his breakfast was being made by the chef. And that once Diddy was up and that was all done, that they were traveling around the city doing work. After dinner, he said they would be in the studio working on Diddy's albums and music, sometimes till 3 o'clock in the morning.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And then they'd have to hang out and do whatever else Diddy needed in the meantime. So it was quite a picture he painted of this just exhaustive schedule where he had to be at Diddy's beck and call for everything and at his side for everything.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
After the government kind of went through asking a few more questions, then we got to the cross-examination from the defense. And I thought this was actually some of the perhaps strongest and toughest cross-examination we've seen so far.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
That's right. He said he was driving with Diddy to a business meeting and he overheard a conversation Diddy was having with his friend. And the friend asked him, you know, how's Kim and how's Cassie? Kim, of course, referring to Kim Porter. And he said, Kim's good. She's my queen. And in regards to Cassie, he said, I got her right where I want her. She's young.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
He said he remembered the word moldable being used. So it was interesting to have him recount the conversation. He said he could recall two conversations specifically with Cassie. The first was in Miami, and he said Cassie was with a friend and he was with them. They were just smoking. And she said, man, this lifestyle is crazy. And he told her, well, why don't you just leave it then?
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And she said, you know, I can't get out. He gives me an allowance. He has my career in his hands. I just can't leave. He was recounting sharing a cab from the airport with Cassie at the Sundance Film Festival. And he said she was really happy. She was going over her songs and her track list because her album was about to come out and she was excited about it.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And then he was asked if he remembers the album ever coming out. And he said no.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
There was terror that it could tear the house down. On BBC Sounds, this is Sports Strangest Crimes.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
I'm not sure we've had anything like it before or since in terms of what it actually meant for the sport. Sports Strangest Crimes. Listen on BBC Sounds.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
What they were trying to suggest was that Dawn had changed her story about the egg incident and changed it numerous times. And she said no, you know, she tried to insist that no, she hadn't changed her story. So this was kind of a painful part of, you know, cross-examination that went on for quite a long time. And it really ended
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
with Nicole Westmoreland, Diddy's lawyer, saying, would you agree with me that you have changed your story numerous times and that in all your different interviews with prosecutors, that story has slightly changed and there's a big difference in every which way you've told it. And again, Dawn Richard trying to insist she told it the same way that she remembers it.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And even, you know, saying I didn't write these notes that the government has.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
That was another really tense moment in the cross-examination because you had Diddy's lawyer saying, if you felt that your life was really at risk, you would have thought that you would have said that to the government, that you would have recalled that incident. And so, again, she was trying to suggest Diddy's lawyer that Don Rashard was changing her story.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And this is all, again, about trying to hit at her credibility and show the jury she's not a reliable witness. And they say that that really hits back at her suggestion that in the past he was the one that would reach out when she was doing well with her career and that she would respond politely because she didn't know any other way to do that.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And again, in cross-examination, they say, well, when you were working together with Diddy Dirty Money, you were having to spend a lot of time together in the studio. You were spending a lot of time brainstorming together, a lot of time writing together, a lot of time traveling to several countries.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And if you felt your life was really in danger, why would you reach out to him to try to put yourself back in that same situation?
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Dawn was really soft-spoken throughout, and you could tell that the government wanted to come in and clarify a few points. And They spoke about first her civil lawsuit and just explaining why she decided to file that. And she said, you know, the environment was not conducive for an employee. That's why she filed her civil lawsuit.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And she talks about how that was a bad time for her and that the memories didn't come back immediately. She said, you know, as I've been working with prosecutors more, speaking to others who were around at that time, that that's when memories have come and that she's always answered questions to the best of her memory and recollection.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, and they asked her, do you want to be here? And she said no. And they said you were sent a subpoena essentially to be here. And she said, yeah. She said, I had moved on with my life and away from these people and these problems. And so it was very clear that Carrie was doing this out of obligation and not wanting to revisit this period of her life.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, there was a bit of heartbreak in a way that what started as a really young, fun relationship has ended up this way. You know, Kerry talked about how they met in high school. They were doing modeling and catalog modeling and eventually decided to live together for a year, moving to New York together. And she said Cassie worked hard. She was successful as a model.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
She was confident that when they went out, she didn't drink much. And she said she didn't do drugs, that she really focused on making her music. And she talked about how in 2006, her song Me and You just exploded. And she said that the first she really learned about Cassie and Diddy dating was in 2007. And she said she spent time often with the two of them together.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
They would just hang out, travel, go to dinner. They went to Ibiza, Italy, Los Angeles, Vegas, Miami. And she said, yeah, there was some drugs involved when we would go out and party. It wasn't too frequent, but that they had fun together. She really described it as, in the beginning, a very fun environment for her.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, she mentioned what she first thought about Diddy, which I thought was interesting. She thought he was very nice, generous, a strong presence, a little bit intimidating, but then described how he then had mood swings and would become aggressive. And at that point, it would not be fun how he would yell at Cassie. Or, you know, just be mad.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And she said that that really led to Cassie losing confidence. She said she lost her spark big time. She was just not herself, you know. Even her posture, she had this imagery of just not even standing up straight anymore. Just seeing Cassie slumping often because that Diddy would speak down to her and criticize her.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And if they had an event, he would critique how she looked, how she behaved, who she spoke with. This would also affect Carrie. Carrie talks about how when he would call looking for her, if he wasn't able to get in touch with Cassie, that he would call Carrie. And sometimes that could mean 50 times in a row.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, that's right. She didn't know the exact date, but she said that Diddy was renting a house in Los Angeles and it was her and Cassie, one of the security guards and Diddy. And Diddy and Cassie were off to the right in the first floor primary suite. And essentially, she says she saw Diddy push her.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
she's pretty sure did he hit her but because they were behind the bed she couldn't exactly tell but she said cassie did nothing in response and carrie says she was so upset and she doesn't remember exactly what she said but she said something to the effect of telling the security guard you know do something and essentially he kind of shrugged like there's nothing he can do about it at that point she said cassie left
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And they hid in some neighbor's steps, laying face down on the concrete stairs for about 20 to 30 minutes. She said they were whispering because, you know, they could hear Diddy and his security guard looking for them. But she said they just wanted to stay still until the situation got calm again and that eventually Cassie did go back to the house and she went back to her hotel.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, so this was in Jamaica in 2013. Carrie was on vacation with Cassie and a bunch of other friends. And Diddy apparently joined the vacation halfway through. And she describes the three of them being in the bar area. And Cassie just went to the bathroom. And she said all of a sudden she heard a guttural, terrifying scream. And so she ran to the hallway.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And she said this happened after Diddy basically was saying, where's Cassie? She's taking too long. So she sees Diddy.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
taking her by her hair dragging her by her hair out of the bathroom and down the hallway and carrie's first instinct was to run and to grab her bag right because she's in a foreign country you know in her mind she's like i need my credit card i need our stuff if we're gonna have to run and then when she gets back they're outside and she said that the front doors were open
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Diddy had pushed Cassie to the ground. Cassie had hit her head on a brick and she wasn't moving. She was just kind of on her side in the fetal position with her eyes closed, not saying anything. She said she was pretty much knocked out, that she didn't move for 30 seconds. And she said she was arguing with Diddy at the time.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
She didn't know exactly what she was saying, but she knows they were arguing. And then at that point, Cassie just bolted and ran into a wooded area barefoot. And at that point, both Carrie and Diddy jumped into golf carts that were in the driveway and ran after Cassie. And Carrie was calling out Cassie's name. Cassie eventually got in the golf cart with her and she said they hid in a ditch.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
She said it felt like hours and went back to the house eventually. But Cassie had a really big bump on her forehead. She recalled Cassie didn't get any medical attention. And she pointed out that, you know, those weren't the only times that she witnessed Diddy assaulting Cassie. But she said the other times weren't as big of a deal. They were a push, a slap.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
So Carrie said that about a half hour after Cassie came into her home wearing a hoodie, that Diddy showed up with a hammer. and was hammering loudly at the door. And she was just looking at Cassie, who appeared numb, sitting on the couch. She said, I don't think Cassie even cared if he came in and killed her.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And so Kerry started calling his chief of staff, Christina Coram, DRock, his head of security, and DRock apparently couldn't get Diddy to leave, so she called again Christina Corum, and eventually Diddy left. And she said it was about three hours later that the police came.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
She's not sure who called them, but eventually the police came, but Cassie wouldn't say who she was and wouldn't give them any details.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Yeah, and look, right before that we had Carrie actually saying that all of Cassie's friends were employed by Diddy except for her and that Cassie would say she couldn't leave Diddy because she would lose her livelihood, her career, her car, everything. And then we get to the incident in 2018 where she says they were at Cassie's house
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
They were just listening to music and in came Diddy while Cassie was in the bathroom asking, you know, who is Cassie cheating on with? And she said Diddy choked her so hard that finger marks were imprinted on her neck afterward. And she says when she was able to get away, he then grabbed a wooden hanger and
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And Boomerang threw it at her and it hit her in the back behind her ears and gave her a concussion. And she said she just grabbed her stuff and left and told one of Diddy's old assistants, he's going crazy, he's lost it. But then again, the assistant didn't do anything. She said she had injuries. She had a concussion. She was dizzy. She vomited a few times, went to urgent care.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And so she hired a lawyer to file a lawsuit. But then Cassie asked to meet her. She said they were in West Hollywood about a month after that incident, and they were just at a pizza place. And Cassie essentially told her, you're milking this, you're over-exaggerating what happened.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
And she said Cassie offered to give her $30,000, which she understood was being paid for by Diddy, and had her sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement, so that she couldn't speak about it anymore. And she describes how, you know, she felt Cassie wasn't taking her side, how she was really disappointed. And that's why they haven't spoken ever since.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
kerry about cassie's jealousy and they specifically asked her about one of diddy's romantic affiliations we've heard the same a few times gina what did kerry have to say about gina yeah this was probably the most forthcoming we've seen kerry so she clearly remembers this once um she was asked about coming to learn about gina um
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
Diddy was having a relationship with her, Kerry says, yeah, she was a big problem. She says he was having a full-on relationship with this little girl, which then the defense quickly had to have her clarify that Gina was in fact an adult woman, but that she was viewed that way because she was quite younger than Cassie.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
That's right. So we started off with the government picking up with the instances where she said she saw Diddy hitting Cassie. She talked about how she told Cassie that she should leave, but she wouldn't listen. She could see the fear from Cassie. And she said eventually she made the decision for herself not to interfere.
Diddy On Trial
Diddy’s defence question ‘inconsistencies’ in Dawn Richard’s testimony
He painted a picture of what it was like to work for Didi. So he talks about how he wanted a career in fashion. He responded to a New York Times ad for the position. He went into headquarters at Bad Boy and he said there were 15 people waiting for the position.