Dateline: True Crime Weekly
Sean Combs: Singer Dawn Richard and Cassie's ex-best friend testify.
Tue, 20 May 2025
The former Danity Kane member endured a tough cross-examination but maintained that she witnessed Combs be violent toward his ex-girlfriend on more than one occasion. And Kerry Morgan, who says she and Cassie became best friends when they were both teenage models, says she too witnessed Combs asault Cassie. But when Combs assaulted Kerry, she says, she signed an NDA and broke ties with both of them. If you want to read NBC's coverage of the trial, check out our newsletter, “Diddy On Trial”: NBCNews.com/Diddy
Chapter 1: What is the Sean Combs trial about?
This is On Trial, a special series from Dateline True Crime Weekly, bringing you daily coverage from the Sean Combs racketeering trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. I'm Andrea Canning, and it's Monday, May 19th. Just a heads up, in this episode, we're going to be talking about some graphic details and harrowing subject matter.
Prosecutors began week two of presenting their case with testimony from Dawn Richard, a singer and songwriter who worked for Combs, and says she witnessed multiple acts of violence by him toward his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. We'll get to Richard's testimony and what the defense had to say about it in a minute.
But first, we wanted to talk about a couple of questions we're hearing a lot of people ask about this trial. Why are there not cameras in the courtroom? And why isn't Combs criminally charged for all this alleged violence and sexual assault? As always, NBC News correspondent Chloe Malas joins me from right outside the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to get us up to speed. Hey, Chloe.
Hey, Andrea. Okay, so Chloe, we know this from covering lots of trials, but some people don't. Remind us why we cannot televise Sean Combs' trial.
When it comes to federal courtrooms, this has been a rule since the 1940s. Judges are really worried about there being this circus-like atmosphere, and they're also concerned that the flashes and the cameras and all of this could intimidate witnesses.
People over the years have tried to change this rule, but no luck.
Correct. And a lot of my mom friends, they've pointed to Johnny Depp or they've pointed to O.J. Simpson. Those are state cases. This is federal. Totally different. And I understand the interest here, but it's just not something that the judge would allow to happen.
That's why we have court sketches and we have you, Chloe. Exactly. All right. So let's talk about this other question. Why Combs is charged with this racketeering conspiracy and all that goes along with that, but not the alleged rape that Cassie testified to last week or any of the alleged domestic violence we've been hearing about from other witnesses.
It is such a good question and something that journalists, we've all been talking about behind the scenes. And when you're seeing rape and you're seeing domestic violence cases, that's usually brought by the state. That's not a rule. It's not hard and fast. And look, a sex crime can be federal in some circumstances.
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Chapter 2: Who is Dawn Richard and why is she testifying?
Chapter 3: Why are cameras not allowed in the courtroom?
Hey, Andrea. Okay, so Chloe, we know this from covering lots of trials, but some people don't. Remind us why we cannot televise Sean Combs' trial.
When it comes to federal courtrooms, this has been a rule since the 1940s. Judges are really worried about there being this circus-like atmosphere, and they're also concerned that the flashes and the cameras and all of this could intimidate witnesses.
People over the years have tried to change this rule, but no luck.
Chapter 4: What are the charges against Sean Combs?
Correct. And a lot of my mom friends, they've pointed to Johnny Depp or they've pointed to O.J. Simpson. Those are state cases. This is federal. Totally different. And I understand the interest here, but it's just not something that the judge would allow to happen.
That's why we have court sketches and we have you, Chloe. Exactly. All right. So let's talk about this other question. Why Combs is charged with this racketeering conspiracy and all that goes along with that, but not the alleged rape that Cassie testified to last week or any of the alleged domestic violence we've been hearing about from other witnesses.
It is such a good question and something that journalists, we've all been talking about behind the scenes. And when you're seeing rape and you're seeing domestic violence cases, that's usually brought by the state. That's not a rule. It's not hard and fast. And look, a sex crime can be federal in some circumstances.
For instance, if it happened on federal property like a national park or it happened, let's say, in a plane in the air or if it's involving the Internet. Now, sex trafficking, it's different. This is a federal offense because it's the act of interstate commerce and moving people across state lines or even internationally.
Since Combs' defense team has said he admits to some acts of domestic violence against Cassie in the past. Could we see any charges down the road, potentially?
Something called a statute of limitations has come into play. So, for instance, the brutal beating of Cassie Ventura from 2016 that CNN originally published. The L.A. County District Attorney's Office released a statement on Facebook saying the statute of limitations had passed, so they wouldn't be investigating that or prosecuting it.
Chloe, what about the rape that Cassie alleges? That was 2018, which is more recent. Could that... possibly be prosecuted in California?
It absolutely can be prosecuted in California. The Los Angeles DA, they haven't said anything publicly. We have no idea if they're investigating this, if now Cassie is talking to them. But it's complicated, right? I mean, she technically talked to authorities when they showed up to her house, but she never named Combs at the time. And she never went to the hospital. There's no rape kit.
But you're right, Andrea, that is something that could come into play at a later date.
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Chapter 5: Can past incidents of violence lead to new charges?
She was on a show that Combs created on MTV called Making the Band. And it's from the mid-2000s. And she was chosen by Combs to be in a girl group called Danity Kane. And they had several hits. And then she ended up being in another band with Diddy. called Diddy Dirty Money. So she hasn't worked with Combs since 2011, and she's continued to release music, but not at that level.
Okay, so she really comes into play because of something that she says she witnessed between Sean Combs and Cassie.
So Cassie files her civil suit in November of 2023, blowing the lid off all of this and coming public with all of these different allegations. And then you saw Dawn Richard file her own civil suit in September of 2024. And she says that she witnessed violence, that Combs attacked Cassie on more than one occasion when she was there, punching her in the stomach.
And then this egg skillet incident that Combs attempted to hit Ventura over the head when he wasn't happy with how she was cooling off his eggs one morning. Ouch. At the time that Rashard filed her civil suit, Combs' team had said that she, quote, manufactured her claims to get a payday, and that her suit was timed to coincide with an album release.
Chapter 6: What allegations does Dawn Richard make against Combs?
This civil suit from Rashard is still pending. So she talked about that egg skillet incident on the stand. What else did she talk about today?
Well, Combs' attorney, Nicole Westmoreland, she came in there and it was tense. This is not like what we saw last week when Cassie was cross-examined. Today, they brought the receipts. They said you met with government prosecutors eight times and you told a very different story than what you told them just a few weeks ago. And it's also different from your civil suit.
You've said that you heard a banging sound and that you think he threw the skillet against the wall. You've also said that you saw him pick up the skillet, throw eggs at her, and then put the skillet back down.
Then they also said, all right, now you're saying that the day after this incident that Combs locked you in a recording studio and basically threatened your life, this was something that you never brought up to prosecutors over the many months of questioning. Why are you saying it now? Quite convenient, isn't it?
But Dawn Richard maintains that she's telling the truth, that these are memories that she has tried to erase, and that the more she talks about it, the more she remembers.
Did Dawn Richard talk about why she never called law enforcement if she was witnessing these acts of violence that she alleges?
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Chapter 7: How did Combs' defense respond to Richard's testimony?
She says that she was worried not only for her career that Combs could ruin it, but that she was afraid that Combs could kill her. But again, Combs' attorney really went in hard on that accusation and said, well, if you were so scared, why did you continue to reach out to him?
And why did you reach out to him as recently as 2021 and 2022, asking for him to either sign you as a solo artist or get the band back together? And Combs' legal team, they ended it with this kind of mic drop moment saying, this is all about money, isn't it? And she said, no, this is about justice. And they said, right, but justice means money for you.
All right, this afternoon, the prosecution began to call witnesses who are not celebrities, but spent years in Sean Combs' world. Testimony from Cassie's best friend and Sean Combs' personal assistant up next. Chloe, the prosecution's next witness was a woman by the name of Carrie Morgan.
She told the jury that she was testifying only because she was subpoenaed, which is pretty dramatic that she's there not really by choice.
Exactly. I mean, this is a woman that was best friends with Cassie, and she says that Combs assaulted her. And choked her, left bruising marks on her neck, and also attacked her with a clothes hanger. And that Combs actually paid her $30,000 and that she signed an NDA. And since that day, she hasn't seen Cassie and she hasn't seen Combs.
Terry Morgan said something interesting about why she thinks Cassie stayed with Combs.
She said that, first of all, Combs bankrolled Cassie's entire life. He paid for her car. He paid for her apartment. And he had this monetary hold over her. And that's what Cassie testified to last week, that she just felt like there was no way out.
Chloe, the prosecution then called a man named David James, who was Sean Combs' personal assistant.
Something that really stood out to me is that almost immediately when he took the stand, he was crying. And I'm sure that this is just really overwhelming for him to not only face Combs, but to be on such a large stage, even though there aren't cameras in the courtroom to now have his name out there publicly. And he talked about what it was like to be an assistant for Combs.
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