An alleged victim and former employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs is set to take the stand after his ex-stylist wraps up testimony Thursday.
As testimony enters its 12th day at Combs’ sex trafficking trial, the music mogul’s former personal assistant, known by the pseudonym “Mia,” is expected to disclose details her attorneys say she planned to take “to her grave.”
During opening statements, prosecutors alleged that Combs, 55, coerced Mia, who was referred to as “Victim-4,” into sex and forced himself on her. “She wanted to keep the secret to her grave,” one prosecutor said.
First, Deonte Nash is expected to return to the stand after testimony resumes inside Manhattan federal court at 9 a.m. Prosecutors will also call Enrique Santos to the stand if time allows. Nash, a stylist who worked with both Combs and Cassie Ventura, testified Wednesday that he witnessed Combs’ violence against his ex-girlfriend firsthand.
Combs is facing sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy charges. Combs was arrested in September 2024 as federal authorities alleged he threatened, abused, and coerced victims “to fulfill his sexual desires” between 2004 and 2024. Combs has denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
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Key points
- Victim-4, known as 'Mia,' set to testify in Diddy's sex trafficking trial
- Sean Combs PA to share 'secrets' she had planned to take 'to her grave'
- Bad Boy stylist Deonte Nash to continue testimony this morning
- Recap: Stylist, police officer and arson investigator testify
- Cassie Ventura said she didn't want to do 'freak offs,' witness testified
What did LA emergency services testify yesterday?
09:55
,
James Liddell
Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Ignacio was first up at the witness stand Wednesday.
Ignacio responded to Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s house in December 2011 over a possible trespassing. Mescudi alleged Combs broke into his home after finding out he was dating Cassie Ventura, Combs’ decade-long girlfriend.
Ignacio said a black Escalade pulled away from the home and, when he ran the plates, the officer discovered the car belonged to Combs’s production company.
Next up was Los Angeles Fire Department Arson Investigator Lance Jimenez. He investigated the January 2012 bombing of Mescudi’s Porsche. Mescudi testified last week that he believed Combs was involved in the bombing, an allegation Combs denies. Jimenez revealed that the car was set ablaze with a Molotov cocktail that didn’t successfully break on impact.
The firefighter also said that Mescudi sent him fingerprints taken from his house during the alleged 2011 break-in. A LAPD officer went on to destroy those prints in August 2012, Jimenez testified.
What did stylist Deonte Nash testify yesterday?
09:27
,
James Liddell
Celebrity stylist Deonte Nash is set to continue testimony on Thursday.
After taking the stand Wednesday, he testified that Sean “Diddy” Combs’ girlfriend Cassie Ventura said she wanted to jump off a hotel balcony after the rapper threatened to release sex tapes from their “freak offs.”
Deonte Nash, a stylist for Ventura and Combs from 2009 through 2018, took the stand Wednesday afternoon in Combs’ sex trafficking trial to tell jurors about how the music mogul threatened, abused and controlled Ventura’s life and career.
Three violent incidents stood out in his mind, he said, including one in 2013 that began in Ventura’s Los Angeles apartment and ended with Ventura threatening to throw herself off a balcony.
Kelly Rissman has the details:
Combs PA to share 'secrets' she had planned to take 'to her grave'
09:21
,
James Liddell
The former employee of Sean “Diddy” Combs, known by the alias “Mia,” is set to be called by prosecutors to testify Wednesday.
During opening statements on May 12, prosecutors alleged that Combs coerced Mia – who prosecutors also referred to as “Victim 4” – into sex and forced himself onto her.
“She is just beginning to grapple with the times he forced himself on her sexually,” prosecutor Emily Johnson told the jury. “She wanted to keep the secret to her grave.”
Two days later, Mia’s attorney Michael Ferrara told Judge Arun Subramanian the witness would share details that she would have taken “to her grave” before Combs’ arrest.
“Candidly, her nerves are through the roof,” Ferrara said on May 14 “She would’ve taken these things to her grave. These are the worst things that ever happened to her.”
Victim-4, known as 'Mia,' set to testify
09:19
,
James Liddell
The Independent’s live coverage of the 12th day of testimony at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial is underway.
Another ex-assistant and alleged victim of Sean “Diddy” Combs, identified by the assumed name “Mia,” could testify Thursday, prosecutors say. Prosecutors had previously referred to Mia as “Victim-4.”
First up at the witness stand is Deonte Nash, a former stylist at Combs’ record label Bad Boy who worked with both its owner and Cassie Ventura, Combs’ on-again-off-again girlfriend for a decade. Nash began testimony during Wednesday’s hearing.
Who will testify on Thursday?
Wednesday 28 May 2025 21:32
,
Katie Hawkinson
Court will resume Thursday with continued testimony from stylist Deonte Nash.
Afterward, prosecutor Maurene Comey said she will call a woman identified as “Mia” to the stand. Mia is one of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former assistants and an alleged victim of his abuse.
Day 11 recap: Stylist, arson investigator testify
Wednesday 28 May 2025 21:25
Day 11 of Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking trial started with testimony from LAPD Officer Christopher Ignacio.
Ignacio responded to Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s house in December 2011 over a possible trespassing. Mescudi alleged Combs broke into his home after finding out he was dating Cassie Ventura.
Ignacio said a black Escalade pulled away from the home as soon as he drove up. When he ran the plates, he discovered the car belonged to Combs’s production company.
Next up was Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez. He investigated the January 2012 bombing of Mescudi’s Porsche. Mescudi testified last week he believed Combs had something to do with the bombing, but Combs denied any involvement when confronted.
Jimenez revealed that the car was set ablaze with a Molotov cocktail that didn’t successfully break on impact. As a result, the car was burned in a smoldering fire, rather than an explosion.
Jimenez also said that Mescudi sent him fingerprints taken from his house during the alleged 2011 break-in. A LAPD officer went on to destroy those prints in August 2012, Jimenez said.
Prosecutors asked if this was “unusual” and the defense objected. Soon afterward, the defense asked for a mistrial.
Judge Arun Subramanian struck the discussion of the fingerprints from the record but denied their request for a mistrial.
The final witness was Deonte Nash, a stylist who worked for Combs and one of Ventura’s close friends.
Nash said he witnessed Combs attacking Ventura. Combs once threatened to release Ventura’s sex tapes and send them to her parents’ jobs to get them fired, Nash testified.
Court will resume Thursday morning with continued testimony from Nash.
Court adjourned
Wednesday 28 May 2025 21:05
,
Katie Hawkinson
Judge Arun Subramanian has dismissed the jury for today.
Court will resume tomorrow morning with more testimony from Deonte Nash.
Deonte Nash further details alleged 2013 assault
Wednesday 28 May 2025 21:01
,
Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash testified that he jumped on Sean “Diddy” Combs’s back while he attacked Cassie Ventura in 2013 to protect both of them.
Nash testified that he tried to jump on Combs’s back to protect Ventura, but also to “protect him from doing something more serious.”
Earlier, Nash said Combs hit Ventura until she banged her head on a bed frame, causing her to bleed. At this point, Combs stopped hitting her and “panicked” when he noticed the blood, Nash said.
Deonte Nash says Cassie Ventura used drugs
Wednesday 28 May 2025 20:53
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Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash said he witnessed Cassie Ventura taking Molly and ecstasy.
Ventura previously testified that she would take drugs before “freak offs,” which involved her having sex with other men at Sean “Diddy” Combs’s direction.
Deonte Nash says he last spoke to Cassie yesterday
Wednesday 28 May 2025 20:45
Deonte Nash said he last spoke to Cassie Ventura yesterday to congratulate her on the birth of her third child with her husband, Alex Fine.
Nash is Ventura’s close friend and worked for Sean “Diddy” Combs from 2008 to 2018. Ventura dated Combs on and off from 2007 to 2018.
Deonte Nash details working for Combs as stylist
Wednesday 28 May 2025 20:21
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Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash first became a celebrity stylist while working for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s production company.
When defense attorney Xavier Donaldson suggested Combs helped Nash kickstart his career, the witness replied, “Go ahead.”
Nash also said it’s “sometimes” important for the person running a label to ensure an artist looks good. Earlier, Nash testified that Combs controlled Cassie Ventura’s looks and sometimes threatened to not release her music if he was upset.
Courtroom sketch: Deonte Nash testifies
Wednesday 28 May 2025 20:04
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Katie Hawkinson
Cassie Ventura said she didn't want to do 'freak offs,' Nash said
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:46
,
Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash said Cassie Ventura expressed that she didn’t want to do “freak offs” with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Ventura previously said “freak offs” involved her having sex with other men at Combs’s direction.
Nash said Ventura once told him she didn’t want to go to a “freak off”, but she did “because he wanted her to.”
Ventura also once told Nash that Combs was angry because she didn’t want to go to a hotel for a freak off, he testified.
Deonte Nash says he doesn't hate Diddy
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:43
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Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash says he doesn’t hate Sean “Diddy” Combs and has kept in touch with him.
"I don't hate him," Nash said. "It's just not me."
Deonte Nash says he didn't go to police because he feared Combs
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:34
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Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash testified that he didn’t report Sean “Diddy” Combs’s violence against Cassie Ventura to the police because he was scared of the music mogul.
Nash said he did report it to Combs’s chief of staff.
Nash added that he “often” saw Ventura covered in bruises.
Deonte Nash says Combs searched his home for Ventura
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:31
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Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash says Sean "Diddy" Combs once searched his home for Cassie Ventura, even looking in his oven.
“He looked in the oven — I don’t know why he looked in the oven,” Nash said.
Afterward, Combs demanded that Nash drive to a hotel while he followed in hopes that Nash could get Ventura out of her room, he testified. Ventura was frightened when he arrived, Nash said.
When he left the hotel, Nash said someone followed him. He thought they may be with Combs.
“I didn’t think my home was safe to go to that night,” he said.
When he returned home, Nash said he discovered his backpack — which contained cash, an iPad and his ID — had been stolen.
Diddy blackmailed Cassie, Deonte Nash says
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:08
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Katie Hawkinson
Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to release explicit footage of Cassie Ventura, Deonte Nash said.
Combs once told Ventura he would release the footage online and send it to her parents’ jobs to get them fired, Nash testified.
Nash said he tried to comfort Ventura by telling her Combs was on the tapes, too. But Ventura said he wasn’t because he was filming her having sex with other men.
Ventura previously said Combs would ask her to participate in “freak offs,” during which she’d have sex with other men at his direction.
Ventura and her mother both previously testified that Combs blackmailed them by threatening to release explicit videos and pictures of the singer.
Deonte Nash says Diddy 'panicked' after making Cassie bleed
Wednesday 28 May 2025 19:02
Deonte Nash further detailed an incident in which Sean “Diddy” Combs hit Cassie Ventura until she banged her head on her bed frame, causing her to bleed.
Combs only stopped hitting her when he noticed the blood, Nash said.
“When he noticed the blood he just panicked,” Nash testified.
Combs said to them, “Look what y’all made me do,” Nash testified.
Nash testified he called 911 but hung up before a dispatcher answered because someone told him to. He can’t recall who told him to end the call.
Deonte Nash testifies he tried to jump on Diddy to stop him from attacking Cassie
Wednesday 28 May 2025 18:55
,
Katie Hawkinson
Deonte Nash told the jury he once tried to jump on Sean “Diddy” Combs’s back to stop him from assaulting Cassie Ventura.
Nash said he and a woman named Mia, also known as “Victim-4,” tried to jump on Combs’s back but were thrown off. Mia is set to testify later today.
Nash said Combs then hit Ventura until she banged her head against the edge of her bed frame. She then started bleeding, he testified.
