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Kerry Morgan testified that her former best friend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura looked “numb” when Sean Combs showed up at her home, banging on the door with a hammer and looking for Ventura following the infamous InterContinental hotel assault.
Morgan testified at Combs’ sex trafficking trial on Monday, recalling the aftermath of the March 2016 assault, which was captured on surveillance video. Morgan said that Ventura was staying at her apartment, and that she showed up after the incident with a black eye. Not long after Ventura arrived, Morgan claimed, Combs showed up, banging on the wooden door with a hammer, trying to be let in.
Morgan said she was terrified, but Ventura was not. She described Ventura as “numb,” adding that it didn’t look like she would care if Combs “came in and killed her.”
Eventually Combs left, while the police arrived later (Morgan could not remember who called them). Their visit, however, was short, as Morgan said Ventura would not cooperate and refused to identify herself or speak to them.
Elsewhere in her testimony, Morgan said she saw Combs assault Ventura on two occasions, once in Los Angeles and once in Jamaica. Both times, she said, she and Ventura had to run and hide to get away from Combs.
Morgan also said she encouraged Ventura on numerous occasions to leave Combs, but Ventura replied that she couldn’t because Combs “controlled everything” in her life. Morgan further alleged that the few other friends Ventura had were all part of Combs’ circle or his employees; and after hanging out with them, Morgan claimed, Ventura would no longer want to leave Combs.
They “were convincing her [the relationship] was OK,” Morgan said.
Morgan and Ventura’s friendship ultimately ended in 2018, after Combs allegedly assaulted Morgan at Ventura’s apartment. Morgan testified that Combs let himself into Ventura’s home with a key that Ventura allegedly did not know he had. Ventura was in the bathroom when Combs arrived, and upon hearing him enter, she locked the door.
Morgan said that Combs then came up to her and choked her, leaving fingerprints on her neck. He suspected Ventura of cheating and, she testified, demanded Morgan give him a name. Morgan told him she had no idea what Combs was talking about. Morgan then said Combs “boomeranged a wooden hanger at my head,” leaving her with a concussion and vomiting.
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Afterwards, Morgan said she hired a lawyer and considered suing Combs, but ultimately decided against it. She saw Ventura for the last time about a month later. Ventura told Morgan she would receive $30,000 from Combs, and also gave her a non-disclosure agreement to sign. Morgan said she signed the NDA and received the money from Combs.
When Combs’ attorneys took over for the cross-examination, Morgan wound up speaking about some of the dynamics in Combs’ and Ventura’s relationship. In particular, she mentioned that Ventura was sometimes jealous of Kim Porter — Combs’ ex and the mother of his three children — while Morgan also said that Combs was jealous of the time Ventura spent with actor Michael B. Jordan.
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Ventura, during her own testimony, acknowledged she started a brief romantic relationship with Jordan after learning in 2015 that Combs had been spending time with another woman. Jordan was also the actor alluded to in Ventura’s November 2023 lawsuit against Combs, in which she also claimed that Combs “called the actor and threatened him” when he found out.
Morgan recalled this moment during her time on the stand, saying, “What I remember was that she was speaking to Michael B. Jordan and they hung out together. And [Combs] was jealous of it.” (Jordan will not be called as a witness during the trial, Rolling Stone previously confirmed.)
