Vanessa Bryant Found Out About Kobe’s Death Via Phone Notification

Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant in November 2019. (Photo: Getty)

Vanessa Bryant found out about her husband Kobe Bryant’s death in the worst imaginable way, via multiple phone notifications.

In recent testimony, Bryant revealed that she did not get a word from authorities immediately regarding her late husband’s, Kobe Bryant, death back in January 2020. When she did receive the call from the authorities, she had already gotten hundreds of notifications via her phone breaking the news to her.

Authorities had declined to provide Vanessa with any information until Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was able to speak with her in person. Vanessa said she was only informed by the sheriff’s department that her husband had died hours after she received the mobile alerts.

In her testimony, Vanessa revealed that on Jan. 26, 2020, after a family assistant told her “there was an accident and that there were five survivors,” she tried calling her husband but could not get through to him. She then called on her mother to look after her other two children.

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According to the deposition, she then went to pick up her daughter Natalia from school. “I told her that Daddy and Gigi were in an accident,” Vanessa said. “Not to worry I’m sure they’re fine because there’s five survivors. And I’m sure Daddy and Gigi are fine.”

“I was holding onto my phone, because obviously I was trying to call my husband back, and all these notifications started popping up on my phone, saying ‘RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe. RIP Kobe,’” Vanessa said.

She then tried to fly to the crash site but weather conditions made the helicopter flight impossible.

Vanessa said Villanueva asked if he could do anything for her following Kobe and Gianna’s deaths. “I said: If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure no one takes photographs of them,” Bryant testified. “Please secure the area. And he said: I will.” The testimony came in her lawsuit accusing authorities of taking pictures of the crash site.

Nine people died in the helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, that killed Kobe and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.