Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

Closing out her second day of testimony in the federal racketeering and sex-trafficking trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, a sobbing Cassie Ventura revealed she had considered taking her own life two years ago.

The singer said the traumatic flashbacks of her time with Diddy became too much and she told the court she tried to leave home with the plan to walk into the road to end her life.

Her husband stopped her, she said, and she went to therapy.

From the witness stand, Ventura gave disturbing evidence that revealed new details of her and Diddy's long, public relationship.

Ventura - who said she feared for her safety - told the court the powerful hip-hop mogul controlled her through blackmail.

On numerous occasions, she said, he threatened to release explicit footage of their so-called "freak-offs" - encounters in which Ventura says she was forced to have sex with male escorts, even when she says she told Combs she didn't want to.

She recalled an instance in which she said that after an argument he once played one of the videos on a commercial flight with other passengers nearby, and warning her to behave. Ventura also testified that Combs also threatened to publicly release the videos after he found out she was seeing the rapper Kid Cudi.

Her testimony also revealed for the first time today that Diddy settled her civil suit against him for $20mn (£15mn).

Next up, the defence will have their chance to question Ventura when court resumes on Thursday.

We're closing out our live coverage for today, but we'll be back in court tomorrow as Ventura's testimony continues. Thank you for joining us.

• You can find organisations offering mental health support and advice through the BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide, external, external, or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.

Image source, Getty Images

Sean Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, New York.

His lawyers were unsuccessful in getting him released on bail ahead of the trial. They have argued the conditions inside are “horrific”.

Known as the MDC, it’s had a host of notorious inmates.

Combs has reportedly shared the same unit as cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, who once ran a company worth billions but was convicted on multiple counts of fraud.

And previously it has been home to rapper R Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislane Maxwell.

• Read more: 'Chaos reigns' - the notorious jail holding Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details and potentially offensive language

The trial of Sean Combs continued for a third day on Wednesday, with more graphic testimony from his former girlfriend, the singer Cassie Ventura, who says she was abused and raped by the suspect.

The prosecution wrapped up its questioning of Ventura, who will return the stand on Thursday for cross-examination by Combs' lawyers.

• In graphic and brutal language, Ventura described occasions when she says Combs beat and raped her during a relationship that last more than a decade
• The jury reviewed photos and heard testimony from Ventura on the physical and mental toll the abuse took on her
• The singer also provided more detail on "freak-offs" - drug-fuelled sexual encounters with strangers at Combs' request that would sometimes last for days

• Combs would film Ventura during the episodes and blackmail her with the footage, she says - she feared that Combs would "make me look like a slut"
• “It was something I hated doing,” she said of the "freak-offs", adding that she continued to do them under coercion and because it “felt like I did my job”
• Jurors were shown images of the sexual encounters, but the judge ordered that the evidence not be show to the public

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

We've just gotten two new sketches from court artist Jane Rosenberg.

As a reminder, photography and videography is not allowed in US federal court in New York, but we can get a glimpse inside via these court sketches.

The one above shows Cassie Ventura testifying on the witness stand today about injuries she says she sustained from Sean "Diddy" Combs. Images of bruises she says she got in those incidents are being shown to the court, including the jury, in this sketch.

The sketch below shows an visibly upset Ventura as she testifies, holding a tissue.

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

Court has adjourned for the day, according to reporters inside, with the judge planning to allow the defence to begin their cross-examination of key prosecution witness Cassie Ventura.

We've also just seen members of Combs' family - including his mother Janice Combs, who attended the trial all week - leave the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

The day ended with debates among lawyers about an evidence issue.

Prosecutors don’t want the defense to be able to bring up a text message referencing sex Ventura may have been having with someone besides Combs - they argue they are covered under a rule that does not allow lawyers to ask victims about sex acts with people other than the defendant.

Combs’ attorneys argue the text doesn’t reference specific sex acts.

It seems the judge will decide on the matter later. Court will be back tomorrow around 9 a.m.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Prosecutors have now finished their direct examination of Ventura.

It was an emotional afternoon of testimony, which finished with prosecutors asking why Ventura decided to testify.

“I can’t carry this anymore,” she said. “I can’t carry the shame, the guilt.”

“I’m here to do the right thing,” she added.

With that, the judge sent jurors home for the day, saying cross examination would start early tomorrow with a short lunch to accommodate the fact that Ventura is a time-sensitive witness - she is in the third trimester of her pregnancy.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

The testimony is now getting to the end of Cassie and Diddy's relationship. She caught him with another woman, she tells the court, and decided to end things.

In August 2018, they had dinner at a restaurant and had what she viewed as a "closure conversation". She was dating her current husband at the time and says Diddy was being nice and playful.

Cassie pauses while giving her testimony, then she describes what she says happened after he dropped her off at home. She says he raped her on her living room floor.

"I just remember crying and saying no," she tells the court.

She says it happened very fast, and describes how his eyes went black, saying that he didn't seem like himself.

When it was over, she says he got up and left.

• You can find organisations offering mental health support and advice through the BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide, external, or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

Sobbing through the final minutes of her direct questioning, Ventura reveals that she had thoughts of taking her own life in 2023.

After having traumatic flashbacks to her relationship with Combs, Cassie says she told her husband Alex Fine, who was home with their two children, "You can do this without me, you don’t need me," and attempted to leave the house.

He stopped her, she tells the court, and she shortly entered rehab and trauma therapy.

• You can find organisations offering mental health support and advice through the BBC Action Line. Help and support outside the UK can be found at Befrienders Worldwide, external or you can call the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Ventura has just told the court that the civil lawsuit she filed against Diddy in 2023 was settled for $20mn (£15mn).

The suit, which was settled just one day after it was filed, alleged that Ventura was trapped for a decade by Combs in a cycle of abuse and violence.

The details of the settlement have not been previously disclosed, though the lawsuit had demanded $30mn "under the threat of writing a damaging book about their relationship", according to a statement from Combs' lawyer to the BBC at the time.

In a joint 2023 statement with Combs, Ventura said that she "decided to resolve this matter amicably on terms that I have some level of control".

You can read more about the suit here: Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Singer Cassie settles lawsuit accusing rap mogul of rape and abuse

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Prosecutors say they’re aiming to wrap up their nearly two day questioning of Ventura within the next half hour.

This will leave the defence some time today to start what could be an intense cross-examination before court adjourns for the day.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

Ventura's testimony is continuing with other accounts of physical abuse, including an assault in Las Vegas during a party.

Ventura tells the court about being pulled away from a party by Combs, who took her to an adjoining room and started to beat her.

She says he punched her in the face, and she tried to run to the bathroom and hide under the toilet.

Ventura tells the court he kicked her several more times as she was crouched in her hiding place, leaving her badly injured with knots on her head, bruises and a busted lip.

When Combs' security guard came in the room, he began to cry, she tells the court.

His manager, who was present, also teared up when he saw her, Ventura says.

Still, they participated in covering up Combs' actions, she alleges, with the security guard making her ice her face to bring down the bruising.

Ventura says she always carried a gel with her that is meant to combat bruising.

She tells the court that she once stayed at Combs' house with her friends and his son for a week, and Combs' would tell her to cover up her injuries with makeup so his son wouldn't see.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

We are still progressing through the prosecution's questioning of Cassie Ventura - and now, for the first time, her relationship with musician Kid Cudi has come up.

It was about 2011, Ventura says, and she had been working with Kid Cudi before beginning to date him.

Combs found out about the relationship during a so-called "freak-off" with Ventura when he went through her emails.

Ventura says he took a wine bottle opener and "lunged" at her - but she was able to get away.

She says she called Kid Cudi to come pick her up and he did. Later, Ventura says, she went back to Combs’ house after he asked her to talk.

There, she alleges Combs threatened once again to release the "freak-off" videos and to hurt both Ventura and Kid Cudi. Ventura tells the court that Combs got violent - kicking her in the back and she fell to the floor.

We are shown a photo Ventura’s mum took of a large bruise on her back. "I was just … terrified," Ventura says.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

Cassie Ventura's testimony is now focusing on the subject of Combs’ physical abuse.

It’s important to remember - the defence admitted in opening statements that Combs was violent with his girlfriends. But the prosecution is bringing up these incidents to try and build a case around the racketeering charges.

Prosecutors are asking Ventura not only to describe the times Combs allegedly beat her, but also which of his staff was present and whether any aided in covering it up.

Ventura describes one incident early in her relationship with Combs when she alleges he beat her and stomped on her face in the car on the way home from an event.

A driver and another staff member were present, she says. Ventura tells the court one of them chased her down and caught her when she tried to flee.

Speaking about looking in the mirror once she was brought back to Combs' house, Ventura tells the court: "I didn't look like myself at all".

Combs demanded staff take her to a hotel and keep her there until her bruises healed, Ventura tells the court. She says she was there by herself for a week.

"I wanted to go home to my mum," she says. She says she expressed this to Combs' security, who ended up keeping her at the hotel after Ventura says Combs told the staff "absolutely not".

Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
US reporter

Later today, we expect Sean "Diddy" Combs' lawyers to begin their cross-examination of Cassie Ventura's testimony.

It will be the "most challenging" aspect of the defence's strategy, says Robert Mintz, partner at McCarter and English law firm who is a criminal defence lawyer and former federal prosecutor.

"They have to be assertive in terms of dealing with her, but they can't appear to be attacking her," Mintz tells the BBC.

Combs' lawyers "can't appear to be unsympathetic," Mintz says.

"They are going to try to impugn her integrity without appearing… to be attacking the alleged victim here, particularly a witness who is pregnant while she's testifying."

To do this, Mintz says, Combs' lawyers might try to argue that the relationship was beneficial to Ventura's music career or that she gained financially when she and Combs settled a civil suit in 2023.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

After an extended lunch break, we’re back with Cassie Ventura’s testimony.

Lunch took longer than usual because the court was trying to figure out how to set up sexually-explicit evidence so that only the jurors, legal teams and Cassie could see it.

Yesterday we reported that there was some debate over whether the public and news organisations should have access to videos or still images from the so-called "freak-offs".

The judge decided against allowing that.

Back on the stand, jurors, Ventura and the attorneys are being shown images from the freak-offs.

Ventura has identified herself and male escorts she had sex with in the photos. She is calm and takes long breaths as she looks at explicit images of herself.

The jurors are viewing these at the same time.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Prosecutors want jurors to see how Cassie was feeling through her real-time communications with Diddy.

In one exchange on January 7, 2017, she tells him "nothing good comes out of the freakoffs anymore" and that he treats her like Ike Turner (the abusive husband and musical partner of Tina Turner).

She tells the court that Diddy was physically abusive and put her down.

She described the sheer embarrassment she felt by how he treated her in front of other people.

Prosecutors also included a more flattering exchange, likely to try and get ahead of the defence using it.

In it, she said he was truly the most extraordinary man who had shown her love and happiness.

Cassie said she sent it because she loved him and it was Father’s Day.

The lunch break at the New York courthouse is now over and Cassie Ventura is back on the witness stand to continue her testimony.

The prosecution is still asking questions, but have indicated they will likely finish in the afternoon session and the defence team will have time to start the cross-examination later today.

John Sudworth
North America Correspondent

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

A hotel surveillance video from 2016, showing Sean Combs assaulting the singer Cassandra Ventura – his girlfriend at the time – has already been much discussed in this trial.

On her second day of testimony she’s been going into more detail. The jury has been shown selfies that she took that day, wearing sunglasses to hide her black eye and with her lips puffy as a result of the assault.

The incident took place during one of the so called "freak-offs", the organised parties involving sex workers that Ventura says she took part in against her will.

As well as the threat of violence, she says Combs had another way of forcing her participation that could sometimes last for days and which she said she could only endure with the help of drugs.

Combs, she said, threatened to "put out" video recordings of the "freak-offs" to embarrass her.

His lawyers have already told the jury they accept that he could be violent, but they insist the sex was consensual.

After the prosecution has finished questioning Ventura, her cross examination by the defence will begin.

Image source, Reuters

Combs' mother Janice Combs and her grandchildren have turned up to court in New York in support of the hip-hop star throughout his trial.

On Wednesday morning, members of his family were seen again, this time sheltering from the rain under umbrellas on their way inside the courthouse.

Diddy has seven children:

• Quincy Taylor Brown, 33, his adopted son from his relationship with the late model and actress Kim Porter
• Christian "King" Combs, 27, his son with Porter
• D'Lila Star Combs and Jessie James Combs, 18, his twin daughters with Porter
• Justin Dior Combs, 31, his son with fashion designer Misa Hylton
• Chance Combs, 18, his daughter with businesswoman and social media influencer Sarah Chapman
• Love Sean Combs, 2, his daughter with Dana Tran, a tech firm boss and part-time model

Image source, LEONARDO MUNOZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Image source, Getty Images