Image source, Reuters

The court is now taking a lunch break, after which the testimony of an alleged victim and former assistant of Sean "Diddy" Combs will resume.

"Mia" has spent nearly two hours testifying so far. She is expected to be on the stand until the end of the week.

She began telling the court that working for Diddy was "chaotic" and "toxic" and says he sexually assaulted her "on more than one occasion".

As Combs's assistant, "Mia" says:

• She once went five days without sleep
• Tasks ranged from filing his taxes to cracking his knuckles
• When staying at Combs's residencies, she wasn't allowed to lock the door

Prosecutors then moved on to what "Mia" knew about Combs's relationship with Cassie Ventura.

She says:

• Combs was violent with Ventura "all the time"
• He would “keep tabs on Ventura" and use "Mia" to check up on her
• She saw Combs throw Ventura to the ground, crack her head open and chase her

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

"Mia" takes us through one instance of Combs’s alleged violence that we heard from Ventura and her former stylist Deonte Nash.

The three were at Ventura’s house in Los Angeles when Combs showed up and started “banging” on the door, "Mia" says.

All of a sudden, Combs started attacking Ventura, "Mia" says. She says the two jumped in immediately and tried to get him to stop.

She jumped onto his back and he threw her against the wall. “I realised we were in real danger”, she says.

She starts to cry as she tells the court she couldn’t get there “fast enough” to stop Combs from slamming Ventura in the “strongest, sharpest corner” of her wooden bed frame.

“He’s actually going to kill her,” "Mia" recalls thinking through tears.

Combs then told "Mia" to arrange for Ventura to see the plastic surgeon, she says.

Following that, the court takes its lunch break.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

It’s been an emotional first couple of hours of testimony from "Mia" today.

She continues to look down and tilt her head from side to side as she talks about witnessing Combs attack Ventura.

Combs, meanwhile, is sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed wearing an off-white sweater looking toward the witness stand.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Image source, Reuters

Prosecutors turn to the violence "Mia" says she witnessed in the relationship between Combs and Ventura.

She says she saw Combs attack her, throw her to ground, crack her head open, and chase her, among other things.

"Mia" laughs weakly when asked if Ventura ever fought back.

She says Ventura didn’t, but would throw her hands up to shield herself.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

We’re hearing more about the type of control Combs wielded over Ventura, according to "Mia".

She says his company paid for her credit cards, homes and cars. He would take away Ventura’s stuff “all the time” if he was upset or couldn’t get her on the phone, she testifies.

She also says Combs would “keep tabs on Ventura” and use her to check up on Ventura.

When the two women were together, she says they couldn’t do what they wanted, they had to be where Combs told them to be.

When asked what would happen if they did something without his permission, "Mia" says “whew” with a sigh and states something very bad, very scary would happen.

The punishment would be unpredictable and terrifying, she tells the court.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Questions have now turned to Cassie Ventura.

"Mia" met her when she was working for Combs and says they became like sisters and remain friends.

She says Ventura’s relationship with Combs was toxic, a “cycle of highs and lows,” where he was violent “all the time”.

She says Combs made all the decisions about Ventura’s career - from what music she could put out, the visual aspects of her videos, when she could be in the studio and her appearance.

When Ventura moved into acting, "Mia" would help her find projects and accompany her on set. Combs was very involved in the final decisions made about Ventura’s film career as well, "Mia" tells the court.

"Mia" says he would sometimes visit film sets and “insert himself” and ask questions during the production.

Image source, Reuters

Celebrity stylist Deonte Nash has been pictured leaving the New York court after finishing his testimony this morning.

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

He was called to the witness stand yesterday, and it was thought that he could have completed his time in one session. "Mia" was due to begin her testimony after him in the afternoon, however his testimony ran longer than thought.

"Mia" was, however, mentioned in court yesterday, during Nash's testimony. He told a story about once being at Cassie Ventura's Los Angeles apartment with "Mia" and Ventura, when Combs arrived and allegedly started attacking Ventura.

Nash said he and "Mia" both tried to stop the attack, jumping on his back, but Combs threw them off and continued until Ventura bled.

• For more on what Nash testified, read our earlier post

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We’re continuing to hear about life for "Mia" while working as an assistant to Combs.

She says that sometimes she would stay at Combs’s residences, and when she did, she was not allowed to leave without permission.

She tells of one time where she tried to leave the house at 02:00 after Combs had fallen asleep to meet up with friends.

“I got in big trouble,” she says.

His security called her and told her they were coming to find her, she testifies.

She also says that was not allowed to lock her door in Combs’s homes, she says, but his security could.

“Puff said this is my house, no one locks the door,” "Mia" says.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

Prosecutors display an email to the jury where "Mia" detailed her various responsibilities.

She says she wrote it after Combs told her: “I don’t even know what you do all day.”

She says she could be asked to do 17,000 things at one time, including everything from cracking his knuckles, writing a movie for him, doing his taxes, to just standing next to him and doing nothing.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

This isn’t the first time the court has heard from Combs’s personal assistants about their work conditions.

Their testimonies have been consistent, describing incredibly long hours, with the tasks and environment dictated by the “whims and mood” of their hip-hop mogul boss.

"Mia" says she often went without rest, the longest stretch being five days without sleep. She says it was incredibly difficult because she never knew when she would be free from her responsibilities so she “didn’t have anything to hold onto” to get her through.

She describes having a physical breakdown at one point, hysterically crying, after her hearing went and sight blurred.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court

"Mia" continues to answer questions slowly and clearly, often looking down with her head bowed. She’s asked to go back to when she first started working for Combs, who she calls “Puff.”

She says she wanted to be a writer and performer, so she came to New York with her mattress on her car to pursue her dream.

She worked for Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman and the comedian Mike Myers before she became Combs’s personal assistant in 2009.

After multiple interviews for the job with his staff, she met Combs at his apartment with the head of human resources. He answered the door on his phone in his underwear, but eventually put on clothes.

She says he explained that the job would be a lot, and that jokes about a “24 hour nail salon” were thrown out.

Family members of Sean "Diddy" Combs, including his mother and three sons, are in court again today. They've made regular appearances there to support the hip-hop mogul. Here are some shots of them arriving this morning.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Only a few minutes into her testimony, we hear about the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of Combs.

Prosecutors ask if Combs was ever violent toward her. "Mia" says he threw things at her, threw her against a wall, threw her into a pool and once dropped an ice bucket on her head.

She pauses for a minute, saying “um” repeatedly and hesitantly as she tells the court that Combs also sexually assaulted her “on more than one occasion”.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

"Mia" takes the stand wearing an ivory blazer and slacks.

Speaking in a steady voice, she tells the court that she is a former assistant of Combs.

Asked what it was like to work for him, she says “chaotic” and “toxic”.

“The highs were really high and the lows were really, really low,” she says.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

One of the government’s most important witnesses has just taken the stand: one of Combs’s former employees who alleges that he sexually assaulted her.

Before she walks up to the witness stand, the judge reminds the court that this witness will be anonymous - they will call her "Mia".

Reporters and the public are reminded that there is to be no recording of this anonymous witness.

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

Celebrity stylist Deonte Nash, who worked with Combs and Cassie Ventura, was on the stand yesterday and continued into this morning. Here's what he told the court:

Warning: This post and others below contain distressing details

• Nash alleged there were multiple instances in which Combs was violent with both him and Cassie Ventura
• By example, he described how Combs appeared at Ventura's apartment and alleged that he started beating her, then "freaked out" after her head smashed into a bed frame and started bleeding - she had stitches across her eyebrow when he next saw her
• He also told the court that Combs allegedly lifted him up in the air after disliking the way Ventura's hair had been styled
• Nash testified that all of Ventura's outfits for public appearances needed approval from Combs
• He said that he and Ventura hid “too many times to count” because they didn’t want Combs to “attack” them
• Combs allegedly blackmailed Ventura, Nash said, including threatening to release videos of "freak-offs", which she has testified she was not a willing participant in - we'd heard her say the same during her testimony earlier
• Nash says that he and Ventura remain close friends, that he texted her "congrats" after she had her baby on Tuesday - she had been heavily pregnant when she gave her testimony earlier this month

If you'd like to take a look back at his testimony in detail, we covered his comments in yesterday's live page

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

While we prepare for "Mia" to testify today, let's bring you up to speed on the key witnesses we've heard from during the trial so far

• Cassie Ventura, Combs's ex-girlfriend, spent four days giving evidence, in which she alleged that he wanted to "control" her life and eventually turned violent
• She testified about so-called "freak-offs" - drug-fuelled sexual events allegedly orchestrated by Combs featuring male escorts, which she said she partook in to make him happy
• Stylist Deonte Nash yesterday told the court he had witnessed Combs violently attack Ventura, and that she had told him that Combs threatened to blackmail her with the release of videos of the "freak-offs"
• Rapper Kid Cudi spoke of his short-lived relationship with Ventura and alleged that Combs targeted him as a result
• Kid Cudi told the court of an alleged break-in at his Los Angeles home and an incident in which his Porsche was damaged by a Molotov cocktail
• Former employee Capricorn Clark testified that Combs kidnapped her at gunpoint in 2011 and forced her to accompany him to Kid Cudi's house where he told her they were "going to kill" the rapper

As a reminder, Combs denies all the charges against him, which include racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Image source, Reuters / Jane Rosenberg

Our coverage of US music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs's trial continues continues today with testimony from an alleged victim known under the pseudonym "Mia".

Yesterday, we heard stylist Deonte Nash tell the court of the many beatings and threats Combs made against Cassie Ventura - we'll bring you a more in-depth recap shortly.

"Mia", who is Combs's former employee, is due to take the stand shortly. We are expecting her to continue testifying until the end of the week.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest from inside the New York court.