Vanessa Bryant first learnt of her husband Kobe Bryant’s death online.

The legendary basketball star was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2020 along with the couple’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others and Vanessa revealed that she first became aware of the horrific accident after seeing ‘RIP Kobe’ notifications on her phone.

Vanessa has taken legal action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for negligence and invasion of privacy and also alleges that officers shared graphic photos of the crash scene.

Bryant was asked during a deposition by a county attorney when she first made aware of the accident and confirmed that a family assistant informed her that Kobe and Gianna had been in an incident, but she suspected that they were among the survivors.

However, the tragic truth was revealed as messages popped up on her phone.

According to a transcript of the deposition, Vanessa said: “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’.

“My life will never be the same without my husband and daughter.”

Vanessa also revealed that she has kept the clothes that Kobe and Gianna were wearing when they died and slammed the officers for their alleged actions.

She said: “And if their clothes represent the condition of their bodies, I cannot imagine how someone could be so callous and have no regard for them or our friends, and just share the images as if they were animals on a street.”