Kobe Crash Victims' Families Settle with L.A. County Over Photos
Kobe Bryant Crash Victims' Families Settle with County Over Alleged Photo Sharing
Two of the families whose loved ones perished in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash just agreed to settlements with L.A. County over the alleged sharing of crash site photos of remains -- but Vanessa Bryant is still at war.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $2.5 million to be split between the families of Christine Mauser and Keri, John and Alyssa Altobelli ... according to docs. Mauser's husband, Matthew, gets $1.25 mil, and the Altobelli's 2 surviving children get the same.
According to the L.A. Times, which first reported the settlement, counsel for the county suggested settling with the families would be the best route as they continue to deal with Vanessa's lawsuit, and one from Chris Chester ... whose wife and child died in the crash.
The outlet says the lawsuits have already cost L.A. County an estimated $1.29 million in legal fees.
Meanwhile, Vanessa and Chris' suits are still playing out in court ... and could be headed for trial in the near future. Speaking of them, a judge denied L.A. County's motion seeking psychiatric evaluations of Vanessa and Chris, ruling it came too late in the case.
The county argued that the psychiatric evaluations would help determine if their emotional distress was actually related to crash photos that she and the public have never seen.
As we reported, a total of 9 people -- including Kobe and Gianna -- died in the crash last year.