According to new court filings, photos of the bodies of NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were shared on almost 30 devices within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The images in question were taken after Kobe, 41, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash close to Los Angeles in January of last year.

The New York Times reports that according to filings submitted by the legal team for Kobe's widow Vanessa Bryant, the photos were shared on "at least 28 devices" owned by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department personnel and by at least a dozen Los Angeles County firefighters.

The Washington Post reports that some of those in possession of the images exhibited them “in a bar while pantomiming dismemberment and showing off the photos over cocktails at an awards gala.”

Vanessa sued Los Angeles County in September 2020 after she claims members of the sheriff’s department took pictures of the scene and shared them. She has also stated the photos being shared caused her to experience emotional distress.

"It infuriates me that the people I trusted to protect the dignity of my husband and daughter abused their positions to obtain souvenirs of their deaths,” Bryant said in the filings, as reported by TMZ Sports. “I imagine Kobe watching over what occurred at that crash scene, and I am overcome by anger and emotion.”

Los Angeles County lawyers claim that the photos do not violate Vanessa's privacy and that her allegations have no legal standing, per the Los Angeles Times.

"The county does not condone this showing of accident site photographs and has taken corrective personnel actions accordingly,” county attorneys said. “That does not mean, however, that plaintiff has viable legal claims."

"For the rest of my life, one of two things will happen,” Vanessa said. “Either close-up photos of my husband’s and daughter’s bodies will go viral online, or I will continue to live in fear of that happening.”

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