The National Enquirer has expert forensic analysis of the compelling evidence from the leased Lamborghini where Chris Brown attacked his girlfriend Rihanna. (You can see the photos on RadarOnline.) While the pictures are disturbing enough to us laypeople, a former NYPD crime scene expert says that the damage and blood spatter in the car is clear, compelling evidence of a prolonged and brutal beating.
Yesterday we heard the very disturbing details from a police affidavit in the case. Rihanna was reportedly slammed against the window, punched repeatedly until blood spilled from her mouth, bitten on the ear and fingers, and strangled to the point where she almost lost consciousness. Unfortunately the evidence in the car supports that account of events, according to the expert quoted in the Enquirer.
In a shockingly violent battle, Rihanna was pummeled mercilessly as she fought desperately to escape, her blood spattering on the inside of her boyfriend Chris Brown’s rented Lamborghini.
The fight was so violent that parts of the car – including a cigarette lighter – were knocked loose as the battered singer fought to escape.
Those are the conclusions of one of America’s top crime-scene experts, who conducted a CSI-style analysis – exclusively for The Enquirer – of the inside of Brown’s car…
“There was a terrible struggle in the car, and the passenger, who I have been told was Rihanna, obviously came off badly,” declared ex-detective [Hal] Sherman. [A former NYPD detective with more than 20 years experience] “What I saw in the Lamborghini’s interior would be indicative of her being beaten by the driver of the car, who I have been told was Chris Brown…
“There are clear signs the fight may have gone one for some time. The injury photograph shows the victim was beaten in the nose, cheek and mouth. When that happens, you don’t immediately bleed. It takes a little time. I think that Rihanna bled a substantial amount.
“First, look at the handbrake – there is a large blood smear…
“The size of that blood stain would originally have been up to four inches wide, showing that Rihanna had been bleeding quite heavily…
“There are also very obvious signs that Rihanna was being pulled forcibly against her will by the driver…
“You can see at the back of the handbrake there is a hole that appears to be where a cigarette lighter had been.
“From the markings around it, you can see that the passenger was literally dragged over to the drivers side, probably breaking off the lighter in the fight…
“Secondly, there is a piece of plastic in the passenger side foot well, which may be a cup holder, a fuse box lid or a coin holder. Whatever it is, it is clear that it is not normally detatched – and was clearly forced off during the struggle.
“Thirdly if you look at the car information monitor in the center of the car console, you can see that ‘latent print tape’ was used by police to get a fingerprint. There is a clear impression of the top of a finger.
“And if you look at the way the finger is positioned, from top left to bottom right, it’s obvious it is Rihanna’s. If it had been Brown’s, the finger positions would have been the opposite way around.
“This is indicative of Rihanna struggling as Brown dragged her toward him. It shows she attempted to grab onto the monitor so she could push away from him… She fought him off while she bled profusely,” noted Sherman, author of “The Illustrated Guide to Crime Scene Investigation.”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 16, 2009]
I guess we didn’t need this guy to tell his how badly Rihanna was brutalized after seeing the photos, but it really brings it home for me. It also gives you hope that the prosecution will use a similar expert witness if the case comes to trial to show how mercilessly Chris beat Rihanna. The case will most likely not go to trial though and Chris will probably plead out. Yesterday he obtained a delay for his arraignment until April 6.
Rihanna’s lawyer was also in court with Brown. She obtained a “level one” protection order, which is not a restraining order, and is just “an order where Chris Brown is ordered not to annoy, molest or harass her,” according to RadarOnline. Rihanna’s lawyer refused to comment on his client’s reconciliation with her abuser. Brown was told by the commissioner presiding over his case in court yesterday “Mr. Brown, you are not to annoy, harass, molest, threaten or use force or violence against anyone.”
Brown has been charged with two felonies, assault and making criminal threats, and faces anywhere from probation to four years and eight months in jail if found guilty. With this kind of compelling evidence, he may face jail time. You hope for Rihanna’s sake that he is put away long enough for her to escape the cycle of abuse.
Rihanna is shown on 2/4/09. Credit: Fame
I’m just about speechless over any decision Rihanna makes that does not involve a complete disconnect between herself and Chris Brown.
ooh I want an order that says you can’t annoy me.
Do you hear that children? You must stop saying mom mom mom mom mom mom . Judge says.
I’m sorry to make light. I’m not going to go look at the photos. I’m glad they have the car as evidence though
Do you think he’s gotten into steroids?
Everyone says it’s out of his character and it seems like it escalated rather quickly like roid rage.
It’s absolutely incredible that she would continue this relationship. It really makes me sad.
From the stories of Chris Brown’s attitude, I’m sure his next statement will be ” We were just joking around.” Douche.
“Mr.” Brown…that’s rich. I know it’s the going-through-the-motions formality of the court but I still made a screw-face when I read it.
I just think that she, as a young celebrity, needs to set some sort of an example for young women. Especially in her circumstances. She does not ‘need’ him. Does not have children with him. She hasn’t spends years of her life with him. She’s 21 yrs old and more than self sufficient, probably has an incredible network of people to support her during this.
She should absolutely be sending a message to young women everywhere. “You do not deserve this kind of treatment. It is not your fault. Leave.”
Told you I’ll be here forever
Said I’ll always be a friend
Took an oath, I’ma stick it out till the end
Now that it’s raining more than ever
Know that we’ll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella – ela – ela
just to make it clear, i’m ironic right now.
but do you think he pulled that stunt on her to convince her to get back together?
Good God. I could tell by glancing at the pictures of Rihanna’s face (which were posted on the home page of MSN.com and which I had hoped to avoid viewing) that it was bad, but this description is gut-wrenching. It reminds me of the scene in What’s Love Got to Do With It when Ike and Tina start fighting in the back of the limo, only in that scene Tina dishes it right back to Ike and they practically tear the whole limo apart…this description is very disturbing, if it is true.
Well put, Jann. I am still keeping my fingers crossed that Rihanna will kick this guy to the curb and stand up for her rights. There is someone out there who will love and cherish her and make her feel 10 times better than Chris did even on their best days…we are rooting for you to do the right thing, Rihanna! You cannot “fix” Chris – he needs to fix himself.
I really wish rihanna could be a strong women and set an example. but who am I kidding…
I read that she refused an order of protection. So sad for her. In NY it is not up to the victim to decide whether or not they want an order of protection. The judge decides and 99% of the time hands it over the bench regardless. I believe that the California court, home of the OJ case, should do the same for this poor ridiculous little girl’s own protection. Abusers will abuse again, just as sex offenders will offend again. She is in very real danger. Too bad her closest contacts are doing nothing to protect her. Uggh.
To whoever mentioned the steroids: I was just wondering if anyone had thought to ask whether he was high, or had started to abuse drugs.
While his attack was brutal, I don’t think it’s fair to villify him (or her) and demand his head on a platter. We don’t know if this was a one time thing, and even if it wasn’t, he’s only 19. With the high level of publicity this has gotten, I think it’s likely that he will go into some sort of behavior management and/or therapy program. He deserves the chance to make some changes in his life, and to redeem himself.
Before you jump down my throat, let me clarify that I’m not suggesting he should get away with this. He absolutely should be prosecuted and punished as deemed appropriate by the court.
It’s just clear to me that this young man needs help, and by only focusing on his punishment or destruction, the cycle of violence will likely continue. He very likely grew up in a violent, abusive situation (as most abusers were abused themselves)…
Anyway, just my two cents.
As far as the lighter goes, most rental places remove the cigarette lighters. It’s possible that the Lamborghini rental place did the same thing.
Not only is it obviously unsafe for her to go back anywhere near him, but I also think he would not have been in such a hurry to do so, except for the damage control PR firm he hired pressuring him to do so. Her having any contact with him helps him get reasonable doubt when this goes to trial and therefore might encourage prosecutors to plea deal him with no jail time. Besides beating her, he is now using her to escape accountability for what he did to her (and will do to others in the future).
Does California have that law where a domestic abuse victim doesn’t have to press charges — the state takes over pressing the case? I know many places have introduced this law because of how often domestic abuse victims are pressured by their abuser into dropping the chargers or ‘reconciling’… often leading to much more serious abuse or murder later. The state taking over pressing the case after the first known and documented incident nips these cycles of abuse in the bud. I was just thinking, if California had this standard, it boded better for that jerk’s imprisonment.
Seems to me this type of sustained rage might be influenced by steroids or other drugs. He looks like he works out a lot and is huge. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine him doing steroids to be bigger and more thuglike or whatever he was going for.
Some posted comment I read recently said he was sniffing a lot at the event right before the attack. Could be BS but if there’s somebody at that party that noticed him geeked alot or going to the bathroom a bit much, I hope they speak up. And considering what he did to her, what a punk he is, and how he ran away after, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine him coked up AND on ‘roids.
I feel like I did when the evidence came out on OJ. Make no mistake: This guy is extremely dangerous and almost killed her. He needs to have fair punishment for this before she’s killed for real by this person.
Jen, one of the police reports stated that he had beaten her before, that the violence was escalating. He does need help, but she needs it more. Put him away.
If he was into anything like steroids it would have been wiser to admit it straight away and go into some kind of rehab programme.
People would have been more able to get their head around it and maybe if not forgive it be more understanding of his behaviour and that he was doing something to correct it.
That he didn’t admit something like that straight away either means having a pristine image means more to him, or it’s nothing to do with that at all.
Has he even volunteered to go into any programme or admitted to a trangression of behaviour? Or, for that matter, taken full responsibility for his actions? I don’t think he has but correct me if I’m wrong.
And I’m going to say it again: *clearly* Rihanna isn’t in a normal state of mind. She can’t just leave. He’s already got to her mentally – ask anyone who’s suffered this kind of abuse. The ties are never just physical, she clearly went back because HE’S all she’s thinking about. Not herself.
So, as I said, she is not in a state of mind to be putting herself or her needs – or her safety for that matter – first, let alone thinking about her image and standing as a public figure/role model to young women.
Everyone’s jumping on her case for going back (and I can understand that being upsetting) but the statistics are *there* and on average it takes more than one attempt to leave this kind of relationship – when she’s obviously in mental spiral.
Are you willing to understand the scale of the problem or get angry at the soft target? At the end of the day she’s not responsible for HIS behaviour. Her going back doesn’t justify whatever he does. Even it makes it easy for HIM to believe it does.
And yet hardly anybody’s noting that even people who know Brown casually (and aren’t as intimately involved with him as Rihanna) aren’t willing to condemn his behaviour straight up. Doesn’t that tell you something? The man must be charming and not just that but *convincingly* so.
And these people are her friends and people I can only assume she trusts. What’s she supposed to think in that environment?
I’m more condemning of the people not condemning his actions. If they don’t want to condemn HIM outright because they think he’s at heart a decent person that’s their perogative but what he did was WRONG, it needs to be said, and he needs to accept the consequences.
Just because some other stars may have also slapped their significant others doesn’t make it right or excuse it, it just makes them lazy and willing to give someone else a free pass on a wrong action because they’ve been weak enough to do so in their own lives.
So show some kind of understanding, if not compassion, she’s already back in the dragon’s den. Calling her an idiot only makes it worse for her – it’s likely not the first time he hit her, and at the very worst – the *very* worst the reason she’s gone back is because, erroneously, she believes he’s a good person who won’t do it again.
So at the very worst her flaw has been to believe the best about someone in the face of very compelling evidence otherwise. It can only be hoped she doesn’t discover her mistake too late.
If this was the first time she would not go back and if she was in her right mind, the same. Clearly she is not.
FF, very good points. I almost want drugs to be responsible for the beating. It’s probably easier to go into rehab for drug abuse than an ingrained rage personality disorder, sober. I wait for more details and pray there’s not a bigger coverup going on than that which has already been presented; this is all very scary and disturbing.
Chris, please get help. You can easily kill somebody with your bare hands.
Rihanna needs an intervention.
rihanna should have never put her hands on chris because she found a message from a girl even though i’m on her side she should have known he was going to fight back.