Celebrity trials have been steadily feeding the news cycle lately. The final months of 2022 saw Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s demise play out in court, and Tory Lanez has been behind bars since December in the aftermath of his legal battle with Megan Thee Stallion. Most recently, we’re finally seeing the murder trial for XXXTENTACION, who was tragically killed in 2018, play out.
The past few weeks have brought forward plenty of interesting information. Among the headlines, we’ve seen Drake narrowly escaping a deposition as well as defense lawyers attempting to use the late rapper’s alleged cheating against him posthumously. The latter was denied last week, and during recent sessions, the topics of conversation have become more serious.
On Tuesday (February 14), Scott Barbieux gave his testimony. The young man is a fan of XXXTENTACION, and he and his ex-girlfriend happened to be shopping at RIVA Motorsports on the same day as him. They were checking out bikes when the robbery and fatal shooting of the Florida native took place before their eyes. When the criminals fled the scene, Barbieux approached the artist’s body before taking a photo and posting it on Snapchat.
During court, Prosecutor Pascale Achille spoke with the witness, asking, “Do you recall taking a photograph with your phone of Mr. Onfroy after he was shot and seated in his vehicle?” He responded yes, and when pressed for an explanation as to why Barbieux explained that he “was a big fan” and “wanted to have a photo to remember that forever.”
Before the shooting took place, he and his girlfriend crossed paths with XXX elsewhere in the motorcycle shop. At the time he asked for a photo but was denied the opportunity. After witnessing the shooting, Barbieux says he touched the father of one’s body before taking the photo. After giving him a shake, he realized that the young performer had passed on.
Achille asked the witness if he was compensated for his Snapchat upload, to which he said, “No.” Barbieux also noted that the photo was taken down immediately so it didn’t have a chance to go viral. Read more recent updates from the courthouse here, and listen to the aforementioned testimony in the video below at the 4:48:56 mark.
[Via]