What to know about Cassie, the singer testifying against Sean 'Diddy' Combs

NEW YORK (AP) — Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer and actor known simply as Cassie, began testifying Tuesday in Sean “Diddy” Combs ' sex trafficking trial. She is expected to return to the stand on Wednesday.

The music mogul is charged with leveraging his status to coerce women — including Cassie — into abusive sexual encounters and using violence if they refused. He has pleaded not guilty. Cassie sued Combs in 2023 alleging years of rape and abuse. The suit was settled within hours, but was followed by dozens of similar legal claims and touched off a criminal investigation.

Here’s what you need to know about the 38-year-old star witness:

A singer, actor, dancer and model, Cassie's professional ambitions began in adolescence, when she signed to the top-tier talent and modeling agency Wilhelmina. Her music career launched shortly thereafter, when she left her home state of Connecticut for New York, where she signed with manager Tony Mottola and first met Combs.

Cassie is perhaps best known for the 2006 hit single “Me & U,” which secured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 all genres chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song was the lead single of her only studio album, released by Combs' Bad Boy Records, and was self-titled. She left the label in 2019.

As an actor, she appeared in several television and film projects including Fox’s “Empire," “The Perfect Match” and “Spenser Confidential.” She made her acting debut in 2008 in “Step Up 2: The Streets” and contributed the song "Is It You" to its soundtrack.

She appeared in a number of music videos as well, including Wiz Khalifa's “Roll Up” and Mario's “Just A Friend 2002.”

Although she never released her long-teased sophomore album, at one point tentatively titled “Electro Love," she did drop a few tracks: the R&B-pop “Official Girl” with Lil Wayne, “Must Be Love” with Combs, and “Let's Get Crazy” with Akon. And in 2012, Nicki Minaj tapped her for a feature on “The Boys” from Minaj's “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded — The Re-Up.”

Cassie is also a wife and a mother. She married personal trainer Alex Fine in September 2019. Their first daughter, Frankie Stone Fine, was born that same year and they welcomed their second daughter, Sunny Cinco Fine, in 2021. She is currently pregnant with their third child, a son.

Cassie met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. He signed her to his Bad Boy Records label and, within a few years, they started dating.

In her 2023 civil lawsuit, Cassie alleges Combs trapped her in a “cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking” for more than a decade, including raping her and forcing her to engage in sex acts with male sex workers. Combs settled the lawsuit the next day.

In May 2024, CNN aired video that showed Combs attacking Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016. The video closely mirrored an assault described in her lawsuit, which said Combs had already punched her that night, and she was trying to leave the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles when he woke and came after her. In the footage, a man who appears to be Diddy, wearing only a towel, punches Cassie, kicks her, and throws her on to the floor. The lawsuit alleges Combs paid $50,000 to bury the video at the time.

Later, Combs apologized for the assault on Cassie in his first real acknowledgment of wrongdoing since the stream of allegations began.

Among other things, Cassie alleges Combs raped her when she tried to leave him and often punched, kicked and beat her, causing injuries including bruises, burst lips, black eyes and bleeding.

She also alleges that Combs was involved in blowing up rival rapper Kid Cudi’s car when he learned that Cudi was romantically interested in her, and she alleges that Combs ran out of his home with guns when he learned that Suge Knight, a rival producer, was eating at a nearby diner.

On the first day of Combs' sex trafficking trial, a witness, Daniel Phillip, said he was a professional stripper who was paid $700 to $6,000 to have sex with Cassie while Combs watched and gave instructions, with the first encounter in 2012.

Phillip told jurors that he stopped meeting with the couple after he saw Combs throw a bottle at her and then drag her by her hair into a bedroom as she screamed.

AP writer Mike Sisak contributed to this report.

Cassie Ventura wipes tears from her eye while testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Cassie Ventura, right, walks out of the courtroom past Sean Diddy Combs after testifying in Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Sean Diddy Combs listens during opening statements on the first day of trial in Manhattan federal court, Monday, May 12, 2025, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

FILE - Cassie Ventura, left, and Sean "Diddy" Combs appear at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating "China: Through the Looking Glass" in New York on May 4, 2015. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura also known as Cassie arrives for the screening of Killing Them Softly at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - Singer Cassie Ventura also known as Cassie arrives for the screening of Killing Them Softly at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and his girlfriend during a home invasion robbery was put to death Thursday evening in a record 19th execution in Florida this year.

Frank Athen Walls, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m. following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Walls was convicted of two counts of murder and other charges and sentenced to death in 1988. The Florida Supreme Court later reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, and Walls was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1992 for the murders of Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson.

The curtain to the death chamber went up precisely at the scheduled 6:00 p.m. execution time. Walls was already strapped to the gurney and covered mostly by a blanket with his left arm extended and an IV in place. A Catholic priest was seated at the foot of the gurney with his right hand extended toward Walls’ lower leg or foot.

Walls then apologized in his final words, said Alex Lanfranconi, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis who relayed comments from the prison.

"Good evening, everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to say what’s on my heart. If any of the members of the family are here, I am sorry for all of the things I did, the pain I caused, and all of that you have suffered all these years,” Walls was quoted as saying.

After the brief statement, the execution began while the priest remained, apparently praying beside Walls.

Walls began to breathe heavily for several minutes and appeared to lose consciousness. A warden then shook Walls several times and shouted his name, getting no response. Walls' breathing eventually stopped. A medic was called in several minutes later and the inmate was pronounced dead. At that point, the priest kneeled on the floor and made the sign of the cross.

Court records indicate Walls broke into the Florida Panhandle mobile home of Eglin Air Force Base airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson, in July 1987. Walls tied the couple up, but Alger managed to break free and attack Walls. Walls cut Alger’s throat and then shot him in the head when the airman continued to fight. Walls then attacked Peterson and shot her as she struggled.

Walls was arrested the day after the bodies were found when his roommate tipped off police about Walls’ odd behavior. During a search of the home, investigators reported finding items from the crime scene, and Walls later admitted to the killings.

After Walls' conviction, DNA evidence linked him to the May 1987 rape and killing of a woman, Audrey Gygi. Walls pleaded no contest, avoiding another trial and possible death sentence. Walls also admitted responsibility for the killings of Tommie Lou Whiddon in March 1985 and Cynthia Sue Condra in September 1986 as part of a deal with prosecutors.

DeSantis, the Republican who signed the death warrant, has ordered more executions in a single year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976. The previous state record was eight executions in 2014. DeSantis said earlier this year that his goal is to bring justice to victims’ families who have waited decades for the death sentences to be carried out.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Walls’ request for a stay of execution on Thursday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Walls met with one visitor as well as a spiritual adviser and had a meal of steak, chicken and cheesecake, authorities said.

Including Walls, a total of 47 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and more than a dozen other people are scheduled to be put to death in 2026. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, followed by Alabama, South Carolina and Texas with five each.

All Florida executions are carried out by an injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.

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This undated photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Frank Athen Walls. (Florida Department of Correction via AP)