NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Jurors are set to start deliberating Monday in 鈥� , weighing charges that could put the hip-hop mogul in prison for life.
After receiving legal instructions from federal Judge Arun Subramanian, of eight men and four women will head behind closed doors to deliberate. They'll sift through seven weeks of sometimes graphic and emotional testimony about the 's propensity for violence and his sexual predilections, including drug-fueled sex marathons dubbed 鈥� 鈥� or 鈥渉otel nights.鈥�
Combs, 55, has to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking 鈥� relating to two of his ex-girlfriends 鈥� and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution for allegedly arranging to fly sex workers across state lines.
In closing arguments last week, federal prosecutors and Combs鈥� defense team took their last shots at convincing jurors to convict or acquit the Grammy Award-winning founder of Bad Boy Records.
鈥淭he defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,鈥� . 鈥淗e thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.鈥�
Defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo , 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about crime. It鈥檚 about money." He noted that one of Combs' accusers in the criminal case also sued him in civil court.
In all, 34 witnesses testified, headlined by Combs鈥� former girlfriends 鈥� the R&B singer born Casandra Ventura 鈥� and 鈥� ,鈥� who testified under a pseudonym. Both women said he often was violent toward them and forced them into hundreds of sexual encounters with paid male sex workers.
Jurors also saw now-infamous of Combs beating, kicking and dragging Cassie at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016 and clips from videos of sexual encounters.
Combs , and his lawyers didn鈥檛 call any witnesses in their defense case. His attorneys elected instead to challenge the accusers' credibility during lengthy cross-examination questioning.
The defense has acknowledged that Combs veered into violence, but that the sex acts were consensual. They contend that prosecutors are intruding in Combs鈥� personal life and that he鈥檚 done nothing to warrant the charges against him.
Michael R. Sisak And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
