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He offered to make Kobe's problem 'go away.'
By Alice Kelly — Written on Sep 09, 2021
The FBI have unsealed documents related to a murder-for-hire scheme in which a man plotted to kill Kobe Bryant’s rape accuser.
The 17-page document details the case of a Swiss bodybuilder, Patrick Graber, who requested $3 million from Bryant after he was accused of sexual assault in 2003.
Patrick Graber told Kobe Bryant he could make his rape accuser ‘go away.’
The FBI documents reveal that Graber, who allegedly had ties to the Russian mafia, wrote Bryant a letter with "inferences that he could make Bryant's problem with respect to the sexual assault case go away for a fee."
The report says Graber requested Bryant pay him $3 million in order to carry out the murder plot.
Upon discovering the letter, Bryant’s security team and his attorneys notified the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
According to the documents, authorities traveled to Colorado to warn Bryant’s accuser about the threat.
The FBI arrested Graber for the murder-for-hire scheme.
Federal authorities then set up several meetings with Graber, acting as if they were going along with his scheme.
He was arrested after authorities had arranged to pay him using fake money from Hollywood film sets, the report states.
Graber was ultimately sentenced to three years in prison in the case, after pleading no contest to grant theft in 2004.
As part of a deal, prosecutors dropped several charges against him, including solicitation to commit murder.
He was ordered to be deported upon his release from prison.
What happened with Kobe Bryant’s rape case?
In 2003, an employee at Cordillera Lodge and Spa in Edwards, Colorado accused Bryant of raping her.
The basketball legend was staying at the Lodge and allegedly invited the woman to his room where they both admitted to kissing one another.
The woman claims Bryant raped her but he maintained that they had consensual sex.
According to court documents, a hospital examination of the woman revealed a bruise on her neck and tears in her vaginal wall.
Both her underwear and Bryant’s shirt were bloody. Bryant reportedly told the police he had not explicitly asked for consent.
However, a criminal case was later dropped, shortly before it was due to go to trial, due to the woman’s refusal to testify.
A lawsuit she filed against Bryant was settled out of court.
After the case was dropped, Bryant issued an apology to the woman that acknowledged her perspective in the encounter without admitting guilt.
“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual,” he said in a statement, “I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.”
He has maintained his innocence in the case and continued to have a successful career in its aftermath until his 2020 passing in a tragic helicopter accident.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.