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This thing is getting to be more bizarre as time goes on. Now someone wanted to kill the alledged victim for money?

Who was going to pay this guy?

So the police have a guy that they set up, but I want to know who was behind this guy...

Weird stuff

As suspected, the girl looks pretty hot.

Here comes court appearancec #2..... this will be interesting to say the least.

Will Kobe have a tie on +200
No -240

The woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of rape arrived at the hospital the next day wearing underwear stained with another man's semen, the detective investigating the case acknowledged in court Wednesday.

The testimony from Detective Doug Winters came during a hearing Wednesday that will determine whether Bryant, a Los Angeles Lakers star, will stand trial for rape.

The questions by Bryant's lawyer about the woman's underwear appear to be part of an effort to suggest that injuries to the woman's vaginal area could have been caused by sex with someone other than Bryant.

But during the contentious preliminary hearing that ended Wednesday, prosecutors argued that Bryant's own T-shirt — streaked with the blood of his accuser — offers "uncontradicted" proof that Bryant "sexually penetrated her, hurting her to the point that she bled."

In her own final statement, Bryant attorney Pamela Mackey of Denver urged Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett to drop the case against Bryant. Mackey told Gannett that the woman who accused Bryant of raping her June 30 "is not worthy of your belief."

The judge said he expects to decide by Monday whether to send the case on to state district court for trial. After Wednesday's hearing, legal experts here predicted that Bryant, 25, will stand trial. They say that under Colorado law, the woman's accusation alone is evidence enough to proceed. Prosecutors need only to show probable cause that a crime was committed, not the trial-court test that Bryant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

But those experts also question how much of a chance prosecutors have of convicting Bryant. They say poor detective work, shaky witness testimony, ill-prepared prosecutors and some of the best defense lawyering money can buy will make proving that Bryant raped the woman difficult.

"There are gaping holes in the prosecution's case," said Denver trial lawyer Larry Pozner, past president of the National Association of Defense Lawyers. "Every damaging admission today comes out of the prosecution's witnesses. We haven't even heard the defense's witnesses yet."

Craig Silverman, a former Denver prosecutor, called the outcome of the hearing "a stunning display of prosecutorial weakness and ineptitude."

"The judge would do the DA and the accuser a favor by dismissing the case," he said. "The only way (Bryant) will be convicted is if he confessed to rape."

Bryant admits having sex with the woman, an employee of a luxury lodge where he was staying near Vail. But Bryant says she consented and he denies raping her. The woman says Bryant attacked her after the two had flirted and kissed in his room. She says he blocked her attempt to leave.

Outside the courtroom, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said he is "confident in the people's case against Kobe Bryant."

Some court watchers disagree. They suggest that during the two-day hearing, Mackey dismantled most of the prosecution's proof of alleged injuries and cast doubt on who might have caused them.

Others, including the district attorney, caution that the prosecution presented only the bare-bones details necessary to take Bryant to trial. "No prosecutor does their whole case at a preliminary hearing," Hurlbert noted.

At the same time, Bryant's lawyers have yet to present any of their own evidence or witnesses.

But Mackey, one of Colorado's top trial lawyers, got the prosecution's only witness in the preliminary hearing to essentially raise questions about the prosecution's case.

During questioning from Mackey, detective Winters said the woman told him she had consensual sex with someone other than Bryant on June 27 or June 28 and had used a condom.

Winters also said two pairs of panties from the woman were tested — one from June 30, the night of the alleged attack, and the other the one she wore to a hospital for an exam the next day.

The pair she wore to the hospital contained blood and semen, Winters said.

"The accuser arrived at the hospital wearing panties with someone else's semen and sperm in them, not that of Mr. Bryant, correct?" Mackey asked.

"That's correct," Winters responded.

The defense has suggested that injuries to the woman's vaginal area may have been caused by previous sexual partners. In Wednesday's court filing, defense attorney Hal Haddon said prosecutors misrepresented blood evidence found on the underpants.

"The clear implication of this testimony was that the accuser was bleeding due to the alleged sexual assault," he said. The prosecution deliberately failed to "put before the court all of the evidence concerning those panties."

During questioning by Mackey, Winters also said that a night auditor at the lodge — the first to encounter the accuser after the alleged rape — doesn't believe the woman was assaulted.

Last Thursday, Mackey drew the ire of the judge, of victims' advocates and of some legal analysts for suggesting in court that the accuser's injuries could have been caused by "sex with three different men in three days."

At the time, her startling question seemed to trash Colorado's "rape shield" law. The law is designed to protect alleged victims by making their sexual history and behavior off-limits in a rape case.

But when Gannett reconvened the hearing Wednesday, he seemed to give Mackey even more leeway. The judge wouldn't say why. But court observers suggest Gannett agreed that Mackey's inquiry into the nature of the injuries was legitimate.

Throughout the hearing, Mackey used the accuser's interview with Winters to portray the woman as excited by Bryant's visit and even anticipating a romantic encounter. Winters acknowledged during cross-examination that the woman said she had expected the basketball star to "put a move on her."

Mackey also got Winters to admit that, during his interview with the accuser, Winters had to ask why the woman didn't say "no" to Bryant's sexual advances.

"She never said, 'I did tell him no,' correct?" Mackey asked.

Winters suggested that the woman's attempt to get away when Bryant became more aggressive was indication enough.

As Bryant awaits the judge's decision, the evidence of stained clothing poses challenges for both sides.

During cross-examination, Winters acknowledged that he had tried to get semen samples from two other men. Those samples would be used to compare to the stains on the accuser's panties. He testified that the unnamed men refused.

When Bryant was arrested, he was wearing a Nike T-shirt that had waist-level smears of the woman's blood on the inside. Prosecutors seized on that as compelling evidence of Bryant's guilt.

Repeating graphic details of Winters' earlier testimony, prosecutor Gregg Crittenden said Bryant "held her by the back of her neck with his hand during sexual intercourse. He bent her over. He lifted up her skirt. She said, 'No.' He pulled down her panties. He penetrated her from behind. And she cried."

If Bryant stands trial, the court proceeding might not take place until next spring — or possibly summer, after the NBA season ends. And even if Judge Gannett dismisses the case, prosecutors can still go directly to state district court to seek a trial.

Will the "Get out of Jail" card that the NBA has really help Kobe in this case? Seems like a pretty strong case.

NBA star Kobe Bryant must stand trial on a charge of raping a 19-year-old Colorado resort worker, a judge ruled Monday, clearing the way for a celebrity trial the likes of which haven't been seen since O.J. Simpson was in court.

Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett said prosecutors presented enough evidence Bryant might have committed the crime June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers guard could face a life sentence if convicted.

His next appearance, in district court, would be Nov. 10.

Bryant, 25, has said the sex was consensual. His attorneys suggested the woman's injuries came during sex with other men in the days before her encounter with Bryant at a posh resort in nearby Edwards.

The defense can appeal Gannett's ruling, but such appeals are rare, legal experts said.

At Bryant's first appearance in state district court he will be advised of his rights, of the charge and of the possible penalties. He could enter a plea during that hearing.

Unless Bryant waives his right to a speedy trial, the trial would be scheduled within six months of his plea.

Prosecutors in Colorado almost always succeed in persuading a judge to order a trial after a preliminary hearing because the standard of proof required is relatively low. Allegations are usually enough to advance the case to a higher court for trial, where the standard of proof is much higher.

Bryant's hearing was hardly a quick proceeding: It lasted for nearly two days and included graphic testimony about an encounter prosecutors say turned violent after flirting by both Bryant and his accuser.

Sheriff's Detective Doug Winters testified the woman went to Bryant's room at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera shortly after checking him and his two bodyguards in to the resort.

The two chatted and began kissing. But a few minutes later, Bryant grabbed the woman by the throat, bent her over a chair and raped her, asking her several times not to tell anybody, Winters testified.

She told Bryant "no" at least twice, and he stopped only after she pulled his hand off her neck, Winters said.

The woman was left with vaginal tears consistent with assault and her blood was found on Bryant's shirt, Winters said.

But he acknowledged under cross-examination by defense attorney Pamela Mackey that the woman had sex with another man shortly before her encounter with Bryant. She also didn't tell Winters initially that she had said "no."

The defense argued that the semen and pubic hair found in the woman's underwear that wasn't from Bryant proves he is innocent of rape — an argument ridiculed by prosecutor Greg Crittenden. He said the evidence of rape was "uncontradicted."

At trial, any discussion of the woman's sexual history could be limited by Colorado's rape shield law, unless Bryant's attorneys successfully argue the evidence fits into one of the few exceptions.

Prosecutors, however, must convince a jury that a woman flattered by Bryant's attention had no intention of having sex with him as they kissed. Winters acknowledged she told him she expected Bryant to "put a move" on her when she accepted the invitation to his room.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert has said he held back some evidence, knowing a preliminary hearing requires a judge to look at the evidence in a way that is most favorable to prosecutors.