Following the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash, his wife Vanessa Bryant has changed her Instagram profile picture to one of her late husband with their 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who also passed away in the tragic incident.
The NBA superstar's wife hasn't yet spoken out since it was revealed that the father and daughter passed away after the helicopter they were travelling in crashed on Sunday in California.
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The 37-year-old mother of four changed her profile picture to one of Kobe and Gianna embracing and smiling at one another. Kobe has a basketball tucked underneath his arm and his little girl is gazing up at him.
The now-heartbreaking picture was taken at an NBA all-star game in Toronto back in 2016.
Kobe met Vanessa when she was just 17 back in 1999 - the pair got engaged six months later and married in 2001.
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They shared four children together: Gianna who was tragically killed alongside her dad, Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and seven-month-old Capri.
Bryant and 'Gigi' were on their way to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, for basketball practice at the time of the incident.
A call for a downed helicopter went out, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed, after which emergency services attended the scene and put out the fire.
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Police also confirmed to the media that all nine people believed to be on board had died in the crash.
Basketball coach Christina Mauser was later named as another victim along with John Altobelli, the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College, and his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa.
The New York Times reported that Sarah and Payton Chester, a mother and daughter who lived in Orange County, also died in the crash. Payton, 13, had played for Kobe's team for several years and had planned to develop her game in high school and college.
The ninth victim was pilot Ara Zobayan, 50, who had more than 20 years of flight experience. One of Mr. Zobayan's flight students, Darren Kemp, told The Los Angeles Times that his teacher had been Kobe's private pilot, explaining: "He doesn't let anyone else fly him around but Ara."
Topics: News