‘Focus on real victims’: MD native Stefon Diggs found not guilty of assault of chef

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DEDHAM — A Massachusetts jury on Tuesday afternoon found former New England Patriots wide receiver and Maryland native Stefon Diggs not guilty on both charges he faced after being accused of assault by private chef Mila Adams.

“This case never should have been brought. It was a waste of resources,” Diggs’ attorney Mitchell Schuster said in a press conference outside Dedham District Court after the verdict.

“No assault ever occurred,” Schuster said.

Diggs, an alumnus of the University of Maryland, College Park, and Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Montgomery County, was charged with assault and strangulation in connection with the alleged incident in December 2025 at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts. The jury found him not guilty of both charges on Tuesday, May 5, which was the second day of his trial.

Schuster said domestic violence is a “very, very serious” issue and it’s “disconcerting when people use it as a sword and manufacture claims in an attempt to extract money.”

“People have to stop targeting professional athletes and trying to extract money,” Schuster said after the verdict. “They have a target on their back.”

“People should focus on real victims from domestic violence,” he said.

Schuster described Diggs as emotional and happy after the verdict. He said the case has affected Diggs personally and professionally but he was determined to see it through and not settle.

“Our hope is this is now behind him and he will be signed by a team,” Schuster said, adding that any team “will be lucky to have him.”

Of the prosecution’s case against Diggs, Schuster said, “There were a lot of missteps in this case. Whoever was watching saw it.”

Diggs pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Friday, Feb. 13, to charges alleging he assaulted the private chef over a paycheck dispute at his Dedham residence in December, according to court records.

In March, the Patriots released Diggs. Diggs was scheduled to count $26.5 million against the Patriots’ 2026 salary cap. Releasing him saves the team $16.8 million in cap space, though it will pay $9.7 million in dead money.

Diggs wrote: “THANK YOU for a hell of a year,” in an Instagram story. “We family forever.”

Before the jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon Judge Jeanmarie Carroll instructed jurors that to prove the assault and battery charge against Diggs, they must find without reasonable doubt that:

• That he touched the person of Mila Adams
• That he intended to touch Mila Adams
• That the touching was likely to result in bodily harm or was offensive

For the strangulation or suffocation charge, Carroll again said they must find beyond a reasonable doubt the following three things:

• Intentionally applied pressure to throat or neck of Mila Adams
• That the pressure was substantial
• That the pressure interfered with breathing or blood circulation

If the Commonwealth has proved these three elements for each charge, they must find Diggs guilty, Carroll said. If even one of these cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, they should return a not guilty verdict, she said.

One of the seven jurors was selected as the alternate juror, in case one of the main six jurors has an emergency and cannot participate. One of the six main jurors was selected as the foreperson, who is responsible for writing the verdict down.

Prosecution closing argument

Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue told the jury in the prosecution’s closing argument Tuesday afternoon, “Was Ms. Adams a perfect witness? No.” Virtue described her testimony as potentially argumentative, avoidant and difficult. “Does that mean you should throw away everything she said? No. You don’t have to like Ms. Adams. You don’t have to like the way she testified today and yesterday, but you do have to give her testimony the attention it deserves.”

Virtue concluded his closing argument at 2:40 p.m. and Adams left the courtroom.

Defense closing argument

Defense attorney Andrew Kettlewell said in his closing argument Tuesday afternoon, May 5, “There was no assault, no strangulation on that day or any other day. You didn’t see any injuries. You didn’t see any photographs. No nothing from Dec. 2 to Dec. 16. You have not been provided with a single shred of credible evidence to determine if any assault actually occurred in the house on that day. The Commonwealth’s case is nothing more than the words of Ms. Adams.”

Adams, sitting in the front row in the audience, shook her head as Kettlewell outlined what he said happened during that month in December.

“The argument wasn’t about money. You have it in evidence,” Kettlewell said. “Why would a person who was just strangled go down to the kitchen, chat on the phone and not have a single mark on their face. Why would that same person cook dinner for the person who did it? Why would the same person knock on the door and deliver birthday presents? And why lie about it repeatedly to police?”

“What ended up happening next gives away the game. Only a couple weeks later, her mediator made a demand for money. If you plug that fact in, now it all makes perfect sense,” Kettlewell said.

“The evidence points to one answer and one answer alone. That Ms. Adams made this accusation as a means to leverage and humiliate and punish Stefon Diggs. You heard he has been living with this case and these accusations since December 2025. It’s time to end,” Kettlewell said.

The defense team rested Tuesday afternoon ahead of closing arguments after calling several witnesses to testify on behalf of Diggs.

Diggs himself did not testify.

Witnesses included his chief of staff, his massage therapist, a nurse and his hair stylist, whom Adams stayed with the week immediately after the alleged assault. His chief of staff, massage therapist and nurse, testified they were at his Dedham residence the evening of the alleged incident and did not notice anything concerning or out of the ordinary. Two of these individuals said they interacted with Adams that evening, and said they did not notice any kind of bruising or marks.

His hair stylist, who lives in New York, similarly testified that she did not see any marks on Adams when she picked her up from the airport the night of Dec. 2, 2025, the same night of the alleged assault. She testified that Adams did not say anything about the assault, nor did she seem upset.

‘Make him pay’

Xia Charles, of Brooklyn, New York, who owns a hair salon in New York, was called to the stand at noon Tuesday. Charles said she spoke with Adams about Adams wanting to start her own restaurant and she and Adams were friendly and remained in contact.

“We’d talk about business. We’d gossip. We’re girls,” Charles said. Charles said she took Adams to her home country of Trinidad and Tobago in November 2025.

On Dec. 2, Charles said she was shopping for groceries to try to make a dinner Adams had cooked previously. She reached out to Adams and video called her. She said Adams was in the kitchen of Diggs’ house. She said she wasn’t going to Miami. Charles said she did not see any bruising or physical evidence during that call. When Adams decided to go to New York that night, Charles said she picked up Adams from an airport at around 11 p.m. She again said she did not notice anything out of the ordinary about Adams or her appearance.

Charles said during the week Adams was with her in New York, she never mentioned the alleged assault.

According to Charles, she later heard Adams say she was going to sue Diggs and that she “would make him pay.” Charles said Adams also said it was a hostile work environment.

‘It raised a red flag’

The defense next called Melissa Goddard, of Florida, who works at PMG Private CFO, a boutique financial service company, where Diggs is Goddard’s client. In November of 2025, Goddard switched from handling just his business account to both his business and personal accounts, which included handling staff payment.

She testified she received an invoice from Adams for three weeks of services in November and reimbursable expenses. “I immediately knew it was incorrect because I had paid her for at least two of those weeks. It raised a flag. It caused me to look a little further into the reimbursement expenses.”

“I wanted to know if it was our mistake or her mistake. I wanted to make sure I paid her correctly.” When reviewing the payments to Adams over the last 18 months, she realized Adams had been overpaid and that she had submitted the same receipts for reimbursements multiple times, Goddard said.

Goddard said she spoke with Diggs on Dec. 5. He wanted a report and wanted to make sure Adams was paid, said Goddard, who said she’d never been to Diggs house in Dedham, and left the stand.

Diggs’ chief of staff testifies

At around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Jenelle Sales, of Maryland, chief of staff to Diggs since July 2023, was called to the stand. She explained her job encompasses a wide variety of tasks, including coordinating everything from work commitments to helping with personal or family matters.

Sales said she was at the house when the alleged assault occurred. Sales had organized for and was planning on going along on a trip to Miami for the art festival Art Basel, where Diggs would be debuting his furniture line that day. They were also planning on celebrating Diggs’ birthday, which is in November, belatedly in Miami.

Sales said she encountered Adams that afternoon and evening. Sales said she was sitting in the kitchen when Adams asked if she had purchased her flight to Atlanta. Sales said she did not see any redness or swelling or bruising. She said Adams wasn’t crying and that she was looking for a pen to write a birthday card to Diggs. Sales said she purchased a flight for Adams to Atlanta and arranged for her to go to the airport at around 7 or 7:30.

Sales said she spoke with Diggs later that evening. She said she personally saw two Channel boxes and a green Post It note on his bed. She said she did not hear any screams or sounds of an altercation. She said Adams cooked dinner that evening. Sales said Adams never reported the assault to her.

At around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue began questioning Sales. Sales said she gets paid $90,000 to $100,000 a year for her role as Diggs’ chief of staff. Sales said she was not in Adams’ room that day, and she would not have known anything that went on inside it. Sales said Diggs is a great boss and she wants to continue working for him.

Dedham police officer takes the stand

Kenneth Ellis, a Dedham police officer of nearly two decades, was called to the stand as the next witness Tuesday morning after private chef Mila Adams’ testimony concluded.

Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue asked Ellis about Dec. 16, 2025, the day Adams walked in to the station to give her report. Ellis testified she was crying. He said he took Adams’ statement. About 10 days later, Ellis filed a criminal complaint for assault and battery and strangulation and suffocation.

One of Diggs’ defense attorneys, Andrew Kettlewell, began questioning Ellis at around 10:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Ellis said he left two voicemails on Diggs’ phone and was not able to speak with him, and that he didn’t talk to anyone else involved in the incident. When questioned about whether he got any photographs, he said no. Ellis said there was nothing on her body he needed to photograph or document as evidence.

Kettlewell asked Ellis about the deleted messages, and Ellis confirmed it would have been important for him to see the full conversation. Adams had provided Ellis a screenshot of her and Diggs’ text conversation prior to the alleged assault, and admitted on the stand Monday she deleted a few explicit messages before sending it. After around five minutes, Kettlewell wrapped up his questioning of Ellis.

Judge admonishes witness to answer questions

After a brief recess Tuesday, the trial proceedings began again with Judge Jeanmarie Carroll reminding Adams to directly answer the defense’s questions.

“This is not an opportunity to interject your own narrative,” Carroll said. “If you continue to do so, your entire testimony could be stricken.”

Carroll then addressed the jury, explaining they cannot consider any answer that she previously struck from the record.

Cross-examination of private chef continues

At around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, the seven jurors were led in and Judge Jeanmarie Carroll opened proceedings for the day. Diggs former private chef Jamila ‘Mila’ Adams took the stand and began answering questions from Diggs’ defense attorney Sara Silva.

During her questioning Silva said that on Dec 29, 2025, Adams requested $19,000 from Diggs through a mediator. Dec. 29 is also the same day the criminal complaint was filed in Dedham District Court. Adams said the money requested was from past wages she was owed.

Silva asked Adams to confirm her attorney asked Diggs for $5.5 million. Adams responded that Diggs offered her $100,000 to recant her statement.

The judge struck Adams’ statement from the record, asking the jury to disregard it.

Reporting by Amelia Stern, The Enterprise / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.