Nestled in the sprawling suburbia of New York, a home with well-kept hedgerows and blooming spring flowers is the quintessential model of an American residence.
But this mid-century split-level home in Mount Vernon holds dark secrets that could explain the lead-up to the gut-churning accusations that disgraced rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces as he waits behind bars for his sex trafficking trial to kick off on Monday.
This is Diddy’s childhood home, where neighbors told DailyMail.com that they witnessed ‘wild’ parties there thrown by his mother, Janice Combs, that could have been the inspiration for his later life of debauchery.
Janice, 84, reportedly invited shady figures from her Harlem days, exposing her young son to nudity and drug use in the home.
She did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment, but her son’s attorney told Newsweek in January the motivations and credibility of people talking now ‘must be questioned’.
‘Many claim to have knowledge but lack any connection to the truth, while their wild, unfounded theories are cut and sensationalized to appear factual,’ the attorney said.And on the latest episode of DailyMail.com’s The Trial of Diddy, Tim Patterson, Diddy’s childhood friend said the rapper’s unstable upbringing and access to money at a young age was a recipe for trouble.
‘I do not want to condone, and I don’t condone any of the things that he’s been accused of.
‘But Sean is special to me, you know? We were big brother, little brother type of moves, and there’s no way I can sit back and allow this to happen without giving context to his life and to his story and giving some type of understanding that he was not born a monster.’
In the Peacock documentary Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy, Patterson further elaborated on how Sean’s deranged partying habits were somewhat inherited: ‘Because Sean had no dad, all he had was his mom. Sean’s house, our house, there was always things going on.
‘On the weekend, and we did that a lot.
‘He was around all type of alcohol, he was around reefer smoke. He was around drug addicts, around lesbians, around homosexuals, he was around pimps and pushers. That was just who was in our house.’ Patterson said Diddy, 55, was not like other children who grew up in the suburbs of Mount Vernon in the 1960s and 70s.
His mother, Janice, moved the family from Harlem to the town shortly after Diddy’s father, Melvin, was killed.
Melvin, who was an associate of notorious convicted drug dealer Frank Lucas, was shot dead while sitting in his car in New York City at the age of 33.
Diddy spoke of his loss and called his father a ‘hustler’ in a 2013 interview on his former network Revolt.
‘They say you can’t miss something you never had, but that’s only a little ways right. There has definitely been times as I’ve gotten older that I’ve missed my father – his presence – not being here…,’ he said.
‘There are things that you would ask your father. There’s also things that you would celebrate with him that would make him proud.’
The move to Mount Vernon marked a dramatic contrast for Diddy, who attended Mount Saint Michael Academy, an all-boys Catholic school.
But his mother was allegedly unable to completely leave the streets behind and she reportedly invited her friends from Harlem to come visit. One neighbor told DailyMail.com’s The Trial of Diddy podcast: ‘It was a long time ago but I remember there were a lot of cars on the street and people coming and going and music until late. I never went but I heard they were wild parties.’
Another neighbor expressed his shock at how somebody on their quiet street had become such an alleged monster, saying: ‘Diddy really messed up. I can’t believe how he turned out.’
Patterson, who claimed he moved into Diddy’s basement as a kid in an interview for the HBO Max The Fall of Diddy documentary, said the rap mogul allegedly was subjected to regular bullying and beatings from his peers, while also allegedly enduring harsh discipline at home.
‘Just to give you an example, Sean was in a quagmire because of him getting picked on,’ Patterson said. ‘It wasn’t the way it worked in his house. You don’t come back as a loser. You have to come back and win.
‘If someone takes something from you, you go get it back, or you have to deal with the consequences. So, Sean had to step up to the bullies. Sooner or later, and this was more in his adolescent years, but it got to a point where it just became too much for him.’
Patterson refused to comment further on the allegations but told The Trial of Di’My dad instilled some things in me that let me know there’s only but so far people can go with you – win, lose, or draw,’ Patterson said. ‘And these might’ve been some of the things Sean could’ve gotten as a child had he had a father, right?
‘In my home, there were boots and there were high-heeled shoes in the closet. In Sean’s home, there were high-heeled shoes. There were no boots. So that makes sense. There was something missing from his maturing.’
Diddy, 55, is scheduled to begin trial with opening statements on May 12, following jury selection, which will start on May 5.
He was indicted on racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Prosecutors allege Combs drugged and coerced women into sexual activities with male prostitutes.
Investigators said they found drugs and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil that were intended to be used for orgies known as ‘freak offs’. ddy podcast that the missing paternal influence in Combs’ young life could’ve been detrimental for an impressional boy.
