HOUSTON — From her home in Houston, for George Floyd’s sister, it’s hard to watch the trial unfolding thousands of miles away.
“He took away a part of me I can’t ever get back, and I have no mercy on him. None," said LaTonya Floyd.
First this week was seating the jury. The tedious task is now underway in a Minneapolis courtroom.
“At the end of the day, how the trial is going is going to be based upon these people’s opinions and how they feel," said Tiffany Cofield, a friend.
Friday afternoon, the 7th juror was selected. So far, the panel includes a multiracial woman in her 20s, a Black man in his 30s, a Hispanic man in his 20s, a white woman in her 50s, and three white men, two in their 30s and one in his 20s.
Second this week, the judge added a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin. That’s in addition to manslaughter and second-degree murder. Giving jurors more opportunities to convict Chauvin.
And finally, this week, the city of Minneapolis awarded $27 million to George Floyd's family.
“This is the largest pretrial settlement in police wrongful death case in history," said Benjamin Crump, the Floyd family attorney.
It's money they plan to use to help African-American communities like the one in Houston where Floyd was raised. Now as the focus shifts to the trial, his family and closest friends in Houston say they hope the man they knew will not get lost in the courtroom.
“First and foremost, he was a man, he had a family, people who loved him and he loved them," Cofield said.
Next week, jury selection continues. It’s a process that for a big trial like this could take weeks. Remember they have seven jurors, so they’ll need five more. Right now, opening arguments are set to being March 29.