George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross told a Minneapolis court about how much she loved him and how they met - from a first kiss to date nights at restaurants. She also said they were addicted to opioids.
Prosecutors continued presenting evidence on the fourth day of the trial for murder of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, 45. He is charged with murder and manslaughter for the death of 46-year-old Floyd. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of the most serious charge, Chauvin faces as many as 40 years in prison.
Ross cried as she spoke of how she and Floyd first met in 2017 at a Salvation Army shelter where Floyd worked as a security guard.
The 45-year old Ross is the first witness who knew Floyd personally.
"I was tired. We've been through so much, my sons and I, and for this kind person just to come up and say, 'Can I pray with you?'...it was so sweet. At the time, I had lost a lot of faith in God," Time quoted Ross as saying.
Earlier, two paramedics who attended the scene told the Minneapolis court that Floyd had no pulse and appeared to be dead when they arrived.
Jurors listened to their testimony and watched body camera footage from a police officer inside the ambulance.
Meanwhile, Ross described Floyd as "a mama's boy" and she said he was devastated by his mother's death in May 2018. Floyd was also "very active" and loved sports, she said.
Chauvin's lawyers will argue Floyd's death was caused by an overdose from the fentanyl found in his system following a post-mortem examination.
Several witnesses, including four children younger than 18 years at the time of the incident, have spoken of their trauma at what they saw.
Floyd's death triggered protests around the world and a reckoning over police brutality and racism across the U.S.
The trial continues.
