Philonise Floyd, the younger brother of George Floyd, gave a tearful “spark of life” testimony Monday as the prosecution wraps its case in Derek Chauvin’s trial.
During day 11 of the trial, Philonise shared with the jury information about his old brother, who was killed May 25, 2020, whom he called a “role model” and “Mama’s boy.”
Philonise, 39, recalled growing up in Houston’s third ward after the family moved from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where George was born, his schooling and his love of sports and coaching. He called his brother the default “leader of the household,” who made sure everyone got to school on time and ate a meal, despite his ability to cook.
From this testimony, jurors heard humanizing information about a man who loved “hooping,” or playing basketball and won scholarships to two colleges to play basketball and football in his youth. “He wanted to be taller all the time, because he loved sports. He always wanted to be the best,” Philonise said.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher displayed a picture of George as a child cuddled up with his mother – at which point Philonise became tearful and said, “I miss them both so much.” He described the mother-son bond they shared as “one-of-a-kind” and that her passing away in Hospice care before George was able to see her, “hurt him a lot.”
The brother’s bond was so close, and George was in such disbelief that at their mother’s funeral, Philonise said George just sat in front of her casket saying “Mama,” over and over again while kissing her goodbye.
When it was their turn to cross examine, the defense chose not to.
Philonise Floyd was the second “spark of life” witness called to testify in the Chauvin trial. During the first week of the trial, the prosecution called Courtney Ross, George’s girlfriend, to give testimony.
Minnesota is rare because it allows these types of testimonies that give the jury insight into who the victim was in murder cases. This was due to a 1985 case where the murder victim was a police officer killed by a man who escaped federal custody.
