In a shocking turn of events, a judge has approved former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin and his legal team to examine the heart tissue and bodily fluids of George Floyd in an attempt to appeal and overturn Chauvin’s federal conviction in Floyd’s 2020 murder.
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On Monday (December 16), Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that Derek Chauvin’s lawyers can get tests done on preserved samples of George Floyd’s heart and bodily fluids.
The decision was in response to Chauvin’s latest challenge to appeal and reverse his federal 2022 conviction. Chauvin is currently serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and he is simultaneously serving a 22 1/2-year state sentence for second-degree murder.
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In November 2023, Derek Chauvin’s current attorney, Robert Meyers, filed a motion to vacate the federal charges against him in the May 2020 death of George Floyd. The former cop claimed he would not have pled guilty had he known about the theories of Kansas pathologist Dr. William Schaetzel — who does not believe Chauvin’s actions are what led to Floyd’s death.
Note: The official autopsy report from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Floyd’s death was a homicide caused primarily by compression on his neck. According to Dr. Schaetzel, Floyd appeared to have died from a high level of catecholamines — which CBS News reports is a neurohormone important in stress response, associated with the flight-or-fight response — or Takotsubo myocarditis, a heart condition that develops in response to an intense emotional or physical experience.
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Chauvin’s motion continues to place blame on his “ineffective” trial attorney, Eric Nelson — claiming he failed to inform his client of Dr. Schaetzel’s theory and failed to test samples of Floyd’s bodily fluids and heart despite Dr. Schaetzel’s recommendations.
Following Judge Paul Magnuson granting the motion, Derek Chauvin’s legal team can now take discovery of slides and photographs of Floyd’s heart, tissue samples, and tissue blocks containing heart tissue. They also have access to his bodily fluids, stored at the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. With his fluids, they can test the “concentration of fractionated catecholamines and metanephrine levels present.”
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