Derek Chauvin's Family Appear to Have Separated Themselves From Him at Trial

The death of George Floyd percolated into a massive social movement that saw protests erupting all over the country. The man's passing at the hands of Minneapolis Police Department Officers became a hot topic of news and endless debate online, and much of that can be attributed to the video footage captured by bystander Darnella Frazier. In the clip, a nonchalant Derek Chauvin is shown with his knee on the back of Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

It was a dehumanizing act that reviled so many people that many are wondering what Chauvin's family, including his siblings, have to say about it. Does he have any support from those close to him?

Derek Chauvin was born in the suburbs of West St. Paul, Minn., on March 19, 1976. His father, a CPA, and his mother, a housewife, divorced when Derek was 7 years old. It's believed the impetus for their separation was an affair between Chauvin's mother and her extramarital lover. During the midst of their split, Chauvin's father took a paternity test to see the parentage of who he thought was his daughter, Chauvin's younger sister.

As it turns out, Chauvin's dad was not the girl's father, and the now-infamous convicted murderer would split his time between both his mom and dad. It's been reported that Chauvin's mother went to go and live with her lover following her divorce, and Derek's father was awarded the family home.

Chauvin would constantly move from school to school, attending four separate elementary schools in a span of five years. It's said that Chauvin was never very talkative. One of his classmates, Scott Swanson, described him as "just a face in the crowd." Another stated that he was always very quiet and would always hold the flag in school.

He lived with his grandmother in her Inver Grove Heights home until he was 27 years old. Although he would eventually go on to become a police officer, Chauvin started in the workforce as a prep cook for a local restaurant. He even attended classes at a technical school to learn "quantity food preparation."

However, he'd enroll in community college and study law enforcement. From there he would be deployed to a U.S. Army base in Germany.

It's at the base where he studied for the Minnesota police examination. A platoon sergeant who oversaw Chauvin, Jerry Obliego, said that "in a group setting, he would never connect and stand there like a small child. I was put off by his lack of communication skills. You never felt like he was present."

Chauvin met Kellie at Hennepin County Medical Center. She was crowned Mrs. Minnesota and gushed about her ex-husband in a 2018 interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Under that uniform, he's just a softie. He's such a gentleman. He still opens the door for me, still puts my coat on for me. After my [previous] divorce, I had a list of must-haves if I were ever to be in a relationship, and he fit all of them."

Following Chauvin's murder of George Floyd, Kellie distanced herself from the former officer and eventually filed for divorce. Her lawyer at Sekula Law Offices released the following statement on her behalf, "Kellie is devastated by Mr. Floyd's death and her utmost sympathy lies with his family, with his loved ones, and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy."

The statement continued, "She has filed for dissolution of her marriage to Derek Chauvin. While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time."

Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, a verdict that his attorney, Eric Nelson, chalked up to not having a fair trial because Chauvin was being prosecuted in Minnesota. Judge Peter Cahill ruled that there wasn't sufficient evidence to support Nelson's claim.