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Floyd's Girlfriend: "We Struggled Ever Day" with Opioid Addiction. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired April 01, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COURTENEY BATYA ROSS, GEORGE FLOYD'S GIRLFRIEND: Red pants and black and white shirt.
[11:00:03]
ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR DEREK CHAUVIN: Right. And that is in the upper right hand corner, would you agree that that has the date of May 25th, 2020?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And that's the person that that you and Mr. Floyd had purchased controlled substances from?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Now in the January and February timeframe, were you and Mr. Floyd clean and free from using opioids?
ROSS: I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?
NELSON: Sure. In the January and February of 2020 time frame, did you and Mr. Floyd -- were you clean and sober?
ROSS: January and February?
NELSON: Yes.
ROSS: We weren't really talking to each other. So I wasn't around him.
NELSON: OK. So you were on the break at that point, right?
ROSS: Uh-huh.
NELSON: And then you reconnected some time in March, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And was there an incident in March that required Mr. Floyd to be hospitalized?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And that was -- can you describe for the jury what that incident was?
ROSS: Which date are you speaking of?
NELSON: In March, when he was hospitalized.
ROSS: We went to the hospital a couple of times in March.
NELSON: Okay. He was hospitalized for a more extended period of time in March, right?
ROSS: Uh-huh. Yes.
NELSON: That's the incident I'm talking about.
ROSS: Okay.
NELSON: I understand he went once because he hurt his hand, like cut his hand on glass or something.
ROSS: Uh-huh.
NELSON: And that was a shorter hospital stay?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: But then there was an extended hospital stay in March.
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Can you describe for the jury what led up to that hospital stay?
ROSS: Yes. Floyd -- I went to go pick Floyd up from his house that night. I thought I was taking him to work. He wasn't feeling good. His stomach really hurt. He was doubled over in pain. Just wasn't feeling well, and he said he had to go to the hospital. So I took him straight to the hospital.
We went to the ER, and they were checking him out in the ER and it was getting late. And I had to get home to my son, so I left that Friday night.
NELSON: You later learned that was due to an overdose?
ROSS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Object your honor. Lack of personal knowledge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overruled.
NELSON: You spent several days with him at the hospital, correct?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And did you learn what caused that overdose?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: At that time frame, did you learn that Mr. Floyd was taking anything other than opioids?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: You did not know that he had taken heroin at that time?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: Now, then in March of 2020, you got some pills, right? You remember describing that?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And can you describe what those pills were like?
ROSS: How? Like physically?
NELSON: Physically.
ROSS: Well, they looked different to me than a normal pill. They seemed like they were thicker.
NELSON: Were they uniform in size?
ROSS: They weren't.
NELSON: Did they have markings on them?
ROSS: Yes, they did.
NELSON: And you and Mr. Floyd both have those pills?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And did you consume some of those pills?
ROSS: I did.
NELSON: Did they have the same effect on you as they did as your other types of opioids you'd taken in the past?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: What was the effect this time and what was different?
ROSS: Usually opioid to me is like a pain reliever. It's something that is, you know, kind of relaxing, takes your pain away. The pill that time, it seemed like it was a really strong stimulant. I couldn't sleep all night. I felt very jittery.
NELSON: You felt what?
ROSS: Very jittery.
NELSON: Okay. So they were -- these were pills that were not bought from someone who you knew to have a valid prescription for Percocet?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: Were these pills purchased from Mr. Hall?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: So when Mister -- was this -- and were these pills before or after Mr. Floyd was hospitalized for his overdose?
[11:05:15]
ROSS: I don't remember.
NELSON: But you described when you picked him up that night, so you must have reconnected because you had -- a little bit of a break, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Reconnected. When you picked him up that night, he was in incredible pain, doubled over, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: His stomach hurt very badly?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Now I want to focus our attention on your statement that you gave to the FBI. And again, you had an opportunity to review that transcript in its entirety, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And you've had an opportunity to answer questions that the prosecution had of you regarding that statement as late as of yesterday, right? You and I have never met before, right?
ROSS: Not that I believe.
NELSON: And so I have not had an opportunity yet to ask you about some of the information in your statement?
ROSS: No.
NELSON: When you met with the FBI, you informed FBI agents that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I object. Improper form of cross-examination.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sidebar.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thank you so much for joining me.
We have been watching day four of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin. You've been watching emotional testimony just now from his former girlfriend.
And I do want to spend more time on this because, Laura Coates, this was an emotional start to this morning. We didn't know much about his girlfriend, Courteney Batya Ross, but we learned about their relationship, dating back to August of 2017. She described how they met, their courtship. When they had on and offs in their relationship. How he was, George Floyd, how he was as a father. And also the drug use and drug addiction they both struggled with.
What stood out to you the most in that testimony?
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, all of that, Bianna, particularly the idea of the prosecution strategy. People may wonder, why would the prosecution use its time and its case in chief and its own witnesses to essentially cast George Floyd in what may be perceived in the negative light -- drug use, opioid addiction, possibly a counterfeit bill at one point. The idea of whether he was under the influence.
It's because, as the prosecutor, you want to present and address and resolve these bad facts. You don't want to have the defense be able to say, hey, jury, why didn't they tell you about this?
Here are the things they don't you want you to know, sprinkling the seeds of doubts too what else the prosecution may not want you privy to. They're addressing all of these and they're going to package it and say, Bianna, okay, so what? So what? He had an opioid addiction. And, of course, in America, we view opioid abuse very different than we did decades ago.
How does this actually impact Chauvin's decision to act?
GOLODRYGA: Of course, you do sense that bit of sensitivity from the defense attorney as well. Let's return to the courtroom and continue here with the cross-examination.
NELSON: Would you agree that was kind of from time to time that he would spend time with him?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And you didn't like that, did you?
ROSS: Excuse me, I didn't like Maurice very much, no.
NELSON: Would Mr. Floyd be honest with you when he told you that he -- when he was with him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to object, your honor. Mischaracterization.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calls for speculation. That is sustained. You don't have to answer that one.
NELSON: You knew Mr. Floyd would purchase narcotics from Mr. Reese -- or Maurice Hall? ROSS: I didn't know that. I speculated that.
NELSON: Do you recall the FBI agents asking you, did Mr. Floyd purchase controlled substances from Mr. Maurice Hall?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And do you recall saying yes?
[11:10:03]
ROSS: I did say yes, but I did not see it with my own eyes.
(CROSSTALK)
NELSON: Now the pills that were purchased in March that you described --
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: -- did you -- did you know that those were purchased from Mr. Hall?
ROSS: What --
NELSON: The pills that you described in March of --
ROSS: No, I didn't know.
NELSON: If those are the pills that kept you up, you said, all night, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Did those pills continue to be around from March through May?
ROSS: I don't know.
NELSON: Do you recall the FBI asking whether you were getting those same pills from the same source from March to May?
ROSS: I don't recall that question.
NELSON: Refresh your recollection to review a transcript?
ROSS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) 45212, page 12.
ROSS: From the beginning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, just from about here down.
ROSS: Okay.
Honestly, I was in such shock there. I don't know what I mean by some of the things I said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no question. I'm going to ask that be stricken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yu did ask a question about --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Counsel, sidebar.
GOLODRYGA: And we are taking another sidebar right now in this cross- examination of George Floyd's former girlfriend, Courteney Batya Ross.
We'll go to a quick break now. When we return, we'll take you back to the courtroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:16:39]
GOLODRYGA: We're going to take you back to the trial of Derek Chauvin where George Floyd's former girlfriend, Courteney Batya Ross, is being cross-examined now by the defense.
NELSON: I'm sorry?
ROSS: (INAUDIBLE)
NELSON: I need to grab one previous page.
This again is to refresh your memory. There's not a question you need to answer yet.
(INAUDIBLE)
NELSON: Ms. Ross, does that refresh your recollection?
ROSS: Yes, but none of it said he was buying drugs from her.
NELSON: You were asked, do you know who the woman was that he would have gotten that from, and your response was, Shawanda Hill, right?
ROSS: Yes, I was speculating at the time. I did not know that.
NELSON: Understood.
And you were asked -- you said he liked getting drugs from her and you said, uh-huh, correct? That's what you said?
ROSS: If that's what it said in the transcript, yes.
NELSON: Now those same pills, you ultimately got some of those same pills from March or similar pills in May of 2020, correct?
ROSS: We got pills in May that remind me of the same feeling. I don't know if they were the same pills, I don't know where they came from.
NELSON: OK. So you had a second experience with those pills, right? Or a similar feeling to those pills?
ROSS: I had a similar experience, yes.
NELSON: Right, and that was approximately a week before Mr. Floyd's passing?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And by similar experience, you -- do you recall telling the FBI that when you had that, you felt like you were going to die?
ROSS: I don't remember saying that, but I did see it in the transcript.
NELSON: Is that how you felt, like you were going to die?
ROSS: I don't remember feeling that. I don't even recall saying that.
NELSON: You and Floyd -- Mr. Floyd, excuse me, I'm assuming, like most couples, had pet names for each other?
ROSS: Yeah.
NELSON: And what was his name for you? I mean, let me -- strike that. What were you saved in his phone as?
ROSS: Mama.
NELSON: Now approximately a week prior to Mr. Floyd's death, you and Mr. Floyd, again, purchased pills from Mr. Maurice Hall, correct?
[11:20:06]
ROSS: I believe so. I'm not sure.
NELSON: Do you recall telling the FBI that you bought pills from Mr. Hall one week prior to Mr. Floyd's death?
ROSS: Yes, but I wasn't there. I didn't -- I wasn't there. I didn't see anything happen.
NELSON: Yesterday, when you met with prosecutors, did you tell them that you were in the car at a hotel?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: When those pills were purchased?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And that you were on the phone with Mr. Floyd at that time?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And you heard a voice in the background?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And that was a voice you recognized to be from Mr. Hall?
ROSS: I thought so, yeah.
NELSON: And so, between Mr. Hall -- excuse me, Mr. Floyd's hospitalization through March and the quarantining and all of that, March and April, Mr. Floyd had been clean during that time frame?
ROSS: Pardon me?
NELSON: I'm sorry. If you need a minute --
ROSS: No, it's OK.
NELSON: I'm sorry, I want to just -- time frame becomes important.
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: After Mr. Floyd was hospitalized in March --
ROSS: Uh-huh.
NELSON: -- you were quarantining together, spending a lot of time together in March, April and May, correct?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And for the majority of that time, Mr. Floyd was clean, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: And it was your belief that Mr. Floyd started using again about two weeks prior to his death, correct?
ROSS: I noticed a change in his behavior, yes.
NELSON: That's when you noticed the changes in his behavior? And you described some of those changes in his behavior in that time frame, right?
ROSS: Yes.
NELSON: Do you recall telling the FBI that there would be times that he would just be up and bouncing around and then there would be times that he would be like unintelligible?
ROSS: I don't recall that, but --
NELSON: Would you disagree if I said that in the transcript -- that that's in the transcript?
ROSS: No, I wouldn't disagree.
NELSON: Were you aware that Mr. Floyd was with Mr. Hall on May 25th of 2020?
ROSS: Only in the aftermath.
NELSON: I have no further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE CAHILL: Redirect?
MATTHEW FRANK, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Yes, Your Honor.
Hello, again, Ms. Ross.
ROSS: Hi.
FRANK: Just a few follow-up questions for you. Let me try and go in reverse order. But counsel was asking you about, you know, whether you knew these pills were purchased from Mr. Hall.
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Most recently in May.
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Talked to you about the hotel incident. And just want you to clarify for the jury. You're not trying to mislead them. What you're saying is you didn't personally see that sale.
ROSS: No, I didn't. Yeah, I just want to say what I saw.
FRANK: Right, but you think that's probably where those pills came from?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: You don't dispute that?
ROSS: No, I don't.
FRANK: You just personally didn't see it.
ROSS: I -- exactly.
FRANK: And incidentally, what did he call his mother? What did he refer to her as?
ROSS: He called her momma, too, but it's just different the way he said it. It's kind of hard to describe.
FRANK: So if you were to say to someone, momma, that could mean his actual mother?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Also a name he called you?
ROSS: Yes. FRANK: You were a mother, too, right?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Still are.
ROSS: I am, always.
FRANK: Yes.
And Mr. Nelson read for you some things you said before, but when you -- he was asking you about the May pills and how they made you feel similar to the March pills --
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: -- but I want you to tell the jury in your own words today, why do you say they were -- had a similar reaction for you?
[11:25:03]
What was it about? In March, you said the pills kept you up all night and were kind of jittery.
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Was that the same reaction you had?
ROSS: Same effect. It was a stimulant.
FRANK: And when you took that pill in March, that seemed different --
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Obviously, you did not die from it.
ROSS: No.
FRANK: And did you see yourself, Mr. Floyd taking one of those types of pills in March?
ROSS: Say that again. I'm sorry.
FRANK: Yeah. So the pills we were talking about you obtained in March.
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: That caused you to feel jittery and -- were different.
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Did you also see Mr. Floyd taking that kind of pill?
ROSS: We did not take them together that time.
FRANK: Did you think that he had some of them for himself?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Obviously, he did not die in March.
ROSS: No.
FRANK: And the pill that gave you a similar experience in May --
ROSS: Uh-huh.
FRANK: Yes?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Did he have some of those pills as well?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: Did he take some of those pills in May?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: He did not die before May 25th of 2020, correct?
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: When you saw this change in his behavior, prior to his death, the last two weeks, what did it lead you to think about, based on, 2 1/2, 3 years you'd been with him, but how much -- how often he was using during those weeks?
ROSS: I can't -- I don't know.
FRANK: Fair enough.
You were asked about your interview with the FBI and asked about statements you made. Did the FBI, as you recall, ever ask you, how did you know those drugs were from Mr. Hall when you told them that you thought they were from Mr. Hall?
ROSS: I just told them I thought that.
FRANK: Yeah.
The pills that we're talking about in May --
ROSS: Yes.
FRANK: -- I can't remember if you told me, did you see Mr. Floyd taking any of those pills?
ROSS: Yes, we took them together that time.
FRANK: I'm sorry?
ROSS: We did take them together that time.
FRANK: And when he took those, obviously, he didn't die, right?
ROSS: No, he did not.
FRANK: Did you see how they affected him?
ROSS: He had a lot of energy.
FRANK: And -- but he was okay after using them?
ROSS: Yes, he was playing football. Hanging out. Eating. Just a normal day.
FRANK: Did he play a lot of basketball?
ROSS: He played basketball, too, but football was his thing.
FRANK: OK.
That's all I have, your honor.
JUDGE CAHILL: Anything further?
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No further questions.
JUDGE CAHILL: Thank you, Ms. Ross.
ROSS: Thank you.
JUDGE CAHILL: Make sure you take your water with you. Yeah, you can take your water, that would be great.
Members of the jury, I think this is a good time for a 20-minute midmorning break.
GOLODRYGA: And you have been watching day four of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin. The judge just announced a 20-minute break. And this comes after we heard from George Floyd's ex-girlfriend, Courteney Batya Ross, in what was an emotional exchange, both with the prosecutors and the defense about her relationship with George Floyd dating back to 2017.
Let's bring in CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Laura Coates, as well as Charles Ramsey, CNN law enforcement analyst and former Philadelphia police commissioner.
Laura, let me begin with you. A lot of time spent on drug use, on drug addictions, on struggles that the both.
