George Floyd had contracted the novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in the month before his alleged murder, his autopsy has confirmed.
Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for roughly eight minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd became unresponsive and was pronounced dead shortly after.
On Monday (local time), the Hennepin County Medical Examiner released the results of Floyd's autopsy, which confirmed the father had died from asphyxiation consistent with homicide - but also outlined underlying health conditions and intoxicants, including heart disease.
However, the results do not match those of an independent autopsy, which claims Floyd had no underlying medical conditions and died solely by asphyxiation.
The medical examiner's autopsy, conducted by pathologist Andrew M. Baker, noted that Floyd "was known to be positive for 2019-nCoV RNA" as of April 3 - roughly seven weeks before his alleged murder.
The findings show that Floyd returned a positive PCR test result for COVID-19 following a postmortem nasal swab, although it's likely he was not presenting symptoms of the virus at the time of his death.
"The decedent was known to be positive for 2019-nCoV RNA on 4/3/2020. Since PCR positivity for 2019-nCoV RNA can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection," says the report.
Also conflicting with the independent autopsy are Floyd's toxicology results. According to the medical examiner's report, tests of Floyd's blood and urine showed he had 19 nanograms per millilitre [ng/mL] of methamphetamine in his system, as well as 11 ng/mL of fentanyl - an opioid used for pain medication but is often used recreationally. He was also cotinine positive, indicating recent exposure to nicotine.
A urine drug screen also deemed Floyd as 'presumptive positive' for cannabinoids, amphetamines and fentanyl/metabolite.
The autopsy results also listed a number of natural diseases, including "arteriosclerotic heart disease, multifocal, severe"; hypertensive heart disease - including a clinic history of hypertension (or high blood pressure); and left pelvic tumour.
As reported by Reuters, the independent autopsy that found Floyd died solely from asphyxiation could bolster the defense of the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing him.
Legal experts said the independent results could create confusion in the mind of the jury. If prosecutors introduce the independent report, the defense could seize on the conflicting autopsies to create questions in the jury's mind about the cause of death. However, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading the prosecution, is not obligated to use the independent autopsy or introduce it as evidence at trial.
"It will be part of the defense strategy to say they can't even get the cause of death right," Gerald Lefcourt, a criminal defense attorney, told the outlet.
The independent report was prepared for the Floyd family by Dr Allecia Wilson of the University of Michigan and Dr Michael Baden, who has worked on several high-profile murder cases.
On Wednesday (local time), it was revealed that Chauvin's initial charge has been upgraded from third-degree to second-degree murder. He has also been charged with second-degree manslaughter in relation to Floyd's death.
