The wife of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, is requesting to change her last name as she files for divorce.
Kellie Chauvin, who had been married to the now-former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer for about a decade, left her husband a day before he was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter for the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man. In the divorce filing, she asked that her last name be changed, requested full rights and titles to the couple’s two properties, and said she won’t require spousal support, according to CNN.
Chauvin, who was born in Laos before fleeing a refugee camp with her family, has two children from a previous marriage. It is unclear what she wants her last name to be changed to, but the forms indicated that she has previously gone by Kellie Thao and Kellie Xiong. She and Derek Chauvin have properties in Oakdale, Minnesota, and in Windermere, Florida.
She has not yet given an interview since her husband’s arrest, but her attorney said she was “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.”
“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,” the statement added.
The United States has seen protests and riots across the country in the fallout from Floyd’s death. Video sourced from the encounter showed Floyd lying handcuffed on his stomach and begging for air as Chauvin dug his knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes, almost three for which Floyd was unresponsive. Another officer, Tou Thao, was seen in the footage standing guard and stopping bystanders from intervening. Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung were the other officers involved. All four officers have been fired.
