4:27 p.m.: Court is done for the day. It will resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

3:17 p.m.: The state calls its first witness, RowVaughn Wells, who is Tyre Nichols’ mother.

She testified that she moved to Memphis in 2008. Her son worked at FedEx and was training to drive forklifts.

About 8:30 or 8:45, she and her husband got a knock on their door at home as they got ready to watch a basketball game. It was Memphis Police officers, who asked them whether Tyre Nichols lived there.

One officer told her Tyre was arrested for DUI, but she said her son was not a heavy drinker. “It just didn’t seem right to me,” she said.

The officers asked her if her son used drugs, because he seemed to have huge strength during the arrest. They said he was being taken to a hospital because he had been tased and pepper-sprayed.

When the officers left, she tried to call her son, but he didn’t answer, so she and her husband went out to find him.

They found his car at Ross and Raines, about half a mile from their house. She got out and started speaking to an officer who was there.They left when the officer could provide them no answers.

Around 4 a.m. she received a call from a doctor at St. Francis Hospital. When she walked into the hospital, an officer led her to Tyre’s room.

“My son was beaten to a pulp. His head was the size of a watermelon. His nose was broken, his neck was split open from the swelling,” she said. “They beat the s*** out of my son and left him for dead.”

2:20 p.m.: Court is back in session. The judge apologized, saying air conditioning in the courtroom is malfunctioning.

Attorneys representing Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith began their opening statements.

“Every cop will tell you that Tyre Nichols was the most difficult arrest they ever made. He had superhuman strength,” attorney Martin Zummach said, describing the arrest scene and pepper spray used that night.

Zummach said his client, Smith, was a kind man who had previously turned in another Scorpion Unit officer for slapping a handcuffed suspect.

He placed much of the blame on Emmitt Martin, who he said “crushed the brain” of Tyre Nichols.

Martin pleaded guilty in August to two of the four counts against him in the Nichols case – excessive force and conspiracy to witness tamper. His bond was revoked in February after he allegedly made threats against a woman.

12:45: Lunch break

12:10 p.m.: Attorney John Keith Perry, representing Tadarrius Bean, begins his opening statement. He argued that, while Bean held down Nichols as he attempted to handcuff the suspect, he did not punch or kick Nichols.

11:45 a.m: Court returns from recess with statements from prosecutor Paul Hagerman.

“It didn’t take monsters to kill a man,” Hagerman said before showing the jury a video of the beating that led to Nichols’ death. “It took five Memphis officers who were frustrated, who were mad, and who had adrenaline and anger overcome them.”

The video shows Emmitt Martin walk up to Nichols, who was being held down by Bean and Smith, and deliver what Hagerman called a “catastrophic soccer-type kick to his head.”

Desmond Mills, who had sprayed himself with pepper spray, returns and strikes Nichols with a baton. Martin then punched Nichols in the face several times.

The beating continued with Nichols on the ground. He did not fight back.

“We’re gonna ask for justice for Tyre,” Hagerman said.

11 a.m.: The jury enters the courtroom to get instructions from the judge.

10:42 a.m.: Court took its first recess, after prosecution and attorneys for the defendants discussed which photos, text messages and other information, including items found in Tyre Nichols’ car, would be admitted in the case.

Thos items included not only marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms, but stolen credit cards and IDs. Prosecutors argued that evidence wasn’t relevant. Defense disagreed, saying it might explain Nichols’ actions that night.

The judge allowed that evidence to be heard.

They also discussed recent motions by Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith to have their charges dismissed on double jeopardy grounds, because they have already been tried in federal court.

9:20 a.m.: The trial is underway.

Tadarrius Bean arrived in court. His two co-defendants were already inside. One arrived earlier and the other was in custody.

Tyre Nichols’ stepfather and sister were in court, but not his mother.

Earlier coverage is below. This story will be updated as the trial continues.

*****

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Three former Memphis Police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols are back in court Monday as the trial for their state charges gets underway.

After months of hearings, motions, and filings, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith will be in court to face their state charges, the most serious of which is second-degree murder.

Attorneys have been selecting a jury out of Chattanooga, so when they hit the courtroom Monday, they are expected to begin opening arguments.

But unlike the federal trial, WREG will bring you video testimony from the court this time around, as cameras are allowed in the courtroom.

What we don’t know is if Bean, Haley, or Smith will take the stand or what witnesses will be called, as many court documents are sealed. But expect to see plenty of emphasis on the body and sky cam video that captured the beating of Tyre Nichols.

We could also hear from more MPD top brass as the issue of how these officers were trained again plays out.  The big question is, will that include Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis, who has filed to have her name removed from the case.

While Tyre Nichols’s family has been outspoken in the past, their attorneys say they will be at the state trial but will not make any statements until the trial is over.

“We are still waiting for the state trial and see how that is gonna come about, and hopefully they will get more time from that, and then we can just move on and heal,” Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, told WREG in October.

Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci represent the Nichols family, and when they spoke to WREG before the federal trial, they hinted at the importance of this State case.

WREG is told that the trial could take up to two weeks.