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The federal trial of a Rhode Island man who was indicted in the 2019 kidnapping death of a Massachusetts woman is underway in Boston.

Louis Coleman III, of Providence, faces one count of kidnapping resulting in the death of 23-year-old Jassy Correia, of Dorchester.

Opening arguments for Coleman's trial began Tuesday at the Moakley Courthouse in Boston. Correia's family was in the courthouse on Monday and intends to be in the courtroom for every day of the trial.

Correia was last seen leaving Venu nightclub on Warrenton Street in Boston, where she was celebrating her birthday with three friends, in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, 2019.

Boston police said Correia was seen on surveillance video with a man, later identified as Coleman, shortly after leaving the nightclub.

Coleman is accused of kidnapping Correia outside the club and bringing her to his Providence apartment.

The first witness who was called for the prosecution on Tuesday was one of Correia's friends who was with her at Venu on the night of Feb. 23, 2019. That friend's testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday.

On Feb. 28, 2019, Coleman was taken into custody along Interstate 95 south near Wilmington, Delaware, just hours after he was named a suspect in Correia's kidnapping by Boston police.

Law enforcement officers who stopped Coleman's vehicle on I-95 found Correia's body in the trunk. Andrew Lelling, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts at the time, said the cause of Correia's death appeared to be strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Correia is the mother of a daughter, Gabriella, who was 2 years old at the time of her death, according to the woman's family.

"It's so hard. We can't do anything about it," said Correia's brother, Joel Correia. "We just wait for it because, basically, even with justice, she's not going to come back."

The federal charge in this trial centers on whether Coleman kidnapped Jassy Correia, and not on Correia's death or the manner of her death.

Coleman's defense attorneys claim Correia's death was the result of a physical fight between the two parties inside a vehicle, and that Correia was the aggressor.

Following his arrest in Delaware on Feb. 28, 2019, Coleman was charged by complaint in the District of Massachusetts on March 3, 2019, and appeared in federal court in Boston eight days later. He was indicted on the charge of kidnapping resulting in death by a federal grand jury on April 4, 2019.

The federal charge Coleman is facing carries the possibility of the death penalty or a sentence of life in prison upon conviction.

According to the charging document, law enforcement said surveillance tape showed Correia with Coleman in the area of 255 Tremont St. at approximately 12:15 a.m., shortly after Correia left Venu.

The two were later seen entering a red sedan near the intersection of Tremont and Herald streets.

Surveillance footage from Coleman's Providence apartment showed the defendant parking and exiting the vehicle at about 4:15 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2019, and then returning a short time later, carrying a blanket.

Coleman then walked from the car to the front of the building, allegedly carrying a body with long hair and clothing consistent with the description of Correia. Once he entered the building, surveillance video showed Coleman dropping the body on the floor and dragging it toward the elevator and subsequently toward his apartment. Federal prosecutors said the body was not moving and limp.

Surveillance footage of Coleman's apartment building from Feb. 26, 2019, allegedly showed the defendant entering the building with Walmart shopping bags. Law enforcement subsequently obtained video surveillance and a receipt from a Walmart in Providence that revealed Coleman had purchased the following: three Tyvek coverall suits, duct tape, two candles, electrical tape, a mask, surgical gloves, two pairs of safety goggles, an odor respirator and CLn release bleach bath.

At approximately 9:58 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2019, Coleman was allegedly seen on video surveillance entering the apartment building with what appeared to be a new, large suitcase. The defendant was allegedly seen on video at 1:15 a.m. on Feb. 28, 2019, wheeling the suitcase away from his apartment toward the elevator, out of the building and into the parking lot, where his vehicle was located. Prosecutors said Coleman appeared to have difficulty lifting the suitcase into the trunk of his car.

Additional surveillance video allegedly showed Coleman exiting his apartment building on several occasions with other items, including trash bags, cardboard boxes, a bottle of bleach, a laptop case, a computer tower and a small duffle bag.

On Feb. 28, 2019, Boston police released the name and picture of Coleman, calling him a "suspect wanted in connection with the kidnapping of 23-year-old Jassy Correia."

A search warrant was executed at Coleman’s apartment, where two packages of hooded coveralls and two respirator masks were recovered. A sofa with four large cushions, one of which was missing a cover, was also observed.

Federal prosecutors said the following items were found in a dumpster outside the apartment complex: white trash bags, a bag containing plastic sheets, men’s jeans with bleach stains and a belt, a white nylon hooded coverall, an empty box of baking soda, clear safety goggles, a respirator mask, duct tape packaging, rubbing alcohol, Walmart bags, used plastic gloves, an empty package from a car air freshener, three empty packages of purifying charcoal and a sponge.

Coleman was taken into custody along I-95 south near Wilmington, Delaware, on the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2019. Video showed a red Buick Verano sedan with California license plates on the side of the highway surrounded by members of law enforcement.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said when police in Delaware stopped Coleman's vehicle on I-95 and asked if anyone else was in the vehicle with him, Coleman allegedly replied, "She's in the trunk."

Officers allegedly found Correia's body wrapped in a sofa cushion cover, which was inside a black trash bag that was inside a large suitcase that matched the one investigators allegedly observed Coleman bringing into his apartment on the night of Feb. 27, 2019.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Correia's body had significant bruising and a bloodied face, was bound with gray duct tape and was covered in what is believed to be baking soda.

Prosecutors said the following items were recovered from Coleman's vehicle: a duffle bag, a pair of new long-handled loppers, plastic garbage bags, clothing, a red plastic gas container, a green butane lighter, black gloves, charcoal air purifiers, air fresheners, tinted safety glasses, plastic Walmart bags, work towels, cloth work gloves, a new set of DeWalt pliers, a laptop, a computer hard drive and disinfectant wipes.

"We can't know yet exactly what he planned to do with the body, but all of the cleaning and cutting supplies in the vehicle and that he got from Walmart imply that he planned to somehow dispose of the body," Lelling said.

Photographs of Coleman's vehicle allegedly depict a windshield that is cracked in two locations on the passenger side and a white substance, believed to be baking soda, in the trunk.

Coleman was transported to a Delaware State Police barracks, where police noted that he had a large bandage on the right side of his face. When asked about it, Coleman allegedly replied, "It's from the girl."

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