Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who fatally shot her Black neighbor, Botham Jean, in his own apartment, has been found guilty of murder, CNN reports.
Guyger, 31, faces life in prison after the jury returned a guilty verdict after less than 24 hours of deliberations following the weeklong trial.
The family of Jean immediately rejoiced and cried upon hearing the verdict and bear-hugged the prosecution team. Jean’s mother closed her eyes in relief and threw her hands in the air while another person started to shout before being quieted by the judge.
Guyger’s mother also began sobbing uncontrollably, but it was out of sorrow for a daughter she may never see again outside of prison.
As soon as the judge brought down the gavel for the final time signally the end of the case, the doors blasted open to the courtroom, and the media heard chants of “Guilty! Guilty!” and “Black Lives Matter!” in the hallway, CNN and NBC News reported.
Guyger, who is White, was fired from the Dallas Police Department after being indicted for fatally shooting Jean, 26, on Sept. 6, 2018, a Black man and accountant who hails from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.
Guyger tried giving the excuse that she accidentally went to the wrong unit on the fourth floor of the apartment complex where she and Jean lived and then shot Jean in self-defense when she thought he was going to kill her. Her apartment, in fact, was on the third floor.
Jean’s family said they purposely chose that apartment complex because it was in a good neighborhood and close to a police precinct. They thought Jean would be safe there.
