The father of Atatiana Jefferson, who was devastated when his daughter was shot dead by police in her own home in Fort Worth, Texas, has died just weeks after his daughter was killed.
He was 59.
Marquis Jefferson reportedly succumbed to cardiac arrest in his home on Nov. 9, 2019. He was rushed to a hospital in Dallas, a 30-minute drive east of Forth Worth, where he was officially pronounced dead, family spokesperson Bruce Carter said, according to WFAA news station.
In short, the family said Marquis Jefferson died of a broken heart. Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was his only child.
“He ultimately just succumbed to, I don’t know, I can only say a broken heart,” Carter said. “He just never recovered from the grieving process.”
#Breaking Sources say the father of #AtatianaJefferson has passed. Just a month ago I sat down him. He was heartbroken over his daughter’s death, saying she had much going for her and something good has to come out of this. https://t.co/IMWfXGq9Uh @CBSDFW
— Erin Jones (@erinjonesnews) November 10, 2019
“He was battling to be a part of her life to the end,” Carter added on CNN. “I think it just got the best of him.”
Marquis Jefferson’s overwhelming personal pain was exacerbated when he had to fight a legal battle in order to take part in the funeral arrangements, adding to the strain on his health.
Marquis Jefferson said last month that his daughter, whom he affectionately called “Tay,” was the personification of “love.”
“And that smile? Lord have mercy,” Marquis Jefferson said last month in memory of his daughter. “It could brighten up any room.”
As rolling out previously reported, Atatiana Jefferson, a pre-med graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans, had recently moved in with her ailing mother in Fort Worth. She was watching her eight-year-old nephew on Oct. 12, when a neighbor called the police to perform a wellness check because her front door was open at 2 a.m.
A tactical police unit was dispatched to Jefferson’s home. None of the officers identified themselves upon arrival at the residence. And when Officer Aaron Dean saw her in a back window, he immediately ordered her to show her hands and quickly fired his weapon, killing her instantly.
Dean has since been fired from the Fort Worth police force and charged with murder. He is currently out on bond.
Flip the page to watch the report on his double tragedy.
