Jury finds Fort Worth man who shot woman dead not guilty of murder | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

A Tarrant County jury acquitted a 45-year-old Fort Worth man of a murder charge on Thursday in connection with the death of a 21-year-old woman.

Fredrick M. Jones maintained that he shot Tori Brown because she had a knife in her hand on Sept. 5, 2015 while they were having an argument, according to his attorney, Taylor Ferguson, 35.

Authorities who examined Brown’s body and belongings found a knife on Brown’s shoulder, a knife on the ground a few feet away from the body and two knives in Brown’s purse, said Ferguson, who defended Jones at trial this week in State District Judge Robb Catalano’s court.

“Jones told police he had been carrying a gun in his pocket at the time the argument began,” Ferguson said.

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Brown was sharing a residence in the 3600 block of Oak Tree Circle in southwest Fort Worth near Edgecliff Village with the mother of Jones’ six-year-old daughter, Ferguson said.

Jones and Brown had been arguing earlier in the day and evidence was presented that Brown had shown people she was carrying knives in her purse, Ferguson said.

Brown said something to his daughter that Jones did not like and the argument between them escalated violently, Ferguson said. Brown fired his gun two times, Ferguson said.

Brown was struck in the head and pronounced dead shortly before 2:40 a.m., according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“The police were called and Jones waited for them and told them what happened,” Ferguson said.