Botham Jean’s family still ‘hurting deeply’ as ex-police officer is indicted
Wearing a shirt that said “Be like Bo,” the mother of Botham Jean balled her hands into a fist, shook them up and down and smiled when a murder indictment was announced against the woman who killed him on Sept. 6.
Former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger shot Jean in the chest after telling investigators she mistook his apartment for hers at around 10 o’clock that night. Guyger, 30, lived directly below Jean, 26, at the South Side Flats in Dallas. Court documents have varied on the story of how Guyger got Jean’s door open.
On Monday, a Dallas County grand jury began hearing evidence against Guyger. They had a choice to make — either indict her on manslaughter, indict her on murder, or return a no-bill.
On Friday, they handed up a murder indictment.
“I truly believe she inflicted tremendous evil upon my son. … He felt safe in that apartment and she violated him by going into his apartment and murdering him,” said Allison Jean, Botham Jean’s mother.
Jean’s father, Bertrum Jean, said his family is hurting deeply, but they take comfort in the decision.
Jean was a native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. He graduated from Harding University in Arkansas and moved to Dallas to work for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He was active in his church and often led the congregation in song.
While in school, Jean was a member of the Good News Singers, he was a resident assistant, an intern for the Rock House campus ministry and a leader in Sub T-16 men’s social club, the university said.
“His legacy will live on,” Bertrum Jean said. “We also pray for Amber and that she will recognize what she put us through,” he said. “We are not happy but we take comfort in the decision.”
This story was originally published November 30, 2018 at 5:00 PM.
