FORT WORTH, Texas — Defense lawyers rested their case Tuesday in the murder trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, who fatally shot a Black woman in her mother’s home more than three years ago.
Dean, 38, killed Atatiana Jefferson in the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2019 while responding to a call. A concerned neighbor called a nonemergency police line about 2:30 a.m. because doors at the home were open and lights were on inside.
Jefferson, 28, was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when she heard a noise in the backyard and armed herself. The doors were open, her nephew testified, because they burned hamburgers and were airing out the smoke. Dean and a fellow officer did not announce themselves when they arrived at the East Fort Worth home or when they walked around the house, through a gate and into the backyard, according to testimony. Dean shot through a window into her bedroom.
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