True Crime Collection

Botham Jean

Botham Shem Jean, a 26 year old black man, was a Harding University alumnus and an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Botham was born in Saint Lucia.

Amber Renée Guyger, was 30 years old at the time of the shooting. She had been on the Dallas police force for almost 5 years.

The shooting took place on 6th September, 2018. Amber's apartment was on the 3rd floor, directly below Botham's apartment on the 4th, in an apartment building with mostly identical floor plans on each level. Amber testified that she thought the apartment was her own, and that she found the door slightly ajar, and she testified that she thought Botham was an intruder in the darkened living room where he was sitting eating ice cream, in an apartment she thought was hers. She claimed she feared Botham would kill her. Botham was unarmed.

After Amber shot Botham, she called 911. Botham was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his wound. The Texas Rangers investigated the shooting, which led to Amber's arrest 3 days later.

Amber was initially charged with manslaughter, but was later charged with murder. The initial charge of manslaughter and the racial aspect of the shooting resulted in protests in the following days.

The Dallas Police Department placed Amber on administrative leave after the shooting. The department fired her on 24th September, 2018.

Following the shooting, an attorney representing Botham's family accused the Dallas Police Department of attempting to smear Botham's reputation by publicising a police affidavit showing that police seized 10.4 grams of marijuana from Botham's apartment. The lawyers also disputed the account of the incident that Amber told officials, which was recorded in the arrest warrant affidavit, and asserted that 2 independent witnesses had come forward to give recollections that conflicted with Amber's account. An attorney for Botham asserted that witnesses claimed they heard knocking on the door to Botham's apartment and that a witness claimed they heard a woman's voice saying "Let me in, let me in."

On 30th November, 2018, Amber was indicted on murder charges by a Dallas County grand jury. On 22nd September, 2019, the day before the trial began, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot took part in an interview regarding the trial in spite of a gag order issued by Judge Tammy Kemp in January of that year. After questioning jurors, who reported that they had not seen the interview or other media coverage of the trial, Tammy denied the defence's motion for a mistrial, and sequestered the jury.

Manslaughter charges would have required proof of recklessness, while murder charges require proof that the defendant killed with intent. The prosecutors alleged criminal intent for 2 reasons: firstly, they said her arrival at the wrong apartment (on the wrong floor) was not caused by tiredness, but rather caused by the conversation she had immediately prior with her lover trying to arrange a meeting that night, and secondly that she did not follow standard police protocol of not entering a building with a potential burglar inside and instead calling for backup from the police station, which was 2 blocks away.

On 1st October, 2019, Amber was found guilty of murder. The jury deliberated for 6 hours to reach the verdict of murder. The jurors also considered the lesser charge of manslaughter. She was the first Dallas police officer to be convicted of murder since the 1973 murder of Santos Rodriguez.

On 2nd October, 2019, Amber was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the jury deliberated for an hour. During the sentencing hearing, Botham's mother Allison provided emotional testimony and some of Amber's text messages and social media posts that were "racist and offensive" were shared. Botham's younger brother Brandt forgave and hugged Amber during her sentencing. Botham's father Bertrum also stated that he forgave Amber but had wanted a stiffer sentence. Trial judge Tammy Kemp, who is also African-American, drew controversy when she embraced Amber and handed her a bible, with the Freedom from Religion Foundation criticising her for alleged proselytising.

On 16th October, 2019, Amber's attorneys filed a notice of appeal requesting a new trial. Amber is currently imprisoned in the Mountain View Correctional Centre.

On 7th August, 2020, Amber's attorneys filed an appeal of the conviction on the grounds "there was insufficient evidence to convict her of murder. The court should either acquit Amber of that charge, or acquit her of murder, convict her of criminally negligent homicide, and hold a new hearing on the punishment".

On 31st January, 2019, ABC News reported that one witness, identified as "Bunny", provided video evidence of the aftermath of the shooting to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, in addition to publishing it online. She said that as a result of the video, she received harassment and death threats. She also said that the pharmaceutical company she worked at terminated her after various phone calls to the company calling her a "radical", "anti-police" and "a black extremist", and that the company revoked her credentials.