DALLAS (Court TV/AP) — A former Dallas police officer convicted of killing her neighbor is now eligible for parole.
In 2019, a Texas jury found Amber Guyger guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Botham Jean. At trial, Guyger testified she thought Jean was an intruder in her apartment when she fatally shot him.
Amber Guyger speaks with her attorney during a break in her murder trial in the 204th District Court at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Tuesday, September 24, 2019. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News/Pool)
Court TV’s Trial Archives: TX v. Amber Guyger (Wrong Apartment Murder Trial)
In Sept. 2018, Guyger was off-duty but still dressed in her police uniform after a long shift when she shot Jean with her service weapon. Guyger walked up to Jean’s apartment — which was on the fourth floor, directly above hers on the third — and found the door unlocked. The 26-year-old accountant had been eating a bowl of ice cream before Guyger entered his home, reported the Associated Press.
Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She became eligible for parole on Sept. 29, five years after the verdict.
In a statement to Court TV, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said,
“The Institutional Parole Officer (IPO) interviews the offender and prepares the case file, which is delivered to the Board Panel and as soon as practicable, they shall review and vote the case. There is no exact date for a Board Panel decision after the review.”
