Texas Court of Appeals upholds murder charge against ex-Dallas cop who killed neighbor

A Texas state appeals court on Thursday upheld a murder conviction against a former Dallas cop who was accused of shooting his neighbor down.

Texas 5th Court of Appeals upheld a murder charge against Amber Guyger for the fatal Botham Jean shooting in 2018, a copy of the ruling says published by CBS DFW.

Guyger, who lived one floor below Jean, entered his apartment by mistake, thinking it was his. She shot him thinking he was a burglar when she found the door open after returning from work.

Guyger appealed the ruling last year, arguing she was acting in self-defense and mistaking the apartment for his was reasonable and did not amount to murder.

But prosecutors retorted that she “intended to kill” Jean, noting “that she shot him in the chest while he was sitting on his own couch eating ice cream.”

Oral pleadings on appeal were heard in end of April.

In its decision, the three-judge panel said there was enough evidence to support the jury’s verdict. The panel said it was “undisputed” that Guyger intended to kill Jean because that is what she testified in court.

However, “the fact that she was mistaken about Jean’s status as a resident in her own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state of intention or knowledge into criminal negligence,” the judges wrote. .

“We refuse to rely on Guyger’s misperception of the circumstances which led to his mistaken beliefs as a basis for overturning the jury verdict in light of direct evidence of his intent to kill,” the ruling continued.

Guyger can still appeal the decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeal, according to the Associated Press.

The case has gained national attention given the circumstances surrounding Jean’s murder.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (right) enacted the Botham Jean Act in June, which requires officers’ body cameras to be activated throughout an investigation involving them.