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Updated at 12:30 pm: Revised to reflect the additional details of a preliminary hearing.
The testimony is expected to begin Monday afternoon in the murder trial of Amber Guyger who killed Botham Jean last year in his apartment.
Guyger, 31, was still in uniform when she killed Jean at South Side Flats, just south of downtown. Guyger told the police that she had confused Jean's apartment with hers on the night of September 6, 2018 and that she considered him a burglar. She also said that her door was open.
Guyger arrived at the courtroom around 7:15 am on Monday with a security guard. The Dallas County Fire Marshal said the corridor outside the courtroom was covered by red tape. The Marshal's office asked people from outside to stand inside red lines to keep the hallway clear.
Opening statements should begin after swearing in at 12:30 pm after the lunch break.
The trial was scheduled to begin at 9 am, but it took more than two hours late due to a preparatory hearing.
The Defense asked whether Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot violated a gag order by discussing the Guyger case during an interview with KDFW-TV (Channel 4).
The interview was broadcast Sunday night, said Guyger's lawyers. Creuzot explained whether Guyger should have been charged with manslaughter or murder on the facts of the case. He stated that the murder at the station was the appropriate charge.
"And so this question of manslaughter that it was manslaughter – I wrote no, it's rather a murder-based affair." on the reported facts, "said Creuzot in a video clip. "I've studied what we have and I feel comfortable going forward, but I do not know how it's going to go."
Judge Tammy Kemp was visibly frustrated to learn the interview, shaking her head. A gag prohibits prosecutors and defense concerned from publicly discussing the case.
"To be clear, last night, the evening before the start of this trial, our elected prosecutor had an interview about this lawsuit?" Kemp said.
Guyger's defense proposed to renew his request to change the venue of the trial and demanded that the trial be set aside, which Kemp denied. She individually interviewed each of the 12 jurors and four substitute jurors about the interview with Creuzot. All told Kemp that they had not seen her or any media coverage of the case since they had been chosen as jurors. The jury will be sequestered throughout the trial.
Earlier in the morning, prosecutors asked the judge to allow them to admit evidence, including text messages that Guyger sent to his partner on the day of the shooting.
Outside the presence of the jury, prosecutors told Judge Kemp that Guyger was involved in a sexual relationship with his partner, Martin Rivera. Before the shootings, they exchanged sexually explicit text messages, said prosecutor Jason Hermus.
Guyger was on the phone with Rivera shortly before the shoot. Three minutes and 49 seconds elapsed between the end of their call and Guyger's 911 call, prosecutors said, adding that Guyger and Rivera were on the phone while she was driving to the parking lot.
The prosecution and the defense asked if the text messages showed Guyger's state of mind.
"She went home safely and she suddenly missed all the clues she was in," attorney Doug Gladden told the judge.
Just before the shooting, Guyger sent Rivera a Snapchat message stating: "Want to touch?" the prosecutors said.
The jury is made up of eight women and four men, and the four substitutes are women. The jury, selected more than a week ago, will not have to decide whether Guyger killed Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from St. Lucia. This is not disputed. Instead, the jurors will listen to the evidence and decide if Jean's murder of Jean is a crime.
And if it was a crime, is it a murder? Or a less serious charge such as manslaughter or criminal negligent homicide.
Guyger 's lawyers should argue that she made a "mistake of fact": she believed that she was in her apartment and that she had to defend herself against someone that she was. she thought he was a burglar.
If the jury finds that a "reasonable" person could also have made that mistake, Guyger could be found not guilty of murder. If they do not, the jury may find her guilty. If the jury finds Guyger not guilty of murder, he will deliberate on the less serious charges.
Murder is punishable by up to life imprisonment. Criminal negligent homicide is punishable by up to two years in a state prison.
Jean worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers after graduating from Harding University in Arkansas. He was buried in a cemetery near the sea in St. Lucia the same day that Dallas Police Chief U. ReneƩ Hall dismissed Guyger.
Jean, who loved to sing and sang in his church, dreamed of returning to Saint Lucia and becoming prime minister.
Guyger was originally arrested for manslaughter, but a grand jury in Dallas County has indicted him for murder. Dallas lawyers who are not involved in this case believe that murder is the most appropriate charge, because in Texas, manslaughter is a reckless act and she intended to pull the trigger.
Guyger is free on bail during the trial. She issued a $ 200,000 bail when she went on the murder charge and a bail of $ 300,000 when she had previously been arrested for manslaughter.
The trial is expected to last two weeks. The jurors were asked to pack a suitcase with enough clothing for two weeks – or one if they wanted to do the laundry.
They will not have access to their phones during the trial, Kemp told them during the jury selection.
Listen to the Dallas Morning News special audio report, The death of Botham Jean: Amber Guyger at trial
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Learn more about Amber Guyger and Botham Jean.
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