Key witness in Amber Guyger's case is murdered

A witness who was key to the murder conviction of Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who opened fire on her neighbor Botham Jean in his own apartment, was shot to death 10 days after testifying in the high-profile trial, according to a lawyer representing the Jean family.

Joshua Brown, who lived in the same apartment complex as Jean and Guyger’s and overheard their fatal encounter, was “shot several times by an unknown assailant” on Friday night, civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt said Saturday night on Twitter. Brown was a 28-year-old Lancaster, Tex., native and former University of South Florida football player who ran his own business in Dallas.

“His murder underscores the reality of the black experience in America,” Merritt wrote. “A former athlete turned entrepreneur — Brown lived in constant fear that he could be the next victim of gun violence, either state sanctioned or otherwise.”

The Dallas Police Department has not confirmed that Brown was the man killed, noting that the victim wasn’t carrying identification. In an emailed statement, the department said officers had responded to reports of a shooting just after 10:30 p.m. at Atera Apartments at 4606 Cedar Springs Rd. Merritt said Brown was living there after moving from the South Side Flats, where he, Guyger and Jean resided when Guyger killed Jean in September 2018.

Authorities arrived at the Atera complex Saturday night to find a man lying on the ground in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics took him to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

“Several witnesses heard several gunshots and observed a silver four-door sedan leaving the parking lot at a high rate of speed,” police said, adding that there are not yet any suspects.

The fatal shooting came two days after jurors sentenced Guyger to 10 years in prison for the murder of Jean, 26, a St. Lucia-born accountant and church singer. That a white officer had killed an unarmed black man in his home sparked widespread outrage and protests in Dallas.

Some saw Guyger’s conviction as a victory in the national push for police accountability. Her sentence — on the low end of the 99 years the jury could have given — prompted criticism from observers and a stunning act of forgiveness from Jean’s younger brother.