Amber Guyger was found guilty of murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting her neighbor, Botham Jean, after she claimed she thought he was an intruder in her own apartment.
A jury of her own peers convicted the 31-year-old former cop after deliberating on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Jean, a 26-year-old accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, was sitting on his sofa eating ice cream when Guyger entered his apartment and opened fire.
Her attorney claimed she was tired after working a 13-hour shift. But the prosecutor said she was distracted by steamy text messages from her police officer boyfriend.
In tearful testimony on the witness stand, Guyger claimed she feared for her life after Jean refused to obey her orders to raise his hands.
She said he yelled, “Hey hey hey!” And she fired twice to neutralize the perceived threat.
But the jury didn’t buy her tears.
Guyger broke down and cried again when the guilty verdict was read.
Jean’s family celebrated in the hall outside the courtroom, as supporters cheered, “It’s a new day!”
The jury was given three options: murder, manslaughter (which carried the lightest sentence), or acquittal.
Guyger faces 99 years in prison when she is sentenced on Tuesday.
