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Atatiana Jefferson's father dies of heart attack weeks after she was fatally shot in her home by Texas police officer

Atatiana had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew and so was up late. Officer Aaron Dean's (pictured) bodycam footage showed he had never identified himself as a law enforcement officer and had fired less than a second after yelling for Atatiana to show her hands
UPDATED FEB 24, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The father of an African-American woman who was shot to death by a police officer inside her Texas home in October has reportedly died. Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, family spokesperson Bruce Carter revealed Marquis Jefferson suffered a heart attack and died at a Dallas hospital Saturday.

According to CBS Dallas Fort Worth, Carter said 58-year-old Jefferson "died of a broken heart." Officers went to Atatiana Jefferson's house October 13 after a neighbor alerted authorities saying the front door of the property had been left open.

Atatiana had been playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew and so was up late. Officer Aaron Dean (pictured) perceived a threat before he fired the shot into the house that claimed Atatiana's life, the Fort Worth police department said at the time.

However, Dean's bodycam footage showed he had never identified himself as a law enforcement officer and had fired less than a second after yelling for Atatiana to show her hands.

Following the tragedy, Dean resigned and was charged with her murder. In a conversation with CBS DFW last month, Atatiana's father called his daughter's death "senseless."

"Her mother called me yesterday morning. She say 'Tay was shot,'" he recalled. "I mean it's senseless. My daughter was 28. My daughter was 28-years-old. Had her whole life in front of her."

“You have to know that was somebody’s daughter,” he continued. “Somebody loved her and there was a better way. It didn’t have to be like that.” However, Marquis said he was grateful for their final words.

“I texted her, I said I loved her and she texted me back and said ‘I love you too,’” he told the outlet. Marquis also revealed the two shared a very special bond.

“When she was growing up, I read to her a lot. I bought her a lot of books,” he said. “Oh, she loved to read all the time. Her mother would tell me ‘She’s in there reading, reading, reading.’"

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