Amber Guyger case: Key witness who testified in the murder trial of Dallas cop shot dead at his apartment complex
One of the key witnesses in the murder trial of Amber Gugyer has been shot dead two days after she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
28-year-old Joshua Brown, who lived in the same building as Guyger and her victim Botham Jean, had recounted how he was in the hallway on the fourth floor when he heard what sounded like “two people meeting by surprise”, after which he heard two gunshots. His account had been crucial in the trial and led to Gugyer's conviction and sentencing last week.
A Dallas police spokesperson refused to confirm if the man that was shot dead on Friday was Brown before the identification by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office.
However, a news release stated that police responded to a shooting around 10.30 pm Friday, where several witnesses directed officers to an apartment parking lot where a man who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds was lying.
According to the release, multiple witnesses told police that they heard several gunshots and saw a silver four-door sedan speeding out of the parking lot.
Jean's family lawyer Lee Merritt confirmed on Facebook on Saturday that the murdered man is in fact Brown and that he spoke his mother. "She is devastated. We all are,” Merritt said, adding, “Joshua Brown was a key witness in the murder of Botham Jean that helped put Amber Guyger away. We need answers.”
In his statement, Merritt said, "His murder underscores the reality of the black experience in Amerca... Brown lived in constant fear that he could be the next victim of gun violence, either state-sanctioned or otherwise. We have more work to deal with the constant threats to our community both from within and without. Brown deserves the same justice as he sought to ensure the Jean family."
31-year-old Guyger, who was convicted for murdering her innocent black neighbor, had claimed that she mistook Jean's unlocked apartment for her own—which was one floor below. She said she was returning home after a long shift and mistook Jean for a burglar before shooting the 26-year-old accountant dead.