Jury in Texas convicts ex-cop who fatally shot St Lucian neighbour

DALLAS (AP) — A former Dallas police officer who said she fatally shot her unarmed, neighbour after mistaking his apartment for her own was found guilty of murder on Tuesday.

A jury reached the verdict in Amber Guyger’s high-profile trial for the killing of Botham Jean after six days of witness testimony but just a handful of hours of deliberation.

Cheers erupted in the courthouse as the verdict was announced, and someone yelled “Thank you, Jesus!”

In the hallway outside the courtroom where Guyger was tried, a crowd celebrated and said “black lives matter” in raised voices.

When the prosecutors walked into the hall, they broke into cheers.

Guyger sat alone, weeping, at the defence table.

In Texas, the sentence for murder is from five to 99 years in prison.

The jury is expected to return Tuesday afternoon for the punishment phase of the trial.

The basic facts of the unusual shooting were not in dispute throughout the trial. In September 2018, Guyger walked up to Jean’s apartment — which was on the fourth floor, directly above hers on the third — and found the door unlocked.

She was off duty but still dressed in her police uniform after a long shift when she shot Jean with her service weapon.

The 26-year-old accountant had been eating a bowl of ice cream before Guyger entered his home.

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