Aaron Dean Trial Day 2: Live updates
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FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — The murder trial for former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean is now in its second day.
Dean is accused of intentionally shooting and killing 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson inside her home back in October 2019.
Her now 11-year-old nephew took the stand day one, where he recounted details about the night of the shooting.
Did you see anything outside the window?
"No, sir."
You didn't see a man with a badge?
"No, sir."
Dean's defense said the boy told a child forensic investigator during a recorded interview after the shooting that Jefferson had raised the gun. But he denied this.
On Tuesday, jurors are rumored to hear from that same investigator.
The jury of 12 will make the decision on whether Dean remains free or spends up to life in prison. There are eight men and six women, and while some are jurors of color, there are no Black jurors.
They're expected to take more than a week to present testimony and evidence before handing the case over to the jury for a verdict.
The trial will be streamed live everyday on CBS News Dallas-Fort Worth.
A full timeline of the events leading up to the trial can also be found here.
Court dismissed
4:17 – Judge sends everyone home, court will resume Wednesday.
Smith questioned
4:03 p.m. – Smith says it was "devastating" when he heard that the person fatally shot was Jefferson. He said at first he thought it was an officer.
He said he felt somewhat responsible for what happened and thinks about it often.
Neighbor explains why he called police
3:52 p.m. – Smith said he was concerned when he saw the front door of his neighbors home open at around 2 a.m., leading to his 911 call.
He said he went to the house and didn't hear anything. He then went home and proceeded to call the Fort Worth police non-emergency number.
James Smith called to the witness stand
3:33 p.m. – James Smith – a former neighbor of Jefferson – is called to the witness stand.
Talbert is asked why she assigned the call as 'open structure'
3:28 p.m. – Talbert is asked why she assigned the call to Jefferson's home as an open structure rather than a welfare check.
Talbert discusses call notes
3:10 p.m. – Talbert discusses call notes from the night police were called to Atatiana Jefferson's home.
Court resumes
2:55 p.m. – The court has returned from break. Abriel Talbert – a former City of Fort Worth 911 call taker – takes the witness stand.
Judge Gallagher calls for a break
2:29 p.m. — The court is taking a brief break.
State questioning Darch again
2:08 p.m. — The state is now questioning Darch again.
Darch explains what a "fatal funnel" is
2:06 p.m. — During Darch's cross-examination, Dean's defense asked if she was ever presented in the police academy the phrase, "the fatal funnel." She said yes.
Can you explain to the members of the jury what a fatal funnel is?
"Standing in front of a window or a door, you don't know what's on the other side."
Darch is asked how police are trained to deal with immediate threats
1:43 p.m. — Dean's defense asks Darch how police officers are trained to deal with situations where they come upon a threat and the threats is immediately in front of them.
How are those taught?
"You meet deadly force with deadly force, and you're trained to stop the threat."
Darch explains an open structure call response
1:36 p.m. — Dean's defense points out that him and Darch were responding to an open structure call, not a welfare check. Darch said officers are trained to respond to open structure calls as a "silent alarm."
Court resumes
1:04 p.m. — The court has returned from lunch. Officer Darch is back on the stand where she is being cross-examined by Dean's attorney Miles Brissette.
Courtroom breaks for lunch
Noon — The courtroom has taken its lunch break. Proceedings are expected to resume at 1 p.m.
Darch becomes emotional, courtroom breaks
11:42 a.m. — Darch becomes emotional after speaking about Jefferson's nephew's wellbeing following his aunt's shooting death, and asks for a break.
Darch recalls initial interaction with Jefferson's nephew
11:30 a.m. — Darch recalls the moment she realized a child was inside the house.
"As soon as I came through the door, I heard the baby, and that became my sole focus."
"I got him to come to me [and] we went down the hallway. I remembered that it was cold outside because I had my jacket on and there was a blanket on the back of the couch, so I wrapped him up and I went and stood on the curb with him so that he didn't have to see what was going on in there."
Jurors watch Dean's body camera footage
11:21 a.m. — Jurors are shown Dean's body camera footage from the night of the shooting, including the moment Jefferson was shot.
Darch examines photos of Jefferson's home
11 a.m. — Darch examines photos of the exterior and interior of Jefferson's home. She explained why she and Dean believed it looked like someone had maybe burglarized the house rather than it just being messy.
Court back in session
10:32 a.m. — Court is now back in session and Darch remains on the stand.
Courtroom takes break
10:12 a.m. — The courtroom has taken its first break of the day following Darch's testimony.
Officer Darch explains why she wasn't wearing a body camera
10:02 a.m — Officer Darch explained she was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting because she was still waiting on a replacement after hers had been lost or stolen from a docking station.
Responding officer called to the stand
9:20 a.m. — Fort Worth police officer Carol Darch has been called to the stand. She responded to the initial open structure call at Jefferson's home along with Dean on Oct. 12, 2019.
Jefferson's nephew's initial interview shown to jury
8:58 a.m. — The jury is being shown a pre-recorded interview from 2019 when Atatiana Jefferson's nephew first spoke about what he witnessed. The boy, now 11, recounted things differently during his day one testimony.
