State unexpectedly rests case on day 3 of Aaron Dean murder trial
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The state unexpectedly rested Wednesday afternoon in the murder trial of a former police officer.
Prosecutors spent about two and half days making their case that Aaron Dean committed murder when he shot Atatiana Jefferson in 2019.
The last witness the state called to the stand before resting was Atatiana Jefferson's sister, Ashley Carr, who told jurors Jefferson planned on becoming a doctor.
"She wanted to find a cure for diabetes," Carr said. "She had it since she was very young."
Carr testified Jefferson moved into their mother's home, where she was shot and killed, to help take care of her when she became sick.
"As well as for her to start saving so she could go to medical school," she said.
Carr's 10 minutes of testimony, showing photos of her younger sister, was the first real glimpse of who Jefferson was on the third day of Dean's trial.
"I am a little surprised that the state has not put in more about her and about her life so far," said Fort Worth criminal defense attorney Benson Varghese.
Varghese was also surprised the state rested its case this early.
"In the grand scheme of things, the state had not put on that many witnesses," he said. "It's probably a shorter list of witnesses than most people had expected."
On Wednesday, that list included two crime scene investigators and the first major case investigator.
They took the jury through the crime scene, into and around that house on Fort Worth's east side, and into Jefferson's bedroom.
The defense tried to poke holes into the thoroughness of the investigation, with crime scene officers acknowledging they may not have always followed best practices in record keeping.
The paramedic who attempted to save Jefferson and the medical examiner who described how Dean's bullet tore through her body also took the stand.
"These are very devastating wounds," said Dr. Richard Fries, deputy medical examiner at Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. "I would not expect somebody to survive them."
The state didn't call a use-of-force expert to the stand or a police supervisor who could address Dean's training and weigh in on why he pulled the trigger that night.
Varghese believes prosecutors are banking on the defense presenting a use-of-force expert.
"They know the defense is going to put on some evidence, and the prosecution may be essentially waiting to see what the defense does, to then put on a rebuttal witness because everything in this case boils down to self-defense, therefore the officer's knowledge, perception and reaction," Varghese said.
The trial won't resume until Monday, when the defense starts presenting its case.
The big question now is whether Dean himself will take the stand.
Regarding the trial, the Next Generation Action network sent CBS 11 this statement:
"The Next Generation Action Network is appalled. In the case that was presented by the Tarrant County District Attorney Prosecutor in the Aaron Dean trial, they failed to show the jury the humanity of Atatiana Jefferson in the person the world has grown to know in love, the aunt, sister, friend, and larger than life young lady. this is beyond troubling that after three years of waiting for this trial, only three days were used; this doesn't show the community that the Tarrant County DA is taking this case seriously at all. Our organization stands with the family and community demanding the conviction of Aaron Dean."
