Aaron Dean, a former Fort Worth police officer, will go on trial in January for the killing of Atatiana Jefferson.
On Tuesday morning, 297th District Court Judge David Hagerman scheduled jury selection to begin on Jan. 4, and the trial itself to begin on Jan. 10, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Dean's trial was originally supposed to begin on Tuesday, but was delayed, the Associated Press reports.
In October 2019, Jefferson's neighbor called a nonemergency line after seeing that her door was open. Dean was one of the police officers who responded. That intended welfare check ended with Dean shooting Jefferson through a window, never identifying himself as an officer, body camera footage shows.
Dean resigned from the police force and was indicted for murder.
Judge Hagerman said he expects a request for a change of venue, meaning Dean's attorneys may try to move the trial to another location, the Star-Telegram reports. Changes of venue happen when a defendant thinks they won't be able to get a fair trial in their current court or location, sometimes due to pre-trial publicity.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
