Amber Guyger took the stand today and it was packed full of tears. She is currently on trial for killing
Botham Jean in his own home on Sept. 6, 2018.
READ MORE: Watch Live: Amber Guyger’s Murder Trial For Killing Botham Jean Streams Online
In dramatic testimony, Guyger said, “I feel like at terrible person, I feel like a piece of crap… “I wish he was the one with the gun and he killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life.”
She continued, “I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life. I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day.”
At times, Guyger was sobbing so hard it was difficult to understand. Watch below:
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CNN.com reported, “Jean’s family was largely stoic during a day of emotional testimony. Some occasionally shook theirs heads and whispered among each other and their lawyers.”
Under cross-examination, the prosecution pointed out that Guyger’s emotional appearance in court belied her actions the night she killed Jean, when he said she was not in tears while sitting comfortably in the squad car using her phone. The prosecution played video surveillance from that night when Guyger was in the car while Jean’s dying body was wheeled past her. The prosecution said that was proof she only cared about herself and not Jean.
“I looked at my phone because I didn’t want to see his body,” she said in a voice that was decidedly absent of the same soft-spoken voice she displayed when she first took the stand.
Guyger admitted that two days after the shooting she was back to sexting with Rivera, including talking about getting drunk and having sex with him, as Botham Jean’s family was preparing to bury him.
On Sept. 6, Guyger said that following a long day on the job as a Dallas police officer, she implausibly mistook his apartment for her own and, after ordering Jean not to move, shot him twice before realizing the error of her ways. Her story was met with doubt because of a number of factors, especially her assertion that Jean’s door was ajar.
Videos posted on social media by neighbors appeared to show that apartment doors in the building shut automatically, which seemed to indicate that Guyger was lying.
She also admitted under aggressive questioning that she never once said during the 911 call that she was scared or that she thought he had a gun. She also admitted that she never said during the call that Jean was charging at her.
Twitter had strong reactions to Amber Guyger. See below:
