Amber Guyger's Attorneys File Change Of Venue Motion To Move Murder Trial Out Of Dallas County
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The attorneys for former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who is going on trial for the shooting death of Botham Jean after mistaking his apartment as her own, have filed a change of venue motion to move the murder trial out of Dallas County.
Guyger's attorneys cite "prejudicial" and "inflammatory" media coverage as reasons to move the trial to another county. This comes after Guyger's 911 call on the night the deadly shooting was leaked.
Guyger claims she thought Jean was a burglar in her Dallas apartment when she shot him on Sept. 6, 2018. In the 911 call, Guyger could be heard repeating "I thought it was my apartment" and also worrying about losing her job.
In the court document, her attorneys state: "The hysteria and false narratives have been pervasive and widespread, which have added significantly to the existing false narratives and hysteria that pervades in Dallas County, making a fair trail here impossible."
The fired officer last appeared in court on June 6, where the trial date was set for Sept. 6. It was on the last court appearance that judge Tammy Kemp gave a stern reminder about honoring the court's gag order following the leak of the 911 call.
The attorney for Jean's family spoke about why they believe the audio was leaked.
"We want this case to be tried in Dallas County, and the frustrating part right now is we feel that, strategically, people are leaking this type of information now a couple of months before the trial for the mere purpose of trying to taint the jury pool," attorney Daryl Washington said.
Amber Guyger Appears In Court Thursday; Judge Gives Stern Reminder Of Gag Order After 911 Call Leak