No verdict yet in Texas officer’s murder trial

A jury began deliberations Wednesday in the murder case against a former Texas police officer charged with fatally shooting a Black woman through a rear window of her home in 2019. The Tarrant County jury took up the case after six days of testimony and argument in Aaron Dean’s long-delayed trial for killing Atatiana Jefferson. The white Fort Worth officer was responding to a call about an open front door when he shot the 28-year-old. The case focused on competing claims of whether Dean knew Jefferson was armed. The 38-year-old testified that he saw Jefferson’s gun, while prosecutors contended he didn’t. The jury deliberated for about eight hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict and was scheduled to resume deliberations Thursday morning.