The mother of slain PwC associate Botham Jean gave emotional testimony about her son Tuesday during sentencing for the cop convicted of murdering him.
“My life has not been the same,” Allison Jean said, breathing deeply and holding back tears. “It’s just been like a roller coaster. I can not sleep. I can not eat.”
The testimony followed the conviction of ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger in a quick-paced trial.
The woman was found guilty of murder Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a jury started deliberations Monday.
And mere hours after the conviction, the court was hearing sentencing testimony from a PwC colleague of Jean, his sister and Guyger’s supervisor.
As part of that testimony, Sgt. Robert Watson admitted that a handcuffed prisoner escaped from Guyger once in an incident he reported to internal affairs.
But when Guyger’s defense asked Watson if he still trusted her, he said, “yes sir.”
Early testimony from witnesses the state called Tuesday focused mainly on Botham Jean’s contributions to his community, but they also highlighted deleted texts between Guyger and her partner, whom she was having an affair with, as well as images she saved to Pinterest boards.
One Pinterest pin read: “STAY LOW, GO FAST, KILL FIRST, DIE LAST, ONE SHOT, ONE KILL, NO LUCK, ALL SKILL”
Alissa Finley said when she told her children their uncle had died, one of her sons cried.
The other is still afraid of police officers, Finley said.
She cried when she heard her brother sing and said hearing his voice makes her think “that I want my brother back.”
Allison Jean described her son as an avid singer, math whiz and dedicated leader who would often try to correct his minister father’s sermons.
“‘Why didn’t you do the sermon this way,'” the mother said her son would ask.
He showed similar leadership characteristics when he played rugby and did ministry work as a student at Harding University, Allison Jean said.
She smiled when asked about the time Botham Jean flew from Arkansas to her home in St. Lucia to surprise her for Mother’s Day.
The mother said she was sleeping when she “heard his voice” and thought she was dreaming.
Then, she heard “GG” and knew it was real. Allison Jean said her son called her “GG” because he viewed her as his governor general.
He died Sept. 6, 2018, a few days before his 27th birthday, Allison Jean said.
She was in New York with her daughter when she found out her son had been shot. She said she couldn’t work but tried to keep busy, to be strong for her family.
“I’ve been sick often,” she said. “I’ve had to seek counseling every Tuesday.”
