172: The Murder Of Botham Jean & A Fire

Let's Go To Court!

Botham Jean had been looking forward to a quiet night at home. The 26-year-old accountant made himself a bowl of ice cream and settled into his comfy leather couch, ready to watch some football. But Botham didn’t get a quiet night at home. Instead, an off duty police officer named Amber Guyger entered his apartment. She shot twice. Judging by the trajectory of the bullet that killed Botham, he was either in the process of getting up or cowering when Amber shot him. When Amber called 911, she was frantic. “I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment,” she said.

Then Brandi tells us about a woman everyone pitied. Luz Cuevas couldn’t seem to accept that her infant daughter, Delimar Vera, had died in a house fire. She told anyone who would listen that her daughter was still alive. But that was nuts. Everyone knew that the ten-day-old little girl was dead. Years passed, but Luz didn’t waver. She was certain that her daughter was alive. She just had to find her.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:

“The Ballad of Botham Jean” episode of Impact of Murder

“Amber Guyger is sentenced to 10 years for the murder of Botham Jean,” by Marina Trahan Martinez, Sarah Mervosh and John Eligon for the New York Times

“Amber Guyger trial: ‘I shot an innocent man,’ ex-officer says,” by Marina Trahan Martinez and Sarah Mervosh for the New York Times

“Trial opens for former officer who killed unarmed black man in his apartment,” by Marina Trahan Martinez and Manny Fernandez for the New York Times

“Ex-Dallas officer who killed man in his own apartment is found guilty of murder,” by Bobby Allyn for NPR

“Brandt Jean’s act of grace toward his brother’s killer sparks a debate over forgiving,” by Bill Chappell and Richard Gonzaels for NPR

“Murder of Botham Jean,” entry on wikipedia

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:

“Delimar Vera” episode Crimelines Podcast

“I believe in my heart she’ll accept me” by Audrey Gillan, The Guardian

“Mom Surrenders” by Jim Walsh and Jason Nark, The Courier-Post

“Girl Found and Woman Held After a Ruse Lasting Years” by Jason George, The New York Times

“No Contest Plea To Kidnapping Newborn In 1997” by Natalie Pompilio

“Her Side of the Story” by Nicole Weisensee Egan, Philadelphia Daily News

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