Who is Aaron Dean? White Texas cop, 38, who shot dead Black woman at her home to go on trial after long delay

Dean was seen on bodycam footage walking up to the entrance of the house where Jefferson was watching over her nephew. After yelling at Jefferson, who was inside, to expose her hands, he turned around to face the other side of the house, pushed through a gate into the walled-off backyard, and fired through the glass. It's unclear whether Dean knew Jefferson was armed because he was not heard on the video presenting himself as a police officer. The answer to that query and any potential testimony from a different officer who was present that evening are likely to be crucial issues at trial.

Months before the incident, Jefferson moved into her mother's house to help as the elderly woman's health deteriorated while she was thinking about a career in medicine. In vain attempts to have the case transferred from Fort Worth, Dean's legal team utilized such remarks, saying that public declarations and media coverage would sway the jury.

Last week, Jim Lane, the defense counsel for Dean, died just before jury selection was about to begin. District Judge George Gallagher finally moved ahead after years of delays and after days of questioning prospective jurors, a panel of 12 jurors and two alternates were chosen on December 2, 2022, out of which, eight were men and six were women. It didn't seem like any of them were Black.