FORT WORTH, Texas _ Yolanda Carr, the mother of Atatiana Jefferson, died in her Fort Worth home early Thursday morning after an illness, according to family attorney Lee Merritt.
"Atatiana was killed by a Fort Worth, TX police officer while serving as the caregiver for Ms. Carr, who had recently taken ill," Merritt announced on Twitter on Thursday. "Memorial Service details will follow."
Jefferson, 28, was shot inside the family's home on Allen Avenue in October by a Fort Worth police officer who had responded to a neighbor's call that doors were open at the house. Officer Aaron Dean resigned from the police department and has been indicted on a murder charge in Jefferson's death.
Police and MedStar officials said they couldn't provide information Thursday on their response to the house following Carr's death because it was a medical call to a private home.
Atatiana's father and Carr's former husband, Marquis Jefferson, died of a heart attack in November.
"Marquis Jefferson, the father of Atatiana Jefferson, died 28 days after her death on Nov. 9th of a broken heart," said Bruce Carter, a spokesman for the Jefferson family, in a previous statement. "His heart was broken when the bullet of Aaron Dean killed his only child. The Jefferson family believes Mr. Jefferson was killed by the same bullet that killed his daughter."
Atatiana Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew in their home early on the morning of Oct. 12 when she heard a noise outside and looked out of her window, Merritt has said.
Body camera video of the shooting shows two officers using flashlights to check the perimeter of the house, inspecting two doors that are open with closed screen doors. The officers then go through the yard to the back of the house, where Dean appears to see a figure through a dark window, and he quickly twists his body to the left.
"Put your hands up! Show me your hands!" he shouts through the window, his gun drawn. He then immediately fires a single shot through the window, killing Jefferson, the video shows. Dean did not identify himself as an officer, according to the video.
The arrest warrant for Dean says that Jefferson got a gun out of her purse after she heard noises outside her window. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price has said that the gun was irrelevant to the investigation. In Texas, homeowners have a right to be armed on their own property, Price said.
Dean, 35, who had served about 18 months with the Fort Worth Police Department, resigned two days after the killing. He was arrested the same day he resigned, and indicted on Dec. 20.
Carr spoke from her hospital bed on a video call at a news conference in Dallas the day Dean was indicted, Fort Worth Star-Telegram media partner WFAA reported.
"My God, I was so happy to hear that the man who shot my daughter is indicted for murder," Carr said in that news conference. "Justice was served on that part, but I know we got a long way to go."
