Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - HEAR IT: female cop says “Sorry, wrong apartment” after gunning down male exec relaxing in his own place

Episode Date: September 25, 2019

Trial has begun for the former Dallas police officer who shot and killed an unarmed neighbor in his own home. Prosecutors told the jury that Amber Guyger was distracted by a phone call with a lover. Guyger tells 911 that she thought Botham Jean was a burglar in HER apartment. With Nancy Grace to discuss the case: Julie Rendelman, New York Criminal Defense Lawyer; Joe Scott Morgan, Forensics Expert; James Shelnutt, former Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer; Dr. Bethany Marshall Psychologist; and reporter Dave Mack. Watch at Crimeonline.com. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. What's up, man? Yeah, that's not a one. This is Carla. What's your emergency? Hi, this is an off-duty officer. Can I get any emails? I'm in. Remember? got a son and one. This is Hi, this is off duty offic

I need emails. Um I'm in police as large as the M. the address? I'm at Depar in 14 78 and what's the a 12 10 South Lamar 1478. And what's the address there? It's 1210 South Lamar, 1478. What's going on? I'm an officer. I thought it was in my apartment, and I shot a guy thinking that he was thinking it was my apartment.

Shot someone? Yes, I thought it was my apartment. I'm f***ed. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. And where are you at right now? I'm in, what do you mean? I'm inside the apartment with him. What's your name? I'm Amber Geiger. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us right now in a court of law. This trial is unfolding. The trial of a cop, Amber Geiger, age 31, and you hear the first thing she says on the 911 call, I'm an off-duty officer.

That's the first thing she says. 31-year-old Geiger says her defense is, I'm in the wrong apartment. But whatever her defense may be, she is charged with murder in the shooting death of a young 26-year-old male executive, Botham Jean, who was in his own apartment chillaxing, and bam, he gets shot dead. Let's take a listen to more of that 911 call. I've already got a ton of observations and an all-star panel to tell me how wrong I am. Listen. I'm Amber

Geiger. I need to get me. I'm, I'm in. Okay. We have help on the way. I know, but I'm going to lose my job. I thought it was my apartment. Okay. Hold on. Okay. Stay with me. Okay am i am i need anyone needs to provide hey bud hey bud i thought it was my apartment. I understand. We have help on the way. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Hurry, please. They're on their way. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. I just want to park on the third floor. Okay. I understand.

No. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. I just want to park on the third floor. Okay. I understand. No. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. I just want to park on the third floor. Okay, I understand.

No. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. I thought it was my apartment. You are hearing more of that 911 call. We'll play a little bit more in just a moment. But let's introduce our panel this morning. A newcomer joining us. Let the hazing begin new york defense attorney julie rendelman no stranger to a courtroom forensics expert professor forensics jacksonville state university

author of blood beneath my feet that makes me want to read it immediately blood beneath my feet on amazon joseph scott morgan another newcomer 27 years atl Atlanta Metro major case detective, SWAT officer, retired lawyer, municipal judge. I mean, what has this man not done? James Shelnut with me and renowned psychologist joining me out of Hollywood. And boy, she never has a lack of business out there. Dr. Bethany Marshall. But first to Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. And before I go one more minute, yesterday, I got onto CrimeOnline.com where you can watch this trial live. And I got sucked into it. I'm supposed to be working on my book manuscript. I got nowhere because every time they would say something, I had to hear what they were going to say next. Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Let's just start at the beginning with the night of the incident. Now, this Amber Geiger,

I noticed her 911 call. The first thing she says is, sorry, Dave, I'm going to have to go the shrink on this. Dr. Bethany Marshall, the first thing she says is, I'm going to lose my job. What about the dead guy? Well, it's obviously very self-referential, right? She's thinking about herself and she's not thinking about him him which tells me something about her frame of mind when she was heading to his apartment that she may have been in some kind of a frenzied state having to do with something that was going on internally for her a bad day you mean her sex rage or what wait wait you mean her sexting? Dave Mack didn't come out in court. She was sexting with her partner? Did that mean her police officer partner or her boyfriend or her girlfriend? Well, never mind. Jackie's head is spinning off her neck.

She's saying it was her police officer that she's sexting with? Martin Rivera has actually been her partner on the police force for a long time, and they were involved in an intimate sexual relationship. And in fact, she was... You know, Dave Mack, Dave Mack, you know, why do you have to say it like that? Why can't you just say they're dating? Why is everything about sex with you? But you know what?

Because the texting back and forth was dirty. No, the sexting. Okay, first of all, Dave Mack, sex is not dirty, okay? I hope you haven't told your children anything different. Are they going to grow up and have to get in line to see Dr. Bethany Marshall? But I agree with you. First of all, Dr. Bethany Marshall, having a relationship, a romantic, take a cue from this, Dave Mack,

a romantic relationship with a coworker is a bad idea. It's a bad idea. Very bad because it leaves out of it your role as a police officer, the need to be alert, the need to be on guard. And this could be a cue, yet another clue as to her state of mind when she went to the wrong apartment, that this is not a woman who is very clear or clean in her relationships and her motivations. Her relationships are a little messy, right? And so what happened in her feelings towards Botham, if she had a neighbor complaint or she was upset with him about something, that this was not a woman who was clear and direct in her roles and motivations. Julie Rendelman, somewhat of a newcomer today, has joined us once before.

Julie Rendleman, as Dr. Bethany Marshall was saying, keep your mind clear, especially as a cop, and not be sexting. That was the problem. You know who that reminds me of, Julie? I'm sure you remember Baby Cooper. Yeah. Justin Ross Harris. You read my mind. That's scaring me. I don't like that when the defense attorney can read what I'm sure you remember baby Cooper. Yeah. Justin Ross Harris. You read my mind. That's scaring me. I don't like that when the defense attorney can read what I'm thinking, but you're absolutely right. He was sexting, I think six or eight. In fact, I was just writing about him for

my book. I was talking about PS don't be a victim comes out in February, but he was sexting. I think six to eight women at the same time. Of course, married to a beautiful young lady. But that aside, sexting while you're walking or getting out of your car or working, it gets you nowhere, Julie. And correct me if I'm wrong, but when I attended law school and throughout my trial career, mistake of fact is not a defense. For instance, if I cross the state line with a truckload of cocaine and when they stop me, I say, oh, I thought it was turnip roots. Mistake of fact is not a defense under the law. If her defense is I thought I was in my apartment, that's not going to work. But I think it is a defense in that state.

I think there is an exception. But keep in mind one thing. So if, I'm not telling you I sexed, but if I was sexing, I wouldn't have a gun on me. So I wouldn't have the risk. I think you do. I think you do. I think you do or you would not have even said that. Okay, not judging, not judging at all.

But what did you say, Jackie? And I got so carried away by the fact that you just confessed to sexting. But go ahead. What were you saying? No, the difference is I'm not carrying a gun with me. So she has a loaded weapon when she's not paying attention to where she's going. And so if I come to my door and there's a burglar or I think there's a burglar, I'm going to run away. I'm not going to have a gun and start shooting someone and still be distracted by the fact that I'm sexting with my boyfriend.

There's a difference. You just made me think of something, Julie Rendleman. Everybody, I'm giving Julie Rendleman a hard time. But she is a veteran trial lawyer. She knows what she's talking about. To James Shelnut, 27 years with Atlanta Metro, major case detective, SWAT officer. It goes on and on and on. James, thank you for being with us. What Julie said just brought something to mind. I want to follow up with you, Joe Scott, on this. But she sees, she realizes her door, I guess, is unlocked or ajar.

Something is different. I guess she didn't notice she was standing on a bright red doormat that Gene bought to make his apartment entrance look different from everybody else's. She did not have that. The number is displayed near the door, but she had to stop James Shelnut and pull her gun. Now, wouldn't that be enough time right there to notice she was not in her apartment? You know, I don't know about that. You know, supposedly this was at night. It was not during the daylight. She is tired coming home from work. You know, officers also experience a lot of times what is called tactically as tunnel vision. You walk into an unexpected situation, you perceive an immediate serious threat. If she believed truly that she was going into her own apartment,

then she logically believed that someone was in there and lawfully burglarizing it. She probably locked in on tunnel vision and excluded other factors. That's the common danger that occurs to police officers during a tactical situation like that. That sounds like a lot of cop talk. You know how hard it was for me to get police officers to talk like regular people. I had the same problem with medical examiners, crime lab people. I mean, you go into Warp 4, I assume you're a Star Trek fan, and nobody knows what you're talking about. We're going to have to break that down.

But first, take a listen to KXAS anchor Meredith Land. Prosecutors focused on text messages exchanged between Geiger and Rivera, including some that happened while Geiger was on the phone with 911 the night of the shooting. Geiger and Rivera, they deleted them. They were recovered, but when asked on the stand why Rivera deleted them, he said that he did so because he didn't want to relive what happened that night. But some civil rights attorneys are calling for him to be investigated. Crime stories with Nancy Grace.

As she's leaving the substation at 9.30 p.m., she sends a message, a text message. Actually, it's a Snapchat message with a text associated with it to her partner, Martin Rivera. And she says, want a touch? So I think it's important for me to take a moment and let you know something else. Amber Geiger had been with CRT about a year and a half. Most of that time she worked with Martin Rivera. Their relationship was more than just professional. For about the last year they had been intimate and that relationship kind of ebbed and flow. Coming upon more recently into September, it looks like that intimate part of their relationship was kind of ramping back up. But we know from the text

messages, starting at about 5.55 p.m. Martin had already left. Remember I told you he had an event to go to? Starting about 5.55 p.m., they begin a text exchange. She's sitting on the prisoner at headquarters. He's wherever it is that he is. And a text exchange begins. This is just a sample. I need you to know this. They were talking multiple times throughout the evening by text, by Snapchat, and by MMS messages. You are hearing opening statements, guys. It's happening right now in a court of law. This female cop on trial for the shooting death of a guy, a young executive, 26-year-old Botham Jean.

I think it was with an accounting firm. And he's in his apartment just chilling. And all of a sudden, he gets shot dead. Joining me in All-Star panel, Julie Rendelman, Joe Scott Morgan, James Shelnut, Dr. Bethany Marshall, and Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. And you can watch the trial along with us at CrimeOnline.com. We put a big banner across the top. Click here to watch the trial live. You know, Dave Mack, what else

were they saying on their texts? It was very, very direct, actually, Nancy. And they were trying to set up a meet, an opportunity to hook up. They both, in these text messages, said they were horny. That was a term that was used. Whoa, wait a minute. What? They both actually texted back and forth saying, I am horny.

Okay, Dave Mack, I don't know that I needed you to be that blunt, but the reality is that's what the jury is hearing. And, you know, to Justice Scott Morgan, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, you've been in front of a lot of juries. And I remember distinctly the first time I had to stand in front of a jury and I had to tell the jury what a defendant said in a statement it had every curse word every derogatory slur you could think of every single word the p word the c word the n word the

f word using the lord's name in vain I said them all except for the N word. I couldn't bring myself to spit that out. But long story short, what was bad about it was the next time I had to stand in front of a jury, it just tripped off my tongue like no problem. In this case, the jury's going to hear a lot that they're not ready for. But when they see the autopsy report and they see that should be a sobering experience and all the talk of being horny aside, that's what this case is about, Joe Scott Morgan. What were the injuries to Botham Jean? Well, he sustained gunshot wounds to his body. And one of the things that is significant here is determining,

first off, the range of fire, how far away he was from the end of the muzzle when she actually fired into his body, and also the angle at which she fired. And I think this has already come into question, Nancy. Was he posturing in a position like in an attack position where he's upright, he's got his hands maybe cast forward? Is he ducking, like looking for cover? Is she firing down from a higher angle that's striking him? And this is going to, because listen, the only person that we have that can bear witness to this is her. And, of course, we don't know if she's actually going to testify. Probably not.

And her statement, did she fire down into his body or was he over her when she fired? And that's going to be the question that both the prosecution and the defense are going to have to dig into relative to this case. Yes, the trajectory path of that bullet. But to Julie Rendelman, a veteran New York defense lawyer, I hear what Joe Scott is saying. And I believe that if she were over him firing, depending on the trajectory path of the bullet, it will exacerbate the facts. But in my mind, the issue is the defense of mistake of fact. You just can't argue, oh, I thought so-and-so was an intruder in my apartment, so I shot him dead. I thought I was in my, a mistake of fact is never a defense under the law. Now, it may be that the jury buys into it and gives her a lesser

charge, but it's not like accident, where an accident is a complete defense. Self-defense, if it can be proven, is a defense. Mistake of fact is not a defense. I think it is, though, in that state. I think there is an exception, because there's no question, I think anyone looking at this case accepts the fact that she intended to shoot and kill this individual. The issue for the jury, at least in my mind, is whether or not she believed it was her apartment or not and whether or not she acted reasonably throughout this entire period of time. And I think all the factors we talk about, about her sexting, about her carrying a loaded weapon, about her not paying attention,

about the red, you know, the front red floor mat, all those things are going to be something the jury takes into consideration when they're deciding whether is this a murder, is this a manslaughter, is this reckless. But I think mistake of fact is going to be a huge factor in determining kind of what the end result is. I think also it will depend on whether the mistake was reasonable. And in my mind, I mean, James Shelnut, you've been a SWAT officer and a major case detective in the business for 27 years, plus law school at Cumberland, plus a municipal judge. The reality is, you know the training that cops have to go through. I mean, to be an assistant DA in inner city Atlanta, I had to train about every six months at the firing range. And I hate guns. I'm a gun violence

victim. I don't like guns. I don't like holding them. Long story short, she's got training in ballistics at the firing range. She's trained to handle a weapon and then pulling it on an unarmed man. How could she miss that red doormat? Nobody else had one. She didn't have one. So how could she step over that? I mean, she's supposed to be a trained observer for Pete's sake. Well, I think she missed it because she was too worried about having a hookup after work. That's why I think she missed it. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I, I, how the f*** did I get out of there? How did I get out of this floor?

I'm so tired. Hurry. Over here, over here. Okay, go ahead and talk to them. No, it's me. I'm off duty. I'm off duty. I thought they were in my apartment. I thought this was my floor. You're hearing more of that 911 call that's been played in court. You

can watch it yourself live at crimeonline.com. I've been watching it throughout the day. With me, an all-star panel. I want to go to Dr. Bethany Marshall. You know, the jury did not like it. As Julie Rendleman pointed out, it was Justin Ross Harris who left his child, baby Cooper, in the car while he was sexting about six to eight women, some of them minors, by the way, and left his baby in the car. Now we've got another death. What do you make of it? I just don't understand. To get in the door, she had to step over that red doormat. Well, the issue of the sexting is so important to me because it tells me that she is fusing and confusing her job, carrying a gun, being in an intense emotional situation, her sexuality, her femininity. And you put all that together, and this is a narcissistic individual who's not taking

her job very seriously it's all about her and getting laid pardon my french it's about her sexual excitement throughout the day and wasn't she also looking at pinterest reading a pinterest article so it's her apartment it's her sexuality and you put that behavioral evidence together. And you what I wonder if this isn't the sort of individual where if she has a fight or a spat or a beef with a neighbor, if she's so preoccupied with her own rights and getting her own way that that same unboundaried quality leads her to go to his apartment to confront him. Because hadn't she written a complaint about him a week earlier saying that he had been too noisy and here she'd only been at the apartment for a month? Nancy, I'm going to tell you, the biggest fights that I see, my husband's a judge and he sees

spats in courts all the time between neighbors. Neighbors become extraordinarily enraged at each other over the most minor of things. And it could be that she was so upset at the noise that she made a beeline for his apartment to punish him. Yeah. You know what? Following up on that, Dr. Bethany, familiarity breeds contempt. And neighbors get very contemptuous against each other.

Dave Mack, CrimeOnline.com reporter, what can you tell me about a previous noise complaint? Well, actually, Nancy, according to the Jeanne family attorney, your buddy Benjamin Crump and Merrick in Dallas, they actually said there were some complaints about noise coming from Botham's apartment, but they never specifically claimed that it was actually Amber Geiger. She lived directly below him, but she'd only been there for a couple of months. Again, there were complaints made, but according to the family attorney, it wasn't Geiger that made those complaints. Well, that's something we're going to have to get to the bottom of,

and if Bethany is right, that is significant, a significant fact. Guys, I'm looking right now at a photo that we have on Crime Online of the prosecutor, Jason Hermes, holding up Botham Jean's red doormat. And you may wonder why I keep talking about that. James Shelnut, 27 years on Atlanta Metro Major Case Division. Why is that so significant? Well, it's significant because it was a bright line way for her to know this should have been a final warning flag you're not in the right place something is different yeah i mean a red doormat i think i would have noticed that guys let's take a listen to what is going on in the courtroom whatever is on her mind after that

conversation has consumed her attention entirely and she she's missing obvious things. She then looks like the rest of the floor. Botham Jean wanted his apartment to be very noticeable, and he took steps to make sure that happened. is this extremely obvious bright red floor mat right in front of his door. I want to reiterate, Amber Geiger had no floor mat. She walked right up and stepped on top of this as she entered and placed her key fob into the deadbolt lock of both of both of john's home i mean joe scott morgan forensics expert author of blood beneath my feet on amazon joe scott not only that uh what about evidence the door the front door was ajar. Didn't the doors have magnetic locks? Yeah, they did. And, you know, in my lifetime, I've never lived in any place that fancy.

But apparently you can wave a key fob over the thing and it disengages. And from what reports are coming in, you know, the facing on the thing was not installed correctly. So his door would be slightly ajar many times as if it wouldn't click into place. And so when she bumped this thing with her fob, it kind of nudged the door open. Well, automatically, as a police officer, I can only imagine her senses are heightened automatically, you know, because her perception, not the reality, but her perception was at that time was that this is her door. She's walking in, she becomes tunnel focused, as Judge just mentioned just a moment ago, and she takes her weapon out. And so

you've got, you've got this kind of collision that's on course. And, you know, let me, let me tell you one other thing um you know we've talked about how maybe there was a disturbance in the past and uh you know she goes down to confront this guy uh i gotta tell you i take i take exception to this idea that this case is being painted as if she went down or went to this gentleman's apartment and essentially executed him that's that's not what's happening here. One thing that has not been brought out is that she is on a high-speed team with Dallas Police Department where she's going out

and she's interdicting street crimes on a regular basis. She's already been working, Nancy, for 13 hours. I spent a lot of time on the street over the course of my career with a coroner in New Orleans, with an ME in in Atlanta as an investigator, I've worked these shifts. And let me tell you something, you get off work and you come off of a 13 hour watch and your brain is mush at that time. The only thing you can think about is trying to get to bed. And Hey, if she's trying to get to bed with her lover. Yeah. God bless her.

Yeah. Well, because I'm a horny, can we touch? Does not suggest to me that she's that tired. And another thing, Joe Scott Morgan. She doesn't live in a vacuum. She is a human being. She's got needs just like everybody else does. She's not on duty at this point in time.

Maybe she is texting. So what? I don't care if she's texting him. She's got to live her life. She is a human being. She has needs just like everybody else. It's a comedy of errors at this point in time and it's horrible that it wound up this way but you know you can't you can't extract the fact that she has been working she's distracted hey maybe life is so bad on the street she needs to be comforted and by god there's a lot of

cops out there that need comforting she's looking to be in the arms of her lover at that point in time you three joe scott because that was a hell of a sermon, but I got news for you. You can go ahead and cut his mic right now in case he tunes back up. I'm tired is not a defense. Botham Jean was sitting on his sofa eating ice cream when he was shot dead. That's what he was doing before she came into his apartment. I'm tired. It's not a defense. FYI, a lot of us work long hours. Yesterday, I logged 15 hours straight, and that is not an excuse for murder. harder. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. The Jean family left the courtroom arm in arm after facing Botham Jean's killer for the first time. This is Botham Shamjan. In opening arguments, prosecutors said the 26-year-old was watching TV, eating vanilla

ice cream in his apartment when former Dallas officer Amber Geiger walked in and shot him in the chest. No opportunity for him to surrender. Bang, bang, rapid, double tap. Prosecutors maintain Geiger was so consumed with a phone conversation she just had with Martin Rivera, her police partner turned love interest, that she didn't realize she entered the wrong apartment despite Jean having a red doormat. On the stand, Rivera testified the two exchanged explicit messages the day of the shooting, while Geiger worked a 13 and a half hour shift. Did she complain of being ill? No. Did she complain of having any kind of undue stress in her life? No. The defense maintains Geiger was fatigued because she worked 40 hours in four days.

What you will see and hear and experience is the perfect storm of innocent circumstances. Also on the stand, Jean's sister, Alyssa Findley, who told jurors she hasn't accepted her brother is gone and still calls his phone, hoping he answers. I miss him every single day. Being in Dallas is hard that he's not here. You are hearing KXAS anchor Meredith Lan and testimony from the courtroom, which you can watch live at CrimeOnline.com. As much as I was giving him a hard time, I do agree with Joseph Scott Morgan on one issue. I do not believe that Amber Geiger went to this apartment with the intent of executing someone.

I don't think that's what happened. If you look at the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant, to me, Dr. Bethany Marshall, she was sexting. She had had a long night. She went to this apartment. She opened the door and opened fire. The fact that she thought she was in her apartment is, in my mind, not going to be a defense. But I do agree with Joe Scott Morgan that this was not a planned execution, that she

was going to use the defense, that she got the wrong apartment. I don't think it was planned out that way. But premeditation can be formed in the twinkling of an eye from the time it takes you to raise the gun and pull the trigger. So still, a long shift, I'm tired, is not a defense, but I don't think that was a long, thought-out plan, Dr. Bethany. Well, I'm glad you went to me on this because I devote a lot of thought to this case, and it's analogous to me with situations I have in my private clinical practice in Beverly Hills. I treat a lot of pro athletes. And what happens, especially with the football players, they go out on the field, they get a lot of injuries, they start to substance

abuse, they have concussive injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, that makes them impulsive, even more aggressive. They think that they're God because they get their way everywhere they go out. They sort of throw their weight around. They come home, they get in a minor altercation with the wife, and all of a sudden they beat the wife up. And it's not as simple ever that they went home wanting to abuse the wife. It's a confluence of factors. And I wish I knew more about the mindset of the police woman. Joe Scott Morgan spoke beautifully to it. But there are factors for which we cannot assess. We do not know, was she impulsive? Was she self-centered? Was she paranoid? Did she have a trauma history? Was she

always afraid of losing her life? Did she use sexuality to keep herself in a state of heightened excitement in order to avoid frightening feelings that she had at work? So certainly no, it's not as simple as she went to his apartment to execute him. In a sense, it was a perfect storm. We just don't know what elements at this point comprise the storm. Now, Joseph Scott Morgan has pointed out accurately that she had a very long shift and was tired. He also says she just wanted to go home and go to sleep. But listen to this. I think it's very important for you folks to know that after a 13

and a half hour shift, Amber Geiger did not have plans just to go home and crash or take it easy. There were plans that particular evening, plans that were hatched about 5.55 between her and Martin Rivera. He writes to her, when can I come over? She replies, you can come over after this. Mm-hmm, referring to an image that had come across earlier. She indicates to him, super horny today, too. He replies, me too. Then there were a bunch of other conversations going on throughout the night.

He was checking in with her every hour and a half, and then she lets him know at 9 29 06 she sends him a text letting him know that she's barely walking out of the police station followed by this indication do you want to want to touch all right by implication clearly we believe that there was some event some date whatever you want to call it planned for after this call was over okay joe scott morgan go on preach to me no it just seems mighty thin what she's supposed to go home and be like robocop and just like plug into her battery you know and so she can be recharged for the use of the city the next day is that what happens she's no longer a human being that you know this

is mighty thin this is mighty thin for the prosecution, I got to tell you. Joe Scott, you know what? The reality is your theory that she wanted to go home and crash is incorrect. So, you know what? You need to accept that and quit beating the dead horse. And you can quit projecting about how tired you were when you were a cop. Because there are several people on the panel right now that have been in law enforcement, me for one and Shelnut for two. And we worked really long hours going to bed at 12, getting up at three to go roust up witnesses. We've been there

and we didn't shoot anybody dead. And as a matter of fact, she missed several during her sexting and her prep for a night of sex with her partner, she missed many, many signs this was not her apartment, such as the fourth floor of the garage where she parked after her shift was open air, unlike her parking area, which was on the third floor. She didn't notice a skylight, a neighbor's decorative planter, Jean's red doormat. The hallways were different. Once she opened the door to her neighbor's apartment, she didn't notice other differences like a missing table, a counter covered in clutter. A distinct aroma that would not have been in her apartment. Just so many issues. So being on autopilot, James Shelnut, 27 years on the force, being on autopilot is not an excuse.

That's just like, and look, I'm on the cop's side in almost every situation. But when a cop out on the street says, oh, I shot him dead because I thought he had a gun and he doesn't have a gun, that's not going to fly. That is not going to work and it shouldn't. So her saying, I thought this was my apartment. I don't care how long she'd been working. That's not a defense, James. No, I agree. As a police officer, you work long shifts all the time. It's not uncommon to work a double shift, which is actually longer than what she had been working, you know, double shifts, 16 hours. This is something that happens all the time. You know, if I'm a detective taking a look at this, the one factor that I can't get over after I look at all the evidence in this case is that she's standing on another man's red doormat while she's sexting for a hookup instead of paying attention to where she's at.

That's a problem. Well, we'll see if a jury agrees. The trial happening right now. And when I hear Botham Jane's mom break down crying, I can hardly stand it. Because you all know by now, if this were to happen to my twins, oh, hell would have no fury like mommy. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.