I was in New York with my daughter at 12:13 a.m. on September 7th when she came to inform me that she had gotten a call and that somebody told her that Botham was shot, that he died,” she said.
“My life has not been the same,” she said. “It’s just been like a roller coaster.”
Wearing red — her son’s favorite color — Allison Jean testified hours after a Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder. .
Jean talked about how Botham — the middle child — was “the glue” that brought her three children together. She smiled as she was shown photo of her son.
Allison Jean was mostly composed and spoke proudly of her son and how, at age 11, he ranked 23 out of about 4,000 students on the island of St. Lucia who took a selective high school entrance exam.
“We have a simple life, one of faith and that’s how we raised our children,” she said, adding that she has been married 30 years.
Allison Jean said she would have preferred that Botham remained at home for his studies, but he wanted to attend Harding University, a private Christian school in Arkansas where became president of the student council, sang in a choir and led community service missions with other students to the island. She described him as loving and giving and passionate about helping others.
Botham Jean’s mother testifies first at sentencing after Amber Guyger is found guilty of murder