RIP Marquis Jefferson — Atatiana Jefferson's Dad Dies One Month After She Was Fatally Shot By Police
Rest in power, Marquis Jefferson.
Instagram Just one month after his daughter was fatally shot in her own home by the Texas police, Marquis Jefferson also lost his life. This only compounds the tragedy that this family has experienced in such a short time. How did Marquis Jefferson die?
The tragedy of Atatiana Jefferson is, unfortunately, a sign of the times for today. According to The New York Times, a neighbor of hers in Fort Worth, Texas, reported that there were "two doors ajar" in her home, and called the police to do a wellness check. A white police officer responded to the call, fired a shot into Atatiana's home, and killed her instantly. It turned out Atatiana was merely playing a video game with her nephew. Atatiana's death sparked outrage, for obvious reasons.
But here's what we know about Marquis Jefferson's death, which happened just one month after her own.
1. The officer who killed Marquis Jefferson's daughter has been arrested on a murder charge.
According to The Houston Star Telegram, after Officer Aaron Dean shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson, he resigned from the Fort Worth Police Department and was subsequently arrested on a murder charge. Speaking to the outlet through his family's attorney, Marquis Jefferson said that "the family of Atatiana Jefferson is relieved that Aaron Dean has been arrested and charged with murder. We need to see this through to a vigorous prosecution and appropriate sentencing. The City of Fort Worth has much work to do to reform a brutal culture of policing.”
2. His family said that Marquis Jefferson "died of a broken heart."
How terrible. According to The New York TImes, Marquis Jefferson's family said that Atatiana's father "died of a broken heart." They said that he was taking his daughter's death terribly, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to handle much more of it.
3. Broken heart syndrome is very real.
Yes, according to the Mayo Clinic, you can die of a broken heart. The symptoms of broken heart syndrome — which include chest pain and light-headedness — are often brought on after a traumatic event, such as the death of a loved one. They also say that continued stress on the heart, through broken heart syndrome, can lead to a fatal heart attack — and that's exactly what Marquis Jefferson suffered.
4. Marquis Jefferson isn't the only one to "die from a broken heart" in recent times.
The deaths of countless African-Americans at the hands of police has led to a string of people dying of "broken hearts" in its wake. According to The New York Times, Erica Garner — the daughter of Eric Garner, whose death by an illegal chokehold sparked the movement against police brutality across the nation — died of a heart attack at age 27. Venida Browder, the mother of Kaleif Browder, also died from the same condition, according to the outlet.
5. His death comes one month after his daughter's.
Marquis Jefferson's death comes almost one month to the day after his daughter's death, which makes his death that much more heartbreaking.
6. The official cause of death was a heart attack.
Marquis Jefferson officially died of a heart attack, as per The New York Times. He was 58 years old. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time, and we hope that they can find some measure of justice.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.