Atatiana Jefferson’s Father Dies, Weeks After Daughter’s Death

The father of Atatiana Jefferson died Saturday, less than a month after his daughter was shot by a Fort Worth police officer inside her own home.

A spokesman for Marquis A. Jefferson told NBC 5 that Marquis Jefferson was not ill, and that he died from a heart attack.

"It's just sad because of grief. I don't know what else to say. Less than a month ago, he was working at El Centro, mentoring kids twice a week. He just couldn't get back from what happened with his daughter," spokesman Bruce Carter said.

Marquis Jefferson filed a temporary restraining order last month to stop his daughter's funeral because he said he would suffer immediate and irreparable harm if the court did not stop the activities of Atatiana Jefferson's wake, funeral and burial.

The funeral was rescheduled after the two sides came to a mutual agreement.

Fort Worth Officer Aaron Dean, who resigned days after Atatiana Jefferson's death, responded to her Fort Worth home early on a Saturday morning for a wellness check after a call from a neighbor about the family's door being open.

Atatiana was home playing video games with her nephew when they heard a noise in their back yard. She grabbed a handgun from her purse and walked toward a window. That's where Dean, who had entered her backyard investigating the call, ordered her to put her hands up before firing a single, fatal round.