After Atatiana Jefferson was killed by a Fort Worth police officer inside her home in 2019, CBS News Texas sat down with Marquis Jefferson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was not Atatiana’s biological father, but he said he raised her, and his name was listed on her birth certificate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"erin.png](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/erin.png#.png\")
<\/p>\n
“I mean it’s senseless,” he said in 2019. \u00a0“My daughter was 28. My daughter was 28 years old. Had her whole life in front of her.”<\/p>\n
Jefferson died just weeks later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It literally broke his heart,” his widow, Noella Jefferson, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Court records show that before Marquis died, he went to a Dallas County court to try to establish his rights as Atatiana’s father. That case was filed under the name Atatiana Jefferson.<\/p>\n
Then, in 2020, court records show another probate case was opened in Tarrant County, and Atatiana’s last name was listed as Carr.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marquis’ family says the case was filed by Atatiana’s biological father, Jerome Eschor. They’re questioning why the Tarrant County filing referenced a different Dallas County case number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What they did, which is totally illegal, they tried to circumvent the court by not going back into Dallas into the Atatiana Jefferson probate,” family spokesperson Dr. Bruce Carter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month, the City of Fort Worth unanimously approved an $11.25 million settlement with the Estate of Atatiana Jefferson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marquis’ family argues that Atatiana’s biological father was not involved in her life, so his family should not get a share of the settlement.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“Whatever the motive is, it is not right to do,” Jefferson said. “So I am standing for what is right. What should be recognized as improper behavior.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eschor’s attorney, Tanika J. Solomon, disputes the claim that he was absent from Atatiana’s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a statement to CBS News Texas, she says, “More than one Court has adjudged that Jefferson was not entitled to any claim to the legacy or loss of Atatiana (ne Carr).”<\/p>\n
The City of Fort Worth says the probate court will ultimately decide who is entitled to the estate and says no money has been paid out yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n