Amber Nicole Sorenson v. the State of Texas, 13-19-00623-CR

Amber Nicole Sorenson shot Jarrett Parker in the chest on February 7, 2017; she was indicted for murder, two counts of aggravated assault (including against a dating partner), and manslaughter.
The State introduced multiple statements by Sorenson (911 call, on-scene video, multiple police interviews, grand jury testimony) in which she said Parker hit her, had a gun, she grabbed it and intended to shoot a window but shot him instead.
Medical testimony: Parker died from a gunshot to the chest that caused paralysis and likely killed him within minutes; the entry trajectory suggested a mid-angled shot (not close-range).
Crime-scene and forensic evidence (blood pattern, bullet trajectory, shell casing angle, feet under the bed, paint on Parker’s hands but not the gun) and Ranger Pilkington’s spatial analysis cast doubt on Sorenson’s version that Parker was standing and threatening her when shot.
Witnesses and investigators noted inconsistencies in Sorenson’s accounts, minimal observable injuries inconsistent with the violent assault she described, and a BAC of .164; the jury acquitted her of murder but convicted her of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced her to 25 years.
Sorenson appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s implicit rejection of her self-defense claim; the court affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s rejection of Sorenson’s claim of justification by self‑defense (deadly force).	Sorenson: Parker assaulted her, had a gun to her head, she reasonably believed deadly force was immediately necessary and shot to protect herself (claimed she intended to shoot a window).	State: Sorenson’s accounts were inconsistent and contradicted by objective evidence—limited injuries, forensic trajectory/blood‑pattern and paint evidence—so a rational jury could disbelieve self‑defense.	Affirmed: The evidence was sufficient for the jury to reject self‑defense and convict Sorenson of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Braughton v. State, 569 S.W.3d 592 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (allocation of production and persuasion burdens on self‑defense and deference to jury credibility findings)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency of the evidence review)
Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (reviewing sufficiency by viewing evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict)
Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (deference to the factfinder on weight and credibility of evidence)
Saxton v. State, 804 S.W.2d 910 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (jury verdict of guilty is an implicit finding rejecting self‑defense)
Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (defendant’s burden to produce some evidence supporting a defensive issue)