Prosecutors released new evidence in the case of George Zimmerman, charged with second degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Much of what was released Thursday was known to the public — calls Zimmerman made to police to report suspicious activity inside the gated community where he shot Martin February 26th, including his call to the Sanford Police Department’s non-emergency line on the night of shooting; radio dispatch calls between police on the night of the shooting, and transcripts of witness interviews.
But among the new items in the release are video of Shellie Zimmerman at an ATM; Zimmerman’s wife is charged with perjury for lying to the court about the couple’s finances ahead of his April 20 bond hearing — Zimmerman was given a new, $1 million bond this month, and released; along with grim evidence related to Martin’s death; grainy photocopies of lab photos showing the crew-neck shirt and the grey hoodie the 17-year-old was wearing on the night of his death, both punctured by a single bullet hole, and lab pictures of the bullet itself.
Also included in the release:
– Reports of FBI interviews with witnesses as part of a hate crimes inquiry into the case.
– Police reports and a pair of mugshots related to Sanford police investigations of prior burglaries at the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhomes.
– A schematic map of the crime scene, indicating where Martin’s body, his cell phone, a gun cartridge, flashlight and other items were found on the night of the shooting.
– A report from an officer who observed Zimmerman at the crime scene and his nose did not appear to be broken.
– A March 27 report from the State Attorney’s office, indicating that one witness’ son, who on the night of the shooting heard cries for help and then a gunshot while he was walking the family dog, may have felt “persuaded” and “obligated” by Sanford police to say the person he heard yelling for help was wearing a “red hoodie.” While Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie that night, George Zimmerman was wearing a red jacket. Police, including the lead investigator, believed Zimmerman was the person witnesses heard yelling for help before the gunshots were heard.
– Transcripts of state attorney investigators’ interview with Trayvon Martin’s cousin, who is also from Miami, and said he and Martin were very close and spent “almost every weekend together,” including on the Saturday before his death. The cousin, who is not identified in the redacted transcript, tells investigators he listened to all of the 911 calls, and that “without a doubt,” on “a stack of Bibles,” the voice calling for help on the night of the shooting was Trayvon’s.
– A report of a witness to the struggle preceding the shooting, who told investigators she heard “normal” calls for help and “horrifying calls for help,” along with “agonizing yelps.” The witness also tells investigators the person on top during the scuffle appeared to be “wrestling” and not “arms swinging as if striking blows.” The witness describes the movement of the combatants as “side to side” on top of each other. Zimmerman’s defense has stated that Martin repeatedly struck Zimmerman and was bashing his head on a concrete walkway before Zimmerman drew his gun and shot the teen.
– The witness also tells investigators she could not determine the race of the person on top “until later, after the shooting,” and that after she heard the gunshot, the person who got up “was the bigger one,” and that the person “walked toward her window.” She described that person as a “Hispanic man with a short sleeve shirt one.” She added that the person “took a weird stance,” which she demonstrated by partially bending over and lacing her bladed [sic] hand on top of her forehead (as if peering in the distance.)
– The report adds that the woman tells investigators she was upset over the death after giving her statement to Investigator Chris Serino, the lead homicide investigator in the shooting. According to the report, “he attempted to comfort her by telling her that the person who was calling for help was alive. Serino told her that the alive person was ‘really beaten up and scratched.'” The report includes a diagram the woman apparently drew for investigators, showing the crime scene.
– A witness telling investigators they “never heard anything that sounded like a fist hitting another, nor did he ever hear any sounds of someone’s head or other part of the body hitting the concrete hard.”
– A witness who describes the calls for help as being not muffled. Zimmerman has claimed Martin covered his mouth with his hands during the struggle.
– A report of an investigator’s interview with Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, in which she identifies the voice calling for help on a 911 tape as belonging to her son. Zimmerman’s father has insisted it was his son calling for help on the tape. And the report includes Fulton describing Martin’s tattoos and his nicknames on Facebook.
Prosecutors also released a lengthy interview a private investigator, John Wright, conducted with the female witness who said she saw the Hispanic man “get up” after the shooting. Wright tells theGrio he was contacted by lawyers for Martin’s family after the woman contacted them on the same day Sanford police released a series of 911 calls from witnesses. Wright says the woman had information she wanted known about the killing.
“She felt like she had other information and she said the police didn’t do what they should have done,” Wright said. “That was her thing.”
The woman, who later appeared in silhouette in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, had initially been reluctant to talk to the media. So Wright said the lawyers suggested she talk to him. He took a 13-page statement from her, which prosecutors released Thursday. He never talked to her again.
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