Numerous pieces of evidence related to the killing of Florida teen Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman were released today. Among the selection: An autopsy report for Martin that shows he died of a single gunshot wound to the chest and that there were traces of marijuana in his system. Reuters reports, “The report showed traces of THC – an ingredient found in marijuana – in Martin’s blood plus a positive test for cannabinoids in his urine.”
Photographs showing cuts on Zimmerman’s face and his bloody nose as well as witness statements were also made public. The witnesses seem to conflict with each other: One says, “I opened door and saw a guy on the ground getting hit by another man on top of him in a … position hitting a guy in a red sweatshirt or red top”—Zimmerman was wearing a red shirt—”I said I was calling the cops and ran upstairs then heard a gun shot. … The guy on top who was sitting the guy … layed out on the grass as he had been shot,” while another witness said, “First we heard like a howling sound. And then the second time we heard a more-clearly ‘help’ sound. know after seeing the TV of what’s happening — comparing their pictures — I think Zimmerman is definitely on top because of his size.”
On February 26, the unarmed 17-year-old, who was serving out a 10-day school suspension for marijuana possession, was walking to his father’s girlfriend’s home in a Sanford, Fla. gated community after buying iced tea and Skittles from a convenience store. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, felt Martin was “suspicious” and followed him. Zimmerman has claimed that the pair got into a fight where Martin punched him in the face, knocked him down and bashed his head into the sidewalk, forcing him to shoot Martin. (The Miami Herald has a good interactive map showing Martin’s and Zimmerman’s movements, with 911 calls from Zimmerman and a witness.)
The just-released police report says, “The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement.” The cops also write that Zimmerman had been crying for help because he was being beaten by Martin before firing, “Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and the back of his head.” ABC News reports:
The police report states that Martin Martin’s father told an investigator after listening to 911 tapes that captured a man’s voice frantically callling for help that it was not his son calling for help.
But Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, claims that is not true. The Martin family lawyer Ben Crump told ABC News that Tracy Martin initially listened to a distorted version of the 911 calls and said he could not identify the voice. But when he listened to a second tape that had been “cleaned,” “He immediately broke down in tears because he knew it was his son calling for help,” Crump said.
Zimmerman, who has claimed he fired at the teen out of self-defense, is now in hiding. His family has blamed Crump, who says, “If George Zimmerman would have just stood down, there would have been no reason for him to stand his ground. George Zimmerman was a member of the neighborhood watch, not neighborhood cop, not neighborhood pursue, not neighborhood armed vigilante.”
Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara says that over $15,000 has been raised in his client’s new defense fund since it was started two weeks ago. The previous website raising money for Zimmerman, which grew to $204,000, was not professionally administered, so O’Mara asked that it be discontinued. The lawyer revealed that so far, “About $30,000 from the initial fund was spent ‘making Mr. Zimmerman’s complicated transition from a private life in Sanford, FL to his new life in hiding as the defendant in a high-profile case. Approximately $20,000 has been kept liquid to fund Mr. Zimmerman’s living expenses for the next several months. None of the funds have yet been allocated for legal fees or defense costs; however it is expected for some of the funds to be used for this purpose in the near future.'”
Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on April 11. The Department of Justice is still weighing whether to charge Zimmerman with a hate crime. One of the police reports released “says that on four occasions between last August and Feb. 2, Zimmerman called police to report young black males acting suspiciously in his neighborhood. He never called about anyone of another race.”
