Shellie ZimmermanA week after he was re-incarcerated, George Zimmerman’s wife was arrested and charged with one count of perjury, for lying about how much money the couple had. Shellie Zimmerman had testified at her husband’s bond hearing about how the couple was basically indigent, but in reality they had over $100,000 from money raised online.
George Zimmerman was arrested for second-degree murder 44 days after shooting unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. On February 26, Martin was walking home from a convenience store and Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was felt Martin (wearing a hoodie—it was raining) 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. Sanford police decided not to arrest Zimmerman, believing his claim of self-defense. The long wait for an arrest prompted much national debate and even the President weighed in.
Shellie Zimmerman claimed under oath that they had no money, what with George Zimmerman out of work and Shellie Zimmerman’s work as a nursing student, and a judge set bond for George Zimmerman at $150,000. However, prosecutors revealed that the couple discussed the money earned via Paypal while he was in jail. Now Shellie Zimmerman is being held on $1,000 bond.
George Zimmerman’s defense has acknowledge that he lied about his finances, “The audio recordings of Mr. Zimmerman’s phone conversations while in jail make it clear that Mr. Zimmerman knew a significant sum had been raised by his original fundraising website. We feel the failure to disclose these funds was caused by fear, mistrust, and confusion.”
