Shooting of Trayvon Martin - Page 160

The star prosecution witness in the murder trial of George Zimmerman took the stand to recount her cell phone conversation with Trayvon Martin in the moments before he was shot to death, saying the Florida teen said he was being followed by “a creepy-ass cracker” just before the fatal confrontation.

Rachel Jeantel, 19, told jurors she warned Martin to walk away, saying "it might be a rapist." Martin, she said, told her he was going to try to "lose him" and get to his father's fiance's home in the gated community in Sanford. But Jeantel said as she remained on the phone with Martin, the man who was allegedly following him reappeared, prompting the February, 2012 confrontation, of which she heard the initial moments.

"He said, "Why are you following me for?", and then I heard a hard breathed man come and say "What are you doing around here?".

Jeantel testified she heard Martin's phone headset fall and then Martin say "Get off!" The phone went dead shortly after and Jeantel says she didn’t speak to Martin again.

Previously, Jeantel came under fire for lying about not going to Martin’s funeral because she said she was in the hospital, which was untrue. In her testimony Wednesday, she said she didn’t go because she felt guilty.

There were a few testy exchanges between defense attorney Don West and Jeantel -- at one point, Jeantel asked West if he was listening.

Jeantel also said, "I'm leaving today," to which West responded, "Are you refusing to come back tomorrow?"

Judge Debra Nelson had to calm Jeantel down.

Shortly after, Nelson dismissed court for the day. Jeantel is scheduled to return at 9 a.m. Thursday.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: ZIMMERMAN TRIAL

Earlier Wednesday, jurors heard audio recordings of five non-emergency calls Zimmerman made to police in the months before the 2012 confrontation with Martin. Zimmerman, 29, who is charged with second-degree murder, called the police close to 50 times over an eight-year period to report such things as slow vehicles, loitering strangers in the neighborhood and open garages.

Prosecutors say the dozens of calls show Zimmerman’s overzealousness in pursuing people he considered to be suspicious -- and his state of mind on the night he shot unarmed teen.

The recordings show Zimmerman's "ill will," prosecutor Richard Mantei said.

"It shows the context in which the defendant sought out his encounter with Trayvon Martin," he said.

In addition to Jeantel and the recordings, jurors heard from several other witnesses for the prosecution Wednesday, including two of Zimmerman’s neighbors.

Neighbor Jane Surdyka says she was in a second-floor bedroom of her townhome when she heard scuffling outside on the rainy night.

Surdyka says she then heard what she believes were a boy's cries for help.

"I truly believe the second yell for help was a yelp," said Surdyka, who later dabbed away tears as prosecutors played her 911 call. "It was excruciating. I really felt it was a boy's voice."

Surdyka told the court that before the shooting, she heard an aggressive voice and a softer voice exchanging words for several minutes.

"It was someone being very aggressive and angry at someone," she said.

During the struggle, she said, she saw a person in dark clothes on top of the other person. Martin was wearing a dark sweatshirt and Zimmerman wore red clothing. Surdyka said she saw the person who was on top get off of the other person after the shot was fired.

During cross-examination, West tried to show there was a lapse in what Surdyka saw. Defense attorneys contend Martin was on top of Zimmerman during the struggle, but after the neighborhood watch volunteer fired a shot, Zimmerman got on top of Martin.

West also challenged Surdyka about her belief that the cry for help was a boy's voice, saying she was making an assumption.

Another neighbor, Jeannee Manalo, testified after Surdyka that she believed Zimmerman was on top of Martin. Manalo also described hearing howling, but she couldn't tell who it was coming from.

Under cross-examination, defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked why she had never mentioned her belief that Zimmerman was on top in previous police interviews. He made her read back a transcript of an interview in which she described only seeing shadows.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming he shot the teen in self-defense. Zimmerman could face life in prison if convicted.

On June 27 2013 07:20 crms wrote:
These articles make it sound like the case is going reasonably well for the prosecution but from what I watched and read on TL it would seem the prosecution already lost.

Is TL being over zealous in it's scrutiny of the prosecutions case? Or, is the media just trying to make the case sound relevant still?

On June 27 2013 07:20 crms wrote:
These articles make it sound like the case is going reasonably well for the prosecution but from what I watched and read on TL it would seem the prosecution already lost.

Is TL being over zealous in it's scrutiny of the prosecutions case? Or, is the media just trying to make the case sound relevant still?

On June 27 2013 07:20 crms wrote:
These articles make it sound like the case is going reasonably well for the prosecution but from what I watched and read on TL it would seem the prosecution already lost.

Is TL being over zealous in it's scrutiny of the prosecutions case? Or, is the media just trying to make the case sound relevant still?

On June 27 2013 07:26 Tewks44 wrote:


well a lot of the reason the prosecution's case hit so many snags today were in part due to negative stereotypes about uneducated black people being demonstrated, so I'd imagine the media would want to play that aspect of the trial down. And also, yes the media wants to make the trial still seem relevant.

On June 27 2013 07:25 dAPhREAk wrote:

i would lean towards the former.

On June 27 2013 07:34 Kaitlin wrote:


Seriously ? You think these witnesses are doing a good job for the prosecution ? Their testimony is terrible. One testified she heard 3 shots, when we know there was only one. One testified he was shot in the back. One testified that the bigger one was on top, not based on what she saw, but based on pictures of Trayvon as an 11 or 12 year old. None of that even includes Rachel, who we can't even be sure will return to court tomorrow.

On June 27 2013 08:05 xDaunt wrote:
The State got in enough evidence to secure a conviction today. The issue is how much of it will the jury believe. I suspect that they probably will throw out most of it, but that is not guaranteed.

On June 27 2013 08:12 Thieving Magpie wrote:


The state technically has presented:

1.) Directional movement suggesting a chase occurred.
2.) Witness testimony that Trayvon was attacked first.
3.) No blood on the ground, refuting Zimmerman's testimony of being brutalized.
4.) Inconsistency in Zimmerman's recounting of events as his description of what he did to Trayvon's body was proven false.

Am I missing anything?

On June 27 2013 09:31 dAPhREAk wrote:

who testified trayvon was attacked first?

On June 27 2013 09:31 dAPhREAk wrote:

who testified trayvon was attacked first?

On June 27 2013 09:39 jeremycafe wrote:


The girlfriend claimed Trayvon was yelling get off of me when still on the phone. She tried to imply it.

On June 27 2013 09:39 xDaunt wrote:

That was the gist of Jiantel's testimony when she was recounting what she heard on the phone.

On June 27 2013 09:42 dAPhREAk wrote:


oh, lol, that.

On June 27 2013 09:39 xDaunt wrote:

That was the gist of Jiantel's testimony when she was recounting what she heard on the phone.

On June 27 2013 07:18 dAPhREAk wrote:
Defendants' timeline:

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