Shooting of Trayvon Martin - Page 223

On July 02 2013 04:40 Thieving Magpie wrote:
Armed man follows teen towards teen's home and shoots him.

I have found no proof that this is false. Zimmerman was armed, he followed Trayvon, and ended up near close to Trayvon's home...
Until that set of events is refuted all other events prior are meaningless.

On July 02 2013 05:07 dAPhREAk wrote:
zimmerman hears 911 calls of someone screaming and says "that doesnt even sound like me."

interesting.

On July 02 2013 04:43 Defacer wrote:
Just out of curiosity — if someone drew a gun on you, and you lunged and mounted and pummelled them, couldn't you claim that they posed an imminent threat and you were acting in self-defense?

If Trayvon were alive to testify, would knowing whether or not Zimmerman had a gun at the beginning at the altercation matter?

On July 02 2013 05:06 Kaitlin wrote:


If I told you that the police were unable to access Trayvon's phone, and when they contacted Trayvon's father, that he refused to give them the passcode to access information, would you still feel they are to blame for not executing a "quick five-minute examination of Trayvon's phone" that would have "led the investigators right to" Jeantel ?

On July 02 2013 05:09 xDaunt wrote:

That supports the testimony of the expert from this morning. People who are screaming don't sound like themselves. Keep in mind that Zimmerman still said that he was the one screaming.

On July 02 2013 05:09 xDaunt wrote:

That supports the testimony of the expert from this morning. People who are screaming don't sound like themselves. Keep in mind that Zimmerman still said that he was the one screaming.

On July 02 2013 05:12 FatChicksUnited wrote:

Okay, maybe not. I didn't know this bit. So what you're telling me is that Trayvon's parents didn't co-operate with his murder investigation, and they were surprised that nobody appeared to take it seriously and the suspect was initially let go?

On July 02 2013 05:14 dAPhREAk wrote:

every time i listen to my voice mail i think "who is this guy?" still, instead of saying "that doesnt sound like me," he should have noted that he was the one screaming so thats probably him.

honestly, this doesnt change my opinion that he was screaming. i just found his statement interesting. its going to be the lynchpin of the prosecutor's arguments down the road: "even zimmerman says the voice screaming for help isnt him."

On July 02 2013 05:14 dAPhREAk wrote:

every time i listen to my voice mail i think "who is this guy?" still, instead of saying "that doesnt sound like me," he should have noted that he was the one screaming so thats probably him.

honestly, this doesnt change my opinion that he was screaming. i just found his statement interesting. its going to be the lynchpin of the prosecutor's arguments down the road: "even zimmerman says the voice screaming for help isnt him."

On July 02 2013 05:16 Kaitlin wrote:


Well, it's something I've read on a website refuting many myths about this case. Many of the other examples cited on the site I've known to be correct, however, I hadn't been previously aware of the circumstances surrounding the phone, beyond that it's odd for the police not to check the phone for such a period of time. This explanation seemed to explain why and the explanations offered were based generally on evidence, etc, not completely made up.

On July 02 2013 05:14 dAPhREAk wrote:

every time i listen to my voice mail i think "who is this guy?" still, instead of saying "that doesnt sound like me," he should have noted that he was the one screaming so thats probably him.

honestly, this doesnt change my opinion that he was screaming. i just found his statement interesting. its going to be the lynchpin of the prosecutor's arguments down the road: "even zimmerman says the voice screaming for help isnt him."

On July 02 2013 05:19 Plansix wrote:

It is also possible that no one knew the password and the they would have needed to go through some extreme effort to unlock the phone. Though I have always found it odd that it took so long for Jeantel to come forward or be discovered. But then again, the parents may not have been aware of her.

On July 02 2013 05:18 Kaitlin wrote:


and I think every juror will disregard that argument as they probably experience the same thing as you and I have with our recorded voices. They know GZ has said he was screaming, and they likely experience the same dissonance between how they think they sound and how they sound when hearing a recording of their voice. Won't likely be effective, and probably will actually be weak if used by the prosecutor to make that point. General personal experience tells them otherwise.

On July 02 2013 05:21 GreenHorizons wrote:
What's more interesting to me is how it doesn't match Zimmerman's accounts of the fight yet again. The screams are not muffled like someone who is having their face covered in an attempt to smother them as GZ indicated moments before took place just prior to the shooting.

On July 02 2013 05:22 Kaitlin wrote:


Well, she didn't come forward. The parents initiated contact with her, and that was to talk to their attorney. This is evidence in the trial. So, Trayvon's parents, whether they knew the password to the phone, withheld the girlfriend from them until after Crump had talked to her.

On July 02 2013 05:21 GreenHorizons wrote:



What's more interesting to me is how it doesn't match Zimmerman's accounts of the fight yet again.

The screams are not muffled like someone who is having their face covered in an attempt to smother them as GZ indicated moments before (in the interrogation room) took place just prior to the shooting.

The first police officer to interview George Zimmerman after he shot Trayvon Martin testified Monday that Zimmerman appeared "shocked" to learn the teen was dead.

Officer Doris Singleton told the jury in Zimmerman's murder trial that the defendant didn't appear angry or spiteful to Trayvon, 17, who Zimmerman shot during an altercation in a gated community here Feb. 26, 2012.

Singleton's testimony came as a videotape of her interrogation of the defendant was played to jurors, some of whom took copious notes.

The videotape shows Singleton asking Zimmerman to explain what happened that night. Zimmerman says his neighborhood was dealing with an increase in burglaries, and he started a neighborhood watch program. He says he had called the police on suspicious people, but often they weren't stopped.

"These guys always get away," Zimmerman says on the videotape.

Zimmerman says the tragedy began when, while in his car, he saw Trayvon walking in the neighborhood in the rain. Zimmerman says he called police and pulled over before Trayvon started circling his car, then walked off.

Zimmerman says he got out of his car to find a street sign and to see where Trayvon was going. Zimmerman says he was walking back to his car when Trayvon, probably hiding in the bushes, came out and said, "You got a problem, homie?"

Trayvon then punched Zimmerman and was banging his head into the concrete, Zimmerman says. Within seconds, Trayvon's hand was moving down his body toward his gun, Zimmerman says. Fearing for his life, he says, he shot the teen.

In the interview, Zimmerman tells Singleton Trayvon said, "You got me," then "Owww" as Zimmerman held him down.

Singleton, following a prosecution request, read from a written statement Zimmerman gave to police. Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda pointed out to jurors that Zimmerman repeatedly refers to Trayvon as "the suspect" in the statement Zimmerman signed.

Singleton said she didn't ask Zimmerman to use that language and officers refer to suspected criminals as "the suspect." Singleton said Zimmerman referred to Trayvon as "the suspect" only in written statements and not in conversations with officers.

The issue is relevant because prosecutors may argue that Zimmerman was a "wannabe cop" who liked to use police language. State attorneys had to argue before Circuit Judge Debra to keep the option of using the term "wannabe cop" at trial.

Also Monday, an FBI voice analysis expert testified that it could not be determined who was crying for help in the background of the 911 call that recorded the fatal gunshot.

Voice analysis expert Hirotaka Nakasone, called to testify by the state, helped defense attorneys at a pretrial hearing discredit state voice experts who said Trayvon was screaming in the background of the call. Those state experts were barred from testifying at trial.

"That type of sample is not fit for voice comparison," Nakasone said Monday of the 911 call in question at the trial.

The recording was too short and the cellphone recording the screams and gunshot was too far away, Nakasone determined. As a result, the 911 call didn't meet the standards needed to be evaluated.

Nakasone testified that the best people to identify the 911 call in question would be people familiar with the voices of Trayvon and Zimmerman. Members of both men's families claim their loved ones are screaming before the gunshot.

The jury, as a result, may hear from the parents of Zimmerman and Trayvon and have to decide what to believe.

In the first week of testimony for the trial, the state called 22 witnesses to the stand to go over details of what they saw or heard that night. Several law enforcement officials and residents who lived nearby the shooting took the stand. This week, photos of Trayvon's body and Zimmerman's injuries will be further explained.

"It's going quicker than any of us thought," said Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's attorney, of the trial. "I'm happy with the pace."

Zimmerman, 29, is accused of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon, 17. Zimmerman, who has pleaded not guilty, has said he acted in self-defense after he was attacked.

The shooting and speculation that Zimmerman — who is Hispanic — profiled, followed and murdered Trayvon sparked racial controversy and protests across the nation last year. Zimmerman, who could face life in prison if convicted, has maintained that race did not factor into his actions.

Last week, several witnesses told conflicting stories of what they believed happened the night of the shooting.

Rachel Jeantel, 19, told jurors that she was on the phone with Trayvon right before he was killed and that Zimmerman stared at, then followed Trayvon, who tried several times to run away. She was one of three state witnesses who painted Zimmerman as the aggressor.

"A man was watching him," Jeantel said. "He (Trayvon) told me he was going to try to lose him."

Trayvon was out of breath when he told Jeantel he had lost the man. Shortly after, Trayvon told Jeantel the man was back and behind him, she said.

Jonathan Good, a neighbor of Zimmerman's, testified that it appeared Trayvon was striking Zimmerman while straddling him moments before the teen was shot.

Good, who lives in the same townhouse complex as Zimmerman, said he heard a noise behind his home and saw what looked like a fight. When he stepped outside, he said, he yelled, "What's going on? Cut it out."

"It looked like there were strikes being thrown, punches being thrown," Good said.

The potential witness list for Zimmerman's trial includes about 200 people, including family members of both Zimmerman and Trayvon.

"I'm very encouraged by the witnesses who have come forth," said Daryl Parks, an attorney for Trayvon's parents. "We believe this jury is paying attention. We're going to get a fair verdict."

On July 02 2013 05:23 Plansix wrote:


Having been on a jury where a lot of people disagreed, I could see it both ways. If you get a couple people in there that believe that GZ should have recognized his own voice, they could start to turn the entire jury. The Defense would be well served to get some sort of evidence or expert testimony proving that voice are significantly distorted when screaming. Anything to put some doubt in the DA claim.

On July 02 2013 05:25 Kaitlin wrote:


Hmm. So unmuffled screams are recorded via 911 calls from neighbors not in the immediate vacinity and muffled attempts to scream are not recorded. Shocking. Screaming sounds picked up on 911 tapes are not constant streams of sound, btw.