For the first time, jurors today heard George Zimmerman’s narrative of the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. While it is still unclear if Zimmerman will testify before the court, the prosecution presented two pieces of evidence documenting the night in Zimmerman’s own words – a recording of an interview between Zimmerman and an investigator, Doris Singleton, and a video re-enactment Zimmerman filmed with Christopher Serino, the Sanford Police Department’s lead investigator on the case. Both Singleton and Serino testified earlier today.
In the interview, Zimmerman said that Martin circled around his car, before disappearing into the neighborhood. After Zimmerman lost sight of Martin, Zimmerman walked out of his car and began looking for a street sign to provide the police dispatch with an address. After hanging up with the police, he began walking back to his car, at which point Martin jumped out from behind him, saying: “What the f*** is your problem, homie?”
Zimmerman said he tried to call 911, but before he could reach for his phone Martin had punched him in the face and jumped on top of him.
“He was wailing on my head,” said Zimmerman, “then I started yelling for help. When I started yelling for help he grabbed my head and started hitting it into the sidewalk.”
Zimmerman then said that Martin “mounted on top of me,” corroborating the testimony of John Good, an eyewitness who said last week he saw Martin straddling Zimmerman in a “pound and ground” position.
Zimmerman said that he began yelling for help and tried to slide into the grass to escape Martin’s grasp. Zimmerman told the police that Martin told him, “You’re going to die tonight.” Martin then tried to reach for Zimmerman’s firearm, which became visible in the fight, at which point Zimmerman grabbed the gun and shot Martin.
Further detail was provided in the re-enactment video, in which Zimmerman walked Serino through the night’s events, showing the investigator where Martin jumped out and attacked him.