George Zimmerman trial Lead police investigator testifies in Trayvon Martin shooting
The second week of testimony in Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial starts today.
Sanford, FL, USA
By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
5:25 p.m. EDT, July 1, 2013
SANFORD — Jurors in the George Zimmerman murder trial have heard testimony today from the two investigators who led the Sanford Police Department's investigation of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's shooting.
The witness currently testifying is Christopher Serino, the lead investigator on the case for the Sanford Police Department.
Serino is being cross examined by defense lawyer Mark O'Mara, who asked if the investigator had "fairly specific" evidence early in the case that Zimmerman acted in self-defense.
"I had information that would have supported that. Yes, sir," Serino said.
Earlier in Serino's testimony, jurors saw Zimmerman's video reenactment of the shooting, as prosecutors continued working to highlight inconsistencies in the Neighborhood Watch volunteer's self-defense account.
For example, in the video, Zimemrman says that after he called Sanford police to report Trayvon suspicious on the night of the shooting, a police dispatcher had asked him, "Can you get to somewhere where you can see him?" That is not reflected in the recording of the call.
Describing why he felt Trayvon was suspicious, Zimmerman says,"I just felt like something was off about him," mentioning the recent burglaries. "He kept staring at me."
He later describes the teen sucker punching him in the face, then bashing his head repeatedly against the concrete until he fired the fatal shot.
"I was walking back to my truck... he said, 'Yo, you got a problem?'" Zimmerman recounts in the video. When Zimmerman said no, he says, Trayvon replied, 'You got a problem now.'"
After a punch to the nose, "somehow he got on top of me... that's when I started screaming for help," Zimmerman says in the video.
Jurors also saw Zimmerman's videotaped interview with Serino and fellow investigator Doris Singleton. In it, Serino tells Zimmerman that his injuries are "not quite consistent" with his story. Trayvon was a good kid, Serino says,"a kid with folks that care."
The lead investigator tells Zimmerman to expect scrutiny because of"the profiling aspect of the whole thing." Singleton suggests that Trayvon may have been afraid of Zimmerman, because Zimmerman was following him: "Do you think he was scared?"
In another interview the jury heard, the investigators tell Zimmerman they're skeptical of his claim that he wasn't trying chasing Trayvon that night, trying to find the teen.
"Did you pursue this kid, did you want to catch him?" Serino asked.
"No," Zimmerman said.
On cross examination, Serino said Zimmerman waived his rights for questioning repeatedly and was completely compliant with interviews. Zimmerman didn't show anger toward Trayvon in those, Serino said.
Serino said on direct examination that he viewed Zimmerman's injuries as minor. But on cross, he testified that he thought the"fearing-for-his-life (emotional) trauma" was worse than the physical injuries.
Earlier, jurors heard from Singleton, who conducted the first interview of Zimmerman after the shooting.
During Singleton's testimony, jurors heard Zimmerman's first police interview. He says that there have been recent crimes in his neighborhood, and that he'd found Trayvon suspicious because he'd never seen him before, and the teen was walking "leisurely," despite the rain.
Zimmerman tells Singleton that he'd called police to report people suspicious before, but "these guys always get away... The people committing the burglaries."
Zimmerman says he got out of his car "to look for the street sign" in order to give responding police a better location, and also to find out "where (Trayvon) went."
Zimmerman goes on to describe his fight with Trayvon. He says he was walking back to his vehicle when the teenager attacked -- possibly jumping out of the bushes -- punched him to the ground and began bashing his head against the sidewalk.
When Zimmerman noticed neighbors nearby, "I said 'Help me. Help me. He's killing me,'" Zimmerman says in the interview. Trayvon, he says, said "you're gonna die tonight."
After the shot, Trayvon said "you got me," Zimmerman told Singleton.
On cross examination, Singleton testified Zimmerman didn't seem to have any ill-will, anger or hatred for the teen in her interactions with him. Those terms, which O'Mara used in his questioning, appear in the second-degree murder statute.
Jurors also saw Zimmerman's written statement, which Singleton read. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda noted that in the statement, Zimmerman repeatedly refers to Trayvon as a "suspect." Singleton said she never told him to use that term.
On cross examination, Singleton said she didn't think it was unusual for Zimmerman to refer to Trayvon as a suspect:"No, I don't think it's unusual."
In the written statement, Zimmerman again described the beating he says he took from Trayvon:"My head felt like it was going to explode... the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing."
He also writes that after the shot, he climbed on top of the teen and spread his arms. Officers who've testified at trial so far have said Trayvon's arms were under his body when they arrived.
Singleton testified that she wasn't aware of any "significant" inconsistencies in Zimmerman's statements.
Court started at 9 a.m. today, with the state calling Hirotaka Nakasone, a Federal Bureau of Investigation audio expert. He previously testified for the defense, helping the Zimmerman lawyers block from trial state audio experts who said they could identify a voice heard screaming for help in the background of a 911 call before Trayvon was shot.
Such scientific identification is impossible with the audio in this case, Nakasone testified earlier and again today.
He said he was able to isolate "a little less than 3 seconds" of screaming in the 911 audio. That's not enough for comparison, he said. He also said screams can't be compared to a normal speaking voice.
The audio in this case, he said, "is not fit for the purpose of voice comparison."
He testified that, with audio like the recording in this case, a person familiar with the speaker would be a better judge of who is screaming than someone who's never heard the voice before. That testimony seemed to preview upcoming testimony by one or both of Trayvon's parents, who say the screaming voice is their son's.
Last week, jurors heard from a variety of witnesses in the case, from Sanford police officers, including first responders who tried to save the teenager's life, to a crime scene technician, the physician assistant who treated Zimmerman the next day and several Zimmerman neighbors who described what they saw Feb. 26, 2012, the night of the shooting.
Among those who still haven't testified for the state, but could this week: The lead police investigator in the case, the medical examiner who autopsied Trayvon and the Miami Gardens teen's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton.
Jurors also haven't yet heard any of Zimmerman' statements to law enforcement from after the shooting.
The jury has already heard from the state's star witness, 19-year-old Rachel Jeantel, who gave a dramatic account of Trayvon Martin's last seconds. While on the phone with Trayvon, he told her a man was following him, she said.
She said she later heard the man say, "What are you doing around here?" Jeantel then heard a bump and noises, followed by Trayvon saying "Get off, get off," she said.
Later in the week, the state called John Good, a Zimmerman neighbor who told Sanford police after the shooting he'd seen a black male — who he identified in court last week as Trayvon — on top of a lighter-skinned man, "just throwing down blows on the guy," in manner similar to mixed martial arts.
The trial will continue to be closely watched. When Sanford police didn't arrest Zimmerman after the shooting, citing his self-defense claim, the case sparked protests in Sanford and across the globe. Zimmerman was later charged with second-degree murder by a special prosecutor. He faces up to life in prison if convicted as charged.