George Zimmerman apologizes to Trayvon Martin’s parents
July 19th, 2012 by faye
George Zimmerman, the man who killed a black teen named Trayvon Martin, had his first media interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity since the February incident. Zimmerman apologized to the parents of Martin, saying that he prays for them everyday.
According to an excerpt from the interview, Hannity asks 28-year-old Zimmerman what he wishes to tell the parents of Trayvon Martin.
“I would tell them that again, I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry they buried their child. I can’t imagine what it must feel like. And I pray for them daily.”
George Zimmerman noted that he and his wife don’t have any children, but that he has nephews:
“I love more than life, I love them more than myself. And I love my children even though they’re not born yet.”
George Zimmerman will appear on “The Sean Hannity Show” on Wednesday night for a full hour in his first media interview on the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer, was charged with second-degree murder due to the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford on February 26.
He told the police officers that he shot Martin, but only for self-defense purposes after the teen allegedly knocked his head to the ground several times.
Mark O’Mara, the attorney of George Zimmerman, will also appear on the show and is even planning to address rumors about Zimmerman’s finances and bail.
This is not the first time Zimmerman talked to Fox News talk show host, Sean Hannity. Last April, before he was arrested and charged, the watch volunteer called Hannity and engaged in a conversation that was off-the-record. Sean Hannity said at the time that he had agreed not to discuss what they talked about.
A Fox News Channel spokesperson shot down rumors that Sean Hannity had paid for the interview with Zimmerman on Wednesday night, telling TVNewser that the Fox News host “has never offered to pay any legal fees or any fee associated with George Zimmerman.”
George Zimmerman allegedly calls wife, tells her to hide $130K
June 20th, 2012 by edsel
George Zimmerman apparently called his wife Shellie Zimmerman from jail and instructed her on how to hide over $130,000.
Perez Hilton reported that the man who killed Trayvon Martin was released after paying bail. He was quickly carted back to jail this June, though, after prosecutors learned that Zimmerman had hidden his finances to get a reduced bond.
Zimmerman told a judge that he was broke. But the phone calls recently released to the public revealed that he was allegedly hiding over $130,000 that sympathizers donated to him.
His wife Shellie Zimmerman also faced a perjury charge for offering false testimony to corroborate her husband’s story. Prosecutors used the calls as evidence in court to prove that the Zimmermans were attempting to cover their financial tracks.
According to Perez Hilton, George Zimmerman instructed his wife over the phone on how to transfer funds from their bank accounts into others. Recent bank records obtained by prosecutors revealed that Shellie Zimmerman transferred sums in multiples just under $10,000 to hide them.
“After all this is over,” the 25-year-old Shellie told George, “You’re going to be able to have a great life.”
In addition to discussing plans with his wife to hide their money, Perez Hilton reported that George Zimmerman made a morbid crack to his attorney about the 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
“Well,” Zimmerman cracked while discussing his alleged escape plans, “I have my hoodie,” referring to the hoodie outfit that Trayvon Martin wore when Zimmerman shot him dead.
After she paid a $1,000 bond, Shellie Zimmerman was released on the same day she was arrested for perjury. The court will determine the new bond amount that her husband George Zimmerman must pay in a June 29 hearing.
George Zimmerman witnesses change accounts of Trayvon Martin shooting
May 25th, 2012 by edsel
Neighbors of George Zimmerman have changed their stories about the shooting of Trayvon Martin.
According to The Hollywood Gossip, police and special prosecutors interviewed four witnesses -all neighbors of Zimmerman- multiple times about what they saw on February 26, the night George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL.
Just four days after the shooting, one woman claimed that she “saw two guys running.” According to her, there was “a fistfight… just fists,” she believed, adding “I don’t know who was hitting who.”
But Witness 2 changed her tune on March 20 when she told investigators she saw just one person. She also couldn’t tell the person’s gender and skin color. ”I couldn’t tell you because it was dark,” she said, “And because I didn’t have my contacts on or glasses.” All she knew what that she “saw a person out there.”
On that same day, another witness went through her initial interview. She related that, after the sound of gunshots, she saw two people on the ground. The Orlando Sentinel reported that she was not sure who was on top during the time. Six days later, however, she claimed George Zimmerman was the one on top.
“I know after seeing the TV of what’s happening,” the woman, Witness 12, said. “Comparing their sizes,” she explained, “I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size.”
Witness 6, a man, reported to the police that he saw a black man on top of a lighter-skinned man. The assailant was “just throwing down blows on the guy,” he described, “MMA-style.” The witness recalled that the light-skinned man was calling for help.
But when investigators later interviewed him, Witness 6 said he was no longer sure who was calling for help- George Zimmerman, or Trayvon Martin. He was also unsure if there were really punches thrown.
A fourth witness claimed he ran outside after he heard shots. According to Witness 13, George Zimmerman was standing and had “blood on the back of his head.” Zimmerman told the witness that Trayvon Martin “was beating up on me, so I had to shoot him.”
A month later, Witness 13 had something to say about Zimmerman’s demeanor. His neighbor was “not like ‘I can’t believe I just shot someone!’ Zimmerman reportedly acted as if shooting Trayvon Martin “was nothing.”
George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment two months after the killing. Zimmerman is currently free on bail.
Last week, the autopsy report on Trayvon Martin was leaked to the press. The leaked report contained information that supposedly benefited George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman reportedly benefits from strategic records leaks
May 21st, 2012 by edsel
The attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin blasted the strategic records leaks that can benefit defendant George Zimmerman. Demanding “full transparency” in the case this Wednesday, Attorney Benjamin Crump asked that all the police files on the subject be released.
According to The Hollywood Gossip, Attorney Crump was furious to learn that several news outlets received access to a sealed Florida medical examiner’s autopsy report on Trayvon Martin and a police report on George Zimmerman.
“It was leaked for a beneficial purpose,” Benjamin Crump accused, “Certainly to help George Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense.”
Warning that “This report needs to be vetted with a keen eye,” Attorney Crump called for people to study the matter in its full context. ”George Zimmerman made the decision to get out of his car,” said the Martin’s lawyer, “Profile Trayvon Martin, pursue Trayvon Martin and confront him.”
NBC News reported that the leaked medical examiner’s autopsy report on the slain 17-year-old claims that Trayvon Martin was slain by a single “penetrating gunshot wound to the chest” on Feb. 26.
Likewise, ABC News received leaked medical reports that showed George Zimmerman probably suffered a broken nose, black eyes, and was bleeding from the back of head.
Mark O’Mara, Zimmerman’s attorney, earlier said that he may seek to have the court dismiss the second-degree murder charge against his client by citing Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
Last week, George Zimmerman was physically absent from court and had his attorney, Mark O’Mara, deliver his plea of ‘not guilty.’ He is currently free, having paid bond.
George Zimmerman lawyer: “Not guilty” plea for Trayvon Martin murder
May 10th, 2012 by edsel
The attorney of George Zimmerman entered ”not guilty” as his client’s plea during Zimmerman’s arraignment in Seminole County, FL this Tuesday.
According to TMZ, Zimmerman is being charged with 2nd degree murder for shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The 28-year-old defendant himself did not appear in court. His pretrial will be held on August 8.
On February 26, self-declared community watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed minor Martin in Sanford, FL. He was not immediately arrested.
TMZ reported that the shooting ignited a firestorm of media and celebrity attention. The likes of Spike Lee, Roseanne Barr, and LeBron James clamored that Martin’s killing was motivated by his race. Zimmerman always maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense.
George Zimmerman may spend the rest of his life in jail if he is convicted for the murder of Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman released from jail on bond
April 25th, 2012 by faye
George Zimmerman, the man accused of second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, has been reportedly released from jail after posting $150,000 bond.
According to reports, George Zimmerman got out of John E. Polk Correctional Facility just after midnight of Sunday. This was right after posting bail and meeting other conditions set for his release at a hearing last Friday.
Under the conditions set by Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., George Zimmerman should wear an electronic monitoring device and he may be allowed to leave the state. He must also comply with the dusk-to-dawn curfew. Zimmerman is prohibited from using illegal drugs or alcohol or possessing a firearm.
Daryl Parks, the attorney representing the parents of Trayvon Martin, said the family respected the judicial process which allowed Zimmerman to be released from prison but was “devastated by him being able to walk the streets.”
“It’s with a very, very heavy heart that they’ve seen him walk freely late last night back into the public,” Parks said on CNN.
On the other hand, Mark O’Mara, the lawyer of George Zimmerman, told CBS’s “This Morning” that there had been no recent threats against his client but his whereabouts are to remain a classified information until his next appearance in court. O’Mara also apologized for the apology George Zimmerman offered to Trayvon Martin’s parents during his bond hearing Friday.
At the recent hearing, George Zimmerman took the stand and, speaking to Trayvon’s parents, said, “I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am and I did not know if he was armed or not.”
“We had reached out to see if we could do it privately,” O’Mara said.
Benjamin Crump, another lawyer for the family of Trayvon Martin, told the press that Zimmerman’s apology was poorly timed and insincere.
“The apology was somewhat of a surprise because we had told them this was not the appropriate time, but they just disregarded that, and he went and pandered to the court and the media and gave a very insincere apology,” Crump said.
George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, who was shot dead on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman claimed self-defense under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which discards a person’s duty to retreat under threat of death or serious injury.
George Zimmerman charged with murder in Trayvon Martin’s death
April 16th, 2012 by faye
Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman is facing second degree murder charges after shooting an unarmed black teenager named Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.
According to reports, State Atty. Angela B. Corey outlined the charges in the Martin’s case which has sparked national demonstrations calling for George Zimmerman’s arrest.
“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly,” Corey told reporters. “We do not prosecute by public pressure.”
George Zimmerman, who insists that he acted in self-defense, was in custody, Corey confirmed. The neighborhood watchman had been in hiding since the shooting of Trayvon Martin after his family said he had received death threats.
The victim, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was on his way home from a convenience store run on February 26. The teenage boy had bought a bag of Skittles candy and an iced tea, when he caught Zimmerman’s eye. George Zimmerman was on his way to the supermarket when he called the Sanford Police Department, reporting a young black male acting suspiciously, possibly on drugs, he said.
The police dispatcher asked George Zimmerman if he was following Trayvon Martin, the youth he reported. The neighborhood watchman said that he was, and the dispatcher told him: “We don’t need you to do that.” Moments later, Zimmerman, who was armed with a 9-millimeter weapon, got out of his car. George Zimmerman claims he shot Trayvon Martin out of self-defense after the teenager allegedly struck him in the face, knocked him down and began pounding his head into the ground.
The exceptional media attention has been fanned in part by outrage in various social networking sites. Twitter has been flooded with posts linked by the hashtag #Trayvon. Additionally, an online petition at Change.org demanding the prosecution of George Zimmerman has received more than 2.2 million signatures – the single largest reaction the online petition platform has ever had, reports said.
In the wake of such tragedy and scrutiny, as well as marches, protests and rallies held across the U.S, the Justice Department and the FBI have launched investigations into the case. The Trayvon Martin – George Zimmerman case even caught the attention of President Obama, who called for a thorough investigation.