Thread: Detective says Trayvon Martin's father said 911 screams were not his son's

Detective says Trayvon Martin's father said 911 screams were not his son's

Published July 08, 2013FoxNews.com

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A parade of defense witnesses took the stand Monday to say it was George Zimmerman and not Trayvon Martin who can be heard screaming on a 911 tape the day Zimmerman shot the teen, and a detective said even the slain boy's father said the frightened voice was not his son's.
The testimony, in week three of Zimmerman's murder trial, came after the mothers of both Zimmerman and Martin testified Friday it was their son doing the screaming in the Feb. 26, 2012, 911 call made to Sanford, Fla., police. The issue is critical because Zimmerman, a 29-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, says he shot the 17-year-old in self-defense as he was being beaten. Sanford Police Det. Christopher Serino, the lead investigator in the case, testified that Tracy Martin and his girlfriend met with him one or two days after the shooting to “bring him up to speed” regarding the investigation. During that meeting, Tracy Martin did not recognize his son’s voice on the 911 recording, Serino told jurors.
“I let him listen first before I asked anything,” Serino said. “He looked away and under his breath, as I interpreted it, said, 'No.'”
The defense also called Sanford Police Officer Doris Singleton, who corroborated Serino's testimony, describing how she watched the distraught father as he listened to the tape.
"I was choked up myself because I have children," Singleton said. "To know that he was hearing the sound that ended sons life it was tough to watch.
"There was no doubt that he was telling us that it wasn't his son," she said.
Earlier, close friends and former co-workers of Zimmerman testified that they recognized Zimmerman's voice on the the 911 tape that captured his confrontation with Martin. Sondra Osterman, wife of Zimmerman’s best friend Mark Osterman, told jurors that the shrieking voice on the tape was “definitely” that of Zimmerman.
“Yes, definitely, it’s Georgie,” Osterman said. “I hear it, I hear him screaming.”

“Yes, definitely, it’s Georgie. I hear it, I hear him screaming.”

- Sondra Osterman

Osterman told jurors she has known Zimmerman since 2006, when they worked at a mortgage company. Osterman’s husband has written a book about the fatal shooting — "Defending our Friend: The Most Hated Man in America" — and Sondra Osterman told jurors that would not affect her testimony in the case.
“I wouldn’t lie for him or for anybody,” Sondra Osterman said of Zimmerman; she said she was unsure how many copies her husband's book has sold.
Osterman testified she did not think Zimmerman's use of an expletive on the 911 call indicated any ill-will or hatred on his behalf.
"I don't think he was angry," she told jurors.
Mark Osterman, a federal air marshal, told jurors he discussed gun safety with Zimmerman and took him to a gun range. Osterman testified that Zimmerman was “very safe all the time” with his Kel Tec 9-mm. handgun, which does not have an external safety and is difficult to fire accidentally.
“It’s a reliable firearm,” said Mark Osterman, who recommended to Zimmerman that he keep a round chambered in the weapon.
Mark Osterman also testified that he heard Zimmerman screaming on the 911 call.
“It sounded like George,” he told jurors.
During cross-examination by prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda, Osterman said he was unsure how many copies his book has sold, but confirmed that all proceeds were destined for Zimmerman.
Geri Russo, a friend who previously worked with Zimmerman, testified that the yelling heard on the 911 tape is Zimmerman.
“I recognize his voice, I’ve heard him speak many times,” Russo told jurors. “I have no doubt in my mind that’s his voice.”
Leanne Benjamin, who owns a real estate company and formerly worked with Zimmerman, also identified Zimmerman as the screaming voice on the 911 call.
“I know his voice,” Benjamin told jurors. “I know what his voice sounds like when he gets excited or loud.”
Benjamin and her husband, John Donnelly, contributed $2,500 to Zimmerman's defense fund and Donnelly purchased suits for Zimmerman to wear during his trial, she testified.
Donnelly, who said he thought of Zimmerman as a son, later testified he found it “distressing” to listen to the 911 tape, which he recently heard twice online and again on Monday in court. Donnelly said he also recognized Zimmerman’s voice as the shrieking individual on the 911 tape, becoming the seventh witness since the defense began its case Friday to testify that the former neighborhood watch volunteer is screaming for help on the 911 call.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that is George Zimmerman and I wish to God I didn’t have the ability to understand that,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly testified he also donated an additional $500 to Zimmerman for his website and purchased $1,700 in suits for the former neighborhood watch volunteer.
Also on Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Debra Nelson to prevent Zimmerman's defense attorneys from showing jurors a computer-animated depiction of his confrontation with Martin. A motion made public Monday requests that the animation not be mentioned or played at Zimmerman's trial.
Prosecutors — who believe the animation would only confuse jurors — say the animation doesn't depict a murder weapon and only approximates positions based on witness accounts.
Zimmerman's attorneys called their first two witnesses Friday after prosecutors rested their case and Nelson denied a request for acquittal. Some of the witnesses called by the defense could be the same neighbors and investigators called by prosecutors. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara told reporters Friday he expects his case to last a few days and may recall some of the prosecution's witnesses.
The mothers of both Zimmerman and Martin testified on Friday that it was their own son's voice calling for help on a taped 911 call minutes before Zimmerman fatally shot the teen on Feb. 26, 2012. The screams are considered to be crucial pieces of evidence because they could determine who was the aggressor in the confrontation. An FBI expert testified earlier in the week that a person familiar with a voice is in the best position to identify it.
Zimmerman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense. It remains unclear whether Zimmerman will testify, although jurors already have heard his account through videotaped police interviews played in court.
Zimmerman faces life in prison if convicted. The state argued during its opening statement that the neighborhood watchman profiled and followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight.




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