More evidence has been released in the George Zimmerman case, including dozens of new audio and video of Zimmerman giving his statements to Sanford police.
STORY: Heartbreaking! Tracy Martin’s 911 Call To Report Trayvon Missing
The new evidence has been made public, as Zimmerman’s defense website says they will file a Notice of Reciprocal Discovery.
Among the new evidence are recorded statements from Zimmerman taken after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
In the new video, obtained by ABC News, and taken by Sanford Police the day after Zimmerman shot Trayvon, he gives a detailed account of what happened, saying:
“He took my head and slammed it against the concrete several times, and each time I thought my head was going to explode and I thought I was going to lose consciousness…I started screaming for help,” but Martin pressed his hands over Zimmerman’s mouth and nose, he said. “He told me to shut the f&#k up, and I was suffocating.”
Zimmerman told police he was laying on the ground, but his head was on the concrete:
“I didn’t want him to keep slamming my head on the concrete so I kind of shifted. But when I shifted my jacket came up…and it exposed my firearm. That’s when he said you are going to die tonight. He took one hand off my mouth, and slid it down my chest. I took my gun aimed it at him and fired.”
Zimmerman went on to describe Trayvon as suspicious saying-
“I just felt like something was off about him…and there’s been a history of break-ins … so I said you know just better to call. I kept driving and I passed him, and he kept staring at me and staring around,”
Hours after Zimmerman explains his version of what happened the night he shot and killed Trayvon in a series of interviews with Sanford Police lead investigator Chris Serino.
Zimmerman is being interviewed by Serino where he tries to get a full picture of what happened.
Serino says to Zimmerman-
“You saw a suspicious person, you called the police, you followed him,”
And then this exchange:
“He mounted you basically, and he started to beat upon you?” Serino asked.
“Yes sir,” Zimmerman replied.
“At what point did you draw your weapon?”
“After he hit my head against the concrete several times, uh, I yelled out for help,” Zimmerman said.
“Who yelled out for help?” Serino asked.
“I did. And he tried to smother my mouth and my nose. When he did that I tried to slide out and squirm and I realized my shirt came up and I felt him slide his hand toward my right side, and he said ‘you’re gonna die, (expletive),'” Zimmerman said.
Serino: “So he was going for your gun?”
“Yes sir.”
Serino asks about the gun and ammunition.
“I think it was hollow point,” Zimmerman said.
“What happened then?”
“I shot him.”
According to his written statement, Zimmerman’s bullet struck Trayvon in the torso and the teen sat back. Zimmerman got on top of him to spread the teens hands away from his body and restrain him.
Trayvon allegedly said, “You got me,” the statement said.
That’s when an eyewitness appears and asks Zimmerman if he was OK. Police arrive soon after.
Serino went on to tell Zimmerman that-
“You’re gonna have anxiety over this and nightmares and everything else, so you’re probably gonna have a hard time with this whole thing…I’m here for that.”
“He told me he was gonna kill me,” Zimmerman said at the end of the six-minute recording.
“Exactly, he said he was gonna kill you,” Serino said.
As the interview continued, the investigator tells Zimmerman he will face lots of questions about why he thought Trayvon was suspicious in the following exchange-
Ever hear of Murphys’ Law?,” Serino asked.
“Yes sir.”
“OK, that’s what happened. This person (Trayvon) was not doing anything bad,” Serino said. “He was 17 years old. An athlete. A kid with a future. I kid with folks that care….Not the goon.
You have any prior training in law enforcement at all? As far as identifying people, what to look for that makes them really suspicious?”
Serino then asks what was going through Zimmerman’s head that night when he made the non-emergency call. Zimmerman then talks about the incident weeks before when he saw a black man wandering around the neighborhood looking in his neighbor’s window saying-
“What did you see Trayvon doing that caught you as being suspicious?”
Zimmerman said Trayvon was looking at the same house he saw someone casing weeks before-
“You know you’re gonna come under a lot of scrutiny under this, the profiling aspect of this. You understand that, right?? Serino asked.
Zimmerman was charged on April 11 with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently sitting in the Seminole County jail in solitary confinement after his bond was revoked earlier this month. He has a bail hearing set for June 29th.
To read the PDF file of Zimmerman’s written report on night of shooting, click here.
Listen to Zimmerman’s audio interview with Sanford PD on Feb 27 parts 1 & part 2.
