By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. September 19, 2012 (AP)
Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford in February. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.
A delay in Zimmerman's arrest led to nationwide protests.
The question of whose DNA is on the gun and holster could play a role in Zimmerman's defense.
Zimmerman says Martin had been on top of him, slamming his head against the ground and smothering his mouth and nose with his hand and arm when he grabbed his gun from a holster on his waist before Martin could get it. He shot the teenager once in the chest.
Other documents released by prosecutors Wednesday include an interview with the clerk of a convenience store where Martin purchased Skittles and a can of iced tea moments before his confrontation with Zimmerman. The clerk said in the interview, more than a month after Martin was shot, that he didn't remember Martin.
"To be honest, I don't even remember that day," said the clerk, whose name was redacted from the audio interview.
Prosecutors also released hundreds of emails sent to then-Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee whose agency came under fire when Zimmerman wasn't immediately arrested. An email dated more than a week after Martin's death from a resident of the development where Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch leader thanked Lee for attending a recent association meeting. The email's author, Molly Jackson, said in an interview Wednesday that Zimmerman wasn't present at that association meeting.
Source
In the news that surprises nobody with a brain.
ORLANDO, Fla. September 19, 2012 (AP)
Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford in February. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.
A delay in Zimmerman's arrest led to nationwide protests.
The question of whose DNA is on the gun and holster could play a role in Zimmerman's defense.
Zimmerman says Martin had been on top of him, slamming his head against the ground and smothering his mouth and nose with his hand and arm when he grabbed his gun from a holster on his waist before Martin could get it. He shot the teenager once in the chest.
Other documents released by prosecutors Wednesday include an interview with the clerk of a convenience store where Martin purchased Skittles and a can of iced tea moments before his confrontation with Zimmerman. The clerk said in the interview, more than a month after Martin was shot, that he didn't remember Martin.
"To be honest, I don't even remember that day," said the clerk, whose name was redacted from the audio interview.
Prosecutors also released hundreds of emails sent to then-Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee whose agency came under fire when Zimmerman wasn't immediately arrested. An email dated more than a week after Martin's death from a resident of the development where Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch leader thanked Lee for attending a recent association meeting. The email's author, Molly Jackson, said in an interview Wednesday that Zimmerman wasn't present at that association meeting.
Source
In the news that surprises nobody with a brain.
Except not.
I love how they make it sound like it just took the cops a while to get around to arresting him, rather than weeks of protest being needed to badger them into doing the right thing.
"To be honest, I don't even remember that day," said the clerk, whose name was redacted from the audio interview.
As someone who works in retail, yeah, all the days kind of meld into one and you're not going to remember every face you see, especially if asked about someone a month after you saw them for five minutes. Hopefully this won't be used against Trayvon, but I'm sure it will.
And actually maybe is a good thing, since he obviously wasn't out causing trouble or being 'thuggish' in his hoodie, since this guy doesn't even remember him.
And what is the point of the last paragraph about Lee? It doesn't seem to impart any information even remotely relevant.
I don't think they found any such contact evidence, there was residue but not enough to suggest the gun barrel had contact with Martin, suggesting a range farther than contact/point blank as zanzou_chan stated
In my mind, the fact that he seems to have shot him from a distance makes his story just that less credible.