(Trayvon) Martin Spoke of ‘Crazy and Creepy’ Man Following Him, Friend Says

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

A girl who talked on the phone with Trayvon Martin on the night of Feb. 26 has told a state prosecutor that she heard rising fear in Mr. Martin’s voice that peaked with words like “get off, get off,” right before she lost contact with him and he was shot to death.

In the sworn interview recorded on April 2, which runs more than 22 minutes, the unidentified 16-year-old said Mr. Martin described a man who was “crazy and creepy” and on the phone, watching him from a vehicle before he started to follow him on foot.

The girl implored Mr. Martin, 17, who said he put his sweatshirt hood up because of the rain, to run to the town house where he was staying with his father, his father’s girlfriend and her 14-year-old son.

“I could hear the wind blowing” and “he said he lost him,” said the girl, who is from Miami and who said she had known Mr. Martin since kindergarten. She has not been identified because she is a minor and a witness in the case.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/trayvon-martins-friend-tells-what-she-heard-on-phone.html

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Article includes audio of the interview.

[FailureToCommunicate]

1. Sure seems like Trayvon was hunted down by that bully

[Suji to Seoul]

2. It seems to me Zimmy's injuries were caused by a kid trying to defend himself against an aggressor

And when Zimmy started to lose (face), he pulled out his gun and shot the kid.

2nd degree murder is the correct crime here! Convict his ass. He killed an unarmed kid (allegedly).

[intheflow]

4. It's not alleged that Zimmerman killed an unarmed kid.

No one disputes that Zimmerman shot the kid. Treyvon is dead by George Zimmerman's gun, and even Zimmerman admits he shot him. The arguments are over Zimmerman's motivation and intensions.

[Suji to Seoul]

12. then he's guilty. unarmed kid. . .shot. could have ran home. could have listened to the 9/11

operator.

no, decided to be vigilante with a hard on.

The right wing believes two things about courts:
1) the courts are to decide innocence or guilty. Zimmy admits killing him. That sounds like guilt to me.
2) there are no mitigating circumstances, only aggravating ones.

Ship his racist ass to prison.

[slackmaster]

16. Police shoot unarmed people every day. Trayvon being unarmed is legally irrelevant.

What will matter in the trial, if there is one, is what each party DID.

[Suji to Seoul]

17. bad example. in this badge sniffing country, cops are infallible

and perfect. if they shoot someone, they have the power of the government to prove it was justified and an acceptable use of force.

where zimmy will get away with it is in the fact his victim is black and a boy.

everything else is irrelevant, even my previous statements.

[intheflow]

21. I'm not a Zimmerman defender.

Your post said Zimmerman was alleged to have shot Martin. I responded there was no allegation about it. He's guilty of shooting martin, all agree. What's not agreed upon by some is Zimmerman's rights to shoot the kid down. Geesh. I'm on your side. Reading comprehension is a beautiful thing.

[Suji to Seoul]

32. i never said you were a zimmy defender. i use the world alleged because of legalistic mumbo-jumbo

the prick is guilty as sin.

[Vattel]

3. This definitely helps the prosecution's case,

although if she can only testify that she heard Martin use "words LIKE 'get off, get off'", then the defense will emphasize that she admits that she doesn't know if Martin actually said "get off."

[Nine]

6. Oh YOU get off it.

This is the current tactic I see. "Oh I personally think Zimmerman is guilty but, oh dear, this isn't very good for the prosecution's case, and the defense will unfortunately be able to argue this..."

[Vattel]

8. I don't know if Zimmerman is guilty and neither do you.

[relayerbob]

18. Not even a debate

Martin "stood his ground" when being stalked by an unknown vigilante assailant who was ignoring the orders of the police. The assailant then shot him by his own admission. Second degree murder at best.

[Vattel]

26. You need to learn a little more about the relevant law.

And by the way, the police did not order Zimmerman to do anything.

[OnlinePoker]

24. Wouldn't it be considered heresay evidence

Or is that allowed in murder cases?

[antigone382]

30. It is allowed for two reasons:

1.She was an actual witness (albeit via phone) to the events as they occurred.
2. The person she is quoting is dead, meaning there is no way to know what he said or thought other than relying on hearsay.

I also believe that anything she alleges Zimmerman said will be admissible as well, because as I recall there is no hearsay rule for statements made by the defendant, but I could be wrong about that.

Technically, I could be wrong about any of it; most of my "legal knowledge" in cases like these came from a year of doing mock trial in high school over ten years ago. As I recall these were pretty basic and well-established rules, but I defer to those who know more than me.

[Enrique]

10. this testiomony shows Trayvon was scared

whether he said "get off" doesn't seem to me to matter.

[Iliyah]

5. It proves that

Trayvon "stood his ground" BUT had no gun, and can't speak for himself.

[yardwork]

14. That is the most important point, imo. Trayvon had a right to self defense.

It doesn't matter if Zimmerman had a few scrapes and cuts. He shot and killed somebody. Any reasonable person would expect his victim to have tried to defend himself. Zimmerman was the one with the gun. His defenders want us to believe that Zimmerman was in fear of his life. The man with the gun?

[alarimer]

23. HE had the right to self-defense because Zimmerman was the aggressor.

Not the other way around, no matter what Zimmerman claims. His "injuries" are suspicious to me.

[nenagh]

7. The prosecuion should get a large poster of the creepy black & white photo of Zimmerman...

taken at the crime scene..

Zimmerman looked crazy and creepy that night in the rain...

[Cass]

9. From Trayvon's perspective he was being followed and harrased by a nut who eventually

physically confronted him. I still think it was Trayvon who had the right to invoke the SYG law.

Zimmerman should have followed the instructions from the police dispatcher to back off, but he chose not to.

[Blandocyte]

28. I wonder

Did Zimmerman "physically" confront or just ask a question such as, "who are you and what are you doing here?" Maybe Trayvon began the physical confrontation. If so, what might that mean for the case?

[trumad]

11. Cell phone records are very accurate...

They will nail that time down perfectly.

This is damning evidence.

[A Brand New World]

13. I agree. But why did the police not check the cell phone records immediately?

Why did the Dad have to play investigator & discover the call much later when he was looking at the bill? What a poor job of investigating this police department has done! I know you don't know the answer to these questions. Just commenting.

[relayerbob]

19. Maybe they did

The fact that it is coming out now doesn't mean they haven't known this for some time.

[Nay]

15. So--is this phone call recoverable? What the hell do we have all the listening devices for,

if not to recover phone calls like this? Is there no way to recover the actual phone call and listen to it?

[amandabeech]

20. I'm wondering how much of the girl's testimony about the phone call will get in at trial.

The girl will testify about what Trayvon said. However, her account of what T. said is second hand, and thus may be subject, at least in part to the hearsay rule.

If the hearsay rule applies, then the testimony will not be heard by the jurors, unless is falls into an exception, like "excited utterances".

Any currently practicing trial lawyers around to clarify this?

I don't practice any more and my memory may not be sharp on these points.

[antigone382]

31. My understanding is that if the person quoted is dead, it is permissible.

Also, if she actually heard the encounter leading up to the shooting, she is technically a witness to the events, and I would imagine her testimony would be critical.

[FedUpWithIt All]

25. So sad. That poor kid. The confusion and fear he must have been feeling is painful to think about

[BlancheSplanchnik]

27. omg

heartbreaking

[slackmaster]

29. ...And the MSM's false narratives dissolve before our eyes