thoughts on the Trayvon murder

Updated: Friday, 23 Mar 2012, 6:19 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 23 Mar 2012, 5:47 PM EDT

ORLANDO - A witness we haven't heard from before paints a much different picture than we've seen so far of what happened the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed.

The night of that shooting, police say there was a witness who saw it all.

Our sister station, FOX 35 in Orlando, has spoken to that witness.

What Sanford Police investigators have in the folder, they put together on the killing of Trayvon Martin few know about.

The file now sits in the hands of the state attorney. Now that file is just weeks away from being opened to a grand jury.

It shows more now about why police believed that night that George Zimmerman shouldn't have gone to jail.

Zimmerman called 911 and told dispatchers he was following a teen. The dispatcher told Zimmerman not to.

And from that moment to the shooting, details are few.

But one man's testimony could be key for the police.

"The guy on the bottom who had a red sweater on was yelling to me: 'help, help…and I told him to stop and I was calling 911," he said.

Trayvon Martin was in a hoodie; Zimmerman was in red.

The witness only wanted to be identified as "John," and didn't not want to be shown on camera.

His statements to police were instrumental, because police backed up Zimmerman's claims, saying those screams on the 911 call are those of Zimmerman.

"When I got upstairs and looked down, the guy who was on top beating up the other guy, was the one laying in the grass, and I believe he was dead at that point," John said.

Zimmerman says the shooting was self defense. According to information released on the Sanford city website, Zimmerman said he was going back to his SUV when he was attacked by the teen.

Sanford police say Zimmerman was bloody in his face and head, and the back of his shirt was wet and had grass stains, indicating a struggle took place before the shooting.

That still doesn't answer the question of whether Zimmerman chased Martin and confronted him....if he did, the Stand your Ground law does not apply.....I can't find any reference to this witness directly from the police, only this one article that is quoted over and over on the internet that states the police have said it. odd. Not surprising though that all the conservative blogs and message boards have run with it. OK....I tried to watch a video supposedly of the police giving this story but it won't load.....does anyone have a link to the police statement?

archer wrote: That still doesn't answer the question of whether Zimmerman chased Martin and confronted him....if he did, the Stand your Ground law does not apply.....I can't find any reference to this witness directly from the police, only this one article that is quoted over and over on the internet that states the police have said it. odd. Not surprising though that all the conservative blogs and message boards have run with it. OK....I tried to watch a video supposedly of the police giving this story but it won't load.....does anyone have a link to the police statement?

Click the vid then when the statement comes up about embedding click it again and it will open in a new page.

Martin Ent Inc wrote:

archer wrote: That still doesn't answer the question of whether Zimmerman chased Martin and confronted him....if he did, the Stand your Ground law does not apply.....I can't find any reference to this witness directly from the police, only this one article that is quoted over and over on the internet that states the police have said it. odd. Not surprising though that all the conservative blogs and message boards have run with it. OK....I tried to watch a video supposedly of the police giving this story but it won't load.....does anyone have a link to the police statement?

Click the vid then when the statement comes up about embedding click it again and it will open in a new page.

Apparently Chrome doesn't like that video (maybe it's a liberal browser?). It freezes my computer when it appears on the web page......I don't have problems with other videos.

I wonder if the police took Zimmerman's shirt (which is white in some stories, red in this story) and tested the blood on it......it could have been Martin's from the gunshot wound, or was it Zimmerman's own from a beating. So many unanswered questions.....and all this speculation and media hype could have been avoided if they had taken Zimmerman in for questioning......even when a police officer shoots someone in the line of duty they have an inquiry.

archer wrote: I wonder if the police took Zimmerman's shirt (which is white in some stories, red in this story) and tested the blood on it......it could have been Martin's from the gunshot wound, or was it Zimmerman's own from a beating. So many unanswered questions.....and all this speculation and media hype could have been avoided if they had taken Zimmerman in for questioning......even when a police officer shoots someone in the line of duty they have an inquiry.

I guess we'll find out at after the grand jury looks over the case, and the file has already been handed over to them. This case is 2 days shy of a month old (how come we are hearing a stink about it just now) and we'll possibly get some insight into the evidence that the police have. And the Federal justice department is looking into it too, so, seems like there are at least two agencies in on this case, and we'll have to wait until the professionals release some findings.

Unless, of course, the immediate investigation was botched and the evidence was never collected that might assist in getting at the truth. The whole thing just seems "off" to me.....

archer wrote: Unless, of course, the immediate investigation was botched and the evidence was never collected that might assist in getting at the truth. The whole thing just seems "off" to me.....

Well... you'll never believe any of the evidence no matter where it comes from, the local police, the Feds... you already have an agenda for this case to fit into and nothing will change your hoped for scenario.

The Liberals GOP Twin wrote:

archer wrote: Unless, of course, the immediate investigation was botched and the evidence was never collected that might assist in getting at the truth. The whole thing just seems "off" to me.....

Well... you'll never believe any of the evidence no matter where it comes from, the local police, the Feds... you already have an agenda for this case to fit into and nothing will change your hoped for scenario.

You are wrong, of course, I really don't have a set opinion on this case....not enough info yet. I'm glad the Feds are looking into it, personally I would hate to think this guy shot Martin just because he could, I also would hate to have a deliberate shooting covered up, neither is a "hoped for" scenario........will you believe the feds if they decide that this was murder or manslaughter?....I will certainly follow the grand jury and the feds to find out if they have evidence that this was clearly self defense, if that's the case then at least it will have been fully investigated. It may turn out to be a very sad turn of events that could have been avoided if Zimmerman had stayed in his vehicle till the police showed up......locked the doors if necessary, driven away if he felt threatened by Martin.....all would have resulted in a better outcome and none of us would be reading about it now. Should they prosecute Zimmerman if he was just stupid? Like I posted before.....there just seems to be something "off" about the whole incident.

GOP, you claim I have an agenda in this thread.....if I do then it's that no one should lose their life over a trip to the store for a soda and Skittles. I really want to know the truth of how this happened, and why, just like any other citizen would want to know I hope.......You make it sound like wanting to know the truth is a bad thing, what's your agenda in this??