Zimmerman Trial: Lead Detective Takes The Stand
Chris Serino, the lead detective in the George Zimmerman murder case, took the witness stand on Monday.
A video interview, in which investigators closely question Zimmerman, was played for jurors.
“You basically jumped out of the car to see where he was going. That’s not fear,” said detective Chris Serino in the videotape.
George Zimmerman is on trial for the murder of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, who was walking to his father’s fiancee’s home when he was killed.
The former neighborhood watch leader claims that he shot and killed Martin in self defense. Prosecutors say Zimmerman was motivated by race.
Jurors watched the videotaped interview as Serino took the stand. A video of Zimmerman’s re-enactment of the events, recorded the day after the shooting, was also played in court.
“Did you ask what this person was doing out there?” Serino asks Zimmerman on the tape.
“No sir. I didn’t want to confront him and it wasn’t my job.”
Zimmerman’s description of events is inconsistent according to prosecutors, an instance the they hope will help convince the six person jury that he profiled Martin.
The defense argued that Zimmerman was cooperative with the investigation, and the contradictions can be expected from someone that has gone through a traumatic event.
Defense attorney Mark O’Mara asked detective Serino to rate Zimmerman’s truthfulness on a scale from pathological liar to telling the truth. Serino classified him as telling the truth.
Jurors are faced with several key inconsistencies from Zimmerman’s account of events. He has stated repeatedly that he was afraid of Martin but allegedly chased him down.
Zimmerman told authorities that he lost track of Martin and got out of his truck to look for a street name he could relay to a police dispatcher.
When the dispatcher told Zimmerman he didn’t need to follow Martin, Zimmerman said, he started to head back to his vehicle at which point Martin jumped out and punched him, and he fell to the ground.
“Somehow he got on top of me. … That’s when I started screaming for help,” Zimmerman said in the video.
Detectives argue that the injuries are inconsistent with Zimmerman’s testimony.
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