Introductory Chad Joseph, the 15-year-old son of Martin's father's girlfriend, was called by the state as the first witness and testified that he asked Martin to buy him
Skittles; he did not go with Martin because he was playing a
PS3 video game. Andrew Gaugh, who was the
7-Eleven clerk who sold Martin snacks, gave the next testimony; he said that Martin paid with cash, and he did not see anything suspicious about Martin's behavior. Donald O'Brien, the HOA president, testified that Zimmerman and the neighborhood watch were not affiliated with the HOA. O'Brien said he felt that Zimmerman was the coordinator of the program because Zimmerman had taken the initiative to get the program started, and that the watch program had instructed participants not to follow suspects but call 911. He said he did not feel that the neighborhood needed a watch program. On cross-examination, he testified that the police did not do regular patrols of the area due to the lack of a written agreement between the HOA and the police department. O'Brian testified that construction workers in the neighborhood had followed a burglary suspect in the past, resulting in an arrest, and that he had sent out a congratulatory email. During several rounds of redirects he said "do not follow", as well as "follow at a safe distance".
Communicatory technicalities Ramona Rumph from the Sheriff's communications office testified regarding how time stamps are applied in 911 calls. Rumph testified that 911 calls are initially coded as "routine" but can be upgraded, and that multiple calls can be linked together. Rumph testified as to the times of the various witness 911 calls. She testified about details of Zimmerman's prior 911 and non-emergency calls. The state then played several of his previous 911 and non-emergency calls for the jury. After the calls were played on cross-examination O'Mara asked Rumph about the results of these calls, and she testified that some had resulted in contacts with suspects. She could not comment on if the number of calls Zimmerman made was unusual. Raymond MacDonald, an executive from
T-Mobile, testified as to how cell phone records for calls and text-messages were collected and stored. MacDonald testified that billing records round the length of call up to the next highest minute, but that other records break calls to the second. MacDonald testified that on Martin's phone records, after a disconnected call at 7:26, all future incoming calls listed on the page went to voicemail. The records that broke to the second were only available for six months, so some records for the trial were rounded up to the minute. Greg McKinney, who worked for the company that ran the Retreat's security cameras, testified as to why the cameras near the front gate were not working at the time of the incident, and that security camera clocks may be off by as much as 18 minutes.
Police officers' testimonies Sean Noffke, the dispatcher who was on the phone during Zimmerman's non-emergency call, testified regarding his own statements at that time. Noffke said that when he told Zimmerman, "We don't need you to do that", he was making a suggestion, not giving an order. He said that dispatchers do not give orders because of liability issues. During cross-examination, Noffke testified that Zimmerman did not seem angry during the call, and that he wanted the police to come to his location. Noffke also testified that he asked Zimmerman which way Martin was going, and that his question could be interpreted as a request to go and see which way he was going. He clarified his statement that dispatchers do not give orders but suggestions for the safety of the caller. He testified that Zimmerman's swearing and comments about Martin did not raise any particular concern, but under redirect said that Zimmerman's language could be interpreted as "hostile." The defense then asked if Noffke actually heard hostility, and he said "no". The defense asked about the statements regarding Martin's race and appearance, and Noffke testified that all of the discussion was for the purpose of identification of the suspect, and did not seem unusual. Wendy Dorival was the Sanford police neighborhood watch coordinator who helped to form the "Retreat at Twin Lakes" neighborhood watch program. Dorival testified as to various roles and duties that volunteers had within the neighborhood watch program, and that watch participants were instructed not to follow or confront suspects, but only to call the police to report suspicious activity. She said that Zimmerman called to organize a watch program, and about 25 residents attended the meeting. Because Zimmerman told her he was selected as the coordinator by the
HOA, she gave Zimmerman the watch coordinator handbook, which instructed watch participants not to confront suspects and that the watch was "not the vigilante police". On cross-examination, she testified that the community was worried about recent burglaries and that since the community was not walled in, nonresidents could enter and exit other than at the gates. Dorival testified that she attempted to recruit Zimmerman as a "Citizen on Patrol" but he refused. She testified that she did not give any instructions about watch participants not being allowed to carry a gun as watch members. She testified that people should err on the side of caution and make calls to police if they thought something might be suspicious, and categorized "walking in the rain without a purpose" as something that could be suspicious. Anthony Raimondo, a sergeant with the Sanford police, was a responding officer to Zimmerman's non-emergency call and the shooting of Martin. He testified that it was raining at the time and the lighting at the scene was very poor, and that when he arrived other officers were already on the scene. He saw Martin face down with his hands underneath him. He was unable to find a pulse and attempted CPR, but Martin was declared dead. He then placed a plastic sheet over Martin's body out of respect and to preserve evidence from the rain. Diana Smith, the crime scene technician for the shooting and wife of Tim Smith, the first officer on the scene, testified regarding the scene. Using photos and computer reconstructions of the scene, she pointed out locations of all the objects in the scene, as well as described photographs of Martin's body. She further testified to the process she used to gather DNA evidence and photographs she took of Zimmerman at the station. On cross-examination, West asked her the methods she used to look for blood on the scene and the timing of the collection of evidence. She testified that items were swabbed for
touch DNA, but that the item itself was not directly tested. She said that someone could touch an item but not leave sufficient cells for analysis, or those cells could be removed by later contact. West then asked Smith to identify injuries to Zimmerman she saw the night of the shooting, visible in the photographs she had taken several hours after the incident. On redirect, Guy clarified she had assistance looking for blood at the scene and that she did not see any blood at the scene, nor was she notified of blood by any of those that assisted her. Sanford Police Department officer Ricardo Ayala was dispatched to the scene on a suspicious persons call that was later upgraded to "shots fired". Ayala testified that it was very dark and raining when he arrived, and Officer Smith (husband of Diana Smith, the crime scene technician) was holding Zimmerman at gunpoint at that time. Ayala then approached Martin, and he believed he was the first officer to do so. Ayala did not know if Martin was alive or not, and as Martin's hands were beneath his face-down body, he told him to "show me your hands". Ayala did not see any sounds, words, or motions from Martin. Ayala and officer Raimando attempted to perform CPR on Martin and moved his body in doing so. In cross-examination Ayala testified that holding Zimmerman was standard procedure in a "shots fired" call, and was not an indication of any risk from Zimmerman at that time. Ayala testified that Zimmerman was not confrontational and complied with all officer requests. Stacy Livingston, an
EMT and firefighter with the Sanford Fire Department, testified that Martin was unresponsive and had no pulse when she arrived on the scene. Livingston said Martin was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m. the night of the shooting. She also testified that she treated Zimmerman at the scene and that he had a swollen, bleeding nose and two cuts on the back of his head. When O'Mara asked if Zimmerman should have been concerned with his medical well-being because of his injuries, Livingston said, "Possibly." Sanford Police Department officer Timothy Smith was the first officer on the scene. Smith testified that when he saw Zimmerman after the shooting, his backside was wet and had grass blades on it. He also saw several injuries on Zimmerman, which included contusions, lacerations, and a bloody nose. Smith said that after Zimmerman had his gun taken away and was handcuffed, he told Smith that "he was yelling for help and nobody would come help him." Smith also testified that Zimmerman said he was "lightheaded" during the drive to the police station but declined to go to a hospital. Sanford Police Department officer Christopher Serino was the lead investigator for the incident. Recordings of Serino's interviews with Zimmerman were played for the jury, as well as the reenactment that Zimmerman performed with Serino. On direct examination, Serino testified that Zimmerman said Martin came out and punched him and told him he was going to kill him. Serino said there was evidence to suggest that Zimmerman was still following Martin after the non-emergency dispatcher suggested that he not do so. Serino said red flags were raised for him when Zimmerman did not know the names of the streets in his neighborhood, although there are only three. Serino testified that he felt Zimmerman exaggerated the number of times he was hit that night but said he did not feel any "active deception" on Zimmerman's part when he said he got out of his vehicle to follow Martin to see what street he was on. Serino also testified that no major discrepancies came to his mind about the varying accounts given by Zimmerman at different times or with other witness accounts. Under cross-examination Serino testified that Zimmerman did not seem "cagey" or to be sidestepping questions. When O'Mara asked Serino if he thought Zimmerman was telling the truth, Serino said yes. Judge Nelson ruled that this answer to O'Mara's question was an improper statement made by the witness about Zimmerman's credibility, and the jurors were to dismiss Serino's testimony in regards to the question and his answer. On redirect, the prosecutor asked Serino, "If I were to believe that somebody was committing a crime, could that not be profiling that person?" Serino said it could be construed as such, yes. De La Rionda also asked Serino if there was any evidence that Martin was committing a crime that evening or any evidence that Martin was armed. Serino answered no. The prosecutor also questioned Serino about the language Zimmerman used in his call to police when Zimmerman said, "These fucking punks always get away." De La Rionda asked, "Is that something you would use in reference to somebody that you're going to invite over to dinner?" Serino, said "No, sir, I would not." He also asked him if he thought it was a friendly comment. Serino again answered, "No, sir, it does not." Serino also testified that calling someone "fucking punks" is ill will and spite.
Experts' data analyses Dr. Shiping Bao, the associate medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Martin, testified that he did not die immediately and that his heart was still beating after being shot. Bao said Martin was shot from intermediate range, which he defined as between 0.4 inches and 4 feet, and said the muzzle had loose contact with Martin's clothing. Bao also testified that he did not believe that Martin could have moved after being shot. Dr. Bao stated that Martin was 5 feet 11 inches and 158 pounds when he died, was healthy at the time of the shooting, and had a small abrasion on his fourth and fifth left fingers. Bao also said that the knees of Martin's pants were stained. Dr. Valerie Rao, a medical examiner who reviewed video and photographs of Zimmerman's injuries, testified that she thought Zimmerman's wounds were "insignificant" and "non-life threatening." She said that Zimmerman's head might have only hit the concrete a single time and the injuries were so minor that they were not consistent with grave force. Anthony Gorgone, a
crime lab analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, testified that he found no traces of Zimmerman's DNA in scrapings taken from Martin's fingernails. Gorgone said he did find both Zimmerman's and Martin's DNA on the gray sweatshirt Martin was wearing, and both of their DNA was found on Zimmerman's jacket. Gorgone said Zimmerman's DNA was found on the grip of his gun, but that Martin's was not found. Hirotaka Nakasone, a voice analysis expert, was called by the state after previously being called by the defense during the Frye hearing. Nakasone testified that the recordings of the screams on the 911 calls were of poor quality due to the distance from the phone and compression introduced by the cell phone. He found 45 seconds of recording between the start of the screaming until the gunshot. Approximately 19 seconds was actual screaming, of which 3.5 seconds were able to be isolated for analysis. He testified that it was not possible to do voice analysis on this data as it was "not fit for the purpose of voice comparison", which generally requires 30 seconds for analysis. He further testified that doing age estimation by listening or pitch analysis has a high margin of error. Nakasone testified that someone who is familiar with voices can recognize those voices and identify them more easily than someone unfamiliar with the voices. Nakasone testified that for these samples, someone who had heard a person in a variety of situations speaking, uttering, and screaming in a similar situation could be better able to recognize the speaker. On cross-examination, Nakasone testified that there could be significant listener bias which could impact the reliability of "familiar voice recognition", introduced by having multiple people attempting to identify a voice together. Nakasone testified that the same word repeated is generally unsuitable for analysis, because there is not a sufficient number of the
phonemes which can be used to identify the voice. Nakasone said that the screams were made under "extreme duress" and in a "life-threatening situation", and that due to physiological changes during life-threatening screams, any analysis using such screaming was not possible. Nakasone also testified that using screams like this for age estimation would be "very very challenging" and that it would generally not be attempted.
Neighbors' testimonies Selene Bahadoor was a resident of the Retreat at Twin Lakes who worked in
IT for a hospital. She was at home with relatives and friends on the night of the shooting. She testified that she heard noises outside, moving from the south (left) towards the north (right) towards the top of the T (where two sidewalks met). She went to her window and did not see anything, but moved to her sliding glass door and saw "figures and arms flailing" and that two people appeared to be standing, but it was too dark to identify them or their clothes. She said she heard something that sounded like "No" and then went back to her kitchen to turn off the stove, heard a shot, and then returned to the sliding door. At that time she saw someone lying in the grass face down. She saw several neighbors also looking at the scene, and then the police, but did not go outside. Bahadoor testified that she had previously known Zimmerman as a neighborhood watch person. On cross-examination by O'Mara, Bahadoor testified that she discussed her testimony with the police and did not recall if she had said the noise moved from south to north during her initial interview with Chris Serino or
FDLE. When presented with her transcripts from those interviews, the transcripts said only "running" but not the direction. She testified that she had mentioned the left to right (south to north) motion to her sister. She "liked" the Justice4Trayvon Facebook page and signed the
Change.org petition, but said she has sympathy for both families. She reiterated that it was too dark to see which participant was which, or what positions they were in. On redirect, she said she had not been asked about the direction of movement previously, and had not come forward earlier because she did not want to be in the public eye. On re-cross, she said that she had done an interview for national television, but that it did not air. Jayne Surdyka was a neighbor in the Retreat who was in her upstairs bedroom at the time of the incident. She went to close her window due to the "pouring down rain", when she heard a loud "dominant" voice. She reopened the window to see into the courtyard and heard a voice that sounded "angry, very agitated" but that she could not hear words. She shut off her lights to reduce glare and see better, and saw two men on the ground one on top of the other. She heard a cry for help that she thought was made by "the boy" and then heard "pop, pop, pop". She saw one of the men get up and hold his head while the other stayed on the ground face down. Surdyka's 911 call was then played. On cross-examination, the defense asked about the cries for help that she heard, and she confirmed she heard only two cries: one for help, and then a "yelp" just before the gunshot. West asked her if she had heard the other 911 calls and cries for help previously. West asked her if "the loud voice could have been someone on a cell phone in the wind", and she replied, "I guess". She clarified that there was five to ten minutes between the initial "loud voice" and the later argument and fight; she assumed they were the same voice. She said that during the argument the "loud" voice initiated and a "meek" voice replied. She commented that when the porch lights were off it was "pitch black" in the yard, but that she could see well enough to see that the person on top was wearing a dark or black shirt or jacket. West asked her to reconcile Martin's chest wound with her testimony that Zimmerman stood up from on top, with Martin underneath him, face down. West pressed her to admit that she assumed which voice was which, but she replied that she felt the aggressive voice was "a man's" and that the other voice was higher pitched and she felt that it was "a boy's". Jeannee Manalo was with her family watching TV in the living room at her home in the Retreat at the time of the incident. Manalo said she heard a "howling" sound and looked out the sliding door, but was unable to see anything due to the darkness. Later, she heard a yelling that she thought was "help". She looked out and could not see anything, but heard struggling. After hearing "help", she returned to watching TV, and then only looked out again after hearing the gunshot. She then looked out again and saw two people on the grass, with a neighbor outside with them who was asking if he should call 911. Manalo testified that she did not notice the size at the time, but after seeing the news, she believes Zimmerman was on top. Manalo could not tell which person was screaming for help. After she heard the shot, she looked out again. Her husband went outside and then returned to get a plastic
Walmart bag to be used for CPR. On cross-examination, she said that noises seemed to move closer over the incident, moving from the top of the "T" slightly further south. West questioned Manalo about differences between her current recollections and the statements she made during investigator interviews at the time. In her earlier statements, Manalo did not describe the sizes of the individuals or compare them. West asked about seeing Zimmerman after the incident and referred to a photo of his injuries, but Manalo replied that she did not get a good look at his face that night. West asked what photos she used to develop her understanding of the relative sizes of Martin and Zimmerman. She testified that she had seen full body photos of Zimmerman from the police station, and the "hoodie", "hollister", and "football" shots of Martin. She had not seen photos of Martin from the 7-Eleven surveillance video. She stated she did not look at photos of Zimmerman's injuries, including one taken by her husband, until later. Manolo testified that she might be wrong on the size comparison, and that "I don't know who's bigger now". She later testified that her opinion of the relative sizes of Martin and Zimmerman the night of the incident was based on old photographs of Martin. After several rounds of questioning, she said her opinion of the sizes was based on the photographs, but that the person who was on top got up. Jennifer Lauer worked in real estate and was living in the Retreat at Twin lakes at the time of the incident. Lauer testified that she was in her living room watching
Celebrity Apprentice on the television with the volume up "pretty high". Lauer testified that she did not see anything, due to her blinds being closed, and that her statements were based on what she heard. She heard voices in her backyard; she was unable to make out any words or tell how many people were talking, but she assumed it was two people due to the pattern. She said the sounds were coming from the left (north) outside her window. Lauer testified that both voices were about the same volume and were "flustered" instead of "confrontational". Lauer then muted the TV and then immediately began to hear scuffling ("like playing basketball on pavement"), and the sound of shoes on pavement and grass. Lauer said she then heard "grunting" and "wrestling", or rolling in the grass, that was getting closer. Lauer said the grunting gradually turned into "yelping". Lauer and her husband called 911 about thirty seconds after she initially muted the TV. Lauer moved away from the window so that her call could not be heard outside, and while on the call, Lauer testified that she heard cries for help and a gunshot. Lauer testified that there was only one voice yelling for help, but that she could not identify who it was, and that the cries for help stopped at the gunshot. Lauer and her husband (then fiancé) then went upstairs for safety and did not look out the window. Lauer testified that she heard her neighbor, John Good, outside saying something like, "What is going on" while the yelling continued. She testified that she did not hear anyone say, "You are going to die motherfucker" or anything similar. Lauer's call to 911 was played for the jury. After her call, Lauer heard talking outside and someone saying, "Take my gun". She testified that while walking in front of her house, the address numbers on her house are visible from the sidewalk, but might be blocked depending on where you were standing on the walk. She also said that there were only 3 streets within the community. Lauer testified that she knew of Zimmerman from her role on the HOA board, but that she never formally met him. She was slightly aware of the neighborhood watch and that Zimmerman was involved, but did not know details. Lauer testified she could not identify the yells as Zimmerman's because she had not heard him yell in the meetings. On cross-examination, O'Mara clarified that the first thing that captured her attention was loud talking near the T, that was a back and forth discussion, but she could not make out words. Specifically she said she did not hear anyone say, "What are you following me for" or "What are you doing here?" Lauer testified that the cries for help or yelping had started before her 911 call began. She said that her ability to hear the yells in person was better than the ability to hear them on the 911 recordings. Lauer said the person yelling for help "was in danger", and "needed help". Jonathan (John) Good, a neighbor at the retreat, testified that he heard a faint noise outside but could not tell the direction. As the noises grew louder, he looked outside through his blinds. He opened his door and looked out and saw "some sort of tussle" where the participants were on the ground. He called out, "What's going on?" and "Stop it" as he started to step outside. Good said the participant wearing "dark or black" was on top and the person wearing "red or white" was on the bottom, and the person on the bottom had lighter skin. He described the person on top having their legs straddling the person on the bottom, who was face up. He could not hear any pounding or hitting, but did see "downward arm motion, multiple times" that "looked like punches" from the person on top. He heard a "help" from the person on the bottom, and Good said, "Cut it out" and that he was going to call 911. He went back inside to call 911, but he heard a gunshot before the call was completed. Good's call to 911 was played for the jury. Good testified that his statement in earlier interviews of "MMA-style" was in reference to the person on top straddling the person on the bottom and striking them. He testified he did not see the person on top slamming the person on bottom's body or head into the concrete. He said the recorded calls for help from the other's 911 calls did not sound the same as the cries for help he heard. On cross-examination he stated that he could not be sure that additional hitting or head pounding was not happening; he just did not see well enough to say that it did happen. Using photographs of Zimmerman and Martin from that night, he identified Martin as the person on top, and Zimmerman as the person on the bottom. Defense attorney West had Good go over a sketch of the scene and positions of the participants that he had made shortly after the incident. Between the time Good was initially outside and when his 911 call began, he went upstairs and down a hallway to get his phone, at which time he looked out a window and saw Martin's body on the ground. Good stated that in his opinion it was Zimmerman's voice screaming for help. Jonathan Manalo, whose wife testified earlier, told the jury he was the first person to make contact with Zimmerman after the shooting. Manalo said that Zimmerman was calm and easy to understand before police arrived. Manalo said as soon as he saw Zimmerman, he started explaining what happened. Manalo testified that Zimmerman told him that he was defending himself when he shot Martin. Manalo also testified that after police arrived, Zimmerman asked him to call his wife and "tell her I shot someone."
Rachel Jeantel's testimony Rachel Jeantel, Witness No. 8, was a friend of Martin's in elementary school and high school. Jeantel testified that she was on the phone with Martin during the incident and that they were on the phone together while Martin was at the 7-Eleven. The call was disconnected and Martin later called her back. Jeantel testified that during the second call, Martin said a man was watching him, but that she did not think it was a "big idea." Jeantel asked Martin how the man looked and he told her that he was "a creepy-ass cracker." Jeantel warned Martin to walk away because "it might be a rapist." Martin, she said, told her that the "nigga is still following me" so he was going to try to "lose him" and get back to the home where he was staying. As Jeantel remained on the phone with Martin, he said, "The nigga is behind me." The man who was allegedly following him reappeared and Martin said, "Why are you following me for", and then Jeantel heard a hard-breathed man come and say, "What are you doing around here?" Jeantel testified that she said, "Trayvon, Trayvon" and she "started to hear a little bit of Trayvon saying, get off, get off." Jeantel then said she heard Martin's phone headset fall and Martin say, "Get off." The phone went dead and Jeantel said she did not speak to Martin again. Jeantel also testified that she believed the screams heard on the 911 call were Martin's, because "Trayvon has kind of a baby voice." On cross-examination by defense attorney Don West, Jeantel testified that she had lied about her reasons for not going to Martin's funeral and said the reason she did not go was because she felt guilty and did not want to see the body. West asked her why she did not call police after the phone went dead. Jeantel said, "I thought he was going to be OK because he was right by his daddy's house." West also asked her about the last thing she had heard, which was "something hitting somebody." Jeantel told West that "Trayvon got hit", and West then asked her, "You don't know that, do you?" Jeantel testified, "No sir." Zimmerman's defense attorney asked her if Martin had perhaps lied to her because he did not want her to know if he decided to assault Zimmerman that night. Jeantel testified, "That's real retarded, sir. That's real retarded to do that, sir. Why on earth – Trayvon did not know." During the trial, a letter to Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, was presented as evidence. The letter outlined what was supposedly overheard on a phone call in the moments before the fight between Martin and Zimmerman broke out. It was written in cursive and signed with the printed name "Diamond Eugene." Jeantel claimed the letter was from her, prepared with the help of a friend; however, when asked on the stand if she was able to read the letter to verify its contents, Jeantel admitted, "I don't read cursive." Jeantel claimed that the name "Diamond Eugene" was her nickname. In December 2019, Zimmerman filed a lawsuit claiming that Jeantel bore false testimony in place of her half-sister Brittany Diamond Eugene, who the lawsuit claims was Martin's real girlfriend at the time of Travyon's death. The lawsuit was dismissed. ==Defense's case==