With opening statements to begin on Monday the defense in the George Zimmerman murder trial scored a major victory on Saturday when Judge Debra Nelson barred the testimony of two state audio experts from the trial, according to the Miami Herald.
The testimony of audio experts Tom Owen and Alan Reich was going to be a key part of the prosecution's case as they try to prove that George Zimmerman was the aggressor when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. A 911 call made by a neighbor who witnessed the altercation has screams in the background; after analyzing the call one state expert concluded that the screams belonged to Martin while the other could not reach that conclusion but was able to rule out Zimmerman, according to the Associated Press.
"The screams don't match at all," Owen said during the hearing. "That's what tells me the screams aren't George Zimmerman."
An expert for the defense argued that it was impossible to identify whose voice was screaming given the limited amount of audio available. Peter French, a British audio expert called by the defense, testified that trying to match up a person's screaming voice with their regular voice is a tough task.
"I've never come across a case in my 13 years where anybody's tried to compare screaming to a normal voice," French said.
The defense was also skeptical of the methods used by the prosecution's voice experts, as it turns out so was Judge Nelson.
"There is no evidence to establish that their scientific techniques have been tested and found reliable," Judge Nelson said in the 12 page ruling that was sent to lawyers vie e-mail Saturday morning.
The 911 call will still be admissible as evidence and lawyers from both sides can still call witnesses who are familiar with the voices of both Zimmerman and Martin to attempt to identify the voices in the background, according to the Miami Herald.
Opening statements for the case will begin on Monday morning.
