Day 3 of testimony in the George Zimmerman murder trial was centered on the testimony of the state's key witness, Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with Trayvon Martin when the altercation with Zimmerman began, according to Reuters.
Jeantel gave a detailed account of what she had heard in the moments prior to Martin's death. Jeantel said that she had heard Martin ask "Why you following me for?" and then a "hard-breathing man" said "What are you doing around here?" Jeantel then said that she heard some noises before hearing Martin saying, "get off, get off," according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Defense attorney Don West had to ask Jeantel to speak up and slow down many times during her testimony as it was clear that the 19-year-old was very uncomfortable. Jeantel said that Martin described the man that was following him as a "creepy-a** cracker," a comment that defense attorneys are trying to use to argue that any racial element of the case was brought upon by Martin, according to the Miami Herald.
At times during cross-examination Jeantel was very testy with defense attorneys, especially when she learned that she would have to return on Wednesday for more testimony. West was able to attack Jeantel's credibility by focusing on two previous lies that she had been caught in. Jeantel had said that she was 16 at the time of the shooting when she was 18. Jeantel had also said that she missed Martin's funeral because she was in the hospital, actually she didn't go because she "didn't want to see the body," according to the Miami Herald.
Jurors also heard a frantic 911 call that Jayne Surdyka made right after the shooting.
"Oh, my God, I don't know what he did to this person....The person is dead laying on the ground," Surdyka said on the call. "The young boy, I have never seen anyone killed."
Jeantel is expected to be on the stand for an additional hour or two of cross-examination when the trial begins at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning. A live stream of the proceedings can be seen here.
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