The lead homicide investigator in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin voiced strong skepticism of George Zimmerman's account of the shooting, describing Zimmerman's injuries as "marginally consistent with a life threatening violent encounter," according to documents released today by prosecutors.
The investigator wrote in his report that Zimmerman's fear of the man he was following was minimal.
It's the latest in the see-saw of information released alternately by the state and the defense, with chunks of it seemingly damning for Zimmerman, while other parts appear to support his claim of shooting Martin, 17, in self defense.
This latest release includes the March 13 police statement of probable cause for arrest by lead homicide detective Chris Serino.
After interviewing Zimmerman and having Zimmerman reenact the shooting, Serino cast doubt on Zimmerman's version of events saying the "actions are inconsistent with those of a person who has stated he was in fear of another subject."
Seminole County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images
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Watch Video Significantly, in his 13-page report, Serino adds that twice during Zimmerman and Martin's 6-minute-long direct and indirect interaction, Zimmerman could have avoided conflict.
"On a least two occasions George Zimmerman failed to identify himself to Trayvon Benjamin Martin as a concerned citizen or a neighborhood watch member," the Serino wrote. That led to Serino's conclusion that Martin's death had been avoidable.
Based on the sizes of the two individuals police concluded Zimmerman was not "in an extraordinary or exceptional disadvantage of apparent physical ability or defensive capacity."
Nor did the detective seem impressed with Zimmerman's injuries, writing they "are marginally consistent with a life threatening violent episode."
Zimmerman had told officers both at the scene the night of the shooting and afterwards that Martin knocked him down and then banged his head against the pavement with such force he felt his "head was exploding." He had also stated Martin had punched him up to 25 times, something Serino said was inconsistent with Zimmerman's injuries.
The request for arrest was authored nearly three weeks after Trayvon Martin's death, as his shooting snowballed into a national story, accompanied by a flurry of misinformation about both the victim and the shooter.
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