Perpetrator
Victim
What happened:
After purchasing a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea from a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida, Trayvon Martin walking home to the residence of his Father’s fiance where he was residing at that time. George Zimmerman dialed 911 telling a dispatcher he saw “a real suspicious guy” in his neighborhood. He added, “This guy looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining, and he’s just walking around.” The dispatcher asked Zimmerman if he was following the person. He replied, “Yes.” The dispatcher responded, “OK. We don’t need you to do that.” but zimmeran followed anyway. Zimmerman later attempted to confront Trayvon and after a scuffle used his 9mm semiautomatic hand gun to shoot and kill Trayvon. Trayvon Martin was survived by his mother, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin (father), and Jaharvis Fulton (brother).
Outcome:
Zimmerman faced second-degree murder charges in the death of Martin. Defended by Attorneys Mark O’Mara, Don West, and Lorna Truett, George Zimmerman received a ‘not guilty’ verdict on July 13, 2013, in Sanford, Florida. A jury of 6 women found him not guilty in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The parents of Trayvon Martin, settled a wrongful-death lawsuit against the homeowners’ association in the gated community where he was killed. At the time of the shooting, Mr. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch captain at the development, the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla., where he lived with his wife. A homeowners’ association newsletter sent to residents in February 2012, the same month as the shooting, cited Mr. Zimmerman as the person to contact for neighborhood watch issues. The newsletter suggested that if concerns arose, they first call the police and then alert Mr. Zimmerman. The parents later sued Zimmerman and settled for an undisclosed amount. In a successful attempt to make money off of his new found noteriety as the unashamed murderer of a 17 year old high school student, Zimmerman sold a painting on eBay for $100,099.99 on December 21, 2013. In August 2015, Zimmerman painted a Confederate flag with the words “Our 2nd Protects Our 1st” after hearing about Andy Hallinan, a Florida gun shop owner who got sued after declaring he wouldn’t sell guns to Muslims. “The caption, ‘the 2nd protects the first,’ is a double entendre,” Zimmerman said on the shop’s website. Zimmerman and Hallinan decided to sell prints and raffle off the original painting, sharing the proceeds. Since Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin, he has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement including multiple domestic abuse incidents. Days after his ex-wife, Shellie Zimmerman, filed for divorce in September 2013, she called 911 and said, “He is in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun and he keeps saying, ‘Step closer.’ He is just threatening all of us.” Zimmerman allegedly punched her dad and threatened to kill the family. Then again in November 2013, Zimmerman was charged with felony aggravated assault, as well as domestic violence battery and criminal mischief, after allegedly breaking a table with a shotgun and pointing it at his then girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe. But Scheibe later recanted her statement, and the charges were dropped. Yet again, Zimmerman’s predisposition for violence was on display when he was arrested in January 2015 for aggravated assault and domestic violence with a weapon after he allegedly threw a wine bottle at a woman who, according to Zimmerman’s attorney Don West, was his girlfriend. The victim later recanted her statement and charges were not filed. In May 2016, Zimmerman tried to sell the Kel-Tec PF-9 9 mm handgun he used to murder Martin on a gun sale website. “This is a piece of American history,” Zimmerman reportedly wrote on the first auction page. “Many have expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm including the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.,” a claim that the museum vehemently denied. Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/justice/florida-teen-shooting-details/index.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/us/trayvon-martins-parents-settle-wrongful-death-suit.html http://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-george-zimmerman-5-weird-things-hes-done-killing-trayvon-martin-751302 http://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-george-zimmerman-5-weird-things-hes-done-killing-trayvon-martin-751302
Date:
Location:
George Zimmerman is a White presenting White/Afro-Peruvian.
He was born on October 5 1983, in Manasssas Virginia and to Gladys (nee Mesa) Zimmerman and Robert Zimmerman Sr. He attended All Saints Catholic School in Manassas before graduating from Osbourn High School in 2001. He is the third of four children and his siblings are Robert Jr., Grace, and Dawn Zimmerman. Robert Zimmerman Sr (father) served 22yrs in military. Zimmerman’s mother is of Peruvian/Afro-peruvian descent. After graduating from HS, Zimmerman moved to Lake Mary Florida and got a job with an insurance agency. George married Shellie Dean, a licensed cosmetologist in 2007.