HatTip Lulu who links to a Chicago Tribune report on witnesses changing their statements as reported by the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeff Weiner and Rene Stutzman. In the comparative review of the witnesses W#2 and W#12 it is obvious to see how the embellishments of the witness statements from the beginning investigation through the FDLE follow-up change.
Originally both of these witness statements were framing a narrative of George Zimmerman being the aggressor and Trayvon Martin being the victim. But under further review from the FDLE the witness statements all of a sudden shift. First the video:
Witness 2 – A young woman who lives in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where Trayvon was shot, was interviewed twice by Sanford police and once by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
She told authorities that she had taken out her contact lenses just before the incident. In her first recorded interview with Sanford police four days after the shooting, she told lead Investigator Chris Serino, “I saw two guys running. Couldn’t tell you who was in front, who was behind.”
She stepped away from her window, and when she looked again, she “saw a fist fight. Just fists. I don’t know who was hitting who.”
A week later, she added a detail when talking again to Serino: During the chase, the two figures had been 10 feet apart.
That all changed when she was reinterviewed March 20 by an FDLE agent. That time, she recalled catching a glimpse of just one running figure, she told FDLE Investigator John Batchelor, and she heard the person more than saw him.
“I couldn’t tell you if it was a man, a woman, a kid, black or white. I couldn’t tell you because it was dark and because I didn’t have my contacts on or glasses. … I just know I saw a person out there.”
In essence W#2 is saying she originally fabricated embellished a narrative of George Zimmerman chasing down Trayvon Martin to Sanford PD. But then after further review, when questioned by more authoritative direct questioning, and now that she has to be all serious, truthful and stuff, well, I didn’t really see anything.
So the Pro-Trayvon “caught up in the moment” testimony shifts to irrelevant testimony.
Witness 12 – A young mother who is also a neighbor in the town-home community never gave a recorded interview to Sanford police, according to prosecution records released last week. She first sat down for an audio-recorded interview with an FDLE agent March 20, more than three weeks after the shooting.
During that session, she said she saw two people on the ground immediately after the shooting and was not sure who was on top, Zimmerman or Trayvon.
“I don’t know which one. … All I saw when they were on the ground was dark colors,” she said.
Six days later, however, she was sure: It was Zimmerman on top, she told trial prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda during a 21/2-minute recorded session.
“I know after seeing the TV of what’s happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size,” she said.
So in essence W#12 is saying, she had no idea who was on top, or who was on the bottom, until I saw the media information about the physical appearances of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin which looked like this:
Having read about 5′-11″ 248 lb George Zimmerman, and 5′ 8″ skinny 140 lb Trayvon Martin now she was sure that Zimmerman was on top. The bigger guy was on top, and by all media accounts Zimmerman was by far the biggest. Yup, that’s the ticket.
She read about them from the widely disbursed ABC’s Matt Gutman reporting of course. Aided with the narrative framing of Mr. Ryan Julison.
Boy if there was ever a witness whose testimony was shaped by the media you could consider this “Exhibit A”, for a class on media manipulation #101.
I wonder how much different her perspectives would have been had the media actually reported the factual information that George Zimmerman was 5′ 8″ and 170lbs, meanwhile Trayvon Martin was 6′ 2″ and 160+ lbs. The biggest guy was on top eh?
