While much attention has focused on whether George Zimmerman showed evidence of a fight, less has been said about the condition of Travyon Martin’s body. Forensic evidence should be able to establish whether he participated in a hand-to-hand fight with Mr. Zimmerman. At the least he would have sustained bruising to his own hands and body consistent with an attack, if Zimmerman’s account is true.
Gunshot evidence should also offer some rough guide as to his and Zimmerman’s relative positions when he was shot, although there are limits as to what this would tell detectives in regard to Zimmerman’s veracity.
According to CBS News, Sanford police officers interviewed at least six witnesses in the wake of the killing. None saw the beginning of the fight, or the gunshot, according to CBS News. But their stories, compared with the hard evidence generated by attempting to answer the previous questions, could provide a context bearing on what happened.
Much about this case remains mysterious, of course. Did Trayvon really tell Zimmerman that “you’re going to die now,” as Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman, said in an interview with a Florida TV station aired March 29. How could the lighter Trayvon pummel the much heavier, older Zimmerman, as the latter maintains?
Sanford police have now turned the case over to local prosecutors, who are in essence reinvestigating the evidence to see if Zimmerman should be charged. The FBI has begun a civil rights investigation. If there is a trial, real facts bearing on answers to the above questions will be produced.
Currently, the Trayvon Martin killing is being litigated in the court of public opinion. Amid the cacophony, it’s worth remembering that George Zimmerman’s fate may ultimately be determined in a court of law.
