Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin, pauses while testifying in George Zimmerman’s trial on Monday, July 8, 2013, at the Seminole Circuit Court, in Sanford, Fla.SANFORD, Fla. – Trayvon Martin’s father testified Monday that he never denied it was his son’s voice screaming for help on a 911 call, contradicting police officers’ earlier testimony at George Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial.
Tracy Martin was the latest in a series of witnesses called by lawyers on both sides as they seek to convince jurors of who was the aggressor in the nighttime confrontation that left Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, dead in February 2012. Later in the day, the Florida judge ruled that defense attorneys may present evidence to the jury that Trayvon Martin had marijuana in his system when he died.
The teen’s father testified that he merely told officers he couldn’t tell if it was his son after his first time listening to the call, which captured the audio of a fight between Martin and Zimmerman.
“I never said that wasn’t my son’s voice,” said Tracy Martin, who added that he concluded it was his son after listening to the call as many as 20 times.
Before Tracy Martin took the witness stand, the lead Sanford, Fla. police investigator who probed Martin’s death testified that the father had answered “no” when the detective asked if the screams belonged to Trayvon Martin. Officer Chris Serino played the 911 call for Tracy Martin in the days immediately following Trayvon Martin’s death in February 2012.