George Zimmerman had contended that the teenager grabbed his gun in the midst of a struggle.
Trayvon Martin’s DNA was not found on the gun that killed him, according to the result of forensic tests that indicated that George Zimmerman had been the only one who handled the gun.
Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed 17-year-old Martin in Florida earlier this year, has long maintained that the teenager grabbed his gun from a holster. Zimmerman said he shot the high school student in self-defense after Martin grabbed his gun and has pled not-guilty.
Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, in February.
The forensic tests concluded that Zimmerman's DNA was the only one that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot Martin. The tests were inconclusive as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster.
In Zimmerman’s account of the incident, Martin was on top of him, slamming his head against the ground when he grabbed his gun from a holster before Martin could get it.
Trayvon Martin’s parents and their lawyer have contended that the teenager was racially profiled. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Peruvian.
“The biggest thing it proves is that objective evidence has contradicted Zimmerman’s version of what happened when he shot Trayvon Martin in the heart,” said Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Martin’s parents, in an interview with BET.com. “And again, Zimmerman’s credibility is called into question by the evidence.”
BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
(Photo: REUTERS/State Attorney's Office /LANDOV)
On Facebook
On Twitter
