SANFORD, Fla. -- George Zimmerman sat quietly in court Friday, looking stoic, and a little heavier than the last time we saw him. When asked about his brother's appearance, Robert Zimmerman said, "I think when you're in semi-confinement like that, and you eat the same things, you can't really move around and exercise a lot. Your appearance would change. Mine has too."
George Zimmerman is charged with the second degree murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. He claims the shooting was in self-defense. And his defense team now has access to Trayvon's school records and social media posts to try and prove that.
"We're getting what we want," said Mark O'Mara after Friday's hearing. He said those records speak to Trayvon's character and a possible propensity for violence. "There are videos out there suggesting that he involved himself in MMA fighting, that he has an experienced level with that," said O'Mara.
When it came to the social media, Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said, "Let him have it."
But when it came to Trayvon's school records, prosecutors and the teenager's family said they are irrelevant. Tracy Martin, Trayvon's father said, "I feel Trayvon's school records are not relevant in this case and I feel that George Zimmerman's medical records are very relevant in this case."
At the time of Trayvon's death in February, he had been suspended from school for having an empty bag of marijuana. The question this entire time has been, who was the aggressor here? George Zimmerman or Trayvon Martin? It will ultimately be up to a jury to decide.
The state didn't leave completely empty-handed. It had requested Zimmerman's medical records to see if prescription medication may have played a role in the shooting. The defense agreed to release the records 30 days before the shooting, and 30 days after the shooting.
More hearings are scheduled for next week. A tentative trial date is set for June 10 of next year.
