JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In a new set of evidence to be released by the state, we're expecting to learn more about the night 28-year-old George Zimmerman and 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's lives intersected.
This new evidence includes Trayvon's autopsy report, more crime scene photos, and details of what Zimmerman said to police that February night he shot and killed Trayvon. His attorneys fought to keep that information sealed, fearing it may be considered a confession.
Local attorney Randy Reep has been following this case closely for us. He said, "Here the judge has found, in reading his order, that this isn't a confession. That he acknowledges he shot Trayvon Martin. But the culpability, the acknowledgment of guilt isn't there, at least in the judge's findings."
Reep says each new piece of evidence released to the media will make it that much harder to find an impartial jury, come trial time.
"It continues to have the same impact of potentially poisoning a perspective jury pool," he said, "Just more opportunity for more people to learn about the case and thus not be able to bring an unbiased mind into the jury room."
If anything, Reep says the arrest of Zimmerman's wife may change the dynamics of this case. Until Shellie Zimmerman was arrested on perjury charges, no one really knew what she looked like. The couple was in hiding, in fear of their lives. Now she, too, is in the public eye.
"Now, all of the sudden, a man who has had his bond revoked, sitting in jail, and his wife is facing a 3rd degree felony, his negotiational mind set may have substantially shifted. There's a lot more on the table now," said Reep.
There are some things that will not be released to the media. That includes witness information and photos of Trayvon's body.
The State Attorney's Office is expected to released the new evidence within the next 14 days.
