The confrontation that ended with unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin dead in Florida left George Zimmerman with a fractured nose, two black eyes, a minor back injury, and the head lacerations we’ve seen before, according to his family physician’s report the day after the shooting. Zimmerman also said he felt stress and “occasional nausea when thinking about the violence,” but as ABC reports, he “declined hospitalization the night of the shooting, and then declined the advice of his doctor to make a follow-up appointment with an ear nose and throat doctor.” An autopsy of Martin showed broken skin on his knuckles. What Zimmerman’s trial for second-degree murder will hope to make clear, in part, is who started it.
Zimmerman has claimed that Martin threw the first punch and he was forced to act in self-defense, while prosecutors believe that Zimmerman was the instigator after profiling and following Martin. The relative size of the men has been debated, with Martin described as 6 feet tall and between 140 and 160 pounds, while Zimmerman is about 5 feet, 9 inches and 200 pounds.
Lawyers for both sides are currently looking through evidence that includes 67 CDs filled with documents, Martin’s autopsy, and video of Zimmerman’s police questioning.
