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Experts Say It Was Not George Zimmerman Crying For Help On Trayvon Martin 911 Call
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 1, 2012
Modified Apr 1, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 1, 2012
Modified Apr 1, 2012
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Two forensic voice identification experts have examined the 911 call made the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot in Florida, and both agree the screams for help heard right before Martin was shot were not from Zimmerman. Tom Owen, forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence, told the Orlando Sentinel he used biometrics voice software to compare the screams with Zimmerman's voice. It returned a 48 percent match—Owen said to reach a positive match with audio of this quality, he'd expect higher than 90 percent. "As a result of that, you can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it's not Zimmerman," Owen concluded.
Above, you can hear the 911 call in question, made by a female neighbor on Feb. 26. Audio engineer and forensics expert Ed Primeau used different methods to analyze the screams, and came to the same conclusion: "I believe that's Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt," Primeau said, stressing that the tone of the voice is a giveaway. "That's a young man screaming." Owen added that he couldn't confirm the voice as Martin's, because he didn't have a sample of the teen's voice to compare.
Led by Rev. Al Sharpton among others, over a thousand protesters wearing Martin t-shirts and carrying signs rallied at police headquarters in Sanford yesterday, calling for the arrest of Zimmerman, who remains in hiding (Martin's family lawyer called Zimmerman a "vigilante" recently). "We live in the middle of an American paradox," Sharpton told the crowd. "We can put a black man in the White House but we cannot walk a black child through a gated neighborhood. We are not selling out, bowing out or backing down until there is justice for Trayvon." CNN's Roland Martin fought back at conservatives who have been criticizing the rallies and protests, listing all the developments in the case the past few weeks that would not have happened if "thousands across the national [had] not mobilized, organized and took to the streets to demand justice for Trayvon."
And for the first time since Martin's death, his older brother Jahvaris Fulton spoke out about his loss: "I kind of still don't believe it, which is why it's not easy for me to talk about him, because I just think he's coming back." Fulton added that he had considered dropping out of Florida International University but had resolved to stay, because: "I think about him, and then my future, so here I am."
Tagged
death
fatal shooting
george zimmerman
trayvon martin
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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