Witnesses in the Trayvon Martin case have changed their stories "in ways that may damage" George Zimmerman, according to new reports. The four witnesses, all neighbors, were interviewed multiple times by police and special prosecutors about what they saw on February 26.
That was the night in which Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in Sanford, Fla.
Four days after the shooting, one woman told police she "saw two guys running" and then "a fistfight ... just fists, I don't know who was hitting who."
But on March 20, she told investigators she saw just one person.
"I couldn't tell you if it was a man, a woman, a kid, black or white," the woman, "Witness 2," said. "I couldn't tell you because it was dark and because I didn't have my contacts on or glasses. I just know that I saw a person out there."
Another witness, who was initially interviewed on March 20, said she saw two people on the ground immediately after the shooting.
She was not sure who was on top then, the Orlando Sentinel says. Six days later, however, she was sure: It was Zimmerman on top.
The woman, "Witness 12," said:
"I know after seeing the TV of what's happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size."
A third witness, "Witness 6," told police on the night of the shooting he saw a black man (Martin) on top of a lighter-skinned man.
The assailant was "just throwing down blows on the guy, MMA-style," he said then, noting that the light-skinned man was calling for help.
Interviewed later by investigators, he said he was not sure who was calling for help, and says he is not sure any punches were thrown.
A fourth witness said he heard the shooting that night, ran outside, and saw Zimmerman standing with "blood on the back of his head."
According to "Witness 13," Zimmerman, who claims self-defense, told him that Trayvon Martin "was beating up on me, so I had to shoot him."
A month later, the same witness described Zimmerman's demeanor:
"[It was] not like 'I can't believe I just shot someone!' It was more like, 'Just tell my wife I shot somebody,' like it was nothing."
He faces the charge of second-degree murder for his actions.
Zimmerman is free on bail, having pleaded not guilty at his arraignment nearly two months after the killing, for which he was not initially charged.
Last week, Trayvon Martin's autopsy report was leaked to the press and contained information that some felt benefited Zimmerman.
It's not clear why the witnesses' accounts have apparently changed or what impact they might have on the murder case when he is tried.
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Given that several witnesses have claimed that police changed their statements, I doubt highly that it as the witnesses who changed their story.
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