Trayvon Martin Case Update: Judge Won't Allow Scream, Audio Testimony

The Florida judge in the Trayvon Martin murder case ruled Saturday she will not allow prosecutors to use the audio of a screaming voice heard on a 911 call just seconds before the teen was shot and killed to be used as evidence during the trial.

Judge Debra Nelson rendered her ruling after hearing days of testimony from dueling experts over the reliability of such new-age, high-tech evidence. One prosecution expert had completely ruled out George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who has admitted to shooting the unarmed teen, as the voice that was screaming and another positively identified the voice as that of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

While Nelson’s ruling does not prevent prosecutors from playing the 911 calls themselves at trial, the screams were thought to be crucial pieces of evidence because they could determine who the aggressor was in sparking the confrontation.

Despite ignoring direct police orders to cease with following the teen, Zimmerman claims he only fired in self-defense after the unsuspecting teen inexplicably attacked him.

Previously hired by the Orlando Sentinel to compare a voice sample of Zimmerman with screams for help captured on the emergency calls placed by neighbors, audio experts Tom Owen and Alan Reich had concluded his voice didn’t match any of the screams heard in the calls. “That’s what tells me the screams aren’t George Zimmerman,” he said.  

Still, Nelson wrote in her decision: “There is no evidence to establish that their scientific techniques have been tested and found reliable.”

Opening statements are set for Monday in the second-degree murder trial, which is likely to run anywhere from two to four weeks. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty.

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