A medical examination of George Zimmerman a day after he fatally shot Florida teen Trayvon Martin shows that he had a fractured nose and other injuries, according to a report by CNN.
Quoting sources with detailed knowledge of the investigation, CNN said Zimmerman’s family doctor conducted the exam, which also found the community watchman to have two black eyes and two cuts on the back of his head that apparently came from his confrontation with Martin on Feb. 26.
Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder for the killing of the 17-year-old African-American teenager after following him as he walked from a convenience store to a Sanford, Fla., house where he was staying.
Zimmerman, 28, has acknowledged shooting Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense because the youth attacked him, knocked him to the ground, and then banged his head against concrete.
CNN said the report from the exam “appears to lend support to Zimmerman’s claims” and “mirrors earlier statements made by Zimmerman’s father, brother, and lawyer.”
In March, Zimmerman’s brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., told CNN: “We’re confident the medical records are going to explain all of George’s medical history. You return force with force when somebody assaults you. George was out of breath, he was barely conscious. George [would have been] dead if he had not acted decisively and instantaneously in that moment.”
But Benjamin Crump, the Martin family attorney, said there are still questions about Zimmerman’s medical condition at the time.
“The [Martin] family has very strong positions about this [Zimmerman] family physician’s report that was done the next day,” Crump told CNN.
“What we do know is on February 26, the ER personnel did not believe his injuries were significant enough for him to go to the hospital,” he said. “They didn’t even put a Band-Aid on his head. That’s important.”
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