Tracy Martin (L) and Sybrina Fulton join the family’s legal counsel Benjamin Crump on June 24, 2013, in Sanford, Florida/AFP
MIAMI, July 5 – The anguished screams on a 911 call echoed through a Florida courtroom Friday as prosecutors wrapped up their case at the Trayvon Martin trial.
The mother of slain 17 year old Martin testified to prosecutors that the cries on the recording belonged to her son, who was shot dead by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February last year.
But just hours after Sybrina Fulton’s gripping testimony in the racially charged case, Zimmerman’s defense countered by calling the 29 year old’s mother Gladys to the stand.
Gladys Zimmerman insisted the screams picked up in the recording were those of her son, who says he shot Martin in self defense after being attacked by the teenager.
Asked whose voice she thought she could hear, she replied: “My son George.”
Asked if she was certain, she added: “Because he’s my son.”
The identity of the person screaming on the 911 call has become a pivotal piece of evidence in the trial, which has garnered widespread coverage in the United States.
Prosecutors say the screams belong to Martin, supporting their case that Zimmerman was the aggressor in the incident.
Defense attorneys have argued however that it is the accused on the tape, backing their client’s claim that he acted in self defense.
Martin’s mother however told jurors earlier Friday she was in no doubt that it was her son after being played the tape.
Asked who she thought it was, she replied: “Trayvon Benjamin Martin.”
The slain youth’s older brother, Jahvaris Fulton, 22, also said he was certain that the person shouting was Trayvon.
Defense attorney Mark O’ Mara however replayed a statement tape during a deposition in which Fulton said he was not entirely sure who was yelling.
“I guess I didn’t want to believe that it was him, that’s why during that interview I said I wasn’t sure,” Fulton said, when asked about his earlier statement.
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