Key Witness In Zimmerman Accused Of Lying Under Oath

The murder trial of George Zimmerman just got a bit more complicated after an attorney revealed in open court that the girlfriend of teenager Trayvon Martin, known as Witness 8, is believed to have lied about her whereabouts following his death. The girlfriend has supplied a key account that portrayed Zimmerman as the aggressor from a brief telephone call with Martin. However, Mark O’Mara revealed in court that she is believed to have lied in stating under oath that she did not go to Martin’s funeral because she was hospitalized. While that does not change the account of the telephone call, it would be a lie under oath that could be prosecuted and would chip away at her credibility, particularly with another witness saying that Martin was seen on top of Zimmerman shortly before the shooting.

News accounts report that defense attorney Don West in court said that the girlfriend “lied” and that “[s]he, in fact, did not go to the hospital as she stated under oath.” West is quoted as saying that “[prosecutor] Mr. [John] Guy represented there would not be hospital records confirming her sworn statement, because, in fact, she lied.”

A lie in a sworn statement is a crime and we have previously discussed how prosecutors are often inconsistent in who they choose to charge — sometimes giving a pass to false accusers in high profile cases like the one involving the Duke Lacrosse case.

The lie, if proven, will add to the difficulty in the case. I have previously expressed my view that the prosecutors have yielded to public pressure in over-charging the case. Prosecutors will be in a tough position if a key witness made up her hospitalization under oath.

Source: Orlando Sentinel