ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Murder defendant George Zimmerman could have defused the confrontation with Trayvon Martin if he would have identified himself as a neighborhood watch leader, the lead investigator wrote in an investigative report released Tuesday.
Another investigator wrote that on the night of the shooting, two lie detector tests given to Zimmerman found he wasn't lying about what happened. The results of such tests are usually not admissible in court.
Sanford detective Chris Serino said Zimmerman verbally confronted the unarmed 17-year-old before the physical fight that ended when Zimmerman shot and killed Martin. But he didn't say he was with the neighborhood watch group. The two got into a fistfight and the 28-year-old Zimmerman maintains Martin attacked him and was beating him up before he fatally shot him. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
Serino wrote in his report that Zimmerman and witnesses said the defendant who was in his car avoided Martin when he first saw him because, as he told investigators, "was afraid of Martin." Serino also said later in the encounter, Zimmerman got out of his SUV and followed Martin.
Based on his investigation, Serino recommended a charge of manslaughter to the state attorney.