Rachel Jeantel, a friend of Trayvon Martin’s, and the last person known to have spoken to the teen before he was shot dead by George Zimmerman, told jurors that the two spent much of the day texting and talking on the phone.
Jeantel, 19, said Martin told her he was going to a neighborhood store to buy candy and an Arizona drink. She also said that Martin told her “a man was watching him,” as he made his way back home.
She said she asked Martin what the man looked like and he said he looked “creepy, a creepy-a** cracker.”
Jeantel said Martin told her the man continued to follow him and he said to her, “Oh sh**, the n***** is still behind me.” She said she advised Martin to run and he told her he was going to try to lose him by walking home.
She said that the pair got disconnected and she called Martin back and he answered.
Jeantel said Martin told her it was about to rain as he set off to go to the 7-eleven store and that the two talked about the All-Star game. She said that because it was raining Martin told her he was taking a short cut on his way back home. According to her, Martin took shelter by the mail box area of the community townhomes, for a period of time.
Jeantel said she told Trayvon she was worried the man was a rapist and he said to “stop playing with him like that.”
She told jurors she heard Martin say, “What are you following me for?” Then she heard a man breathing heavily say, “What are you doing around here?”
Jeantel then said she heard a bump and assumed it was Trayvon’s headset falling off. She next heard, “a grass sound” and then someone say, “Get off, get off.”
“Then I heard the phone shut off,” she said.
When asked why she lied about not attending Martin’s funeral, Jeantel said she felt guilty as she was the last person with whom the teen had spoken before he was killed.
Several times throughout her testimony, Jeantel could be seen wiping away tears, as did Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father.
Zimmerman’s defense attorney Don West began his cross-examination by reviewing the times when phone calls were made between Jeantel and Martin. He also explored how Jeantel had gotten drawn into the case, reluctantly, so much so that she initially lied about her age in an effort to maintain privacy.
Jeantel claimed she was only 16 years old when in fact she was 18 at the time of Martin’s murder.
Jeantel will again take the stand on Thursday, with West no doubt, continuing to undermine her credibility.
Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Martin. He has claimed self-defense.
Prosecutors say, Zimmerman followed, profiled and fatally shot the teen believing he was up to no good.
