The LookoutTrayvon Martin 911 call: Audio experts say likely not George Zimmerman screaming
A pair of audio experts who analyzed a 911 call made during the Feb. 26 killing of Trayvon Martin told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday that they don't believe the screams heard on the recording are those of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.
"There's a huge chance that this is not Zimmerman's voice," Ed Primeau, an audio engineer who is listed as an expert in recorded evidence by the American College of Forensic Examiners International, told the paper. "As a matter of fact, after 28 years of doing this, I would put my reputation on the line and say this is not George Zimmerman screaming."
The other—Tom Owen, chairman emeritus of the American Board of Recorded Evidence—also told the Sentinel he does not believe the screams came from Zimmerman.
Owen used Easy Voice Biometrics software to compare Zimmerman's voice to the 911 call screams, and it was a 48 percent match—well short of the 90 percent needed for a positive match, he said.
On CNN, Primeau said he's 95 percent sure the screams heard on the tape are not Zimmerman's.
[ Hear audio of the 911 call. ]
Both experts, though, cautioned that they cannot identify who was screaming with absolute certainty, in part, because they have no audio samples from Martin. ("I believe that's Trayvon Martin in the background, without a doubt," Primeau said. "That's a young man screaming.)
Zimmerman claims he shot the unarmed 17-year-old after a violent confrontation, and that he was screaming for help after Martin punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and slammed his head into the concrete.
A recording of Zimmerman screaming would bolster the 28-year-old's self-defense case.
A surveillance video released last week by ABC News shows Zimmerman being led into a police precinct for questioning the night of the shooting. On the video, Zimmerman does not appear to have serious injuries.
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