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George Zimmerman was in court this week for a hearing. Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel
Michael Knox has written “Intermediate Range: The Forensic Evidence in the Killing of Trayvon Martin,” a self-published book. Pipitone’s reports, at 6 and 11 p.m., lean heavily on Knox’s work.
The 6 p.m. report offers a timeline of the movements by Martin and Zimmerman on Feb. 26, the night Zimmerman fatally shot the teen in Sanford. The 11 p.m. report focuses on forensics to explain the wound evidence. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in Martin’s death, and the trial will begin in June.
“The 6 o’clock piece casts doubt on Zimmerman’s account, but the 11 o’clock supports Zimmerman’s account of the crucial moment when he fired the shot,” Pipitone said.
Of the 11 p.m. report, Pipitone added, “We’re not saying it’s a scientific re-creation. It’s to visualize what stippling and cloth and gunshots produce when they come together.”
Pipitone praised Knox’s credentials and evenhanded approach to evidence in the headline-making case.
“He’s absolutely credible,” WKMG news director Steve Hyvonen said of Knox. “Tony did his own investigative work. We took what was in the book from this experienced officer and expanded on it.”
The 6 p.m. report runs five minutes, an eternity in television. The 11 p.m. report was being edited Friday afternoon. Pipitone will expand on his findings on “Flashpoint,” moderated by Lauren Rowe, at 8 a.m. Sunday.
Knox was a police officer and detective in Jacksonville, investigated hundreds of homicides and earned a master of science degree in forensic science from the University of Florida.
Knox saw an opportunity in writing about the Zimmerman case. “With such a polarized debate, a lot of details got lost in the shuffle,” he said. ”What I wanted to do was provide a more neutral presentation of the evidence.”
What does Pipitone want viewers to take away from the reports?
“They should wait for facts and evidence to be produced before jumping to any conclusions,” he said.
With the timeline, he added, “You see Trayvon could have gotten back to the house, had he gone to the house. And you see George could have gotten back to the truck, had he gone back to the truck. There’s up to 2 minutes and 32 seconds where neither did what they could have done.”
