Trayvon Martin: The Latest, Week 23

Friday, Aug. 10, 11:08 a.m. EDT: Travelers Insurance Co. sues Trayvon's Mother: Sybrina Fulton made an insurance claim against Travelers for about $75,000, Reuters reports. The insurance company had a policy with the homeowners' association at the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Fla., where Trayvon Martin was killed, under which it was required to cover certain injuries. But instead of paying out Fulton's claim, Travelers filed a lawsuit against Fulton so that a court would step in and clarify just what damages it owes, if any.

Thursday, Aug. 9, 3:35 p.m. EDT: Florida prosecutors mistakenly released a photocopied image of Trayvon Martin's body after he'd been killed, taken by an unnamed witness at the scene, as well as several copies of George Zimmerman's academic records and transcripts, the Smoking Gun (graphic image) reports. Several publications received the materials Thursday morning from the office of head Florida prosecutor Angela Corey. 

Thursday, Aug. 9, 10:46 a.m. EDT: "Stand your ground" hearing could clear Zimmerman, attorney says: Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, announced on his website that he'll argue at an upcoming hearing that, based on Florida's "Stand your ground" law (which allows people to use to deadly force rather than retreat if their lives are in danger), his client shot the unarmed teen in self-defense. He says a finding in Zimmerman's favor would end the criminal case against him and immunize him from civil action, Fox News reports. "Now that the State has released the majority of their discovery, the defense asserts that there is clear support for a strong claim of self-defense. Consistent with this claim of self-defense, there will be a 'Stand Your Ground' hearing," O'Mara said in a statement.

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 8:29 a.m. EDT: Attorney: Zimmerman case unlikely to go to trial before next year: Yesterday, the judge in George Zimmermans' second-degree-murder case granted lawyers more time to prepare their case, the Miami Herald reports. Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, asked to reschedule a scheduling hearing that was set to take place Tuesday and wrote on his website: "There is still a great deal of information to be gathered regarding this case, and we are in the early stages of preparing our reciprocal discovery -- a process that can take a few months -- and it is simply too early in the process to set firm trial dates." He said that more delays are expected and the case probably would not be ready for trial until early next year.

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 10:38 a.m. EDT: Trayvon's mother seeks money from homeowners' association and crime victims' fund: The Washington Post reports that Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sylvia Fulton, is asking for at least $75,000 from the homeowners' association of the gated community where the unarmed 17-year-old was fatally shot by neighborhood-watch volunteer George Zimmerman, according to court documents. Fulton has reportedly also asked for an undisclosed amount of money from a state fund set up to help crime victims.

Monday, Aug. 6, 10:22 a.m. EDT: Amateur sleuths form "Trayvon Martin Truth Squad": Two citizen journalists in Texas created a site -- theyalwaysgetaway.com -- where they have posted most of the material made available in George Zimmerman's second-degree-murder case, in which he's charged in the death of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin. They're not the only non-law enforcement figures dedicated to reviewing all of the available evidence (and there is plenty, thanks to public-records laws in Florida that make it available before trial). The Miami Herald reports that they're part of a growing group determined to crack the case and share the information they uncover online; the newspaper also reports that there's disagreement among them about what took place the night Trayvon was killed. "The mainstream media overlooked everything," a member of a crime forum called Justice Quest told the Miami Herald. "Did you really do your job if you didn't look at the evidence?" And Zimmerman's attorney has reportedly jumped into the fray to be sure that evidence favorable to the defense makes its way into the blogosphere.

Read last week's updates on the Trayvon Martin case here.

Read all of The Root's news and commentary about the Trayvon Martin case here.

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