George Zimmerman: Trayvon Martin threatened my life
By Ashley Hayes, CNN
(CNN) - Just hours after fatally shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman told police investigators the shooting followed a life-and-death struggle in which the teen told him, "You're going to die tonight."
Read the written statement from Zimmerman to police about what happened (PDF)
The audio of the February 26 interviews, made public late Wednesday, is part of discovery items released by Zimmerman's defense team. The recordings represent the first time Zimmerman is heard giving his account in his own words.
Also released were audio and video showing the techniques used by the police department in the investigation: interviews conducted in the days after the shooting, a video of a voice stress test administered to Zimmerman by police and his videotaped re-enactment of the incident for authorities.
Zimmerman, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in Martin's February 26 shooting death. Zimmerman has said he shot Martin in self-defense, but Martin's family and civil rights activists across the country said Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, racially profiled Martin and ignored a 911 dispatcher's advice not to follow him.
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