Gary W. Green / Pool via Reuters
Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, took the stand Friday during George Zimmerman's trial.
By James Novogrod, Tom Winter and Tracy Connor
The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Trayvon Martin testified Friday that the teen may have lived for up to 10 minutes after being shot in the heart by George Zimmerman.
?His heart was still beating. Every time his heart was beating, some of the blood would go from right ventricle to the pulmonary artery to the lung and supply his brain,? Dr. Shiping Bao said on the ninth day of testimony in the trial.
?I believe -- it is my opinion -- that he was still alive, he was still in pain, he was still in suffering.?
The defense objected to that characterization and Judge Debra Nelson sustained the objection.
Bao testified that the bullet traveled a straight path -- not at an angle -- from the front of Martin's chest to his back, piercing his heart and lung.
It was fired at what he called "intermediate range" with the muzzle? in "loose contact? with Martin's clothing.
Bao also told the court there were three abrasions on Martin's left hand -- one on his fourth finger, and two smaller abrasions on his fifth finger.
"This could have occurred two hours before he died, could have happened right after the shooting, on the way down to the ground, could have happened during the physical struggle," he said.
Bao?s testimony took an unexpected turn during cross examination when he told the court he can?t remember anything about the autopsy and was relying on his notes, the report and photos.
MSNBC's Craig Melvin, Lisa Bloom and Prof. Jelani Cobb recap the testimonies from Sybrina Fulton and Jahvaris Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother and brother, during the trial of George Zimmerman.
Then, while being grilled about how his office handled Martin?s wet clothing, he said that no one could remember something that happened almost two years earlier.
And he revealed that he had done independent research into memory and taken notes that he began reading on the stand, sparking a break so that both sides could review them.
Zimmerman, 29, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the Feb. 26, 2012, death of Martin, 17. He says he fired his gun in self-defense after Martin attacked him.
Earlier, Martin?s mother and brother testified that he is the person heard yelling in the background of a 911 call made during the teen?s confrontation with Zimmerman.
?That screaming or yelling ? do you recognize that,? prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda asked Martin?s mother, Sybrina Fulton.
?Travyon Benjamin Martin,? she said.
On cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark O?Mara suggested that Fulton wanted to hear her son?s voice because if Zimmerman was screaming, ?you would have to accept the probability that it was Trayvon Martin that caused his own death.?
?I heard my son screaming,? said Fulton, who said she first heard the recording during a family meeting inside Sanford City Hall in March 2012.
?You certainly would hope that your son Trayvon Martin did nothing that could have led to his own death?? O?Mara pressed her later.
?What I hope for is that this wouldn?t have never happened and that he would still be here,? Fulton replied, adding that she did not believe Martin was responsible for his death.
Her eldest son, Jahvaris Fulton, 22, also testified the ?yelling and screaming? was Martin?s but confirmed under cross-examination that after he heard the tape for the first time he told a local TV reporter he wasn?t ?completely positive.?
?I guess I didn?t want to believe that it was him so that?s why during that interview I said I wasn?t sure. I guess listening to it was clouded by shock and denial and sadness,? he said.
A police report shows that Martin?s father, Tracy Martin, heard it during an interview days after his son's death, before the City Hall meeting.
Jacob Langston / AP
George Zimmerman, shown here with defense attorney Don West in court on July 3.
According to the report, Martin told lead investigator Chris Serino that the voice was not his son's. He did not testify on Friday morning.
The 911 call in question was made by a neighbor who heard the commotion outside her home in the Retreat at Twin Lakes complex in Sanford, Fla.
The judge has already ruled that neither side can present technical experts to say who is screaming, but family and friends can testify about what they believe.
Editor?s note: George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation. The company strongly denies the allegation.
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This story was originally published on Fri Jul 5, 2013 10:51 AM EDT
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