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George Zimmerman arrives trial July 8.
By James Novogrod, Tom Winter and Tracy Connor, NBC News
Two police officers testified Monday that Trayvon Martin?s father told them the person screaming for help in the background of a 911 call before a shot rang out was not his son.
?There is no doubt he was telling us that -- that didn?t sound like his son to him,? Officer Doris Singleton told the court.
The testimony came after a parade of defense witnesses took the stand to swear that the shrieks they heard on the tape came from George Zimmerman, 29, who claims he killed Martin, 17, in self-defense.
The officers? account stands in contrast to testimony last week from Martin?s mother and brother ? who said they are certain the teen is the one pleading for help.
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LeAnne Benjamin, a friend of George Zimmerman, smiles while identifying him in court July 8.
Zimmerman?s team has not called Martin?s father, Tracy Martin, to the stand.
The dueling identifications are important because both sides are expected to argue that the person pleading for help is the one being attacked during the Feb. 26, 2012, confrontation in a gated community of Sanford, Fla.
The judge has ruled that audio experts cannot testify during the trial about who they think is screaming because the voice-recognition technology they used is not reliable enough -- but that people who personally knew Zimmerman or Martin could weigh in.
Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and says that he shot Martin after being attacked. Prosecutors contend Zimmerman profiled and followed the unarmed Martin before shooting him dead.
Tracy Martin met with police a few days after the shooting and they played the neighbor?s call to 911 for him.
?I believe my words were, ?Is that your son?s voice in the background?? I think I said it a little differently than that,?? Serino said.
He said the father?s response was ?verbal and non-verbal.?
?He looked away and under his breath, as I interpreted it, said, ?No.??
On cross-examination, prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda hammered home the idea that the father was distraught after listening to the tape.
?He was hearing for the first time ? right -- the death of his son?? de la Rionda asked.
Neither Serino nor Singleton wavered from the idea that the father did not recognize the screaming as his son?s.
?He was telling Chris it was not his son?s voice,? Singleton said, adding that she choked up herself while watching Tracy Martin listen to the gunshot that killed his son.
?I have children myself,? she said.
?I remember feeling so awful for him that he would have to hear that.?
Earlier in the day, friends of Zimmerman took the stand to say he was the one yelling.
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that is George Zimmerman, and I wish to God in my mind I didn't have the ability to understand that,? said John Donnelly, who testified that his experience as a medic in Vietnam gave him the ability to discern screams.
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Mark Osterman, a friend of George Zimmerman, describes the type of gun Zimmerman owned while testifying July 8.
He said he thinks of Zimmerman as his son and revealed that he had spent $4,700 on the former neighborhood watch volunteer?s legal defense, suits for the trial and other expenses.
Witnesses from both sides have been asked pointedly under cross-examination about their loyalty to Zimmerman or Martin, with the implication that it might have influenced their recognition of the shrieks.
?You want to believe it is George Zimmerman, correct?? de la Rionda asked Donnelly?s wife, LeAnne Benjamin.
?It is George Zimmerman,? Benjamin said.
Monday?s witnesses also included Zimmerman friend Mark Osterman, an air marshal, who recounted giving him advice about which gun to buy. He said the weapon Zimmeman used to shoot Martin, the Keltec 9mm, was a good choice for self-defense.
?I suggested that you keep one loaded in the chamber,? Osterman said.
George Zimmerman has sued NBC Universal for defamation. The company strongly denies the allegation.
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This story was originally published on Mon Jul 8, 2013 1:16 PM EDT
Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663306/s/2e60badc/l/0Lusnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C0A80C193551710Ecops0Etestify0Emartins0Efather0Esaid0Escreams0Ewerent0Ehis0Esons0Dlite/story01.htm
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