Trayvon Martin Case: Did George Zimmerman Whisper a Racial Slur During 911 Call?

It's been almost a month since George Zimmerman tracked down and fatally shot 17-year-old Miami native Trayvon Martin in a Stanford, Florida, gated community, and Zimmerman remains a free man with no charges filed. Today, the state attorney for Brevard and Seminole counties announced that a grand jury will look into the case. The federal Justice Department has also announced that it will review the killing of the unarmed black teenager.

Zimmerman's call to 911 was released over the weekend -- the one in which he was told to not follow Martin -- and in the tape it sure sounds like Zimmerman mutters a racial slur under his breath.

Journalist Touré, a regular contributor to magazines like The New Yorker and Rolling Stone, pointed out on Twitter this morning that Zimmerman may have whispered "fucking coons" under his breath during his 911 call. The utterance can be heard at about the 2:21 mark in the video below:



Though, others have proposed that Zimmerman may have whispered "fucking tools" or "fucking punks."

Zimmerman's father Robert has said that his son isn't racist, and as a Hispanic is a minority himself.

"George is a Spanish speaking minority with many black family members and friends," Robert wrote in a letter released to the Orlando Sentinel.

Here's the rest of what Robert Zimmerman had to say about his son:

He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever. One black neighbor recently interviewed said she knew everything in the media was untrue and that she would trust George with her life. Another black neighbor said that George was the only one, black or white, who came and welcomed her to the community, offering any assistance he could provide. Recently, I met two black children George invited to a social event. I asked where they met George. They responded that he was their mentor. They said George visited them routinely, took them places, helped them, and taught them things and that they really loved George. The media portrayal of George as a racist could not be further from the truth.