Morning :seeya:
Here's a thought:
GZ and TM got into a scuffle. In the commotion of the scuffle, the gun was unholstered and fought over. The gun, then went off with the bullet hitting and killing TM.
When LE got there - GZ told them "I shot him".
OK
IF you were in a fight with an unknown assailant and both of you had a hand on that gun and that gun ending up being fired - then WHY wouldn't you tell LE -
"I don't know, we were fighting over the gun and it went off" OR
"The gun just went off - we both had on hands on it" OR
"I don't know - it all happened so fast - the trigger got pulled" OR
Something to that effect? Why would you simply say "I shot him"?
If you were fighting and knew this was a self defense shooting - why wouldn't your first words include something about TM's hands being on the gun as well? Or at least something about struggling over the gun? Why would you simply conceed to "I shot him and the gun is in holstered in my waistband"?
Plus, GZ re-holstering the gun. He had the presence of mind to re-holster it. IF it was such a chaotic, unnerving event - wouldn't the gun just have been dropped? Since TM was face down and not moving - the chances of that gun being grabbed up and used again was slim to none. There was nobody else around, so the chances of someone else grabbing it was slim to none.
I imagine that if you are in a struggle over a gun and that gun fires - it would be a very confusing, upsetting, and very distressing moment - yet, GZ had the presence of mind to re-holster the gun? Plus, if both GZ's hand and TM's hand had been on that gun - there is evidence of that on the gun - DROP IT and preserve that evidence.
I'm not sure about the "shock" that GZ supposedly felt if he had the presence of mind to re-holster that gun instead of just dropping it. And then he confession of "I shot him" instead of saying at least something about "we fought over it" or "he tried to grab it from me" - SOMETHING that would let LE know (who have YOU at gunpoint at the moment BTW) that you didn't mean it - that it was an accident - that it could have been TM's finger on that trigger?
Do ya get what I'm trying to say here?
Why would GZ just openly offer up "I shot him" as his first words to LE? Why admit to a crime when you really believe that you aren't guilty of? Sure, GZ is the one the gun belonged to - but if it was self-defense and TM was trying to get the gun - then why not make some type of statement about that - first words outta your mouth.
I know if I had been GZ and there was a fight/struggle over the gun and it was fired and TM took the bullet - first thing I would have said was 'I don't know - it just went off. He tried to grab it from me" - something like that. But Icertainly wouldn't take complete and total blame right from the get-go. And then, weeks later - turn around and say it was self-defense.
JMHO