17 yo Trayvon Martin Shot to Death by Neighborhood Watch Captain #25

[octobermoon]

We know she didn't make any contact with his mother or brother (mother's son) or that would have been part of the story. The story begins with an 8 am call from Tracey Martin to LE to report him missing.

Kids circle and keep each other's secrets. That's all I can come up with to think why she wouldn't have alerted his mother. He was already in significant trouble, and running to the family would very likely cause them to be aware of yet another piece of trouble Trayvon was in.

Knowing kids, and how they huddle and don't tattle, all I can think is she thought he was probably fine and telling on him would reveal something to his parents he didn't want revealed.

Can anyone else think of another reason she would keep this mum?

Keep what mum from who/whom? We have no idea if she knew Trayvon's family's phone #s. This is 2012, almost all teens and most adults have cells. I only know senior citizens who still have land lines. Trayvon was miles away walking. Did she know his exact location when the phone went dead? Could she even imagine that her boyfriend was shot dead? I am over twice her age and don't know anyone personally who was killed by a bullet. How long had they been sweet on each other. Had she been to his home? Would she even know where he lived with his mother? Why on earth would you think she was keeping secrets? We don't know yet. We really don't know. She is a minor. A child caught up in nightmare that I hope someday won't haunt her dreams. I for one will give her the benefit of the doubt. JMO IMO MOO

 

[tehcloser]

Good point. TM could have used a setting that "locked" the phone after it had not been in use for X number of minutes.

TM would not have had to "use" it, it's automatic.

 

[JeannaT]

Yep that's what happens. After a few seconds of being idle, the phone locks itself.

So, this follow up is really unrelated but I'm curious.

If you have a password protected phone, and you lose it, you're SOL? No one can open it to look through your contacts, or answer it if it rings?

(Phones with GPS on them could be found again, I guess, but without GPS, you would never have your phone returned).

 

[gxm]

Is she white? Asian? Latina?

The only photo of her that I've seen had her face blurred out. The one where she is standing next to TM. She has a dark complexion, from what I can tell, I would guess she is either AA or Latina, but I could be wrong.

JMO, OMO, and :moo:

 

[LynnM]

No, she couldn't have affected the outcome.

But I believe this paints kind of a different picture of what actually was going on - what Trayvon was telling her, and the brief conversation she overheard.

As she tells the story, any girlfriend would have been in a terror panic after hearing that. The fact that she didn't react like a girl terrified for the safety of her boyfriend colors my perception of what actually took place, and what actually she overheard.

Well let's say they had a normal conversation, she heard nothing to alarm her, and then they hung up. The call lasted from 7:12 - 7:16. 911 calls started coming in about 15 seconds later reporting shouting. The shot was heard at 7:16:41 and the police arrived at 7:17 and Trayvon was dead. That's such a tiny window of time for an unarmed teen to do something that made Zimmerman fear for his life and shoot Trayvon. Zimmerman's story just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[gxm]

TM would not have had to "use" it, it's automatic.

Not on my phone. I would have to create it in the settings. I never password protect my phone because I'm lousy at remembering passwords. Yes, it will "lock," but the lock can be opened with a finger swipe, no password needed.

 

[tehcloser]

So, this follow up is really unrelated but I'm curious.

If you have a password protected phone, and you lose it, you're SOL? No one can open it to look through your contacts, or answer it if it rings?

(Phones with GPS on them could be found again, I guess, but without GPS, you would never have your phone returned).

Pretty much......but iphones and droids get stolen with a quickness. That's why most of them are password protected.

 

[tehcloser]

Not on my phone. I would have to create it in the settings. I never password protect my phone because I'm lousy at remembering passwords. Yes, it will "lock," but the lock can be opened with a finger swipe, no password needed.

That's the way mine is.....but if you do have it password protected, it's on all the time, it's not something you do after every phone call.

 

[thefragile7393]

And I'm wondering what this has to do with anything since it would not have changed the outcome of Trayvon ending up dead. The girl has no superpowers.

I think that her story should be checked out like anyone else's...that is a given. There is a fine line, however, between investigating and out and out disrespect. The hard-nosed approach to investigating does not work for every situation. I have seen ugly and rude things posted about her, about TM, and his family-things that have not proven to be true as of yet. The mods have done a great job on keeping things flowing and keeping free thought expressed. They have been quick to quash much of the ugly stuff. We have to remember that yes, this is a board about crime and it is victim centered however not every person who comes here has the same mentality. The ignore button is beautiful for the few unreasonable ones lol.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[gxm]

Well let's say they had a normal conversation, she heard nothing to alarm her, and then they hung up. The call lasted from 7:12 - 7:16. 911 calls started coming in about 15 seconds later reporting shouting. The shot was heard at 7:16:41 and the police arrived at 7:17 and Trayvon was dead. That's such a tiny window of time for an unarmed teen to do something that made Zimmerman fear for his life and shoot Trayvon. Zimmerman's story just doesn't make any sense to me.

I keep wondering if the time on the individual phones was not synced and we are working with an inaccurate timeline. I can't imagine that one could hear shouts so alarming that one decides to call 911 within 15 seconds. I would imagine it takes longer than 15 seconds to find one's phone and dial through, and that doesn't even account for going to the window, or door, to see if the commotion warrants a 911 call.

JMO, OMO, and :moo:

 

[LolaMoon08]

Keep what mum from who/whom? We have no idea if she knew Trayvon's family's phone #s. This is 2012, almost all teens and most adults have cells. I only know senior citizens who still have land lines. Trayvon was miles away walking. Did she know his exact location when the phone went dead? Could she even imagine that her boyfriend was shot dead? I am over twice her age and don't know anyone personally who was killed by a bullet. How long had they been sweet on each other. Had she been to his home? Would she even know where he lived with his mother? Why on earth would you think she was keeping secrets? We don't know yet. We really don't know. She is a minor. A child caught up in nightmare that I hope someday won't haunt her dreams. I for one will give her the benefit of the doubt. JMO IMO MOO

I personally think she was too young to have an actual "relationship." I'm pretty sure this was only a school/phone relationship.

It's crazy because my niece's relationship started this exact same way. She was only 15-years-old when she started a relationship with her then 17-year-old boyfriend. She was not allowed to go on dates with him until she turned 16-years-old. He was allowed to come to family things (birthday parties, etc...), but the rest of it was a school/phone relationship. They are still together! He will be taking her to her Senior Prom tonight!

I think it depended on how far away she lived from Trayvon too? With school busing, she could live in a completely different part of the city as Trayvon did? I don't think Trayvon had a car to go and take her out? I also think it depends on the girls mother? Did she know Trayvon or Trayon's parents? It may not have even been that serious to have them meet each other?

I don't know? We'll have to see?

 

[gxm]

So, this follow up is really unrelated but I'm curious.

If you have a password protected phone, and you lose it, you're SOL? No one can open it to look through your contacts, or answer it if it rings?

(Phones with GPS on them could be found again, I guess, but without GPS, you would never have your phone returned).

Pretty much. It's why I never password protect my phone. Which leaves me SOL if it's ever lost or stolen.

 

[MsCharlieChan]

If you haven't seen this girl repeatedly bashed, then I'm afraid you haven't been reading Trayvon's threads long enough.

I think it's quite possible that she may have been afraid to call the police due to a cultural belief that many blacks seem to share - that LE is not to be automatically trusted.

I've been planning to respond explaining the same thing... The many reasons the girlfriend may not have acted as quickly as naysayers think she should have...

1. Many blacks view LE vastly differently from whites. In cities across America, LE is often slow to respond. Worse, there are many issues with police brutality against blacks. So there is deep mistrust and belief that LE probably won't be helpful if you're black and call.

Indeed, the story goes... The girl & mom *did* call the cops and were blown off or whatever. Proof of the perceived problem.

2. There is also the possibility that she feared retribution, harm to herself or family. Many people are afraid to "tell on" someone, fearing they'll be tracked down and harmed. TM's girlfriend didn't know who was hunting him down, or why. For all she knows, it could have been a gang member after TM for some reason. "Snitching" on these kinds of kids can get you shot.

3. If I'm not mistaken, the girlfriend lives in Miami -- but TM was out of town, in Orlando area. I believe this is about a 6 hrs. drive away from the girl's home. Not that she's even old enough to have a driver's license.

4. I can see her worried and asking her mom to help her -- and mom possibly blowing it off initially. Mom might think the boyfriend is just goofing off somewhere or with another girl, that her daughter is over-reacting. Be patient, he'll call...

I don't know the exact timeline and circumstances behind when the girl / mom called LE. But I do know that many (MOST?!) blacks are hesitant to get LE involved.

Actually, make that AFRAID to get LE involved...

Sticking your nose in somebody else's crime gets people killed every day. They call it the "No Snitching" code. This girl had no idea who was after her boyfriend, so she had to think twice before calling LE.

Really, it was brave of her to call, given what I know about the mindset.

 

[raeann]

In this girls situation, here are a few of the things a reasonable person would believe about the phone long before they would assume an armed vigilante shot and killed the person they were talking to..

*the phone dropped on the ground and broke
*the phone got too wet in the rain and stopped working
*that Trayvon was busy explaining to the person who accosted him where his father lived and why he was there
*that Trayvon made it home and was telling his father about the weirdo that accosted him and that the father was dealing with the problem
*that she should leave texts and a message and that he would call her back as soon as he could--even from another phone if his was not working

jmo, moo, etc.

 

[tehcloser]

My almost 13 yo grandson has his phone password protected...he texts his little "girlfriend" and he doesn't want his younger brother or sister (or NANA) reading them....... :floorlaugh: I promise at 17 TM's would be protected for much the same reason.

 

[Elley Mae]

I've been planning to respond explaining the same thing... The many reasons the girlfriend may not have acted as quickly as naysayers think she should have...

1. Many blacks view LE vastly differently from whites. In cities across America, LE is often slow to respond. Worse, there are many issues with police brutality against blacks. So there is deep mistrust and belief that LE probably won't be helpful if you're black and call.

Indeed, the story goes... The girl & mom *did* call the cops and were blown off or whatever. Proof of the perceived problem.

2. There is also the possibility that she feared retribution, harm to herself or family. Many people are afraid to "tell on" someone, fearing they'll be tracked down and harmed. TM's girlfriend didn't know who was hunting him down, or why. For all she knows, it could have been a gang member after TM for some reason. "Snitching" on these kinds of kids can get you shot.

3. If I'm not mistaken, the girlfriend lives in Miami -- but TM was out of town, in Orlando area. I believe this is about a 6 hrs. drive away from the girl's home. Not that she's even old enough to have a driver's license.

4. I can see her worried and asking her mom to help her -- and mom possibly blowing it off initially. Mom might think the boyfriend is just goofing off somewhere or with another girl, that her daughter is over-reacting. Be patient, he'll call...

I don't know the exact timeline and circumstances behind when the girl / mom called LE. But I do know that many (MOST?!) blacks are hesitant to get LE involved.

Actually, make that AFRAID to get LE involved...

Sticking your nose in somebody else's crime gets people killed every day. They call it the "No Snitching" code. This girl had no idea who was after her boyfriend, so she had to think twice before calling LE.

Really, it was brave of her to call, given what I know about the mindset.

Who are they?

 

[LolaMoon08]

My almost 13 yo grandson has his phone password protected...he texts his little "girlfriend" and he doesn't want his younger brother or sister (or NANA) reading them....... :floorlaugh: I promise at 17 TM's would be protected for much the same reason.

Yup! They want their privacy! It's really important at the age.

 

[LolaMoon08]

Who are they?

Kids... mostly black kids.

 

[JBean]

Pretty much......but iphones and droids get stolen with a quickness. That's why most of them are password protected.

I concur.
mine is protected with a pattern of dots and only I know the pattern. It locks automagically after a few minutes of non use. So, my phone would be found locked and no one would be able to use it.

 

[Elley Mae]

My almost 13 yo grandson has his phone password protected...he texts his little "girlfriend" and he doesn't want his younger brother or sister (or NANA) reading them....... :floorlaugh: I promise at 17 TM's would be protected for much the same reason.

We gave daughter a phone for her 16th B-day, and if she had even thought about locking it, in the trash it would have went. As long as we paid the bill it was our phone for her to use. She had the phone for 10 years before she took over the bill. that's just us.