Zimmerman to be released on $150,000 bail in Trayvon Martin case

Speaking publicly for the first time since her husband shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in February, George Zimmerman’s wife of almost five years said Friday her husband is not a violent person and he poses no danger to the community.

“Absolutely he is not a violent person, nor a threat to the community,” Shellie Nicole Zimmerman testified at her husband’s bail hearing. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, is asking the court to release his client while he awaits trial on a charge of second-degree murder in Martin’s death.

Shellie Zimmerman spoke to the court session, presided over by Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester, through a phone connection because she is concerned for her safety, adding that she has received hate mail.

She did not, however, report the mail to the police, she admitted upon cross-examination. Zimmerman, who is a nursing student four weeks shy of graduation, said she would “absolutely” ensure that her husband would be present in court for his trial if he were to be released on bail.

She added her husband has been living in hiding since the shooting.

Zimmerman’s lawyer asks for bail of no more than $15,000 during his trial.

George Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder in the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, on Friday apologized to Martin's parents during a brief appearance on the witness stand at a bail hearing in a Florida court.  

"I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," Zimmerman said.