Friday, April 5, 1:36 p.m. EDT: Trayvon Martin's parents settle a wrongful-death claim: Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin are believed to have settled for more than $1 million with the homeowners association of the Sanford, Fla., subdivision where their teenage son was killed more than a year ago, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The settlement was revealed through a portion of the paperwork filed at the Seminole County Courthouse by their attorney, Benjamin Crump, which was made public on Friday. While the settlement amount had been redacted, George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, said during an interview in February that the parties tried to settle through mediation, and the association or its insurer had offered $1 million, but Trayvon's parents had rejected that amount. O'Mara told the paper that the two parties then renewed talks and agreed to settle several months ago.
Tuesday, April 2, 12:09 p.m. EDT: Trayvon Martin's friend pens letter to his parents: The teen known as Witness 8, who says she was on the phone with Trayvon Martin the night the unarmed teen was shot and killed, has described her memory of the events in a handwritten letter to his parents that's been made public, CBS News reports. It includes the following: "It started to rain so he decided to walk through another complex because it was raining to [sic] hard. He started walking then noticed someone was following him. Then he decided to find a shortcut cause the man wouldn't follow him. Then he said the man didn't follow him again. Then he looked back and saw the man again. The man started getting closer. Then Trevon turned around and said why are you following me. Then I heard him fall, then the phone hung up." Witness 8's credibility has been questioned, however, because she reportedly misstated her age and lied about being hospitalized during Trayvon's wake.
Read last week's updates on the Trayvon Martin case here.
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