Exclusive: Zimmerman Verdict 'Froze' Witness, Family
MIAMI (CBS4) - When the verdict was reached in the George Zimmerman trial, Rachel Jeantel and her family were hoping to receive justice. They were even preparing to party and celebrate the guilty verdict that for them seemed inevitable.
"Everybody had drinks, everybody was about to have a party when we had justice," Jeantel said in an exclusive interview with WFOR-TV.
But when the not guilty verdict was read aloud in the court room, Jeantel and her family's celebration came to a halt.
"Everything stopped. Everybody just froze and said, 'wow,'" said Jeantel. "The whole house just broke down. My auntie's house just broke down because everybody was for this."
"My auntie came in my room and just started busting out crying, saying 'We didn't get no justice, it's just like the old days. We lost another child, we just lost Trayvon again.'" she said.
She explained in the interview that she thought it would be a different charge than 2nd degree murder.
"In my mind I thought it was going to be a lesser charge," said Jeantel. "They had asked for manslaughter information... so I was like yeah OK, we (are) going to do it! We are getting justice!"
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