ORLANDO, Fla. — In half a dozen phone calls between a locked-up George Zimmerman and his wife, the couple talked about their love for each other, their confidence in the future and how to move money around, recordings released Monday revealed.
Prosecutors said the six phone calls proved that Shellie Zimmerman had lied when she told a judge that the couple were broke.
In the recordings, Zimmerman apparently gave his wife step-by-step instructions on how to change a password and clear security questions so that she could move money from one account to others, gave her orders to withdraw specific amounts of money and directed her to pay the bills.
Prosecutors said the couple were moving money out of a PayPal online account that was being flooded with donations for Zimmerman, who's charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Trayvon Martin, 17.
However, the couple spoke in code, prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda said. In the calls, Zimmerman made repeated references to "Peter Pan," an apparent reference to PayPal. And neither he nor his wife ever referred to $100,000 or more, talking instead about amounts totaling 10 and 20. Prosecutors said those were abbreviations for $10,000 and $20,000.
Prosecutors said the couple had access to at least $130,000 in mid-April, just before Zimmerman was freed from the Seminole County Jail on $150,000 bond.
Prosecutors also released the couple's bank statements. They showed numerous transfers between the PayPal account, George Zimmerman's bank account and his wife's.
On April 16, the same time prosecutors say the Zimmermans were talking in code about money transfers, records showed several transfers of less than $10,000 out of Zimmerman's account.
Defense attorney Mark O'Mara was not immediately available for comment.
The calls also revealed a few details about Zimmerman's life, temperament and marriage.
Neither he nor his wife made any direct reference to Trayvon Martin or to the criminal charge Zimmerman faces.
In a call April 12, the day after his arrest, Zimmerman said he was thrilled by all the money and support his website had generated.
"Oh, man, that feels good," he told his wife, "… that there are people in America that care."
"Yeah they do," she answered. So many tried to log onto his website the day of his arrest, she said, it kept crashing. A few moments later, she said, "After all this is over, you're going to be able to have a great life."
"We will," he said.
The couple also talked about their security, making references to a "safety counsel," someone who's apparently giving them advice on how to stay hidden and safe.
Lawyers in the office of special prosecutor Angela Corey said Shellie Zimmerman knew she and her husband had access to PayPal money. But when she was asked about it April 20 at his bond hearing, she said they were broke.
The Seminole County Sheriff's Office typically records inmate phone calls. Each of the calls released Monday starts with a warning to that effect.
On Friday, Corey's office announced it would release 151 Zimmerman calls, but after O'Mara complained, the number was reduced to six.
Zimmerman's next court date is June 29, another bond hearing. O'Mara's witness list includes two bail bondsmen and no family members.
[email protected]
[email protected]