Live: George Zimmerman Not Missing, Charged With Murder [+Video]

Impact

George Zimmerman has apparently gone missing, and now he is set to be charged by a Florida prosecutor after his defense attorneys have announced they are withdrawing as counsel. 

Updates 6:05 PM George Zimmerman has turned himself in and has been charged with murder in the 2nd degree.

5:55 PM CNN confirms that George Zimmerman is in custody in the state ofFlorida. He has a new attorney. Special prosecutor Corey to speak any moment now.

A live stream of the event can be seen here.

5:15 PM Trayvon Martin's Parents Say Zimmerman Charges Will Start the Healing Process

5:00 PM White v. Black Pushed to Dangerous Extreme: 

ABC News reports:

"The New Black Panther Party offered a $10,000 bounty for Zimmerman and his lawyers said Zimmerman had received death threats.

4:45 PM The Obama Administration Weighs In

BTW, "the Justice Department is also carrying out an investigation into the shooting," according to ABC News.

Attorney General Eric Holder indicate today that the feds will have a higher bar to establish that the shooting was a hate crime.

"For a federal hate crime we have to prove the highest standard in the law it is something that was reckless, that was negligent ... We have to show that there was a specific intent to do the crime with the requisite state of mind," Holder said.

4:40 PM Trayvon Martin's Father Speaks Out

Martin's father, Tracy Martin, attended a news conference with Rev. Al Sharpton this afternoon and said they could not confirm reports about criminal charges about to be filed against Zimmerman.

"But I feel confident in Miss Corey," the father said.

3:30 PM What would a Zimmerman trial look like? In Florida you need a grand jury for murder 1. So when the Zimmerman charge happens, it'll most likely be murder 2 or below since the special prosecutor refused grand jury.

The Washington Post reports:

"Murder in the second degree, under Florida law, is defined as “the unlawful killing of a human being, when perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual.”To charge Zimmerman with murder in the second degree, the state would need to prove that he committed the act regardless of human life.Zimmerman’s attorneys, however, could argue the shooting was “lawful” because it was done in self-defense."

Zimmerman described as mentally unstable and a possible flight risk.

3:00 PM Apparently, Zimmerman is not in Florida

According to @mattgutmanABC, investigators don't know George Zimmerman's location.

2:55 PM "The special prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin case will announce criminal charges against George Zimmerman about 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, a law enforcement official told NBC News," as reported by Nicholas Stix's blog.

 

2:45 PM Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey will announce that she is charging George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Zimmerman's arrest is also expected soon.

It remains unclear what charges he will face.

Tuesday 5:00 PM In a bizarre news conference, Attorney Craig Sonner said Tuesday they haven't heard from George Zimmerman since Sunday. They said that against their advice, Zimmerman also contacted the special prosecutor who will decide if he should face charges.

The attorney also said, “We learned that he had called Sean Hannity of Fox News directly, and I can’t confirm this, we believe he spoke directly with Sean off the record, and he’s not willing to tell us what our client told him.”

Craig Sonner, one of the lawyers, said there were "lots of things going on that I don't know about."

"Perhaps the pressure has pushed him over the edge," the lawyer said. 

The press conference was carried live on CNN and MSNBC, though not on Fox News, which chose to cover the stock market instead. MSNBC pulled away after just a couple of minutes, while CNN stayed with the attorneys.

The Sanford Police have said they will soon make a decision on whether to charge and prosecute Zimmerman.

As people wait for the special prosecutor’s decision, Zimmerman’s defense team had revealed new arguments to support his case against prosecution for Martin’s death. Hal Uhrig, a lawyer who recently joined Zimmerman's defense team, was cited on television using "Shaken Baby Syndrome" in his defense. Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self defense, after being attacked by Martin who allegedly pounded his head into the concrete pavement. “Shaken Baby Syndrome” is recognized as a form of child abuse that is typically done to infants. 

As PolicyMic pundit Sifat Azad explains, Zimmerman is seeking to utilize this unique defense to clear his name.

On CBS, Uhrigh stated, "We're familiar with the Shaken Baby Syndrome. You shake a baby, the brain shakes around inside the skull. You can die when someone's pounding your head into the ground." Zimmerman’s only injury Uhrigh described elaborately was a broken nose. There are often no visible external signs of “Shaken Baby Syndrome.” Injuries that are associated with SBS include bleeding in the brain. In the interview Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmerman’s father, had with FOX News, he was asked to describe the injuries his son received and how he is healing. Robert’s response was, “Currently he’s not dealing with it well. I don’t know if his injuries are physical or mental, but he’s not in good shape.” 

Zimmerman lawyer has resigned. But he's still talking about shaken babies. Arguing you can shoot someone in Florida if someone shakes you.

Ex-Zimmerman Attorney Uhrig: "The crime is battery against George Zimmerman."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to properly cite language that was originally used without attribution to ABC News, The Washington Post, Nicholas Stix's Uncensored Blog. We apologize to our readers for this violation of our basic editorial standards. Mic has put in place new mechanisms, including plagiarism detection software, to ensure that this does not happen in the future.