Zimmerman wife seeks divorce weeks after Trayvon acquittal

George Zimmerman’s wife has filed for divorce less than two months after her husband was cleared of murdering American teenager Trayvon Martin and a week after she admitted to perjury in his case.

Shellie Zimmerman made the decision because of “disappointment”, her lawyer Kelly Sims wrote yesterday in a short email to The Associated Press.

The 26-year-old told ABC’s Good Morning America last week that she was having serious doubts about remaining married.

She pleaded guilty last week to a perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing following her husband’s arrest for the February 2012 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon in a gated community outside of Orlando, Florida.

Her husband was not in court as she was sentenced to a year’s probation and 100 hours of community service — even though she supported him and lied about their finances.

George Zimmerman was acquitted on second-degree murder and other charges in July.

The case continues to stoke racial tensions across the country. Many speakers cited the case during commemorations of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” in Washington last month.

Mr Trayvon, who was black, was unarmed as he walked to the home of his father’s fiancee after going to a shop.

Mr Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic and was a member of a neighbourhood watch scheme, began following Mr Trayvon because he thought the teenager was acting suspiciously. He says he shot him in self-defence during a fight.

In the interview, Shellie Zimmerman had revealed she was not at their home on the night of the shooting because of an argument with her husband.

“I was staying at my father’s house,” she said. “We had gotten into an argument the night before and I left.”

She says while she believes her husband’s version of the events leading to the shooting, “I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve gone or laid awake at night just thinking that I wish to God the circumstances had been different.”

She admitted she did not tell the truth during the bail hearing.

“I can rationalise a lot of reasons for why I was misleading, but the truth is that I knew I was lying,” she said.

She also told ABC she is deeply sorry for the Martin family’s loss. “I can’t even begin to understand the grief a parent experiences when they lose a child,” she said.

AP