FOXNews.com: Zimmerman Defense Grills Witness On Phone Call, Changes in Story

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Zimmerman Defense Grills Witness On Phone Call, Changes in Story Jun 27th 2013, 15:52 The star prosecution witness took the stand in a Florida courtroom for a second day Thursday as George Zimmerman's attorneys tried to demonstrate that her story about hearing the prelude to the defendant's fatal confrontation with Trayvon Martin has changed over the course of the last year.. Defense attorney Don West grilled Rachel Jeantel about a letter she had a friend write for Martin's parents in the weeks after the fatal, February 2012 confrontation, describing the phone conversation she had with Martin as he walked from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla., back to his father's fiancee's home in a gated community. West pressed her on what he indicated were inconsistencies between the letter and Jeantel's subsequent depositions and testimony - in particular her recent revelation that Martin told her he was being  followed by a "creepy-ass cracker." "Why wasn't "creepy ass cracker" in prior interviews?" West asked. "Nobody asked me," replied Jeantel, who said she can't read cursive, which the letter is written in. The letter, which has Martin's first name spelled wrong, describes how Jeantel was speaking by cellphone with the 17-year-old Martin as he cut through a subdivision on his way to the home where he was staying. "He started walking then noticed someone was following him," read the letter. "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. I called back and got no response. In my mind I thought it was just a fight. Then I found out this tragic story. Thank you." But on Wednesday, Jeantel, 19, told jurors Martin said he was being followed by "a creepy-ass cracker" just before the fatal confrontation with Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is charged with second-degree murder in Martin's death. She said she warned Martin to walk away, saying "it might be a rapist."  Martin, she said, told her he was going to try to "lose him" and get to the home. But Jeantel said as she remained on the phone with Martin, the man who was allegedly following him reappeared, prompting the February 2012 confrontation, of which she heard the initial moments. "He said, 'Why are you following me for?', and then I heard a hard breathed man come and say 'What are you doing around here?'" Jeantel said. Jeantel testified she heard Martin's phone headset fall and then Martin say "Get off!" The phone went dead shortly after and Jeantel says she didn't speak to Martin again. Defense attorney Don West hammered Jeantel Thursday over the conversation she appeared to overhear between Martin and Zimmerman, saying she had previously told attorneys she heard Zimmerman say instead "What are you talking about?" West also questioned Jeantel about a letter she wrote to Martin's mother, where she recalled events differently again: she wrote Martin had said, "Why are you following me?'" then the phone fell and it hung up. SPECIAL COVERAGE: ZIMMERMAN TRIAL Jeantel has come under fire in the past for lying about both her age – she claimed to be 16 – and about her reasons for not attending Martin's funeral. Jeantel had said she was in the hospital, which was untrue. In her testimony, she said she didn't go because she felt guilty. Martin's parents have said they believe the cries for help heard by neighbors came from their son, while Zimmerman's father believes the cries belong to his son. Defense attorneys successfully argued against allowing prosecution experts who claimed the cries belonged to Martin. Jeantel testified that she believed the cries were Martin's because "Trayvon has kind of a baby voice." West challenged that, claiming she was less certain in a previous deposition. Jeantel also explained that she had initially lied about her age to protect her privacy when she was contacted by an attorney for Martin's family to give a recorded statement over the telephone on what she knew about the few moments before Martin's encounter with Zimmerman.   Zimmerman, 29, followed Martin in his truck and called a police dispatch number before he and the teen got into a fight. Zimmerman has said he opened fire only after the teenager jumped him and began slamming his head against the concrete sidewalk. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic and has denied that his confrontation with the black teenager had anything to do with race, as Martin's family and its supporters have claimed. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense. He could face life in prison if convicted. Fox News' Serafin Gomez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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