Lawyers for US watchman who killed black teen quit

The lawyers for the US neighborhood watch guard who shot dead an unarmed black Florida teenager in February said they were withdrawing as counsel -- and that their former client was not in the state. The announcement from the two attorneys was the latest twist in the case of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old whose death at the hands of George Zimmerman has sparked a national uproar, protests and calls for Zimmerman's arrest. "As of today, we are withdrawing as counsel for Mr. Zimmerman. We've lost contact with him... He's gone on his own," Craig Sonner told reporters in Sanford, Florida, where the shooting took place on February 26. The second attorney, Hal Uhrig, said the pair had decided to drop Zimmerman after they lost contact with him -- and after he called special prosecutors handling the case and Fox News host Sean Hannity without their knowledge. "One of the things every attorney tells his client is don't talk to the prosecutors. Don't talk to the cops. Frankly, don't talk to anybody until we get control of the situation and do it through counsel," Uhrig said. "We were a bit astonished." When asked about the whereabouts of Zimmerman, who has not been seen in public since the shooting, the attorneys insisted he was in the United States, but Uhrig said: "Stop looking in Florida, look much further away." Martin's family and supporters say Martin may have been the victim of racial profiling, and killed in cold blood. Zimmerman's supporters have countered that Martin attacked first, breaking Zimmerman's nose before knocking him to the ground and repeatedly slamming his head against the sidewalk. They insist Zimmerman fired in self-defense. A controversial Florida law allows the use of deadly force when a person senses a reasonable fear of death or serious injury. "I still believe he was acting in self-defense that night. Nothing I've said about him or this case is changed in any way," Sonner said. State Attorney Angela Corey has said she will not hold a special closed-door hearing to determine whether to bring charges into Martin's death, but that the investigation was ongoing. When asked about a website that Zimmerman apparently set up for himself as the attorneys were working to set one up for him, Uhrig said it was legitimate, but that they were "disturbed" about the lack of communication about it. The website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, includes a PayPal account where supporters are invited to donate to support Zimmerman's "living expenses and legal defense." The two lawyers expressed concern for Zimmerman's wellbeing. "This has been a terribly corrosive process," Uhrig said, adding that Zimmerman was "not doing well emotionally, probably suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome" and may have lost a lot of weight. "We're concerned for his emotional and physical safety," he added. The pair said they would be open to again representing Zimmerman should he get back in contact with them. After the press conference, Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump told CNN that the teen's parents "only want simple justice -- nothing more, nothing less."