ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The estranged wife of George Zimmerman, the Florida man acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin, is moving ahead with divorce proceedings, her lawyer said.
Kelly Sims, the divorce attorney representing Shellie Zimmerman, 26, said her client filed for divorce in September but has yet to hear anything in response from her estranged husband.
Under Florida law, a spouse has 20 days to respond in court after being served with divorce papers, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported. George Zimmerman managed to avoid a process server for months until he was locked up Dec. 18 in a Seminole County Jail on a domestic abuse charge related to his new girlfriend.
His 20 days ran out this month and Zimmerman has yet to respond, so Sims has filed a motion for default -- which would allow a judge to treat Shellie Zimmerman's statements as truthful in the absence of a competing narrative.
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"The next step is for me to request a trial," Sims said. "I know nothing about his finances. I don't even know where he lives. I can't get a bead on him. ... I want to move forward and get them divorced."
The couple's split should be fairly straightforward, the newspaper said. They have no children and own no property together. Shellie Zimmerman has asked for custody of the couple's two dogs, the Sentinel said.
She listed $13,000 in assets and nearly $104,000 in debts. He has listed as part of a separate legal filing more than $2.5 million in debts owed to his defense lawyers during the Martin trial.
Zimmerman was acquitted of shooting Martin, an unarmed black teen Zimmerman said he suspected was trying to break into homes in his Sanford, Fla., neighborhood Feb. 26, 2012.
