On Wednesday, George Zimmerman turned himself in to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey announced earlier that Zimmerman would be charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman shot Martin February 26th in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. Martin was not armed, and Zimmerman, 28, alleged the shooting was first a “Stand Your Ground” incident, then later said it was in self defense.

Zimmerman made is first court appearance Thursday.

Zimmerman was booked into the Seminole County Jail on the charge and he could face a minimum of 25 years in prison or a maximum of life if he is convicted.

While making the announcement, Corey said she would not discuss how she reconciled the conflicting accounts of what happened that rainy night or explain how she arrived at the charges. A second-degree murder charge in Florida is typically charged when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death and where there is no premeditated plan to kill someone.

Martin’s parents said charges against Zimmerman would start the healing process, but they won’t stop fighting until he is convicted.

Some legal experts had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter, which usually carries 15 years in prison and covers reckless or negligent killings, rather than second-degree murder which involves a killing that results from a depraved disregard for human life.

The allegedly confrontation took place in a gated community where Martin was staying with his father and his father’s fiancée. In phone calls, Zimmerman told an emergency dispatcher Martin looked suspicious, and he followed the teen despite the dispatcher telling him to stay in his vehicle.

The U. S. Justice department’s civil Rights Division is conducting its own investigation, but federal authorities usually wait until a state prosecution is complete before deciding how to proceed.