Prosecutor in Trayvon Martin case vows 'blank slate'

By the CNN Wire Staff - The prosecutor investigating the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin said her team is traveling to Sanford, Florida, with a "blank slate."

State Attorney Angela B. Corey's team was scheduled to arrive Friday and begin seeking facts in a case that has garnered national attention, drawing comments from President Barack Obama.

"We don't worry about backlash from cases," Corey said Thursday after Gov. Rick Scott announced that she would lead the state investigation. "What we worry about is seeking the truth. That is our mission."

A native of Jacksonville, Corey, 57, began her career in 1981. In November 2008, she was elected to serve as state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit, according to a biography on the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce website.

She has prosecuted more than 50 homicides.

Corey replaces Norman Wolfinger, state attorney for the 18th District, which includes Sanford.

Wolfinger requested that someone else be assigned, saying in a letter to Scott: "This request is being made in light of the public good with the intent of toning down the rhetoric and preserving the integrity of this investigation."

Martin died February 26. Police say he was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford who said he was acting in self-defense. Martin was unarmed, carrying a bag of Skittles candy and an iced tea, according to police. Although a grand jury will convene April 10 to look into the case, authorities have declined to arrest the neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Corey said her staff will conduct a thorough investigation.

"With regards to the facts, we don't know anything," she said. "We're going down there basically as a blank slate, to get with whoever is appropriate."