Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Parents of murder victim sue Facebook after paramedic posted gruesome picture of strangled daughter

The parents of a murdered woman are suing Facebook for refusing to remove a macabre picture of their dead daughter posted online by parademic. 
Caroline Wimmer, 26, was strangled in March 2009 in her West Brighton apartment on Staten Island and found by her parents with a hair-dryer cord wrapped around her neck.
Paramedic Mark Musarella, 46, was one of the first to arrive on the scene after responding to a 911 call.



The late Caroline Wimmer, seen in 2006. Her family are suing after photos of her death were posted on Facebook
The late Caroline Wimmer, seen in 2006. Her family are suing after photos of her death were posted on Facebook

DEVASTATED: Her parents, Martha and Ronald Wimmer, announced they would sue on Monday
Devastated: Her parents, Martha and Ronald Wimmer, announced they would sue on Monday
During his time in the house, he took a picture of the victim, an aspiring teacher, on his mobile phone and posted it on Facebook.
Musarella subsequently pleaded guilty to a count of official misconduct, was stripped of his emergency medical technician (EMT) certification and sentenced to 200 hours community service. 


But the image which had sparked the case remains online despite the dead woman's parents Ronald and Marti Wimmer demanding its removal.
'I'm just so upset and traumatised over all of this,' Marti Wimmer told the New York Daily News on the second anniversary of her daughter's death yesterday.
'I haven't had a chance to heal yet. Mark Musarella only got 200 hours of community service, and my daughter's picture is somewhere on the Internet and nobody can get it back to me.
'I just don't understand why Facebook won't give us the pictures back or destroy them. No one should be able to see them.'
'I just feel like Mark Musarella took the last shred of dignity she had left,' said Caroline's sister, Christina Criscitello, to the New York Daily News.
In a lawsuit filed on Friday, the Wimmers have asked Facebook to hand over the picture, identify those who have viewed or downloaded it and destroy images in its possession.
Caroline Wimmer, 26, was murdered two years ago in her apartment on Greenleaf Avenue in Staten Island
Caroline Wimmer, 26, was murdered two years ago in her apartment on Greenleaf Avenue in Staten Island
In addition, the lawsuit asks for a court mandate that Facebook cooperate with victims' families in the future.
Facebook is defending the claim.  'We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously,' said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes told New York Daily News.
Calvin Lawson was jailed for 25 years-to-life for Miss Wimmer's murder.
He battered and strangled her after hearing rumours that she had told his girlfriend that he'd cheated on her.
Further, Greenleaf Arms, which owned the apartment building where Miss Wimmer was killed, is charged in the lawsuit, as her parents believe that the landlord failed to properly secure the building.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371106/Parents-murder-victim-sue-Facebook-paramedic-posted-gruesome-picture-strangled-daughter.html#ixzz1I3mIoGwt

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