Family Sues Facebook Over Photos Of Slain Daughter

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A couple is suing Facebook over a photo of their slain daughter posted on the Internet social networking site by a New York City paramedic. Ronald and Marti Wimmer filed the lawsuit Friday in Richmond County, the New York borough of Staten Island, the New York Daily News reported. Their daughter, Caroline Wimmer, a teacher, was beaten and strangled in 2009 in her Staten Island apartment.

Mark Musarella, an emergency medical technician, photographed the body with his cellphone and then posted the picture on Facebook. He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. The killer, Calvin Lawson, is serving 25 years to life. Investigators said he attacked Wimmer because he believed she had told his girlfriend he was involved with other women.

The family held a news conference Monday, the second anniversary of Caroline Wimmer's death. They said they want the court to order Facebook to cooperate with crime victims and removal of all pictures of the body. "I just feel like Mark Musarella took the last shred of dignity she had left," said Caroline's sister, Christina Criscitello. "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."