EMT Put Murder Victim's Crime Scene Photo On His Facebook

The woman whose parents say she was murdered due to a rumor put on MySpace ended up with her photo on Facebook—taken by an EMT at the scene of the crime! Richmond University Medical Center officials fired Mark Musarella when they found out that he had posted a picture of the body of Caroline Wimmer, whose murder was just in the news last week after police arrested a suspect. Musarella, better known as "Moose," is a retired NYPD detective known for high-profile rescues and was described as "a little off-the wall...a raw sense of humor." The SI Advance says that while the picture of Wimmer was taken down, Musarella's Facebook may still have a picture of a car crash he responded to. The hospital also informed the NYPD after they were tipped off to the photo of the victim by one of his "friends" on Facebook.

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By Billy Parker in News on May 14, 2009 12:57 PM

Comments [rss]

GregJG

Such a pretty girl and alas now she is no more. People will do sick and stupid things and it just happens this idiot did just that.

just saying

"a little off-the wall...a raw sense of humor" = @sshole

Spirit of 76

He had a rather distinguished career. Too bad he had to go and ruin it like this.

Hyperkinetic

Why the hell don't these pictures fall under HIPAA privacy regulations? Clearly they document a medical condition, taken by first respondent medical personnel, and the patients privacy isn't being respected.

jaycjay

In fact, not to defend what he did, they actually do not fall under HIPAA restrictions. Those regulations apply to health care providers who transmit health information in electronic form in connection with transactions for which the Secretary of HHS has adopted standards under HIPAA.

Emphasis added... but unless and until HHS adopts standards for what can be posted on Facebook, HIPAA does not apply.

smitty

I never really got people who were into death scenes, or rotten.com type of stuff. What is wrong in your head if you want to see it or are proud to show it off to your friends?