South Florida
Media Coverage
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Town Center at Boca Raton
To Provide Free Valet Parking For Some After Killings (1/19/08)
Mall To Offer Free Valet Parking (1/19/08)
Security Cameras Installed At Town Center Mall (1/19/08)
Family of Slain Pair Place Memorial at Town Center at Boca
Raton (1/20/08)
Memorial For Slain Pair Removed From Boca Raton Mall (1/20/08)
Crime And (Lack Of) Punishment (1/20/08)
Memorial to Slain Girl, Mother Removed From Boca Mall (1/21/08)
New Town Center Mall Parking Program is in Place (1/21/08)
Bochicchios' Memorial Removed By Mall (1/21/08)
Boca Police Look For Links in Mizner Park, Town Center
Robberies (1/25/08)
Town Center at Boca Raton to provide free valet parking for some after killings
By Luis F. Perez |South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
January 19, 2008
Town Center at Boca Raton on Friday announced free valet parking for anyone shopping with young children after sharp criticism about its public response to the killings of a mother and daughter.
Starting Monday, the mall won't charge the usual $3 for valet in one area as long as customers are with a child younger than 12. In addition, it won't charge for its Up Front Plus! parking, a block of spaces near the mall's main entrance.
The move comes days after executives from the mall's corporate parent, the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, traveled to Boca Raton to talk with city officials about their security efforts. The week before, the City Council rebuked mall officials for their lackluster public response to the killings of a mother and daughter found on Dec. 13 at a Town Center parking lot.
"I'm glad that they're being responsive to the public," said Mayor Steven Abrams.
Abrams said the mall agreed to eventually move the valet parking and car wash areas away from the front entrance so mall patrons could use those areas.
At a council meeting Councilman Peter Baronoff lambasted the mall for failing to tell the public what steps it planned after the slayings of Nancy Bochicchio and 7-year-old Joey Bochicchio-Hauser. At the same time, Councilwoman Susan Whelchel said she had talked to mall management about moving the valet parking and car wash to allow parents with small children to park there.
Mall officials said the free parking would run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday through Mother's Day. The Up Front Plus! parking area is near the main entrance and Grand Lux Cafe. The free valet parking area is located at the Legal Sea Foods entrance. The mall has five valet parking areas and charges will still apply at the others. The free parking is on a first-come first-serve basis.
The mall recently opened a new 1,100-space, two-level parking garage at the south entrance of Bloomingdales.
"Our goal in introducing these special parking offers is to further enhance convenience and safety for shoppers at Town Center who may be accompanied by young children, many of them in strollers," said Joe Cilia, the mall's general manager.
Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641.
Mall to offer free valet parking
By KEVIN DEUTSCH
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 19, 2008
BOCA RATON — Town Center mall officials announced Friday they will offer free valet parking for people with children, beginning Monday and continuing through Mother's Day. The valet parking area, located at the Legal Sea Foods entrance to the mall, is free for parents with children 12 and younger.
Children must be present, and the free parking is subject to available space. The parking will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The service has been instituted at other Simon Property Group malls and is appropriate leading up to Mother's Day on May 11, mall management said.
Managers said the valet service has nothing to do with the Dec. 12 killings of Nancy Bochicchio, 47, and her daughter, Joey, 7, who were found shot to death in a sport utility vehicle outside Sears at the mall.
This month, Simon, owner of the Town Center mall, said it plans to create a public-private task force to ensure safety and crime prevention.
The announcement came about a
week after members of the Bochicchio family filed a lawsuit against
the mall and Simon.
Security Cameras Installed at
Town Center Mall
January 19, 2008 - 9:29PM
Security takes a huge leap at the Town Center mall after the murders of a mother and her child. Today, workers installed five more surveillance cameras to watch the property. Federal grant money helped the city pay for the upgrades. This was in the planning stages for two years. The city says the installation is not in response to the murders of Nancy and Joey Bochicchio more than a month ago. But people we spoke to say they feel safer with the extra security. Even more security cameras will be installed by April and a larger police sub-station will be up and running at the same time.
Family of slain pair place memorial at Town Center at Boca Raton
By Jerome Burdi |South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
January 20, 2008
Two crosses stand at an entrance to the Town Center at Boca Raton mall to remind the public that a mother and daughter were slain there.
But mall spokeswoman Billie Scott said Saturday night the mall cannot permit such a display on its property.
Jessica Jacobson, the cousin of Nancy Bochicchio's former husband, put up two, roughly 4-foot crosses Saturday beside the mall's sign near the Sears entrance.
Bochicchio, and her daughter, Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, were found tied up and shot in their black SUV in the Sears parking lot about midnight Dec. 13. They apparently were forced to withdraw money from a bank ATM, police said.
"The family asked me if I would do it for them," Jacobson said. "One of their goals that they would like to accomplish is to make people aware to be more careful for themselves."
Jacobson said Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, did not watch the crosses being planted Saturday because visiting the mall is too painful.
"It was something we wanted to do," Jacobson said. "Nancy would have done it for somebody else."
One cross bears Nancy's favorite colors: red, white and black. Pink and purple are Joey's colors. Both have flowers streaming down and the names of the victims in bold letters across the arms. Photos of the mother and daughterareatop each memorial. There's a stuffed teddy bear at the foot of Joey's.
Jacobson and her mother, Diane, and her son, Brendan, 6, made the memorials in five days. They did not ask the mall for permission.
Scott released the following statement: "We wish the family had contacted the mall to discuss their desire to place a memorial on our property. We would have explained that we unfortunately cannot permit such an expressive display, as it could potentially jeopardize any future right on our part to deny access to the mall by any person or group, regardless of what their mission or message might be."
A Boca Raton councilwoman empathized with the family, but said the mall has jurisdiction over its property.
"I understand the frustration and I understand the pain and I can understand why they would want to keep a monument that others would be reminded that a tragedy happened and that we all ought to be vigilant out there," Susan Whelchel said.
Bruno could not be reached for comment despite an attempt by phone. She filed a lawsuit against the mall's owner, Simon Property Group, contending the mall should have done more to protect Bochicchio and Joey.
Memorial for slain pair removed from Boca Raton mall
By Jerome Burdi and Chrystian
Tejedor |South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:52 AM EST, January 20, 2008
Two small piles of white river rock and four yellow bricks are all that remain of a memorial meant to remind shoppers that a mother and her daughter were killed at the Town Center at Boca Raton mall.
Nancy Bochicchio and her daughter, Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, were found tied up and shot in their black sport utility vehicle in the Sears parking lot about midnight Dec. 13. They were apparently forced to withdraw money from a bank ATM, police said.
Jessica Jacobson installed two 4-foot crosses in front of a mall sign near the Sears entrance on Saturday. The crosses, and a teddy bear at the foot of Joey's cross were gone Sunday morning.
"I feel sorry for the person who had to do that," Jacobson, a cousin of Nancy Bochicchio's former husband said Sunday morning after hearing the crosses were taken down. "I couldn't do that."
But mall spokeswoman Billie Scott said Saturday night the mall cannot permit such a display on its property.
Jacobson said Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, did not watch the crosses being planted Saturday because visiting the mall is too painful.
"It was something we wanted to do," Jacobson said. "Nancy would have done it for somebody else."
One cross bears Nancy's favorite colors: red, white and black. Pink and purple are Joey's colors. Both have flowers streaming down and the names of the victims in bold letters across the arms. Photos of the mother and daughter are atop each memorial. There's a stuffed teddy bear at the foot of Joey's.
Jacobson and her mother, Diane, and her son, Brendan, 6, made the memorials in five days. They did not ask the mall for permission.
Scott released the following statement: "We wish the family had contacted the mall to discuss their desire to place a memorial on our property. We would have explained that we unfortunately cannot permit such an expressive display, as it could potentially jeopardize any future right on our part to deny access to the mall by any person or group, regardless of what their mission or message might be."
A Boca Raton councilwoman empathized with the family, but said the mall has jurisdiction over its property.
"I understand the frustration and I understand the pain and I can understand why they would want to keep a monument that others would be reminded that a tragedy happened and that we all ought to be vigilant out there," Susan Whelchel said.
Bruno could not be reached for comment despite an attempt by phone. She filed a lawsuit against the mall's owner, Simon Property Group, contending the mall should have done more to protect Bochicchio and Joey.
Crime and (lack of) punishment
Posted by Lori Berman at 5:03 PM
With each day that passes without any arrests in the Bochicchio murders, frustration mounts. Law enforcement officials have been working diligently on the case for over a month. Despite their efforts and the supposedly abundant forensic evidence collected at the scene of the crime, the police evidently do not have any clue as to who committed the atrocious murders.
The only thing they know is that it appears similar to an August incident at Town Center and another in Mizner Park, both of which have not resulted in any arrests. There are also no suspects in the Randi Gorenberg murder case which happened over ten months ago.
Reliable sources have advised me that there was an attempted carjacking at gun point on Jog Road in December and an attempted car robbery in broad daylight last week at the Military Trail post office. In early December, my car was robbed of an ipod and several of my neighbor's cars were also robbed of personal items. Credit cards taken from one of the vehicles were used hours later in Miami but to my knowledge the case was immediately closed without any arrests.
The fact that the perpetrators
of murders and robberies are still walking the streets of our community
has everyone in a justifiably heightened state of concern. The lack
of any arrests in these high profile cases along with stories of widespread
crime makes it feel like we are living in the Wild West.
Local law enforcement officials need to reassure the public that we
are not living in a lawless community. A strong zero tolerance policy
toward any crime needs to be adopted and enforced. While we should not
compromise on-going investigations, the police do need to be more forthcoming
so that citizens can be aware of potential problems and feel more secure.
Memorial to slain girl, mother removed from Boca mall
By Chrystian Tejedor |South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
January 21, 2008
Boca Raton - Two small piles of white river rock and four yellow bricks were all that remained Sunday of a memorial meant to remind shoppers that a mother and her daughter were killed at the Town Center mall.
Nancy Bochicchio and her daughter, Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, were found tied up and shot in their black SUV in the Sears parking lot about midnight Dec. 13. They were apparently forced to withdraw money from a bank ATM, police said.
Jessica Jacobson installed two 4-foot crosses near the Sears entrance Saturday. The crosses and a teddy bear at the foot of Joey's cross were gone Sunday morning.
"I feel sorry for the person who had to do that," Jacobson, a cousin of Nancy Bochicchio's former husband, said Sunday morning after hearing the crosses were taken down. "I couldn't do that."
In response to an e-mailed question about the removal of the crosses, Town Center Manager Joseph Cilia re-issued the mall's statement from Saturday saying such displays are not permitted on the property.
"We wish the family had contacted the mall to discuss their desire to place a memorial on our property," it said. It also said: "Soon after the tragic incident we contacted St. Jude School to make them aware of our desire to participate in a memorial there honoring Joey. We hope to learn in the near future how we and other community members might support such a tribute."
Jacobson, who built the crosses with her mother, Diane, and her son, Brendan, 6, never contacted mall officials because she suspected they would not allow the tribute.
"I'm just horrified," Diane Jacobson said after the crosses were removed. "It just goes to show the lack of compassion by the corporate world."
Jessica Jacobson, however, said the family might try to make another memorial at the mall.
"Maybe we'll do some stones with their names on them," she said. "What are we supposed to do? Forget that this happened?"
Nancy Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, has filed a lawsuit against Town Center owner Simon Property Group, contending the mall should have done more to protect Bochicchio and Joey. She could not be reached to comment Sunday despite attempts by phone.
New Town Center Mall parking program
is in place
Last Update: 5:48 pm
Reported by: Paige Kornblue
Photographer: Glenn Weston
A new Town Center Mall parking program is in place.
It's a program that provides prime parking spots for shoppers with children.
The announcement comes five and a half weeks after a Boca Raton mother and her young daughter were found murdered outside the mall.
Marcela Colina says she doesn't stay at the Town Center Mall if she can't find a close parking spot because she has baby and because Joey and Nancy Bochiccio recently became innocent victims.
"After that I was looking everywhere. Is she okay? And I'm just making sure I put her in... I'm looking in the car and have her with me before I do anything," says Colina.
Marcela and Isabella and other families will now have more options when it comes to mall parking.
The mall is offering free valet parking for anyone with young children at one of it's five valet stations.
Town Center is also providing shoppers with young children "Up Front Plus" parking spaces.
"In light of the events that have taken place, I really just consider it a baby step in the right direction and it's really not good enough for our circumstances," says Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Susan Whelchel.
Whelchel is waiting to hear when carwash and valet spots will be moved to the exterior of the lot. It is a move she and other city leaders have discussed with mall executives.
"It's just the valet runners have to go to the back of the mall to go get cars," says Whelchel.
The complimentary parking for shoppers with children is based upon availability and is only being offered until Mother's Day and only on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm.
Some question the timetable since many families shop on nights and weekends.
Some people without children feel left out.
"I feel like they should offer it to everybody," says Boca Raton resident Marilyn Preston.
And when it comes to Town Center, some shoppers are still doing without.
"We don't go to the mall. Lots of my friends think I'm crazy but I don't go to the mall," says Boca Raton mother Lisa Kelly.
Town Center Mall officials say this temporary parking program is not in direct response to the Bochiccio murders - it's something other Simon Property Group malls do - but is for shoppers' convenience and safety.
The free valet parking area for shoppers with children is located at the Legal Sea Foods entrance at Town Center.
The Up Front Plus! parking for shoppers with children is located near the Town Center Mall's main entrance outside the Grand Lux Cafe.
Childen must be present and under the age of 12.
Bochicchios' memorial removed by mall
Posted: Jan 21, 2008 09:09 AM
The memorial set up for a mother and daughter murdered at the Town Center Mall is now gone. Family members put up the memorial near one of the entrances to the Town Center Mall Saturday.
They did not get permission from the mall, and mall management told them they could not put up this type of display on mall property.
We couldn't find any one who thought the memorial should be removed. We did find a lot of people who are upset that the crosses were taken down.
Mall managers told family members Town Center cannot permit this type of display because it would set a precedent for the future as far as denying access to the property to any person or group.
Meantime, the murders of Nancy and Joey Bochicchio remain unsolved. Boca Police are still looking for this suspect linked to the case.
They say they're reinvestigating hundreds of leads. There is a $350,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. If you know anything, call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.
Boca police look for links in Mizner Park, Town Center robberies
By Leon Fooksman |South Florida
Sun-Sentinel
January 25, 2008
Boca Raton police are investigating whether the man who robbed a woman at Mizner Park in August also killed a mother and daughter at Town Center mall last month and robbed another woman there four months earlier.
Detectives think the same man robbed and shot Nancy Bochicchio, 47, and her daughter Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, 7, on Dec. 12, and abducted and robbed a 30-year-old woman and her 2-year-old at the mall Aug. 7.
Police Chief Dan Alexander declined to explain what characteristics may link the unsolved Aug. 10 robbery at Mizner Park with the unsolved robberies at the mall.
He said investigators are combing through records and talking again with victims of robberies in Palm Beach and Broward counties, including more than 75 cases in Boca Raton last year, as they look for clues.
Alexander confirmed the Mizner Park incident is a "case we're looking at. It's a case of interest because it's a robbery."
The robberies at Mizner Park and the mall have striking similarities, according to police reports and family members. All the adult victims were women. They were robbed of cash. They were attacked in or near their vehicles in the parking lots of the city's toniest shopping centers.
The police report from the Mizner Park robbery said a man pulled a gun on the woman when she unlocked her vehicle on the second floor of a parking garage shortly after midnight. He stole $200. She refused to cooperate with investigators.
The woman's name, age, make of her vehicle, methods the robber used and other details were blacked out in a copy of the police report released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The detailed summary of the robbery was not released.
Even though police issued a news release about the Town Center robbery three days earlier, they issued no release after the Mizner Park robbery. That's because the victim refused to talk to detectives, said spokeswoman Officer Sandra Boonenberg. Detectives contacted her many times, but she wouldn't talk. The victim agreed to speak with investigators after the Bochicchios were killed, she said.
Some of Bochicchio's relatives said police should provide information on what they know happened at Mizner Park, especially because the mall killer hasn't been caught.
"People need to be informed so they can be careful," said Jessica Jacobson, a cousin of Nancy Bochicchio.
"What I'm seeing is an inability to communicate properly with patrons," said David Shiner, a lawyer who filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on behalf of Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, against the mall owner.
Alexander said police can't provide further details on the Mizner Park incident because it could hurt the investigations.
After the Bochicchios' killings, Boca Raton police were criticized for not releasing many details on the Aug. 7 robbery at the mall. The two attacks were alike — the victims were a mother and young child, and the robber entered their SUVs, required them to withdraw money from ATMs, then put goggles and plastic handcuffs on the victims, said police officials and family members.
The August victim's family said police doubted her story.