March, 2008 -- Page 1

South Florida Media Coverage

*~ March, 2008 -- Page 1 ~*


In Loving Memory Of Nancy Bochicchio & her daughter, Joey Noel Bochicchio-Hauser

Police Asking For Tougher Security At Florida Malls (3/4/08)
Boca cops asked mall to upgrade security before Aug. 7 abduction (3/4/08)
Boca Town Center Mall lawsuit (3/4/08)
Boca Raton: Woman says her attacker is killer of three others (3/5/08)
Mall knew of danger, says victim who sued (3/5/08)
Woman Abducted at Boca Mall Speaks Out (3/5/08)
Boca Murder Connections? (3/9/08)
Members of Boca Raton Junior League Get Together For Self-Defense Exhibition (3/12/08)
Mall Concerns (3/12/08)
Boca Raton: Safety task force formed after killings sets meeting (3/13/08)

Police Asking For Tougher Security At Florida Malls
Access Control & Security Systems Integration (Online Exclusive)
(March 4, 2008)

Since someone murdered a mother and daughter and left their bodies outside a Boca Raton, Fla., mall, Coral Springs Police Chief Duncan Foster repeatedly tried to talk to the owners of Coral Square Mall about hiring off-duty officers to increase security.

But Foster tells the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper that his requests went unanswered by mall managers for Simon Property Group, owner also of the Town Center at Boca Raton, where the bodies were found.

Now Foster has written the Indianapolis-based owner of the malls, asking for a sit-down meeting.

"No one has contacted our department to discuss any security arrangements at the Coral Square Mall with regards to the recent tragedy at the Town Center or to discuss any potential partnership to alleviate future security concerns," Foster wrote in the letter mailed to John Petruzzi, vice president of corporate security for Simon, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Petruzzi, reached by telephone by the newspaper, said he would respond quickly to the chief's concerns. He said a new mall manager, who starts soon, "will reach out to the police."

"We take these things very seriously," Petruzzi says. "Let's face facts: Florida is an increasingly violent area."

At about midnight on Dec. 13, the bodies of Nancy Bochicchio, 47, and her daughter Joey, 7, were discovered in an idling SUV outside Sears at Town Center. After a surveillance camera recorded them leaving the mall the day before, someone abducted and shot them to death.

And just nine months earlier, Randi Gorenberg, 52, was killed and left at Gov. Lawton Chiles Memorial Park west of Delray Beach. About 40 minutes before that, surveillance cameras had shown her leaving the Town Center mall. Both crimes are unsolved.

The newspaper reported that Simon is spending just under $1 million at the Town Center on security technology including cameras that can focus in on license plates and faces. Other area malls use motorized scooters, patrol cars, police cruisers and plainclothes security.

Boca cops asked mall to upgrade security before Aug. 7 abduction

By KEVIN DEUTSCH

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE - The attorney for a woman whose Aug. 7 robbery and kidnapping foreshadowed a grisly double murder at the Town Center mall of Boca Raton, said today that Boca Raton police repeatedly asked mall officials to increase their security prior to Aug. 7 incident.

Skip Campbell said today that he has copies of e-mails sent from Boca Raton police to mall officials asking for a security upgrade, such as more patrols, add better lighting and install a new surveillance system.

His client, identified as Jane Doe, sued the shopping center and its corporate parent last month, claiming negligence.

The complaint alleges that Town Center officials knew of security shortcomings long before she was kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint last summer.

Mall officials could not be immediately reached for comment, but after the lawsuit was filed last month, mall spokesman Gary Bitner

said, "We intend to vigorously defend this lawsuit, and we strongly believe that the security program in place at Town Center is among the strongest shopping-center security programs in the country."

Bitner added the mall has a closed-circuit camera system, police and security patrols and an employee safety awareness policy.

The suit, filed in Broward County Circuit Court on Feb. 1, follows a similar lawsuit filed Jan. 8 against Town Center by Nancy Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Investigators suspect the August attacker also robbed Nancy Bochicchio, 47, of suburban Boca Raton outside Town Center before binding her hand and foot, pulling swimming goggles over her eyes and shooting her and her 7-year-old daughter, Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, in the head at point-blank range. Their bodies were found in their SUV, which was idling outside Sears early Dec. 13.

Noting similarities with other crimes, including the slaying of Randi Gorenberg, a 52-year-old wife and mother shot dead after shopping at Town Center on March 23, Boca Raton police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office formed a joint investigative task force to probe the killings.

In an interview last month at Campbell's office, the woman who survived the Aug. 7 attack said her priority is catching the killer before he strikes again.

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Boca Town Center Mall lawsuit
Last Update: 5:48 pm

Reported by: WPTV Staff

A woman kidnapped at the Boca Town Center Mall last August has officially announced plans to sue the shopping center.

The victim, only known as Jane Doe, and her attorney, spoke to reporters at a news conference in Ft. Lauderdale Tuesday.

Keeping her identity hidden, the woman says her only concern is to catch the man responsible. However, her attorney, Skip Campell, claims the victim is entitled to much more. He blames the mall's owner, Simon Properties, for not doing enough to keep their patrons safe.

Skip Campbell the victim's attorney, says "There's an eight billion dollar industry called security and there's ways to do this with camera, lights, security guards and it was lacking in this case."

"He took my license....I"m terrified." I want them to catch this guy...find him," says the victim.

The complaint is not specific about payment only demands the mall pay damages in excess of 15 thousand dollars...many speculate it may be much more. The complaint says the mall negligently failed to provide safe premises and failed to warn its patrons of the risks existing on the premises.

The victim's attorney claims Boca Raton Police warned the Town Center Mall prior to the incident that more security was needed on the property. Neither Simon Properties nor the Town Center Mall were available for comment. The case could go to trial early next year.

Boca Raton: Woman says her attacker is killer of three others

March 5, 2008

A woman who said she was abducted at the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton in August held a news conference Tuesday at her lawyer's Fort Lauderdale office and repeated her belief that her attacker is responsible for the December murders of Nancy Bochicchio, 47, her daughter Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, 7, and the March 2007 murder of Randi Gorenberg, 52.

The woman declined to release her name for fear her assailant might come after her. She filed a negligence lawsuit last month against the mall owner, Simon Property Group, in Broward Circuit Court.

Tim Earnest, the group's senior vice president, called the claims made through the woman's attorney "self-serving and outrageous."

Police are asking anyone with information about the murders to call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers, 561-458-8477.

Mall knew of danger, says victim who sued

By KEVIN DEUTSCH

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE — The attorney for a woman whose Aug. 7 robbery and kidnapping foreshadowed a grisly double murder at the Town Center mall said Tuesday that Boca Raton police repeatedly asked mall officials to increase security before the incidents.

Skip Campbell said he has copies of e-mails sent from Boca Raton police to mall officials asking for more patrols, better lighting and a new surveillance system.

His client, identified as Jane Doe, sued the shopping center and its corporate parent, Simon Property Group, last month, claiming negligence.

The complaint alleges that Town Center officials knew of security shortcomings long before she was kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint last summer.

"They were more worried about profit than the safety of their customers," Campbell said.

During a meeting with reporters at Campbell's office Tuesday, the Aug. 7 victim said her 2-year-old son remained calm in his baby seat during the ordeal. But when he later saw a sketch of the gunman on television, the toddler had a strange reaction, she said.

"Bad man," the child said, pointing at the picture. "Bad man."

Neither the woman nor her child was seriously injured.

Tim Earnest, senior vice president of Simon Property Group, in a prepared statement, said officials plan to vigorously defend the lawsuit "at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate manner."

"We will not succumb to the pressure of the plaintiffs or their consultant to present our defense. ... Comments made today by the plaintiff's attorney are self-serving and outrageous.

"We question the motivation of the attorney and his consultant in making these deceptive allegations; the plaintiffs apparently want to try this case in the media.

"We have total confidence in the extensive security program at Town Center."

The suit, filed in Broward County Circuit Court on Feb. 1, follows a similar lawsuit filed Jan. 8 against Town Center by Nancy Bochicchio's sister, JoAnn Bruno, in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

It alleges the mall was negligent in not providing adequate security.

Town Center officials say a space within the mall dedicated for use by Boca Raton police, as well as a police community kiosk, have been in place for three years.

As part of an expansion under development since 2006 and scheduled for completion this spring, the mall is constructing a larger police substation.

Also, a new public safety office will house a monitoring facility for a surveillance system to enhance the existing camera systems at the mall, mall officials say.

Their bodies were found in their SUV, idling outside Sears, early Dec. 13.

Woman abducted at Boca mall speaks out

Posted: March 5, 2008 10:15 AM

A terrified mother who along with her toddler survived an abduction outside the Town Center Mall is now talking about that heart stopping experience.

Police believe the same man who kidnapped the woman, who we are only identifying as "Jane Doe", is the same man who killed Nancy and Joey Bochicchio.

The victim asked us not to reveal her identity. She says her kidnapper somehow managed to get into her suv as she was leaving the Town Center Mall.

"I just stood there and looked at him and he said get in the car." She told us. "I was still in shock... i was just frozen."

Jane says the kidnapper sat in the back seat pointing a gun at her little boy, he then forced her to drive to an ATM and withdraw about $600. They drove around for an hour and 15 minutes. Jane says she was pleading with her kidnapper the entire time.

"[I told him] please don't hurt us, please don't kill my son and I. He had the gun out the whole time."

The man eventually forced Jane to drive back to the mall parking lot, where he tied her up and took off. She says he threatened to come after her if she didn't lie about his appearance.

"I'm scared that he's gonna break into my house and kill me or my son," she told Fox29. "I don't know what he's gonna do, he killed a little girl so..."

Despite her fears, Jane gave investigators a full description. She says she just wants this guy caught. "I want to get it out there as much as possible so they can find him."

Jane Doe says the memory of the horrifying experience is fresh on the mind of her now 2 and a half-year-old son. She says every time he sees the sketch of the kidnapper, he points to it and says "bad man."

"Jane Doe" is now suing Simon Properties, the company that owns the Town Center Mall, because she feels there wasn't enough security to protect shoppers. Simon Properties will not comment on the case.

Boca Murder Connections?

Last Update: 3/09 10:01 am

Reporter: Marci Gonzalez
Photographer: Bruno Giglio

Local investigators are working with detectives in Broward County and North Carolina to determine if the cases there are connected to the murders of two women and a child in Boca Raton.

Eve Carson, the Student Body President of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, was shot in the right temple and found dead Wednesday.

That night, 39 year old attorney Melissa Lewis went missing and turned up dead Friday in a canal near her home in Plantation.

Thirty minutes North of the scene, investigators in Boca Raton are working to see if there are connections between Carson and Lewis's deaths and the murders of Randi Gorenberg and Nancy and Joey Boccicchio.

There are certainly similarities.

Lewis was last seen shopping - like the Boccicchio's and Gorenberg.

She left this Publix supermarket in her dark colored SUV.

In fact, all of the cases involve SUVs.

Carson's blue Toyota Highlander was found a mile from the quiet suburban North Carolina street where she was found dead.

Lewis's black Cadillac SRX: found near her home with her purse and groceries missing from inside.

Investigators believe robbery may have been the motive.

Detectives in North Carolina believe money may have also been a motivation for Carson's killer.

Her wallet is still missing.

Police are looking for the 'person of interest' in this a bank ATM surveillance photo.

Detectives say he may be pictured behind the wheel of Carson's vehicle, possibly using her check card.

It's yet another similarity.

The Boccicchios were killed, after Nancy's card was used at her bank's ATM.

Finally, Carson, like the Boca Raton victims, was shot to death.

All of these similarities could be coincidences, but the task force devoted to solving the Boca Raton cases is sharing information and leads with Plantation and Chapel Hill detectives hoping teamwork could solve these womens' murders.

Members of Boca Raton Junior League get together for self-defense exhibition
Last Update: 3/12 5:16 pm
Reported by: Tim Malloy

Affluent, successful, mothers and business women, they have a lot in common.

And they have a common concern. "I have changed the way I live my life at night "says one 30’ish mother.

"I don’t go by that mall without thinking about the murders" she says.

The evening at the Marriott offered an opportunity to look at handbags and jewelry on display, to talk about kids and boyfriends and husbands and jobs.

But there was also a self-defense exhibition by a PBSO deputy and question and answer session.

"What do I do if he’s in my car" he is asked.. "How do I protect my kids.? Should I carry mace?"

The murders of Randi Gorenberg and Nancy and Joey Bochiccio ,all last seen alive at the Town Center Mall have changed life in upscale Boca and added a grim topic to the conversation.

Mall Concerns
Last Update: 3/12 6:02 pm

Reported by: Paige Kornblue
Photographer: Glenn Weston

Police are now investigating two new reports of women concerned about their safety at Broward County malls.

Fort Lauderdale Police say a woman called them after shopping at the Galleria Mall. According to the report, she felt she was followed by a man inside and outside the mall.
Mall security there later said the man matched the description of a city worker cutting trees.

Another woman called Coral Springs Police thinking she and her 7-year-old daughter might have come in contact with the man who fit the description of the Boca Raton mall murderer as seen on sketches and "America’s Most Wanted."

Two frightened women in what has quickly has become a region on edge.

Shannon and Sydney Litten lunch together, shop together, they do many things together in their Boca Raton community.

"This is a great city. We love living here but I mean, quite frankly, we’re scared now," says Litten.

Scared following the December murders of Joey and Nancy Bochiccio and the August abduction of a woman and her toddler. They are two incidents that originated outside the Town Center Mall.

"I’m afraid to go to the mall. I’m afraid to take my kids anywhere," says Litten.

Some say they’re not always spooked.

"No, not the Boca mall. I feel safe there," says Rane Honablue.

"It doesn’t bother me unless it’s at night and I’m by myself," says Erin Sembler.

But for many females, the concern continues across Palm Beach County.

Florida Atlantic University Criminology Professor Dave Kalinich says it’s no surprise.

"These things scare you and you ought to be cautious and a little suspicion is not going to hurt you... just as long as it doesn’t keep you home," says Kalinich.

Kalinich points out the fact that people are still shopping.

"Hysteria would be manifested by folks not going to the mall anymore. I don’t think we’re at that level at all," says Kalinich.

Boca Raton Police spokeswoman Officer Sandra Boonenberg says the Task Force that investigates the Randi Gorenberg and Bochiccio murders has received over 800 tips.

Boonenberg says some involve suspicious sightings, and among the most recent, reports from female shoppers at the Galleria and Coral Square Malls.

"The reports were vague. We did speak to both people involved and there’s nothing to indicate at this point that it is our subject," says Boonenberg.

Authorities say it’s important for people to be aware and alert and if you see someone that makes you uncomfortable or who looks like the Boca Raton mall murders suspect, police ask that you report it.

Boca Raton: Safety task force formed after killings sets meeting
March 13, 2008

Members of the newly formed Public-Private Community Safety Awareness and Crime Prevention Task Force will meet for the first time Tuesday.

The group brings together representatives from local government, law enforcement, community-based organizations and businesses. The goal: a safer Boca Raton.

Town Center mall officials formed the task force in January, a month after a mother and her daughter were found dead outside the mall.

Nancy Bochicchio, and her daughter, Joey, were found tied up and shot about midnight Dec. 13 in their black SUV at Town Center. They had been forced to withdraw money from a bank ATM, police said.

The task force has 13 members, including Boca Raton Police Chief Dan Alexander, mall manager Joseph Cilia and local resident Wanda Harold.