Family members of a murder victim will receive $110,000 from the city of Chicopee, Massachusetts, and a public apology from the mayor to settle a lawsuit over police taking cell phone photos of the bloody crime scene.
After the office of Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos announced the settlement and issued the written apology Wednesday, the attorney for the plaintiffs said they were relieved to have come to an agreement with the city.
Michelle Cruz, who represents the mother and two siblings of Amanda Plasse ,said the family can now concentrate on the upcoming trial of the accused murderer and advocate for a law that would make it a crime for first responders to take images of victims for personal use.
"This is one thing that will prevent anybody from having to go through what they went through," said Cruz.
Plasse, 20, was stabbed to death in her Chicopee apartment in August 2011.
Dennis Rosa-Ramon was arrested almost two years later and charged with the murder. He is scheduled to go on trial in January.