A New York state judge has dismissed the indictment of a woman who posed as the relative of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim, concluding that while her conduct was “without question, reprehensible,” the charges were barred on statutory double jeopardy grounds and legal insufficiency.
In the wake of the December 2012 mass shooting at the Connecticut school, Nouel Alba of the Bronx posted a solicitation on Facebook pretending to be the paternal aunt of one of the murdered children and asked for money to pay for the boy’s funeral as well as the funerals of other victims. Donors gave her less than $5,000, which was later returned.
