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Unsolved case

Killings of Nancy and Joey Bochicchio

In 2007, three people were kidnapped and killed in connection with Town Center at Boca Raton, Florida, including a mother and her young daughter; the cases remain unsolved despite investigative attention and a possible-suspect theory later raised in media coverage.

Town Center at Boca Raton - New Addition - panoramio
Town Center at Boca Raton - New Addition - panoramio — Credit: MikesMegapixels · CC BY 3.0

Town Center at Boca Raton is an upscale shopping mall in Boca Raton, Florida, that opened in 1980. In 2007, the mall and its parking areas were the site of a series of violent incidents that drew national attention and remain unsolved.

In March 2007, a 52-year-old woman was kidnapped and murdered in connection with the mall. In December 2007, 47-year-old Nancy Bochicchio and her 7-year-old daughter, Joey Bochicchio, were kidnapped and later found bound and shot in the head inside the mother's SUV in the mall's parking lot. A third, non-fatal incident occurred in August 2007, in which an unnamed woman ("Jane Doe") and her 2-year-old son were kidnapped and tied up in their car after a male assailant forced the woman to withdraw cash from an ATM; the woman and child survived.

Investigators found no forensic evidence definitively linking the three 2007 incidents to a single perpetrator, but similarities among the cases led police to consider them potentially related. The case was featured on the television program America's Most Wanted, and its host, John Walsh, stated he believed a serial offender was active in the area at the time. All of the 2007 murders remain unsolved, and no one has been charged in connection with the deaths of the woman killed in March, Nancy Bochicchio, or Joey Bochicchio.

Following his 2012 arrest in Alaska on suspicion of murder, Israel Keyes (1978–2012) was later described in reporting as a possible suspect in the Boca Raton murders. Keyes died by suicide in prison after confessing to multiple killings but before he could be tried on any charges related to the Boca Raton cases specifically. Reporting notes that Keyes was a tall, slender, athletic white man whose description was said to be physically similar to the assailant described by the surviving mother from the August 2007 incident, and that his documented pattern of traveling long distances to commit murders of random victims — including withdrawing money from ATMs tied to victims — meant his known travel and timeline could not rule him out as a suspect. He has not been charged in connection with the Boca Raton case.

Separately, in October 2019, a false active-shooter scare occurred at the same mall when shoppers reported hearing sounds resembling gunfire, prompting a SWAT response, grid searches, and a store-by-store evacuation. Investigators determined there was no evidence of gunfire; the sound was traced to a janitor popping a balloon in the food court. Minor injuries were reported from the resulting panic, but no shooting occurred. This 2019 incident is unrelated to the 2007 killings.

Start hereVIDEOKevin Deutsch Reports on the Boca Mall Murders from Town Center mallYOUTUBE

Key facts

Victims
Joey Bochicchio, Nancy Bochicchio
Date
2007
Location
Town Center at Boca Raton
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1980-08-13

    Town Center at Boca Raton opens.

  2. 2007-03

    A 52-year-old woman is kidnapped and murdered in connection with the mall.

  3. 2007-08

    An unnamed woman and her 2-year-old son are kidnapped and tied up in their car after the woman is forced to withdraw cash from an ATM; both survive.

  4. 2007-12

    Nancy Bochicchio, 47, and her daughter Joey Bochicchio, 7, are kidnapped and later found bound and shot in the head in the mother's SUV in the mall parking lot.

  5. 2012

    Israel Keyes is arrested in Alaska on suspicion of murder; he is later described in reporting as a possible suspect in the Boca Raton killings.

  6. 2019-10-13

    A false active-shooter scare occurs at the mall; investigators determine the sound was a popped balloon, not gunfire.

Best coverage

Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.

VIDEO

Creator

Kevin Deutsch Reports on the Boca Mall Murders from Town Center mall

VIDEO

Creator

233: Nancy and Joey Bochiocchio

People

  • Joey Bochicchio

    VICTIM

    7-year-old daughter of Nancy Bochicchio, kidnapped and found shot in the head alongside her mother in December 2007.

  • Nancy Bochicchio

    VICTIM

    47-year-old woman kidnapped and found shot in the head in her SUV in the mall parking lot in December 2007.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • Town Center at Boca Raton - New Addition - panoramio

    archival location

    Town Center at Boca Raton - New Addition - panoramio

    Credit: MikesMegapixels · CC BY 3.0 · Source

Places

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
In 2007, three people were kidnapped and killed in connection with Town Center at Boca Raton, Florida, including a mother and her young daughter; the cases remain unsolved despite investigative attention and a possible-suspect theory later raised in media coverage.
Where did the killings happen?
Town Center at Boca Raton.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICTown Center at Boca RatonWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — ABC NewsABC News · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026

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