Gunmen posed as police to kill state witness

THE two gunmen who killed Veronica Franco, a 22-year-old woman who was said to be a state witness in a double murder, posed as police, relatives say.

A cousin of the slain woman told Newsday, Franco visited relatives in Barataria for her cousin’s birthday party on Sunday, when at about 8 pm the two gunmen stormed into the house and killed her.

“They said ‘Police! Police! Don’t move,’” said the relative. “They were both in all black and one of them had plaits. One man stood outside by the gate to make sure no one ran away, and the other went inside.”

Relatives said the two men were looking for Franco specifically, because they pushed people aside to get to her. When the gunman finally got a hold of her, relatives said he started beating her, then gunshots started ringing out.

“The man start to leggo fire inside (sic),” said the relative. “The man outside started shooting too. Then they ran off.”