Graphic Photo Posted on Facebook at Center of Pending Lawsuit

Facebook has a "real problem" on its hands regarding a "very ghoulish" crime-scene photograph of a woman that was posted on the social-networking site, an attorney told FOXNews.com.

Ravi Batra said the graphic picture of the body of Caroline Wimmer, 26, is the center of a lawsuit to be filed this fall in the Eastern District of New York that will name Facebook, the City of New York, the NYPD, the FDNY and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta as defendants.

Batra represents Wimmer's parents, who are seeking tighter controls on images that appear on the social-networking site.

"[Facebook] will either find a way to be a lawful corporate citizen or we'll shut 'em down," Batra told FOXNews.com. "Facebook has a real problem on their hands with me."

Wimmer's body was found March 30 by her parents two days after she was fatally beaten and strangled.

A responding EMT, retired NYPD detective Frank Musarella, 46, allegedly snapped a photo of Wimmer's body using his cell-phone camera and posted it on his Facebook profile.

He was later arrested on charges of official misconduct, and he faces up to a year in jail if convicted.

Richmond County District Attorney Daniel Donovan said Musarella, who was fired in May, ignored his training and acted in a "cruel and callous manner" by allegedly snapping the picture.

Calls to Musarella's attorney, Edward Pavia, were not immediately returned. Musarella is due to appear in court on Sept. 2.

Batra, who filed a notice of claim with the city last month, says Facebook violated state and federal privacy laws by allowing Wimmer's picture to be "published on their server."

It remains unclear exactly how many people saw the photo.

"The moment they take title, they're aiding and abetting," Batra said.

But Parry Aftab, an expert on Internet and privacy law who runs WiredSafety.org, said Facebook is protected under the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which gives it "1,000 percent" immunity from liability, much in the same way the U.S. Postal Service is not liable if someone mails obscene or pornographic materials.

"That lawsuit will be dismissed as soon as it's presented," Aftab told FOXNews.

Facebook, meanwhile, has extended its "sincere sympathies" to Wimmer's family, friends and neighbors.

"That someone would take her photo under these circumstances is at once disturbing and despicable," Facebook said in a statement released by spokesman Barry Schnitt. "The person responsible should be held to account and we will assist authorities in that effort. In addition, we have devoted significant resources to keeping offensive content off of Facebook — we have a robust reporting infrastructure and a large team of professional reviewers who remove thousands of photos a day from the site that violate our policies."

The lawsuit, Batra said, will also name the landlord of the apartment building where Wimmer lived for a lack of "minimal adequate security," as well as Wimmer's alleged killer, Calvin Lawson, 28, who has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter.

"This case is a perfect storm," Batra said. "The boon of the Internet is that it connects people, but the curse of the Internet is that there is instant immortality. You cannot wrap today's fish with yesterday's newspapers. It's always fresh. That's the curse of the Internet."