Al Jazeera to air doc about falsely accused suicide victim

Al Jazeera America will air Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi, a documentary about the Bryn Mawr student who disappeared from his dorm room at Brown University, and the tragedy that followed. The documentary premieres Sunday at 10 p.m.

"Sunny," a bright student suffering from depression, disappeared in March 16, 2013. His family's public search for him would eventually converge with the search for the Boston Marathon bombers. Users on sites like Reddit, Twitter and other social media sites were quick to play detective, and users began to identify Tripathi as a suspect. The media followed suit. The firestorm died down when the FBI released the names of the bombers, but the Tripathis were still looking for thier son. Tripathi's body was found April 23, 2013,

The documentary will look at the search for Tripathi and the ensuing media circus that surrounded it.

"I felt like, as I was approaching this film, in order to tell the story, we have to know who Sunil is," director Neal Broffman told Inquirer reporter Jason Laughlin in 2014. "Enough was said about him that was not true the night of the misidentification."

The film made the rounds at various film festivals before landing at Al Jazeera America, where it will have its television debut.

Help Us Find Sunil Tripathi - Documentary Trailer from One Production Place on Vimeo.