murder of kitty genovese (fifty years ago today)
Murder of Kitty Genovese
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Kitty Genovese
KittyGenovese.JPG
from March 27, 1964 New York Times article: "37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police"
Born Catherine Susan Genovese
July 7, 1935
Brooklyn,[1] New York, U.S.
Died March 13, 1964 (aged 28)
Kew Gardens, New York, U.S.[2] 40°42′33.98″N 73°49′48.76″W
Cause of death
Murder by stabbing
Resting place
Lakeview Cemetery
New Canaan, Connecticut
Nationality American
Education Prospect Heights High School
Occupation Manager
Employer Ev's Eleventh Hour Club
Hollis, New York, U.S.
Known for New York Times article about her murder
Partner(s) Mary Ann Zielonko
Catherine Susan "Kitty" Genovese (July 7, 1935[1] – March 13, 1964) was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City, on March 13, 1964, by Winston Moseley.[3]
Two weeks after the murder, a newspaper article reported the circumstances of her murder and the lack of reaction from numerous neighbors.[4] The common portrayal of her neighbors as being fully aware but completely unresponsive has since been proven thoroughly inaccurate.[5] Nonetheless, it prompted investigation into the social psychological phenomenon that has become known as the bystander effect or "Genovese syndrome"[6] and especially diffusion of responsibility.
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Life
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Genovese had driven home from her job working as a bar manager early in the morning of March 13, 1964. Arriving home at about 3:15 a.m., she parked in the Long Island Rail Road parking lot about 100 feet (30 m) from her apartment's door, located in an alley way at the rear of the building. As she walked toward the building, she was approached by Winston Moseley.[2] Frightened, Genovese began to run across the parking lot and toward the front of her building located on Austin Street, trying to make it up to the corner toward the major thoroughfare of Lefferts Boulevard. Moseley ran after her, quickly overtook her and stabbed her twice in the back. Genovese screamed, "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Her cry was heard by several neighbors but, on a cold night with the windows closed, only a few of them recognized the sound as a cry for help. When Robert Mozer, one of the neighbors, shouted at the attacker, "Let that girl alone!"[12] Moseley ran away and Genovese slowly made her way toward the rear entrance of her apartment building.[13] She was seriously injured, but now out of view of any witnesses.[12]
Records of the earliest calls to police are unclear and were not given a high priority by the police. One witness said his father called police after the initial attack and reported that a woman was "beat up, but got up and was staggering around."[14]
Other witnesses observed Moseley enter his car and drive away, only to return ten minutes later. In his car, he changed to a wide-brimmed hat to shadow his face. He systematically searched the parking lot, train station, and an apartment complex. Eventually, he found Genovese who was lying, barely conscious, in a hallway at the back of the building where a locked doorway had prevented her from entering the building.[15] Out of view of the street and of those who may have heard or seen any sign of the original attack, Moseley proceeded to further attack her, stabbing her several more times. Knife wounds in her hands suggested that she attempted to defend herself from him. While Genovese lay dying, Moseley raped her. He stole about $49 from her and left her in the hallway.[12] The attacks spanned approximately half an hour. Afterwards, "Genovese, still alive, lay in the arms of a neighbor named Sophia Farrar, who had courageously left her apartment to go to the crime scene, even though she had no way of knowing that [Mosely] had fled."[16]
A few minutes after the final attack, a witness, Karl Ross, called the police. Police arrived within minutes of Ross' call. Genovese was taken away by ambulance at 4:15 a.m. and died en route to the hospital. Later investigation by police and prosecutors revealed that approximately a dozen (but almost certainly not the 38 cited in the Times article) individuals nearby had heard or observed portions of the attack, though none saw or were aware of the entire incident.[4] Only one witness, Joseph Fink, was aware she was stabbed in the first attack, and only Karl Ross was aware of it in the second attack. Many were entirely unaware that an assault or homicide was in progress; some thought that what they saw or heard was a lovers' quarrel or a drunken brawl or a group of friends leaving the bar when Moseley first approached Genovese
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese
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