Murder of Kitty Genovese

On March 13, 1964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was mugged and stabbed to death outside her apartment building on Austin Street, in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. 

Two weeks after the murder, The New York Times published an article claiming that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, and that none of them called the police or came to her aid, apart from her neighbour Sophia Farrar.

The incident was the bystander effect or "Genovese syndrome," and the murder became a well known example of U.S. psychology textbooks. Genovese syndrome is when witnesses to a crime do not report the crime because they are scared and they believe that others will report it instead, which in the end they do not and the crime goes unreported. 

However, this is not exactly what happened. Police interviews did reveal that many witnesses were afraid to be involved, but many witnesses did attempt to call the police. There were several reasons why Genovese's attack wasn't immediately reported. She was attacked and murdered late at night, so many of her nearby neighbors were asleep. Her attack occurred four years before the unified  911 emergency response system was established in the United States in 1968. Prior to that system, residents had to call the local police or fire department directly for help, often causing extreme delays in getting assistance.  Some of the people interviewed who did see the attack stated they saw Genovese get up and walk away, so they did not believe she had been badly hurt, and thus did not call the police.

Winston Moseley, a 29-year-old man from Manhattan, was arrested during a house burglary six days after the murder. While in custody, he confessed to killing Genovese. At his trial, Moseley was found guilty. He died in prison on March 28, 2016.

References

Category:1964 in the United States
Category:1960s crimes in the United States
Category:Crime in New York City
Category:Murder in New York (state)
Category:Murder in the 1960s
Category:Murders by blade weapons
Category:Queens (New York City)
Category:Robberies
Category:Incidents of violence against women
Category:Deaths by person in the United States