On March 13, 1964, Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, 28, was brutally stabbed to death and raped by Winston Moseley, 29, outside of her apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York (Gansberg; McFadden). The case was brought to the public eye when Martin Gansberg of The New York Times published an article titled Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police. Gansberg’s article suggests that thirty-eight residents of Kew Gardens witnessed Genovese’s murder, but ignored her cries for help instead of calling the police, except for one who called after Kitty was already dead. The bystander effect, the social psychological phenomenon of when people do not help in an emergency situation when others are present, was popularized as a result of the residents’ …show more content…
(Gansberg). According to courtroom testimony, this attack lasted only a few minutes before Moseley ran back to his car upon hearing a man yell, “Leave that girl alone!” from his apartment window. Joseph De May Jr., a former Kew Gardens resident who dedicates his time to clearing up Kew Gardens’ reputation, says “They [witnesses] saw just a young woman walking or stumbling alone down Austin Street toward the side of her building, then vanishing around the corner.” When Moseley returned to the scene, Kitty was near the back of the building. Only a single apartment could have seen this second, longer attack, for the others were facing away (Rasenberger). This evidence clearly suggests that most nearby residents would not have been able to view Genovese’s …show more content…
De May was contacted by a former New York City police officer, who was eight-years-old-at the time of the murder, that lived in the apartment building. He claims that he saw Moseley running down the street as Genovese staggered around and stood in his living room while his father called the police (Benderly; Rasenberger). Other witnesses are said to have called, but they reported a domestic dispute rather than a murder. These alleged calls were ignored by the police. Karl Ross, a friend of Kitty’s, was the man who lived in the apartment near the second attack. He had opened his door, and upon seeing Moseley stab Genovese, he closed it quickly. Ross climbed out his window and across the roof to a neighbor’s apartment to call for help (Lemann). Finally, the police arrived at the scene, but it was too