Kitty Genovese's apartment

This is Kitty Genovese's former apartment building.

It is located at 82-70 Austin Street in Queens, New York.

Genovese was stabbed to death in a hallway at the back of the building in the early hours of March 13, 1964.

Her murder later inspired the social psychology theory known as the bystander effect.

Murder

Genovese was the victim of a self-confessed serial killer named Winston Moseley.

On the night of the murder, Moseley spent an hour driving around Queens looking for a suitable victim.

At roughly 3 a.m., he saw Genovese stopped at a traffic light on Hoover Avenue.

He then followed her until she pulled into the parking lot beside the Kew Gardens Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station.

Moseley, who was armed with a hunting knife, pulled over on Austin Street, next to a bus stop.

When Genovese realized she was being followed, she ran to the front of the complex. However, Moseley quickly caught up to her and stabbed her twice in the back.

The first attack took place outside a bookstore at 82-64 Austin Street.

During the assault, he was interrupted by a neighbor, who shouted at him from an upstairs window in the Mowbray apartment building.

Worried that he had parked his white Chevrolet Corvair too close to the crime scene, Moseley retreated.

Instead of leaving, he moved his vehicle farther away, put on a wide-brimmed hat, and then brazenly returned on foot.

It is estimated that there was a 10-15 minute interval between the attacks.

By the time he returned, Genovese had staggered around the corner, near the present-day Roast & Co. cafe.

After searching the parking lot, he eventually found Genovese in a hallway at the back of the building.

There, she lay critically injured beside a locked doorway.

Moseley raped and stabbed Genovese multiple times before emptying her purse and leaving.

An elderly woman found her shortly after the second attack and called for an ambulance.

Genovese succumbed to her wounds en route to the hospital.

Moseley's arrest

Moseley was arrested six days later after he was caught trying to steal a television set in Ozone Park. Following his arrest, a detective noticed that his Chevrolet matched the description of the car in the Genovese case.

During questioning, he readily confessed to murdering Genovese and two other women. He also provided the police with key details about the crime.

Although he was found guilty and sentenced to death, the punishment was later commuted to life in prison because the court had refused to admit evidence regarding his mental condition.

He became eligible for parole in 1984. However, his requests for release were repeatedly denied due to his lack of remorse.

On March 28, 2016, Moseley died in prison at the age of 81.

Bystander effect

Genovese's case received national attention following reports that dozens of witnesses passively watched the murder unfold for more than 30 minutes.

These misleading, now-debunked news reports led to the development of a social psychology theory called the bystander effect.

Later, it emerged that a New York Times article had grossly exaggerated the number of witnesses involved. Furthermore, many of the people who heard her screams did not realize that a woman had been stabbed.

Although the initial reports were inaccurate, at least two witnesses saw the attack and chose not to intervene.

One even chose to go back to sleep.

Aftermath

Genovese's murder accelerated the introduction of a centralized 911 emergency number in New York City.

At the time of her death, reporting a crime involved calling the local police precinct and speaking to a desk officer.

It is believed that the complexity of this system may have dissuaded witnesses from reporting the disturbance.