The nation reacted with shock and disgust at the circumstances that surrounded the 1964 murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in the Queens section of New York City.
Working girl Genovese, 28, was returning home to her apartment building at 3 a.m. from her job as manager of a bar. She parked about 100 feet from the building and was assaulted and stabbed before she could get to the door. She screamed, windows opened, and lights went on.
The assailant fled, then returned when the lights went back out, stabbing her again. This grisly process was repeated for a third and final time, but this time he stabbed her to death and raped her.
Such awful things happen with dingdong regularity, sad to say, but what made the Genovese murder stand out was that of the 40 people who heard her cries for help, no one bothered to call police even though the poor girl kept screaming.
When police came and questioned neighbors, the general reaction was that they just didn't want to get involved. This craven combination of fear and apathy came to be known as the Genovese Syndrome.
Afer six days, authorities arrested 29-year-old married father of two Winston Moseley, who admitted to the crime, plus two earlier murders of young women.
Americans and others reflected on what they themselves would have done had they been there.
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