Catherine Genovese (July 7, 1935 - March 13, 1964), commonly known as Kitty Genovese, was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York. The circumstances of her murder and the apparent reaction (or lack thereof) of her neighbors were reported by a newspaper article published two weeks later and prompted investigation into the psychological phenomenon that became known as the bystander effect, the "Bad Samaritan Complex" or "Genovese syndrome".
Life of Catherine Genovese
Born in New York City, Genovese was the oldest of five children in a middle class Italian American family and was raised in Brooklyn. After her mother witnessed a murder in the city, the family chose to move to Connecticut in 1954. Genovese, however, nineteen at the time, chose to remain in the city, where she lived for nine years. Kitty eventually took a job as a bar manager at Ev's 11th Hour Sports Bar on Jamaica Avenue in Hollis, Queens. At the time of her murder, she lived in a Queens apartment she shared with her partner, Mary Ann Zielonko.
Attack
Genovese had driven home in the early morning of March 13, 1964. Arriving home at about 3:15 a.m. and parking about 100 feet (30 m) from her apartment's door, as Mary Ann lay sleeping in their apartment above the street, she was approached by Winston Moseley. Moseley ran after her and quickly overtook her, stabbing her twice in the back. When Genovese screamed out, her cries were 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 one of the neighbors shouted at the attacker, "Let that girl alone!", Moseley ran away and Genovese slowly made her way towards her own apartment around the end of the building. She was seriously injured, but now out of view of those few who may have had reason to believe she was in need of help.
Records of the earliest calls to police are unclear and were certainly 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."
Other witnesses observed Moseley enter his car and drive away, only to return ten minutes later. He systematically searched the parking lot, train station, and small apartment complex, ultimately finding Genovese, who was lying, barely conscious, in a hallway at the back of the building. Out of view of the street and of those who may have heard or seen any sign of the original attack, he 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 she lay dying, he sexually assaulted her. He stole about $49 from her and left her dying in the hallway. The attacks spanned approximately half an hour.
A few minutes after the final attack, a witness, Karl Ross, called the police. Police and medical personnel arrived within minutes of Ross' call; Genovese was taken away by ambulance 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 could have seen or been aware of the entire incident. 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 lover's quarrel or a drunken brawl or a group of friends leaving the bar outside when Moseley first approached Genovese.
Burial
Following her murder, Kitty Genovese was buried in a family grave at Lakeview Cemetery in New Canaan, Connecticut. The family requested to keep the burial location within the cemetery private, and visitors not be directed to the grave by cemetery personnel.
Perpetrator
Winston Moseley, a business machine operator, was later apprehended in connection with another crime; he confessed not only to the murder of Kitty Genovese, but to two other murders, both involving sexual assaults. Subsequent psychiatric examinations suggested that Moseley was a necrophiliac. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Moseley gave a confession to the police where he detailed the attack, corroborating the physical evidence at the scene. His motive for the attack was simply "to kill a woman." Moseley stated that he got up that night around 2:00 a.m., leaving his wife asleep at home, and drove around to find a victim. He spied Genovese and followed her to the parking lot.
Moseley also testified at his own trial where he further described the attack, leaving no question that he was the killer.
The initial death sentence was reduced to an indeterminate sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment on June 1, 1967. The New York Court of Appeals found that Moseley should have been able to argue that he was "medically insane" at the sentencing hearing when the trial court found that he had been legally sane.
In 1968, during a trip to a Buffalo, New York hospital for surgery (precipitated by a soup can he placed in his own rectum as a pretext to leave prison), Moseley overpowered a guard and beat him up to the point that his eyes were bloody. He then took a bat and swung it at the closest person to him and took five hostages, sexually assaulting one of them, before he was recaptured alive. He also participated in the later Attica prison uprising.
Moseley remained in prison after being denied parole a twelfth time on February 3, 2006. A previous parole hearing included his defense that "For a victim outside, it's a one-time or one-hour or one-minute affair, but for the person who's caught, it's forever." He will be eligible for parole again in 2008.
Public reaction
The story of Genovese's murder became an almost-instant parable about the supposed callousness, or at least apathy to others' plight, of either New York City, urban America, or humanity in general. Much of this framing of the event came in reaction to an investigative article [4] in the New York Times written by Martin Gansberg and published on March 27, two weeks after the murder. The article bore the headline "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police"; the public view of the story crystallized around a quote from the article, from an unidentified neighbor who saw part of the attack but deliberated, before finally getting another neighbor to call the police: "I didn't want to get involved."
Other reports, cited by Harlan Ellison in his book Harlan Ellison's Watching, stated that one man turned up his radio so that he wouldn't hear Genovese's screams. Ellison says that the report he read attributed the "get involved" quote to nearly all of the thirty-eight who supposedly witnessed the attack. He later repeated the figure of thirty-eight (this time using an expletive to collectively describe them) when mentioning the case in his book The Other Glass Teat.
While Genovese's neighbors were vilified by the article, "38 onlookers who did nothing" is a misleading conception. The article begins:
"For more than half an hour thirty-eight respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens."
The lead is dramatic but factually inaccurate. None of the witnesses observed the attacks in their entirety. Because of the layout of the complex and the attacks took place in a different locations, no witness saw the entire sequence. Most only heard portions of the incident without realizing its seriousness, a few saw only small portions of the initial assault, and no witnesses directly saw the final rape and attack in an exterior hallway which resulted in Genovese's death.
Nevertheless, media attention to the Genovese murder led to reform of the NYPD's telephone reporting system; the system in place at the murder was often inefficient and directed individuals to the incorrect department. The melodramatic press coverage also led to serious investigation of the bystander effect by academic psychologists. In addition, some communities organized Neighborhood Watch programs and the equivalent for apartment buildings to aid people in distress.
According to the New York Times, in an article dated December 28, 1974, ten years after the murder, 25-year-old Sandra Zahler was beaten to death early Christmas morning in an apartment of the building which overlooked the site of the Genovese attack. Neighbors again said they heard screams and "fierce struggles" but did nothing.
The Genovese case in popular culture
* Folk singer Phil Ochs alludes to the Genovese murder in the first lines of his song "Outside a Small Circle of Friends."
* Joan Baez, a popular folk singer of the time, wrote a song entitled, "In The Quiet Morning," which was inspired by Genovese's death, but later dedicated to Janis Joplin.
* In a Nip/Tuck episode, a bitter patient books an appointment under the alias Kitty Genovese; this patient books other appointments under names of famous victims both real and fictional.
* In the comic book series Watchmen, a woman who might have been Kitty Genovese orders a dress made from an unusual fabric, but changes her mind once the dress is made.
* The movie The Boondock Saints opens with a preacher using the story of Kitty Genovese in a sermon to illustrate the point that passively watching a bad deed is as criminal as - or even worse than - committing the crime itself.
* A 1975 made-for-TV movie, Death Scream, was loosely based on the Kitty Genovese murder.
* The scene in John Carpenter's Halloween in which Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) cried for help while being chased by Michael Myers but was ignored by her neighbors was meant to reflect Kitty Genovese's struggle.
* Harlan Ellison used the death of Genovese and the reports of her neighbors' alleged willful inaction as the basis for "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs", an Edgar-winning story in his "Deathbird Stories" collection.
* Dorothy Uhnak's novel Victims was apparently inspired by the Genovese murder.
* A 1996 episode of Law & Order entitled "Remand" was loosely based on the Genovese case.
* In 2005, a play, The Witnesses of Kitty Genovese, written by J.R. Teeter, about the last night of Kitty Genovese's life, was released and viewed in Off-Broadway productions.
OUR WORLD FAMOUS SERIAL KILLER MERCHANDISE : Scroll down to see the many true crime and serial killer products that we sell. Click on any item that is currently available to view more details or purchase an item. If you are interested in buying items in bulk, please contact us for information and wholesale prices. Our products have been featured in the Boston Globe, Penthouse Magazine, Fox News and newspapers/magazines around the world. Many of our items are also in the private collection of many celebrities (Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Joe Coleman and Lloyd Kaufman just to name a few). We are always adding new items so check back often for more morbid merchandise. There are less than 500 2007 Serial Killer Calendars left, and we do not expect these to last long.
SERIES 1 OF THE NEW SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS
After almost a full year of designing , we are pleased to announce the new SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS! This set includes 25 high quality trading cards featuring the artwork of Nico Claux, Jack Malebranche, Chuck Hodi, Johnny Machine, Mark Stinson, Gerard Torbitt, Mike Henderson, and more! These cards are sure to be an instant collectors item so get yours now before they are sold out!
PRICE : $25
SERIES 2 OF THE NEW SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS
After almost a full year of designing , we are pleased to announce the new SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS! This set includes 25 high quality trading cards featuring the artwork of Nico Claux, Jack Malebranche, Chuck Hodi, Johnny Machine, Mark Stinson, Gerard Torbitt, Mike Henderson, and more! These cards are sure to be an instant collectors item so get yours now before they are sold out!
PRICE : $25
SERIES 3 OF THE NEW SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS
After almost a full year of designing , we are pleased to announce the new SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS! This set includes 25 high quality trading cards featuring the artwork of Nico Claux, Jack Malebranche, Chuck Hodi, Johnny Machine, Mark Stinson, Gerard Torbitt, Mike Henderson, and more! These cards are sure to be an instant collectors item so get yours now before they are sold out!
PRICE : $25
COMPLETE SET OF ALL 75 SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS
After almost a full year of designing , we are pleased to announce the new SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS! This set includes all 75 high quality trading cards featuring the artwork of Nico Claux, Jack Malebranche, Chuck Hodi, Johnny Machine, Mark Stinson, Gerard Torbitt, Mike Henderson, and more!
PRICE : $75
THE RARE 2007 SERIAL KILLER CALENDAR
The 2007 Serial Killer Calendar features the dark art of Nico Claux (the "Vampire of Paris"). This serial killer collectors item has been featured in magazine and newspapers around the world. There are now less than 400 Serial Killer Calendars left for sale. When these are gone, you will not be able to buy them anywhere. Click the image to the left for more details.
PRICE : $20
THE NEW & IMPROVED 2008 SERIAL KILLER CALENDAR
Here it is folks. The brand new 2008 Serial Killer Calendar. This new edition is twice as big as the 2007 and contains artwork from Nico Claux and seven new dark artists. You can pre-order your copy today. These editions are extremely limited so get yours before they are gone forever.
PRICE : $25
SERIAL KILLER WALL POSTER
The giant Nico Claux wall poster is the ONLY serial killer poster in the world. This movie size poster features paintings of nine of Nico's most well known killers. This poster will only be printed once and supplies are quickly running out. When these are gone, you will not be able to buy them anywhere.
PRICE : $25
COMPLETE SET OF ALL 12 JOHNNY MACHINE PRINTS
These 8X10, high quality prints by Johnny Machine include all artwork from his amazing "The Murderers" Collection. These include images of Fish, Gein, Dahmer, Bundy, Gacy, and many more! These prints are of the highest quality and are perfect for framing. This is a nice addition to any true collectors art gallery.
PRICE : $20
MARK STINSON SERIAL KILLER CLOCK
This amazing wall clock features the artwork of Mark Stinson (from Void Pulp Press). The clock displays a collection of Marks most stunning serial killer artwork (including Andrei Chikatilo, H.H. Holmes, Richard Ramirez, Albert Fish, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz and Ted Bundy).
Price : $35
ALBERT FISH WALL CLOCK
This amazing wall clock features two chilling paintings of the child eating monster. The painting in the foreground is done by Nico Claux (otherwise known as the Vampire of Paris) while the full-body background painting was done by our newest artist, Johnny Machine).
Price : $35
JOHN WAYNE GACY WALL CLOCK
This amazing wall clock features the best painting of John Wayne gacy (the killer clown) we have ever seen. This painting was created for us by the talented Johnny Machine. Gacy became notorious as the "Killer Clown" because dressedin a clown suit and makeup, under the name of "Pogo the Clown."
Price : $35
CARL PANZRAM WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features Carl Panzram. This amazing painting was created for us by the talented Chuck Hodi. Carl Panzram (June 28, 1891 – September 5, 1930) was an American serial killer. While imprisoned, Panzram wrote an articulate autobiography about his life and his descent into crime.
Price : $35
TED BUNDY WALL CLOCK
This amazing wall clock features the best painting of Ted Bundy we have ever seen. This painting was created for us by the talented Johnny Machine. Theodore Robert 'Ted' Bundy (November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was one of the most infamous serial killers in U.S. history.
Price : $35
ED GEIN WALL CLOCK WITH FOUR PAINTINGS
This wall clock features four seperate paintings of the cannibal Ed Gein. This artwork was created by Johnny Machine, Chuck Hodi and Gerard Torbitt. Edward Theodore Gein (August 27, 1906 – July 26, 1984), was an American serial killer.
Price : $35
DENNIS RADER (THE BTK KILLER) WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features Dennis Rader (The BTK killer). This amazing painting was created for us by the talented Chuck Hodi. Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer who murdered at least 10 people in Sedgwick County (in and around Wichita), Kansas, between 1974 and 1991.
Price : $35
DAVID BERKOWITZ (SON OF SAM) WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features David Berkowitz (The Son of Sam). This artwork was created by the talented Johnny Machine. David Richard Berkowitz (Born: June 1, 1953), better known by his nickname Son of Sam, is an American serial killer who confessed to killing six people.
Price : $35
RICHARD RAMIREZ WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features Richard Ramirez (The Nightstalker). This artwork was created by the talented Johnny Machine and Chuck Hodi. Ricardo "Richard" Muñoz Ramirez (born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas) is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution in California.
Price : $35
JEFFREY DAHMER WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features Jeffrey Dahmer. This amazing painting was created for us by the talented Gerard Torbitt. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer. He murdered at least 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 (with the majority of the murders occurring between 1989 and 1991).
Price : $35
GERARD TORBITT'S ALBERT FISH WALL CLOCK
This wall clock features Albert Fish. This amazing painting was created for us by the talented Gerard Torbitt. Albert Hamilton Fish (May 19, 1870 – January 16, 1936) was an American serial killer and cannibal. He was also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria and possibly the Brooklyn Vampire.
Price : $35
SERIAL KILLER STICKERS SET
This set of 30 high y quality stickers by Mark Stinson (head of Void Pulp Press) include Albert Fish (with dinner plate), Ted Bundy (with VW Bug) and Richard Ramirez (with pentagram). We will be releasing new sets all year so check back soon. Not all stickers will be reprinted so you will want to buy each set to have a complete collection.
PRICE : $15
SERIAL KILLER TEESHIRTS
These shirts are now available but supplies are very limited. Use the buy now buttons below to purchase the black Nico Claux Tee Shirt. This shirt features eight of Nico's most famous paintings (Ted Bundy, Albert Fish, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, David Berkowitz, Charles Manson and Ed Gein). The shirts come in four sizes.
THE ONE OF A KIND SERIAL KILLER ACTION FIGURES
This rare collection of serial killer action figure are all hand crafted by artist David Johnson. Each figure is six inches tall, hand cast in resin and comes mint in packaging. Currently we are selling the Jeffrey Dahmer action figure, the Ed Gein action figure and the OJ Simpson action figure. These are truly a very rare collectors items and are very limited so get yours before they are gone forever.
BECOME A STREET TEAM MEMBER TODAY
Copy the HTML code below in to your website, to show the world that your a member of the Serial Killer Calendar Street Team!
THE SERIAL KILLER CALENDAR STREET TEAM
Do you want Serialkillercalendar.com to continue producing the best morbid merchandise on the internet? Then help us spread the good word of gore by becoming part of our massive Street Team members. What is a street team? Street Team members post links to our site on blogs, message boards, websites and get our message to the masses. Thanks to our street team, serialkillercalendar.com is now a household name. So grab your street team badge on the left and read below for some things you could do to help us take over the world... uhhh... I mean, to help us advertise. Yeah, that's what I meant.
1. POST A LINK TO US ON WIKIPEDIA.COM
Wikipedia is a great source for random information but for some reason they keep taking our links off their site. So we need our faithful Street Team members to flood Wikipedia with links to serialkillercalendar.com on every page that has anything to do with serial killers or mass murderers.
2. POST BULLETINS ABOUT US ON MYSPACE.COM
Myspace has been very good to us. In the last six months, we have received well over 9000 friend requests. Help us get even more in 2007 by posting weekly bulletins to all your friends and asking them to do the same. Together, we will take over myspace and then... the WORLD!. Man, I have to stop saying that out loud.
3. BLOGS, MESSAGE BOARDS AND FORUMS
Every link to Serialkillercalendar.com gets us seen more by the masses. Post text or banner links to our site in as many places as you can find. Pottery.com? KittensAreCute.net? Sure, why not. Even old farts and feline lovers can enjoy our morbid masterpieces.
4. PUBLIC VANDALISM = POWERFUL ADVERTISING
Legally speaking we would never encourage our street team members to " Spray Paint SerialKillerCalendar.com on the side of their local court house " or " create millions of SerialKillerCalendar.com stickers and stick them on local cop cars. " This would be wrong. Of course, if you do help us advertise in a unconventional way, we would love to see the photos of it.
5. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU DID FOR US
Send us an email to let us know what you are doing to help spread the word of serialkillercalendar.com. We will be adding a huge section on our site displaying the street team members that help us the most. So start telling the masses and let us know what you are up to.
Thanks again to all our wonderful street team crew and keep up the good work. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for new street team projects, contact James Gilks at madhatterdesign@gmail.com
Copy and paste the code below in to your website to add our killer web banner. If you have any trouble with this flash banner, you will find many more banners to use in our downloads section. Be sure to let us know that you used one of our banners so we can add a link to your site in our massive links page.