Cityscape: Kitty Genovese, 50 Years Later

Catherine “Kitty” Genovese is known most commonly for the circumstances surrounding her death. She was brutally attacked and killed in the courtyard of her building in Kew Gardens, Queens one March night 50 years ago.

Her murder crystallized a new psychological concept known as the bystander effect.  Thirty-eight people reportedly witnessed the attack and did nothing to help. But is that really how things played out on March 13th, 1964?  Kevin Cook says not exactly.  He's the author of a new book called Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America.  Cook is our guest on this week's Cityscape.