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For the families of murder victims, there is never closure; only
a periodic respite from the sorrow that once dominated their lives.
It has been 38 years since the murder in Kew Gardens, but in many
ways, it is still recent for those who loved Catherine. From
time to time, the press still calls on the Genovese family. “I was
consulted in a project for the History Channel not long
ago,” said Bill, the ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran. He lost his
legs in combat on a Friday the 13th , the same day that Catherine
was killed, but three years later. “See, they’re going to do the
story anyway, so we may as well cooperate,” he said. Vince nodded
his head in agreement. “At least we have some measure of control
if we cooperate,” he said.
Of the 38 witnesses, the family had little to say. “It was
shocking, devastating. Awful. Our sister could have been saved,”
Vince said, “I don’t know who they are even. I didn’t want to
talk to any of them.” The witnesses, however, and their failure to
take action on the night of March 13, 1964, will never be forgotten.
In the past four decades, Catherine’s murder has been absorbed
into the vast psychological database of human behavioral science, to
be studied, analyzed, picked apart in classrooms and written about
in college textbooks. But that development intends no disrespect for
her death. “Her case came to symbolize the corruption of
modern city life, a life in which everyone is too frightened or too
selfish to help another person, a life in which the value of
humanitarianism has been forgotten,” writes Professor Helen
Benedict of Columbia University.
Today, Winston Moseley, 67, remains incarcerated at Great Meadows
Correction Facility, a maximum-security prison in upstate New York.
“It’s tough knowing that he still exists in this world,” said
Vince. Catherine’s family has vowed to participate in any court
procedures in the future. “We will not let her be the victim
again,” one brother told the press at a hearing in Federal Court
back in 1995. According to the New York State Department of
Corrections, Moseley’s next scheduled parole hearing is set for
January 2004.
“We’ll be there,” vowed Vince Genovese, studying a photo of
his lost sister.
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