The Chilling Story Of How Winston Moseley Raped And Killed Kitty Genovese Outside Her Apartment

On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old bartender, was viciously raped and murdered outside her Queens apartment. At the time, it was mistakenly stated that 38 neighbours had watched the attack but done nothing to assist her, creating a national debate over the bystander effect. While Kitty Genovese became a household name after her death, Winston Moseley’s story is less popular.

From the outside, Moseley appeared to be an improbable perpetrator. At 29, he had a steady job, was happily married, and had his own home. He had three kids and no criminal record.

But, somewhere in his twenties, Moseley developed a passion for violence, which ended in one of the most notorious murder cases in American history.

The Early Years of Winston Moseley

Winston Moseley was born on March 2, 1935, in Manhattan. His mother, Fannie Moseley, did not reveal to her son that Alphonse Moseley, the man who raised him, was not his real father until he was much older. Growing up, Winston saw his parents’ growing estrangement, which was mostly due to Fannie’s numerous sexual relationships.

When Winston was nine, his mother moved him to live with relatives in Michigan. For the rest of his youth, he moved between houses and only saw his mother a few times a year. Despite his turbulent connection with Fannie, Winston strongly guarded her reputation, stating that he trusted his mother to be there for him whenever he needed her.

Moseley was described as a bright, if disturbed, youngster with an inquisitive obsession with ants. Moseley revealed some childhood memories in his prison letters to journalist Catherine Pelonero. In one letter, he recounted being knocked unconscious after being smacked in the head by a streetcar.

Moseley married his first wife, Pauline, in 1954, and they had two children. Moseley and Pauline divorced in 1961, and he married his second wife, Elizabeth Grant. They had another child together. Moseley was a machine operator, while Elizabeth worked evenings as a registered nurse.

Moseley seemed to live a wonderful life. He had a loving wife, three children, a house in New York City, and a stable career. However, at some point in his adult life, he developed “an uncontrollable urge to kill” and opted to target women since “they were easier and didn’t fight back.”

Winston Moseley Starts His Crime Spree

Winston Moseley began committing robberies in New York City when he was in his twenties. Moseley acknowledged to carrying out between 30 and 40 burglaries. He eventually progressed to assault.

Moseley admitted to murdering and abusing at least two women and girls before his infamous 1964 attack on Kitty Genovese.

Barbara Kralik, then 15, was the first. Moseley said that in 1963, he murdered Kralik in her Queens bedroom. The following year, he cruelly murdered Annie Mae Johnson, 24, by shooting and then burning her body.

His third murder, however, would strengthen his reputation in history.

The murder of Kitty Genovese

Winston Moseley prowled Queens’ streets early on March 13, 1964, looking for a woman to kill. Around 3 a.m., he saw 28-year-old Kitty Genovese driving home from a shift at a neighboring pub.

Genovese parked outside her apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens, and started running when she spotted Moseley approaching. Moseley pursued her and attacked, stabbing her multiple times while she cried for help.

At the sound of Genovese’s anguish, a resident of an adjacent apartment complex yelled at Moseley to leave her alone. Moseley was startled by the interruption and fled, leaving Genovese to drag herself to the entryway of her apartment complex.

However, Moseley returned a few minutes later to finish the job, raping her, stabbing her again, and stealing her money.

“As soon as she saw me, she started screaming,” Moseley later said, according to court records. “So I stabbed her a few times more to stop her from screaming, and I had stabbed her once in the neck…. She only moaned after that.”

Although news agencies reported at the time that 38 neighbors had witnessed the attack but failed to intervene, this was not entirely accurate. Unfortunately, New York City had not yet developed the 911 system, thus witnesses frequently spent more time attempting to contact the police than is usual nowadays.

Many of the claimed “witnesses” were unaware the stabbing had occurred.

Furthermore, at least two neighbors called the police during the incident, and one woman held Genovese until an ambulance arrived.

Tragically, Kitty Genovese died on the way to the hospital. When the police arrived at the scene, her killer was nowhere to be found.

Winston Moseley Is Put On Trial For Murder

As New York City erupted in outrage over Kitty Genovese’s horrible murder, the New York Police Department began looking for the guy who killed her. Then, less than a week after the murder, Winston Moseley was arrested for an unrelated crime.

During inquiry, NYPD investigators discovered that Moseley’s car was strikingly similar to the one that witnesses had claimed seeing at the scene of Genovese’s murder. When officers questioned Moseley about his role in the incident, Moseley opened out like a book. He confessed to not just killing Kitty Genovese, but also to murdering two other women and girls, raping several others, and committing several burglaries.

Moseley’s trial for Genovese’s murder started on June 8, 1964. He pleaded not guilty due to insanity, but mental evaluations determined he was legally sane.

He was eventually convicted of first-degree murder of Kitty Genovese and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1967 after New York State amended its death penalty rules.

But Winston Moseley’s Story Did Not End There

Moseley’s Escape From Prison and Recapture

Winston Moseley spent only four years in prison before making a spectacular escape on March 18, 1968.

During a brief hospital visit in Buffalo, New York, Moseley fought a guard, seized his rifle, and fled. He escaped to an empty house owned by a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Kulaga.

When the Kulagas returned at the house three days later, Moseley kept them hostage and sexually raped Mrs. Kulaga at gunpoint.

He then stole the couple’s car and proceeded to Grand Island, New York, where he held a mother and her daughter hostage. However, the police were on their way by this point, and they apprehended Moseley and forced him to surrender before he could hurt the mother or daughter. Moseley received two extra 15-year terms for his escape.

His Final Years in Prison

Winston Moseley made headlines again in 1971, when he took part in the infamous Attica Prison protest, which killed 43 inmates.

However, he soon revealed his darker side, even threatening his pen friend when she stopped writing to him on a regular basis.

“How can you be so busy you can’t write? You better be careful!”

Moseley tried for parole multiple times over the years, claiming to have realized the devastation his acts had caused. He was denied every time.

“It is never too late to try to make amends,” Moseley wrote in 1989.

“So should the day come when I am released from prison, and I pray to God that day will come, I will do all in my power to atone for the sins of my past.”

Winston Moseley, 81, died behind bars on March 28, 2016.

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