The Dead Woman Who Named Her Killer

Investigation - Genovese's girlfriend, Mary Ann Zielonko, was questioned by Detective Mitchell Sang at 7:00 a.m. on the morning after the murder. She was later interrogated for six hours by two homicide detectives, John Carroll and Jerry Burns, whose questioning centered on her relationship with Genovese. This was also the police's focus when they questioned the couple's neighbors. Initially, Zielonko was considered to be a suspect.[30]

On March 19, 1964, six days after the stabbing,[5] Moseley was arrested for suspected robbery in Ozone Park after a television set was discovered in the trunk of his car. Moseley's car was searched after a local man, Raoul Cleary, became suspicious when he saw Moseley removing the television from a neighbor's house. Cleary questioned Moseley, who claimed to be a removal worker. However, after consulting another neighbor, Jack Brown, who confirmed that the homeowners were not moving, Cleary called the police. Brown disabled Moseley's car to ensure he could not get away before police arrived.[31] A detective recalled that a white car similar to Moseley's had been reported by some of the witnesses to Genovese's murder, and he informed Detectives Carroll and Sang. During questioning, Moseley admitted to the murders of Genovese and two other women – Annie Mae Johnson, who had been shot and burned to death in her apartment in South Ozone Park a few weeks earlier; and 15-year-old Barbara Kralik, who had been killed in her parents' Springfield Gardens home the previous July.[8][30]

It was a cold autumn evening in the small town of Forest Park. The sky was a deep navy blue, and the gently rustling leaves of the trees lit up the night as they twisted and danced in the moonlight. No one had expected the day to end so quickly, but then again, no one expected what happened next.

The inevitable ringing of sirens broke the silence, followed by a cacophony of voices, both human and animal, rising up in pandemonium. It seemed as if the world had come to a standstill. People gathered around, murmuring in fear and confusion as word of the gruesome event began to spread.

The body of a woman in her late twenties had been discovered in a nearby alleyway. She had been brutally murdered and the detectives had almost immediately identified her as Margaret Johnson. As if this wasn't enough to put the townspeople on edge, Margaret's last words were a chilling statement that identified her killer as someone in Forest Park.

As soon as the news was out, panic took over. No one felt safe anymore, fearing that their neighbor could be a murderer. The police did what they could to reassure the people, but their resources were limited. All their efforts only made people even more paranoid.

A thin young man wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a face mask was seen lurking around the scene of the crime and seemed to be watching the police's every move. Despite their best efforts, the detectives were unable to locate him.

The townspeople tried to go on with their lives, but nothing seemed the same anymore. Everywhere you walked, whispers of fear followed. Children were forced to stay inside and rumors of a murderer on the loose spread like wildfire.

One night, about a week after Margaret's death, a peculiar event took place. A cloaked figure was spotted running through the streets of Forest Park. He was described as wearing a long, dark trench coat and a hat, but no one could make out any facial features. People were in hysterics, trying to make sense of what was happening, until something even stranger occurred.

The figure stopped and looked directly at the onlookers. He seemed to be looking right at them. After what felt like an eternity, he lifted a finger and pointed in the direction of a man standing in the crowd. The people were speechless. They stood in shock, not realizing that the figure had named the murderer.

After the mysterious man had vanished, the identified murderer was apprehended and was found to be none other than Margaret's neighbor, Randall Steffens. Following his arrest, it was revealed that he had committed other crimes in the past, including a string of robberies. How he had gotten away with them until then was a mystery.

No one ever found out for sure who the mysterious cloaked figure was, and the people of the town continue to be haunted by the dead woman who named her killer. To this day, every time the howling winds blow, you can still hear her voice reverberate in the alleyway as if she were still alive.