Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences by Catherine Pelonero Read Free Book Online

happening. She was not merely a dutiful sister, but genuinely involved.
    For her siblings, there had never been a time when Catherine was not an important part of their lives. On her weekly visits they often stayed up late into the night talking about everything from movies to politics to medieval history. Catherine kept up on current events, knew a great deal about a great many subjects, and could discuss the most profound topics with ease. She loved to spark a good conversation or play the role of confidant, ready to listen or give advice when asked. In every way, Catherine had always been there for them. Now she had been killed in the city. Murdered . It seemed not only unthinkable, but unendurable.
    As their mother sobbed and their father undertook what needed to be done, the young siblings of Catherine Genovese sat dumbfounded,unable to grasp that the next time they would see their sister would not be for a late night chat in the living room, but in the parlor of a funeral home.
    A KEY ELEMENT of a homicide investigation is an examination of the victim’s life—background, habits, friends, lovers—anything that could possibly shed light on how or why the crime occurred or lead to a suspect. The New York detectives would need to speak with the grieving Genovese family to learn more about their daughter’s life and character. For now they had her roommate.
    Having brought Mary Ann Zielonko back home from Queens General Hospital, Mitch Sang stood in her small apartment at 7:00 a.m. getting some information from her. Or trying to. The poor girl—who did not strike Sang as a particularly talkative type to begin with—had the look and manner of someone whose shocked senses have carried her far inward to a place of silent internalized sorrow and private thoughts. Obviously stunned by what had happened to her friend, Mary Ann’s brief answers came slowly, as if filtered through a narrow tube that constricted her words, reducing them to a series of dull clipped responses. Sang understood. This could not be easy for her, although it might be easier for both of them if Karl Ross were not present.
    From the start, Sang had suspected that Karl Ross knew more than he was telling about the assaults on Kitty Genovese, particularly the attack at the bottom of his stairs. Now here he was in the victim’s apartment just a couple hours later, cocktail glass in hand, ostensibly comforting her roommate, actually just boozing and interrupting Sang’s questioning. Detective Sang had had enough of Karl Ross. He asked him to leave. Ross refused, indignant. This was Mary Ann’s apartment, he told Sang, and he could stay as long as she said it was okay. Mary Ann didn’t say anything, oblivious to the presence of Karl Ross and his ministrations of comfort as she was to everything else. Detective Sang told Ross he needed to finish speaking with Mary Ann alone. Without waiting for a response, he took Ross by the arm and led him out the front door and down the stairs.
    Sang had not even made his way back up to the apartment before he heard Ross shouting curses behind him, followed by the sound of a violent crack. Detective Sang turned and looked down the stairwell. The son of a bitch had kicked in the bottom panel of the street-level door. Mitch Sang flew down the stairs, handcuffed Karl Ross, and hauled him off to the 102nd precinct on a charge of disorderly conduct.
    Mary Ann sat in her apartment, barely noting Karl’s departure or the melee that ensued. Feeling perhaps more alone and isolated than she ever had before, Mary Ann could not express her grief. Even in solitary moments it was difficult for her to fully vent her emotions, so accustomed was she to the suppression of them. Indeed, she feared the police finding out the nature and depth of her loss. If speaking of Kitty’s death—about which she knew nothing except what she’d been told—filled her with horror, the idea of speaking about Kitty’s life, their life, brought on