In a famous 1964 incident, a New York city bartender named Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was walking home late one night after a day's work when she was attacked by a man. She screamed, pleading nearby bystanders for help, but the screams seemed to fall on deaf ears; the bystanders stood idly, and later, Genovese's attacker came back to finish the job. Her murder—and bystanders' indifference to her pleas—became a national outrage and the source of years of academic study.