Bill, who chose not to be a bystander during the Vietnam War, bravely joined the Marine Corps to serve his country. At that time, the eighteen-year-old boy was thinking - "I can go home intact".
However, losing his legs in the war was not the most painful thing for him. In 1964, Kitty was killed in cold blood in front of his Queens home, and Bill lost his dearest sister ever since.
The documentary "Silent Witness" is about Bill's investigation and tracking of Kitty's death, so what makes Kitty's death different?
"In over half an hour, 38 well-behaved, law-abiding Queens citizens witnessed a murderer stalking and stabbing a woman three times in Kew Gardens," reporter Martin Gainsberg wrote in " It was reported in a headline in the New York Times. The opening was eye-catching and shocked the entire United States. Now people often publish papers around this, and universities will give lectures and seminars. The victim Kitty is just a typical example of the "bystander effect".
Was the truth as the media said, at the time Kitty's family couldn't face a huge blow without getting to the bottom of the truth. In Bill's heart, he always wanted to put an end to this matter. He couldn't believe that the "38" people stood by and watched. During the Vietnam War, he almost experienced the same despair as Kitty, but he met comrades who did not watch. He lost his legs for his country, it's hard to believe that people are so indifferent. However, in fact, the report is indeed partially distorted, and due to the authority of the New York Times, other media also wantonly exaggerate, and the original editor Martin Gainsberg became famous. In fact, there were only about 30 witnesses, of which all but 2 were hearing witnesses rather than eyewitnesses. The murderer killed Kitty twice instead of three times. Some media said that "no one called the police when the incident happened, and the time when the police went out." Only 2 minutes", in fact the police have received multiple calls to the police. "Kitty was killed" caused a sensation, so that the incident has been regarded as a disgrace to the United States. There are still enthusiastic scholars of the social sciences studying the inaccuracy of the report, but Martin Gainsberg exasperated, "I think this will offend anyone who expects the truth," meaning people just want to believe What they are willing to believe, there are also scholars who say that if the event does give rise to a certain thought, it means that it exists and is real.
But for Kitty and her family, such reports made Kitty's death worse, as the "38" stood by and made Kitty's killing all the more brutal.
Bill wants to know the truth, but the family finds it difficult to accept, because the untouchable topic of "Kitty" will only cause them pain. Bill persisted in the investigation despite family pressure. He even wanted to talk to the killer in person, to find out how he'd lived for the past 49 years, what he thought he had killed Kitty, and Bill would listen if he had anything to say. But that backfired, and the killer refused to be interviewed. It is understood that the murderer instilled in his son the idea that "Kitty's entire family is a crime family". When he wrote back to Bill, he still shied away from himself, fabricating lies to cover up his sins to satisfy his inner peace. The murderer, with an IQ of 135, was extremely cold-blooded and cruel. After being sentenced to death, he appealed and successfully commuted his sentence, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. And while serving his sentence, he completed a sociology degree and wrote an editorial in the New York Times claiming to be a new person.
Bill invited actor Bibi to repeat the scene of Kitty's murder in Queens. The contrast between the shocking cry for help in the middle of the night and the closure of the entire Queens gate made Bill feel the pain and let all the audience. Feel the fear, the panic, and how much she wished someone could put a stop to the murder when Kitty was killed. The replay of the accident is still heart-wrenching, even though everyone knows it's just a performance, a fake Kitty.
However, the deceased is gone. Bill begins to realize that the truth will always remain a mystery. The murderer refused to reveal it, thinking from a different perspective might be the best ending. The 50 years of unwillingness to give up made him closer to his sister Kitty. He heard from others that she was the center of attention among women when she was in school, almost everyone admired her charm, she had a female lover... At the end of her death, Kitty fell in the arms of her best friend, not leave alone. This more or less gave Bill, and even the whole family, a little comfort.
“I'll never be able to put myself
in the place of the neighbors”，Bill said.
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