Horrific New York City Killings of the 20th Century

Stanford White, pictured, was shot dead by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw during a 1906 performance at Madison Square Garden.

Thaw was found not guilty by reason of insanity after what the press called "The Trial of the Century." Thaw was apparently jealous of a previous relationship that White had with Thaw's wife. 

Elsie Sigel's body was found stuffed into a trunk in Chinatown in 1909. The 19-year-old had been strangled.

The trunk was discovered in the apartment of the man police identified as the prime suspect, but he was never charged. No other suspects were ever identified. 

In 1914, four people were killed and several others were injured when anarchists set off a bomb at an apartment located on 1626 Lexington Avenue.

On September 16, 1920, a bomb went off in the Financial District, killing 30 people instantly. Eight others died later, and more than 140 were injured. No suspects were ever apprehended, but investigators believed anarchists were to blame. 

Arnold Rothstein (pictured), a gambler and mobster, was shot during a meeting at Manhattan's Park Central Hotel in 1928. He died the next day. The killing was reportedly tied to his gambling debts. 

The gambler George "Hump" McManus was arrested for the murder, but later acquitted. 

Leon Tourian, the archbishop of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in America, was stabbed to death by several assailants during a Christmas Eve mass in 1933. The killing was politically motivated.

Two of his attackers were found guilty of murder, and five were convicted of manslaughter. 

Carlo Tresca, an Italian-American anti-mob, anti-Fascism, anti-Stalinism activist, was shot dead in the middle of the night in 1943.

Tresca had plenty of enemies, but his killer was never identified. 

Arnold Schuster (pictured), 24, was murdered in 1952 after helping police find notorious bank robber Willie Sutton. Schuster was shot twice in the groin and once in each eye. His killer was never identified.

Albert Anastasia, an Italian Cosa Nostra mobster, was shot dead while getting a shave at a Manhattan barber shop in 1957. His killers were never identified. 

Kitty Genovese, 28, was stabbed to death outside her Queens apartment in 1964.

Winston Moseley confessed to killing her, saying the motive was simply "to kill a woman." He was found guilty of her murder and died in prison.

Malcolm X, an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist, was fatally shot as he was preparing to give an address in Manhattan. His autopsy revealed 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs. 

Three members of the Nation of Islam were found guilty of his assassination. 

Clarence 13X, founder of the Nation of Islam splinter group Five-Percent Nation, was fatally shot in 1969. His killer or killers were never identified. 

Joe Gallo, a gangster with the Profaci crime family — later known as the Colombo crime family — was celebrating his 43rd birthday at Umberto's Clam House in April 1972 when four gunmen entered the dining room and opened fire. He died in the emergency room. No arrests were ever made. 

Roseann Quinn, a schoolteacher, was stabbed to death by a man she brought home from a bar in 1973. John Wayne Wilson admitted to stabbing her 18 times. 

Four men were killed and 43 people were injured when a bomb went off at Fraunces Tavern in 1975. A Puerto Rican paramilitary organization, Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation, or FALN, claimed responsibility for the bombing, but no one was ever prosecuted. 

Eleven people were killed and 74 were injured when a bomb was detonated near a baggage claim terminal at LaGuardia Airport in 1975. The perpetrators were never identified.  

David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam, killed six people and wounded seven others between 1976 and 1977. His reign of terror that gripped New York City ended with his capture in 1977. He is currently serving six consecutive life sentences. 

Nancy Spungen, the girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, was killed by a single stab wound to the abdomen in 1978. 

Vicious was arrested and charged with her murder, but pleaded not guilty. He died of a heroin overdose before the trial took place. 

Etan Patz disappeared at the age of 6 in 1979. He was declared legally dead in 2001. Pedro Hernandez, who had confessed to the murder, was convicted in 2017 after two trials. 

Allard K. Lowenstein, a Democratic politician, was assassinated by a mentally ill gunman named Dennis Sweeney.

Sweeney was found not guilty by reason of insanity. 

John Lennon, of the Beatles, was shot and killed outside his apartment building, The Dakota, in 1980.

Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder. 

Christopher Thomas, above, killed 10 people, including eight children, during a 1984 shooting that has come to be known as the "Palm Sunday Massacre." At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in New York City history.

Thomas was convicted on 10 counts of manslaughter, but was released from prison in 2018. 

Paul Castellano, a mafia boss, was fatally shot in 1985.

John Gotti was convicted of the murder, although it's not clear whether he pulled the trigger. 

Juan Gonzalez, a mentally ill man armed with a machete, killed two and injured nine on the Staten Island Ferry in 1986.

He was released from a psychiatric hospital in 2000. 

Venus Xtravaganza, a transgender performer, was found strangled under a hotel bed in 1988 at the age of 23.

No suspects have ever been named in her murder. 

Yusef Hawkins, a black 16-year-old, and his friends were attacked by a group of white youths wielding baseball bats in 1989. During the attack, one of the attackers shot Hawkins in the chest, killing him.

Some of the attackers were convicted of non-murder charges, and some were fully acquitted, sparking protests. 

Heriberto Seda, above, killed three people and wounded five others between 1990 and 1993. He was believed to be inspired by San Francisco's Zodiac Killer. Seda was convicted of the murders in 1998.   

The Happy Land Social Club fire left 87 people dead in 1990. 

Julio González, whose ex-girlfriend worked at the club, was arrested in connection with the fire and convicted of arson and murder.

Brian Watkins was visiting New York from Utah with his parents when he was fatally stabbed in 1990 while trying to defend his family against a group of muggers in a subway station.

Seven men were convicted of various charges connected with the murder. One had the charges overturned. 

Rabbi Meir Kahane was shot to death in 1990 after giving a speech.

El Sayyid Nosair, a member of a terrorist cell, was convicted of the murder and later confessed. 

Arohn Kee, above, raped and murdered three teenagers, starting in 1991. He also raped four other women.

He was sentenced to three life terms in 2001. 

A 4-year-old's body was found in a cooler beside a highway in 1991. Detectives called her "Baby Hope."

Conrado Juarez, a cousin of the child, admitted in 2013 that he suffocated her. 

The World Trade Center was bombed by terrorists who intended to kill thousands in 1993. Six people died in the bombing and more than 1,000 were injured. Six terrorists were later convicted of carrying out the bombing. 

One person was killed and three others were injured when Rashid Baz shot at a van of Orthodox Jewish students traveling over the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Baz was convicted of second-degree murder and 14 counts of attempted murder.

Randy Walker, a rapper known as Stretch, was shot and killed in 1995 at the age of 27.

No suspects have ever been identified. The murder took place one year after Tupac Shakur was robbed in New York. Shakur, a colleague of Walker's, was later shot dead in a drive-by shooting. 

Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a Palestinian teacher, opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, killing one and wounding six in 1997. He then turned the gun on himself.

His daughter later said the shooting was motivated by Palestinian nationalism.