The Murder of a Shopping Bag Lady Author:Brian Kates The dead woman sprawled in a parking lot in New York's Hell's Kitchen, pants ripped from crotch to ankle, had been brutally beaten, stabbed repeatedly, and probably sexually assaulted as well. Her name was Phyllis Iannotta. She was 67 years old, a shopping bag lady. — Phyllis was one of tens of thousands of homeless living on the streets ... more »of New York. Who was she really, and how had she come to such an end?
Brian Kates, an investigative reporter, spent four years piecing together Phyllis Iannotta's story, revealing the bambina who celebrated her first birthday aboard the S.S. Stampalia en route to Ellis Island, the smart kid growing up in a tough neighborhood, the hard-working elf of a woman who was a terrific dancer, had a great laugh, and was addicted to nothing stronger than crossword puzzles. She had taken care of herself with spunk and good cheer for fifty years; how could she have fallen through every safety net society had designed to protect her?
Kates unraveled the bureaucratic procedures -- and the laws and politics behind them -- that put Phyllis out on the streets. By the time we come to the end of her harrowing story, the fact that her killer was never found pales beside the agonizing neglect and mischance that delivered her into his hands.« less