The gold standard for this kind of behavior is the Kitty Genovese murder:
http://www.oldkewgardens.com/ss-nytimes-3.html#gansberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese
Quote:
For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens.
Twice their chatter and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out, and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead...
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Note: The incident was famous and inaccurately reported, but it led to pioneering research on the bystander effect by Darley and Latane (1968).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect