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NYC murder cases: Etan Patz to Malcolm X

There’s nothing like a shocking murder to focus the attention of New Yorkers.

Extreme, bizarre, outrageous killings send the tabloids and blogs into a frenzy of sordid headlines and each new revelation in a murder case is scrutinized like plot points in a living crime novel.

Of course, a murder in New York City couldn’t ask for a better backdrop, and themes of race, class and sex often tinge the most ferociously operatic murders the metropolis has witnessed.

Here are 13 murder cases that have riveted the attention of New Yorkers over the years, from the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz to the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X.