Dude, you can get mauled and mutilated just about anywhere. On a boat, on a plane, on the sidewalk, in your car. In your current living dwelling. Even in College. Remember when Bundy went and broke into a sorority house at FSU, killing and raping them.
Shouldn't let it effect you much, because, really, it can happen anywhere.
The said person was cut into 1" inch squares in front of many witnesses, but it's a landmark case as are other bizzare NY cases such as re: Winship, State of New York, United States of America. But that can start another thread of at least 1,000 posts and I don't dare put that one up. But Google it...you will be shocked beyond belief.
But as per your comment, I know that. In most small towns, it will never happen. But there are medium sized cities like Oakland and Phoenix that have gruesome stories that match anything we have seen in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Per captia some cities like Detroit and Washington DC have been more dangerous than NYC in some crimes on some years.
The trend towards events like the World Trade Center bombings and the Son of Sam do happen in more highly populated areas, but Oklahoma City is an example that type of bizzare crime, of such a heinous variety, that can hit a "non-major" US city.
It is nice to know that there are no less than 60,000 beat officers in NYC and surrounding burroughs.