The other, a 16-year-old, remains a Jane Doe to this day. In December 2019, forensic historian and author Peter Vronsky, on the eve of publishing the revelation in his second edition of Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters, publicized the confessions with the BCPO's cooperation, in a community meeting in Midland Park. Once in custody the man would be identified as Richard Francis Cottingham a father of 3 from Lodi, New Jersey. After this look at Richard Cottingham, The Torso Killer, read up on Ed Kemper, the Co-Ed Killer, and Rodney Alcala, the Dating Game Killer. Then, read the stories of Jack the Rippers victims. He admitted that he brought the two girls to a motel room where he tied them up, raped them, then drowned them in bathtub. In addition to killing sex workers, Richard Cottingham had also killed a number of girls and women in New Jersey. The prisoner, 33-year-old Richard Francis Cottingham, made an unlikely suspect at first glance. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. ', Over four trials in the early 1980s, three in Jersey and one in New York, Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders. SERIAL killer Richard Cottingham has been behind bars for over 40 years, but he's still being linked to old crimes. Looking for more answers, she reached out to Richard Cottingham in prison and has visited him over 30 times. After his arrest, NYPD drew comparisons to the numerous unsolved sexual assault cases with similar hallmarks to the New Jersey crimes. [18], During the early 1980s, Cottingham was convicted of five murders in two separate New Jersey trials in 1981[19] and 1982,[20] and in a single New York trial in 1984 for three murders. The comments below have not been moderated. In a similar case, Richard killed Jean Reyner, a sex worker, in another hotel in New York. This time it seems the police were able to link this crime. Jacalyn "Jackie" Harp, aged 13, was randomly ambushed as she walked home in the evening of July 17, 1968, from school band practice in Midland Park and strangled with the leather strap of her bag. richard cottingham trophy room. During a court appearance Tuesday, 74-year-old Richard Cottingham, also known as the "Torso Killer," pleaded guilty and admitted he kidnapped and raped the girls, then drowned them in a motel room . Police had no suspects and the case quickly grew cold, collecting dust in a file for years. Deedeh Goodarzi and another unknown female had joined Richard in a hotel room near his stomping grounds of Times Square. They were raped and drowned in the bathtub of a New Jersey motel, In 2020, Cottingham admitted to murdering 13-year-old Jackie Harp (left) in 1968, and 15-year-old Denise Falasca (right) in 1969. [6] The confession was extracted by Detective Anzilotti weeks before his retirement and was facilitated by historian Vronsky and by Jennifer Weiss, the daughter of Deedeh Goodarzi, one of Cottingham's later victims. Goodarzi gave up her daughter for adoption when she was less than two weeks old, it wasn't until Weiss tried to reconnect with her biological mother in 2002 that she discovered the disturbing truth of her violent demise, 'All of the women that Richard killed left this world in a horrific way,' said Jennifer Weiss in the doc. On February 15, 1968, Cottingham killed his second known victim. What drove this married father of three to kill? He would continue this line of work until his arrest. Youre in complete control of somebodys destiny.. A year after the previous charges he would then be charged with unlawful imprisonment and robbery. Things started well, a nice massage to relax things. The Full Story Of The Hamilton-Burr Duel And The Tragic Death Of Alexander Hamilton, The Full Story Behind Columbine High School Shooters Eric Harris And Dylan Klebold, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. He would be charged with robbery, sodomy, and sexual assault but all charges would ultimately be dismissed. Although Cottingham has formally admitted to eighteen killings and has claimed to have killed as many as 100, he is known to have only murdered seventeen girls between 1967 and 1980 and attempted to kill a further four. Crystal Ponti. The 2023 SAG Awards were handed out over the weekend in L.A., where some memorable moments happened off-camera, including breaking news of a Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists. Later on, Richard took a job with Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York as a computer operator. Cottingham would confess to many murders after being put behind bars. Her legs had also been hacked off, and were eventually found a block away from the rest of the body. Richards criminal activity continued in 1969 when he was convicted of driving while intoxicated in New York. With that in mind, many investigators as well as the hotel staff had a lingering question. Cottingham had been in the process of torturing his latest victim, 19-year-old Leslie Ann O'Dell, who survived the attack and testified against him during his trial. Though Cottingham resisted at first, he slowly began to reveal details of his past crimes. deviant drain of illicit thrills, pornography, prostitution and crooks - providing. Non-hormonal contraceptive tablet can prevent 99% of pregnancies, trial finds, 'You can bang the gavel as loud as you want': Cruz fumes at Democrat Durbin for cutting him off after grilling Ketanji Brown Jackson on why she can't define the word 'woman' and why she halved the sentence of a pedophile, Baby formula manufacturer Abbott's production line was filthy around the same time firm was linked to bacterial outbreak that killed two babies and sickened others, FDA report reveals. Both girls were strangled to death. Her legs had been severed and dumped a few blocks away. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Richard Cottingham makes a remote appearance at a courtroom in Mineola, NY, Cottingham's original mug shot photo from 1980. Who is torso killer Richard Cottingham, and where is he now? Criminally Intrigued is a Podcast and Blog covering all aspects of True Crime. Cottingham's confirmed killings resulted in nine convictions and a further eight confessions under non-prosecution agreements, leading to him serving multiple life sentences in New Jersey prisons. Richard would start to come out of his shell socially when he entered high school, attending Pascack Valley High School. except for their clothing, a pair of Bonjour jeans, a white leotard, patent leather boots and a black fur coat, which the killer had curiously folded neatly in the bathtub. Tow Guys Towing. Cottingham offered to give O'Dell a massage and she rolled onto her stomach. I think we need to remember them because they deserve justice.'. The last time anyone saw her, she had been on her way to play bingo at a nearby church. When police arrived they caught a man trying to flee the room. He was also found guilty of kidnapping and assault, with his sentence going up to more than 200 years. She would later be found in Queens horribly mutilated. She had gone missing from Times Square in January 1979. The following is a chronological summary of Cottingham's seventeen identified murder victims and four identified survivors: Cottingham's case has been discussed in several books and documentaries on serial killers. the Torso Killer pleaded guilty to the 1968 murder of Long Island mother Diane Cusick Monday in front of a Nassau County, New York judge, as . He would approach them in bars, drug them with the date rape drug Tuinal, take them to a remote locationtypically a motelwhere he would bind, gag, torture, and stab them before killing them by strangling them with a ligature. It contained many items that linked him to the murders. He would stalk the various bars in Manhattan preying on unsuspecting women, trying to unwind from a busy day. Both 1974 cases would be dismissed. It contained many items that linked him to the murders. The serial killer remains imprisoned in New Jersey. A search of Cottingham's home turned up a bizarre "trophy room," containing personal effects from several of the murdered prostitutes. Criminal profiling was still in its infancy and it was before CCTV footage was commonplace and the use of computers helped detectives share information across states. The young lady explained how she had arrived in New York earlier that week and was quickly taken advantage of, becoming victim to the number of pimps in the area and trafficked into sex work. [21] Cottingham was apparently "forensically aware" in the era before DNA analysis. Richard was also connected to the murder of Valerie Street in New Jersey. Janet had even filed for divorce in 1979, though she reneged the next year. Investigation of the suspect's background revealed two arrests for consorting with hookers in the early 1970's, with both cases dismissed. Richard Cottingham, serial killer from New Jersey operating in New York between 1967 and 1980. He remained behind bars in a New Jersey prison during the hearing, where he received 25 years for Cusick's murder. . Their skulls and hands were never found. New Jersey Department of CorrectionsRichard Cottingham has confessed to a number of other murders in recent years. But the arrest in 1980 changed everything, exposing Richards double life and deadly exploits. Responds in about 10 minutes. He bragged to police officers and fellow inmates that he had murdered more than 100 women in various parts of the United States throughout his active years. December of 1979, would be Richards most vicious attack to date. Richard Gere's wife Alejandra shares new photos of 73-year-old actor as they celebrate her 40th birthday in Mexico - after he was hospitalized with pneumonia Richard Gere is 'mostly recovered . He brought Cottingham to his office and offered him pizza and card games. In 1964, Cottingham graduated from Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Richard cut the woman's breasts off and ended her life via strangulation. On Tuesday, Richard Cottingham, 74, sat in a wheelchair in beige prison scrubs as he pleaded guilty to kidnapping the teenage girls and raping them for days before he drowned them in a motel. Recently, her daughter that she gave up for adoption while turning tricks has made headlines for forging an unlikely friendship with Richard Cottingham in prison, Richard Cottingham earned his moniker as 'the Torso Killer' after he raped and murdered two women in a Times Square motel before setting their decapitated torsos ablaze. He also confessed under immunity to the 1968 and 1969 homicides of New Jersey teenagers Jackie Harp, Irene Blase, and Denise Falasca. Their monster would end up being 33-year-old Richard Cottingham, a married milquetoast father of three from Lodi, New Jersey, who worked as a computer operator for BlueCross BlueShield in Manhattan. But it had a much seedier reputation in the latter half of the 20th century. Published: 09:02 EDT, 31 December 2021 | Updated: 09:02 EDT, 31 December 2021, A new Netflix documentary investigates Richard Cottingham, also known as the 'Times Square Killer' who said he raped and killed over 105 women and is currently serving a life sentence in New Jersey. Spatter, gore, fingerprints, puddles of blood, there was no evidenceexcept for their clothing, a pair of Bonjour jeans, a white leotard, patent leather boots and a black fur coat, which the killer had curiously folded neatly in the bathtub. Trophies like jewellery and other personal items belonging to his victims were taken by him. Cottingham committed his first known murder when he was 20-years-old, although he claims to have started as an adolescent. WickedWe is reader supported, some products displayed may earn us a commission if you purchase through our links. 4.8 (27 reviews) Towing. In the thirteen-year period during which he is known to have committed at least seventeen murders, only one fingerprint belonging to him was ever recovered, from the ratchet mechanism of handcuffs left behind on Valerie Street. [8] Vogel's nude and bound body was found on October 31, under a blanket behind the passenger seat of her car parked in nearby Ridgefield Park. Among S&M books and pornographic artwork wereMaryann Carr's apartment key and jewelry that belonged to his other victims. Street, a sex worker whod arrived from Florida just a few days earlier, had been beaten, bitten, bound, and strangled to death. In April 2021, Cottingham confessed to the unsolved 1974 double-abduction, rape, and forcible drowning murders of Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16, and Mary Ann Pryor, 17, in Montvale, one of New Jersey's most notorious cold cases. To date, the Torso Killer himself claims that he could have as many as 100 victims. He had an apartment in New York City that he told Janet he needed for late nights at work. She had been cut about the chest and legs, beaten with a blunt instrument, and covered in bites and bruises, A picture taken of the New Jersey Courts virtual hearing in April 2021, when Richard Cottingham pleaded guilty to two 1974 murders, finally closing the cold case deaths of teenage friends who had left home for a trip to the mall and never returned. His name had floated around in the lore of Bergen County cold cases.. But there were signs that Richard Cottingham was living a double life. We Know What Kind of Creeps Are Out There ! For the murders of Mary and Lorraine, Richard was to. Her killer, Richard Cottingham, was a computer operator, married with three children of his own, living a seemingly normal life. An animal who lacked empathy for all and cared only for satisfying his sexual desires at any cost. All was quiet and one can be certain that it was probably looking like an average, quiet night. richard cottingham trophy room. Richard Cottingham, 74, pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering Mary Ann Pryor, 17, and Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16, both of North Bergen. I founded J.R. Miller Associates over four decades ago. 'It was a game to me. Cottingham was not charged with this murder until June 2022, when he was implicated by DNA.[10]. The victim's hands were tightly handcuffed behind her back and police would later lift a fingerprint matching Cottingham, the only fingerprint successfully found from any of his known murders. Richard Cottingham was born on November 25th, 1946 in the Bronx, New York. Surviving that attempt and two others, he was held under $250,000 bond while detectives built their overwhelming case against him. He was also a married, respectable man with three children. She later testified that he said, "You have to take it. Richard kept things like jewelry and trinkets as souvenirs from the slayings. This case was soon linked to his previous murder victim, Helen Sikes, letting police know they were dealing with a serial killer. Cottingham's DNA was collected from her body, although DNA wasn't used in solving crimes at the time. A firefighter grabbed one in hopes of saving a life. Investigators were again able to quickly link this murder with many others due to the killer's M.O. That included the 1977 slaying of a married 27-year-old nurse whose body was found dumped by a chain-link fence in the parking lot of the same Quality Inn where hed committed other atrocities three years later. Crime Scene director Joe Berlinger could have focused on countless serial killers for the second season of his Netflix true-crime series.