He was also a married, respectable man with three children. I am proud of the growth and achievements of JRMA and the community of talented architects, engineers, and project . I thought he could be responsible for some, Anzilotti said, explaining that while the methods and victims were different, the timing matched. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. Cottingham pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder in the case of Diane Cusick. It wasn't until she endeavored to reconnect with her biological mother in 2002, that she discovered the disturbing truth of her violent demise through old newspaper clippings. It was the era when the Big Apple was nicknamed 'Fear City' and Times Square was a deviant drain of illicit thrills, pornography, prostitution and crooks - providing the sexual predator with the perfect hunting ground. 3 years later, in 1972, Richard would be caught shoplifting from a local store. She was also the mother of a then-four-year-old girl. In April 1978, after his wife had initiated divorce proceedings, he kept a locked room in a basement apartment of the house in which they lived in Lodi, New Jersey. A few months later, on May 5, 1980, a housekeeper at a Quality Inn in New Jersey found the body of 19-year old Valerie Ann Street stuffed under the bed. The first killing was that of Valerie Ann Street. In April 1980, Cottinghams wife had filed for divorce, charging him with extreme cruelty and refusal to engage in marital sex since late 1976. Cottingham confessed to Vogel's murder in 2010, nearly 30 years after his arrest. She had been given one hell of a beating and her killer had eaten away at her nipples, almost severing one. During the session the man would insist, "You have to take it. Someone had called about a girl screaming, as if she was being tortured. ', Over four trials in the early 1980s, three in Jersey and one in New York, Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders. On May 15th another prostitute was found murdered in a motel room. Adorable Skeleton Air Freshener Vent Clips for Car Interior, Novelty Hoodie Blood Splatter / Hooded Sweatshirt with Drawstrings, Novelty Hoodie Floral Skulls / Hooded Sweatshirt with Drawstrings 3D Drawing Unisex. The divorce affidavits further alleged that Cottingham was an habitual, patron of gay bars and homosexual spas in Manhattan. Janet had even filed for divorce in 1979, though she reneged the next year. On Monday, July 13, 1969, at approximately 8:00 p.m., On March 1, 1970, a group of hikers came across a young woman's naked body in the woods to the west of Tweed Boulevard in, At approximately 7:00 a.m. on the morning of December 16, 1977, the body of X-ray technician, At 9:30 a.m. on May 22, 1980, police entered Room 117 at the same Quality Inn where Carr and Street were murdered and found 18-year-old, This page was last edited on 16 February 2023, at 09:15. She had been brutally strangled and left nude in plain sight. Netflix's documentary Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer examines the notorious case of Richard Cottingham - also known as 'The Torso Killer' -who claimed to have raped, slaughtered and mutilated more than 100 women between 1967 and 1980. Cottingham was not charged with this murder until June 2022, when he was implicated by DNA.[10]. Police responded to a fire in Room 417, where two women had been discovered on a pair of twin beds. Weiss was given up for adoption when she was less than two weeks old. The body of 25-year-old Jean Reyner, a single mother who was turning tricks to finance a child custody battle, was found violently murdered on May 15, 1980 in a midtown hotel. The serial killer remains imprisoned in New Jersey. He seemed nice enough. He has officially been charged with 11 murders but says he's killed over 100 women, Netflix's new 'Crime Scene' docuseries examines the notorious case of Richard Cottingham who left a bloody trail of victims between 1967 and 1980. 'All of the women that Richard killed left this world in a horrific way,' she said in the doc. [21] Cottingham was apparently "forensically aware" in the era before DNA analysis. Prison records indicate that Richard, now about 74 years old, remains incarcerated at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. 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. The 22-year-old's death appeared brutal: she had been beheaded and set on fire and her skull has yet to be found. 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. Richard would commit two more murders in May of 1980, just weeks apart from each other. Richard then dumped the bodies in a wooded area in Bergen County, New Jersey. [13][14] Anzilotti had spent 15 years interviewing Cottingham, working toward the confession. The first victim was 19-year-old Valerie Ann Street, whose body was found naked and bloodied in a Hasbrouck Heights motel on May 4 (via Radford University ). Richard Cottingham Research Paper. 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 . There easily could have been more crimes but its unknown. Richard would become increasingly more deranged as time went on. By all accounts, he was 'an average guy who drove an average car and lived in an average house' explained reporter Rod Leith in the series. Later, Cottingham claimed that Times Square cops stopped him as he carried the severed heads in a large potato sack to his car before letting him go. Goodarzi was only 22 when she was killed, beheaded and set on fire. The daughter of one of serial killer Richard Cottingham's victims is helping to close other murder cases to which he is connected by using her relationship with him. It wasn't until the advancements in DNA and forensic processing made it possible for investigators to run samples of inmates that they realized how many cases were connected to the killer. [4], On October 3, 1969, Cottingham was charged and convicted of drunk driving in New York City and was fined $50 (equivalent to $400 in 2021). 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. Pornographic films are advertised in Manhattans Times Square in January 1971. On February 15, 1968, Cottingham killed his second known victim. Richard was born in Bronx, New York, in November 1946. ODell, whod survived her encounter with the Torso Killer, described how he tortured his victims. Shed be discovered by hotel staff accidentally when they were attempting to vacuum underneath the bed. She then screamed, and the muffled noises were heard by a maid, leading to the police being called. 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. He remained behind bars in a New Jersey prison during the hearing, where he received 25 years for Cusick's murder. A serial killer known as the "Torso Killer" already convicted of 11 homicides admitted on Monday that he also killed five women on Long Island in the late 60s and early 70s. From afar, Richard appeared to be doing everything that was expected of him and lived a happy life. He would commute daily to New York for his job, but once in a while, when the mood struck, Richard would not go home after work. Biting, raping and beating the girl. The brief encounter later inspired Vronsky to write his serial killer histories and paved the way for his prison meetings with Cottingham four decades later. When police arrived they caught a man trying to flee the room. He chose "Times Square Killer" Richard Cottingham not because he's a household name, but because he isn't. "He's interesting in the annals of serial killing, because . He pleaded innocent and for decades insisted he was being "framed", until admitting in 2009 that he had actually perpetrated those five murders. Richard was arrested at a motel in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, in May 1980. Three of those murders Cottingham later confessed to included Jacalyn Harp. Trophies like jewellery and other personal items belonging to his victims were taken by him. 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. A famous pamphlet made by NYPD during the 1970s advised tourists to 'stay off the streets after 6pm,' 'do not walk,' and 'never ride the subway for any reason whatsoever', Cops apprehended Richard Cottingham on May 22, 1980 in a New Jersey Quality Inn after staff alerted police of screams coming from a room. He was also known to threaten them with a plastic gun and leave it within their reach so they could try to grab it only to find out it was false, severely bite and scrape their nipples, cut around the breasts, and use other forms of torture. He forced his victims to address him as "master". Growing up, he had trouble making friends, and after graduating high school, he worked for his fathers insurance company. This time, he strangled and slit the throat of 25-year-old Jean Reyner, a single mother who had been working as a call girl to finance a custody battle. She would die of asphyxiation and once finished, Richard stuffed the girl under the bed. The sexual predator prowled Times Square for his victims which was considered a deviant playground for pornography, prostitution and crooks, The documentary paints a terrifying portrait of a city overrun with crime, which allowed Cottingham to flourish and evade law enforcement. Soon, he was connected to a series of murders in New Jersey and New York that had occurred over the previous few months. Things started well, a nice massage to relax things. To date, the Torso Killer himself claims that he could have as many as 100 victims. Keep up to date with our latest articles, creepy news, info and products and receive promo material for great deals on all your wicked products. Their skulls were never found. A case based on his "signature pattern" was built against him, combined with the testimony of four surviving victims, as well as pieces of his victims' jewellery and other items found in his possession after his arrest. Richard Cottingham, now 78, is a former computer programmer linked to at least 12 murders from the 60s and 70s. [Cottingham] told me to shut up, that I was a whore and I had to be punished, ODell testified. Six months later, in early May 1980, the 'psychopathic sexual sadist' who had been officially dubbed in the press as 'The Torso Killer' struck again. At three different trials in New Jersey and New York, Richard was convicted for murdering Deedeh Goodarzi, Jane Doe, Jean Reyner, Valerie Street, and Maryann Carr (who was killed in 1977). The other girls did, you have to take it too. In May 1981, Cottingham was convicted on fifteen felony counts related to the murder of Valerie Street, drawing a sentence of 173 to 197 years in prison. Richard was arrested, and at the time, he had handcuffs, knives, prescription pills, and other suspicious items on him. Richard had abducted the woman and brought her to a hotel. 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. Though Anzilotti has retired, the detective believes that Richard Cottingham could be responsible for dozens of other unsolved cases. Its God-like, almost. He brought them to a hotel room, tortured them, and dumped their nude bodies. Tow Guys Towing. This murder was linked to an earlier murder in the same motel. In December 1979, Richard had tortured, raped, and killed Deedeh Goodarzi and an unidentified teenager (Jane Doe) in a hotel in New York. But beneath the veneer of normalcy was a heinous double-existence as a serial killer. [4], On May 3, 1970, Cottingham was married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village, Queens. Surviving that attempt and two others, he was held under $250,000 bond while detectives built their overwhelming case against him. She would later be found in Queens horribly mutilated. His name had floated around in the lore of Bergen County cold cases.. She had been beaten and strangled then stuffed under the bed of the room. You're a whore and you have to be punished.". But there were signs that Richard Cottingham was living a double life. On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at the Travel Inn motel[11] near Times Square. In his possession police found a murder kit which consisted of handcuffs, leather gags, slave collars, knives, pistols, and pills. top social media sites in bangladesh Cottingham was apprehended in the hallway by arriving police officers. The following week on May 15th, 1980, another sex worker was lured into a Manhattan motel room under the guise of more work but was most likely ambushed when Cottingham locked the door. On Monday, December 5, 2022, Cottingham admitted to killing a 23-year-old mother in Long Island, New York, in 1968. This case was soon linked to his previous murder victim, Helen Sikes, letting police know they were dealing with a serial killer. 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. At knife point, he proceeded to torture, beat and sexually assault the 19-year-old runaway for hours, (nearly biting off one of her nipples) until a maid heard her muffled screams. And Richard spent inordinate amounts of time in their basement, where Janet later found womens clothing, shoes, and jewelry. Richard Cottingham brutally murdered prostitutes he found on the seedy streets of 1970s New York, earning his horrifying legacy as the Times Square Torso Killer. "Richard Cottingham is a serial rapist and killer that used the streets of New York and New Jersey as his hunting ground in the 1970s. He had three children, two boys and a girl, with his wife. Leslie told the authorities that Richard picked her up in New York City, New York, and brought her to the motel in New Jersey. He later admitted that his psychopathic hobby for hunting sex workers in Times Square 'as a game.'. Thanks to Anzilottis persistence, Richard Cottingham confessed to killing 29-year-old Nancy Vogel in 1967, 13-year-old Jackie Harp in 1968, 18-year-old Irene Blase and 15-year-old Denise Falasca in 1969, and 17-year-old Mary Ann Pryor and 16-year-old Lorraine Kelly in 1974. He will spend the rest of his years behind bars with the hope that he will never have the chance to act on his horrific urges again. Authorities believed it to be, thus far, the oldest criminal case to be solved and prosecuted by direct DNA evidence. WickedWe is reader supported, some products displayed may earn us a commission if you purchase through our links. Play it now! Crystal Ponti. Not only was Times Square filled with porn shops, peep shows, and prostitutes, but it also became the hunting ground for serial killer Richard Cottingham, the Torso Killer. 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 . Investigators were again able to quickly link this murder with many others due to the killer's M.O. The crime scene was particularly gruesome, Cottingham severed her breasts and placed them on the headboard before torching the room. You're in complete control of somebody's destiny. Richards wife filed for divorce in 1979, after years of affairs, but it was never finalized. According to The Associated Press, Cottingham confessed to. When she was found, she'd suffered beatings to her head and body, but her ultimate cause of death was suffocation. Without heads and hands, authorities were unable to identify the victims. [13] In 2021, he pleaded guilty to the 1974 kidnapping, raping and drowning of Lorraine Marie Kelly and Mary Ann Pryor. Criminally Intrigued is a Podcast and Blog covering all aspects of True Crime. The notorious serial killer targeted women, mostly sex workers and those working in the adult entertainment industry. Though Cottingham resisted at first, he slowly began to reveal details of his past crimes. In 1979, Richard would abduct a teenage sex worker named Helen Sikes from Times Square. New Jersey Department of CorrectionsRichard Cottingham has confessed to a number of other murders in recent years. Later on, the police also found a room in the basement of Richards home that served as his trophy room. [5][17], The charges listed in Cottingham's New Jersey indictment included kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault while armed (rape), aggravated sexual assault while armed (sodomy), aggravated sexual assault while armed (fellatio), possession of a weapon (switchblade knife), and possession of controlled substances (secobarbital, amobarbital and diazepam). Now 74, Cottingham, who claims responsibility for dozens of murders, has confessed to a handful. In 2009, decades after his first five murder convictions, Cottingham told a journalist that he had committed at least 80 to 100 "perfect murders" of women in various regions of the United States. In this image taken from a New Jersey Courts virtual hearing, Richard Cottingham, center, known as the "Torso Killer," pleads guilty April 27, 2021, 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 wife withdrew the petition upon his arrest in May 1980, then completed the divorce after his 1981 conviction. He decapitated the women and cut off their hands before setting them on fire. 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. One slain woman was positively identified througha cesarean-section scar as 22-year-old, Iranian prostitute, Deedeh Goodarzi. She had been restrained and ultimately strangled, ending the 26-year-olds short life. Neither complainant appeared in further proceedings, however, and the case was dismissed. He took the girls to a motel, where he tortured and sexually assaulted them for days before drowning them in a bathtub. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. He began torturing her, nearly biting off one of her nipples. But the arrest in 1980 changed everything, exposing Richards double life and deadly exploits. A few months later he would be charged with robbery and sodomy. In his possession were handcuffs, a leather gag, two slave collars, a switchblade, replica pistols and a stockpile of sedatives. Two focused entirely on him: Rod Leith's The Prostitute Murders: The People vs. Richard Cottingham (Lyle Stuart Inc., 1983) and Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer (Netflix, 2021). One of the unsolved cases was solved when he admitted guilt in the 1967 murder of Nancy Vogel, in 2010. Firefighters responded quickly to the room and put out the fire, and were stunned at the horrific site of these mutilated corpses. For the murders of Mary and Lorraine, Richard was to. Was this man, the same man who committed the similar brutal crime? This time it seems the police were able to link this crime. She agreed to have sex with him for money. Cottingham was eventually arrested in May 1980 after committing a string of grisly murders across Manhattan and New Jersey, with the same hallmark traits, Cottingham evaded law enforcement by deliberately preying on marginalized sex workers during a time when crime-ridden New York City was dubbed 'Fear City.' 'It was pretty much the hotel room from hell,' said detective Malcolm Reiman in the documentary. Graduating, landing a solid job, marriage and having multiple children. one strange rock gasp quizlet New Lab; glider timetable dundonald park and ride; 12 gauge 100 round drum; On May 15, they found the body of 25-year-old sex worker Jean Reyner in the Seville Motel. With that in mind, many investigators as well as the hotel staff had a lingering question. On September 4, 1973, Cottingham was arrested in New York City for robbery, oral sodomy and sexual abuse on the complaint of a prostitute and her pimp. Cottingham is currently in state prison on a . Former FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong delves into Richard Cottingham, the Torso Killer. By all accounts, he seemed to be leading an everyday life in Lodi, New Jersey, with his wife and three kids. He also cut off her breasts and placed them on the headboard in the room. The man climbed on her back and instead of rubbing her, he brandished a knife which he quickly pressed firmly against her throat. The other headless corpse was never identified. Richard Cottingham (1977-1980) was a 31-year old computer operator and valued employee of Blue Cross-Blue Shield in downtown New York City. Known for being particularly cruel, Cottingham earned the nickname "The Torso Killer" because he would sometimes mutilate the body of his victims, leaving . Cottingham committed his first known murder when he was 20-years-old, although he claims to have started as an adolescent. 'It always weighs heavily over me. Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders and numerous counts of kidnapping and sexual assault using evidence found in his 'trophy room' combined with a matching fingerprint left on. On December 2, 1979, the authorities were called to a hotel room in New York City after a fire was reported. And, thanks to a dogged New Jersey detective, the Times Square Killer has confessed to a number of additional murders. [7] On October 28, 1967, he strangled Nancy Schiava Vogel, a 29-year-old married mother of two, in Little Ferry, New Jersey. [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. Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders and sent to prison for a sentence of 300 years. On March 12, 1974, Cottingham was arrested in New York City for robbery and unlawful imprisonment on the complaint of another prostitute. The last time anyone saw her, she had been on her way to play bingo at a nearby church. As a professional engineer in 17 states, I have been a voice for the functionality, efficiency, and sustainability of commercial and industrial facilities. Her killer, Richard Cottingham, was a computer operator, married with three children of his own, living a seemingly normal life. Youre in complete control of somebodys destiny.. He said the other girls took it and I had to take it, too. Born in the Bronx on Nov. 25, 1946, Richard Cottingham lived an outwardly normal life. When found her head was hanging by a thread. Richard cut the woman's breasts off and ended her life via strangulation. richard cottingham trophy room. He had also stabbed her and bit almost right through her nipples. The other girls did, you have to take it, too. But the question remained: Who was Richard Cottingham? Her body would be left in the room and subsequently set ablaze by Cottingham before fleeing the scene. After failing to return home from a trip to buy shoes at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, New York,[9] 23-year old Diane Cusick was found raped, beaten, and strangled to death in the back seat of her car, parked near the mall. SERIAL killer Richard Cottingham has been behind bars for over 40 years, but he's still being linked to old crimes. Over the years, he confessed to killing several more women, with his earliest known murder in 1967. 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. Looking for more answers, she reached out to Richard Cottingham in prison and has visited him over 30 times. Maryann Carr was also brutally beaten, but police could not positively link the crimes. Police were not aware of his murders at the time, nor were they aware that an active serial killer was at large in the New York-New Jersey area. On May 5, 1980, police found another prostitute, Valerie Streets, dead in a motel room. The doc also spotlights a conversation with Jennifer Weiss, DeedahGoodarzi's biological daughter, who made headlines last year when she struck up an unlikely friendship with her mother's killer while he served his prison sentence. Her legs had also been hacked off, and were eventually found a block away from the rest of the body. Before doing so the pair agreed on a price and after awhile found themselves checking in to a room. On December 15, 1977, the body of X-ray technician Maryann Carr, 26, was found brutally beaten and strangled in the parking lot of the Quality Inn motel in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, but police did not link the murder to Cottingham until his 1980 arrest at the same motel. FROM THE FOUNDER. [4][5], After his graduation, Cottingham worked for Metropolitan Life, where his father was a vice-president, starting in the mail room at the firm's Manhattan headquarters and eventually became a mainframe computer operator upon taking computer courses. Around dawn, they checked into the same Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn where he had left Valerie Street's handcuffed body under a bed to be discovered by a housekeeper. Netflixs Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer is a three-part docuseries that explores the horrific crimes committed by serial killer Richard Cottingham. we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously, Richard Francis Cottingham | Serial Killer, Incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison. She was in hysterics, crapping on about what this guy had put her through. It was mainly psychological. This site contains affiliate links. 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? He also confessed under immunity to the 1968 and 1969 homicides of New Jersey teenagers Jackie Harp, Irene Blase, and Denise Falasca. With only torsos, police were unable to identify the victims. Richard Cottingham by his own admission claims to have killed upwards of 100 women and remains a suspect in dozens of unsolved cases. Her body would be left in the room and subsequently set ablaze by Cottingham before fleeing the scene. [6] In 2022, Cottingham officially confessed to the 1970 murder of Lorraine McGraw, under a non-prosecution agreement. At one point, Leslie grabbed Richards gun and pointed it at him, only to realize that it was fake. Homicide detectives linked the murder with that of the murder of teenage hooker Helen Sikes. But when first responders attempted CPR, they realized the bodies had no heads and no hands. Richard Francis Cottingham was born on November 25, 1946, in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City, the first of four children. The following year, in 1973, Richard would escalate his crimes when an early victim reported an attack. In a similar case, Richard killed Jean Reyner, a sex worker, in another hotel in New York. They increasingly became louder and louder as time went on. Nobody at the time suspected that Cottingham's killing spree had began over a decade earlier with the murder ofNancy Vogel in 1967 and five New Jersey high school girls in 1968 and '69. Both girls were strangled to death. Richard was also connected to the murder of Valerie Street in New Jersey. He was also found guilty of kidnapping and assault, with his sentence going up to more than 200 years. 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. Beneath the happy exterior lurked an incredibly dangerous and vicious animal. 4.8 (27 reviews) Towing. WickedWe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Officers began linking the then 33-year-old to more unsolved murders and violent attacks across New York State and New Jersey. 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Ablaze by Cottingham before fleeing the scene remained: who was Richard Cottingham lived outwardly...