Cottingham was convicted of five murders in a series of three trials between 1981 and 1984 (two in New Jersey and one in New York). Then came Tuesdays pleas. In fact, Mr. Cottingham lurked around the fringes of a seedy Times Square and the prostitutes who worked its streets. [3], 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. Thats why [authorities are] not going to make another statement. The predator, dubbed The Torso Killer, would strike again in May 1980. On August 21, 1972, he is charged and convicted of shoplifting at a Stern's department store in Paramus, New Jersey, and was sentenced to pay a $50 fine or ten days in jail. Mary Anne and Lorraine deserve it, God rest their souls, Bergen County Prosecutors Chief of Detective Robert Anzilotti said Tuesday after Richard Cottingham of Lodi admitted killing both in 1974. 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. But in. Mr. Cottingham mentioned details of the killing that matched what Mr. Anzilotti knew from the case file. endstream endobj 22 0 obj <> endobj 23 0 obj <> endobj 24 0 obj <>/ColorSpace<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/ExtGState<>>> endobj 25 0 obj <> endobj 26 0 obj <> endobj 27 0 obj <> endobj 28 0 obj [/ICCBased 41 0 R] endobj 29 0 obj <> endobj 30 0 obj <> endobj 31 0 obj <> endobj 32 0 obj <> endobj 33 0 obj <>stream Richard Cottingham, 76, pleaded guilty to the February 1968 murder of Diane Cusick, 23, and admitted to strangling four additional women in the 1970s in Nassau County. When reporters ran with the story, Mr. Anzilotti considered himself absolved from keeping his silence about the cases. Crime: Cottingham, a Lodi resident, killed six women in New Jersey and New York between 1967 and 1980. The inmate, with no real incentive to say anything about that crime, had given the chief what amounted to a parting gift. Mr. Cottingham left behind no clues. Irene Blase, Denise Falasca and Jacalyn Harp all girls whose murders were unsolved. But something a hunch, past investigative speculation, the proximity of the crimes drew Mr. Anzilotti to the prisoner. F! Richard Cottingham was born in 1946 and was raised mostly in New Jersey, according to the The New York Times. Detective Anzilotti was startled to discover the same man killed all three. [3], Cottingham was arrested on several lesser charges throughout his killing spree. The schoolgirl murder confessions increased that to to nine. I was shocked that it was a serial killer, Moye said of his mothers confessed murderer. Cottingham didnt like the idea, apparently wanting to continue their dialogue. The details stopped him cold. He had come further in closing cases than his younger self could have imagined. Serial Killer House in Lodi, New Jersey, United States. While some serial killers claim murders they have not committed, Mr. Anzilotti didnt believe Mr. Cottingham was that type, but still he meticulously lined up details of the admissions with facts that only the killer would know. Authorities tied him to the killings after police were called to a Hasbrouck Heights motel, where a maid had heard a woman screaming. 29 Vreeland St, Lodi, NJ 07644 | Zillow This is possibly due to the fact that he got married in 1970. The series features interviews with former sex workers, including Barbara Amaya, who was raped and robbed at gunpoint by a man she believes was Cottingham, although she was inexplicably spared. There was also a lockbox filled with trophies from his murders, including Maryann Carrs apartment key and a necklace belonging to Jean Reyner. He was the Torso Killer. This case was always haunting me.. [22][23] He pleaded guilty in a December court appearance, and also officially admitted killing four other women in Long Island: Mary Beth Heinz,[24] Laverne Moye,[16] Sheila Heiman,[25] and Maria Emerita Rosado Nieves.[26]. It was pure evil. Seth Wenig/Associated Press By Ed Shanahan Dec. 5, 2022 On a. Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates. With Cottinghams next victim, a killers hunting ground of sorts began to form. I have done many shows about serial killers, and I have always marveled at the fact that [Ted] Bundy, [John Wayne] Gacy, [Jeffrey] Dahmer and Berkowitz were all household names, perversely, Berlinger told The Post. He described in detail how, instead, he took the girls to a motel, held them captive and eventually drowned them in the bathtub. As he moved through Midtown undetected, Cottingham, a successful computer operator at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Manhattan, was also committing sadistic sexual assault and sometimes murder at the Quality Inn, a motel in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. Moye, 55, stared down serial murderer and rapist Richard Cottingham in a Nassau County courtroom Monday as the 76-year-old notorious Torso Killer admitted to five more sadistic slayings decades earlier, bringing his known tally to 17 although experts believe that figure could be as high as 100 victims. He later detailed his brief 1979 encounter with Cottingham in Times Square Torso Ripper: Sex and Murder on The Deuce. His upcoming book on the vicious predator will be released next fall. By all accounts, he seemed to be leading an everyday life in Lodi, New Jersey, with his wife and three kids. And even though Harp ran, Cottingham soon overtook her and dragged her into a grouping of bushes where teens would often go to smoke and make out, he said. In a candid interview, the Bergen County chief who spent 20 years trying to wrangle new confessions out of serial killer Richard Cottingham revealed the 74-year-old prisoner has "regrets". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters, Times Square Torso Ripper: Sex and Murder on The Deuce, cataloging 17,000 years of pathological homicide. On April 7, 1969, Cottingham saw Blase, 18, shopping in Hackensack, Vronsky said. In 2022, Cottingham also confessed to the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Instead, he drove her to the Quality Inn, where he tortured, beat and sexually assaulted her for hours, until a maid heard her scream. You're a whore and you have to be punished." Ive never seen rain like that, he said. She later testified that he said, "You have to take it. Her body was found the next morning by the side of a road next to a cemetery in Saddle Brook. However, his family moved to River Vale, New Jersey, when he was 12 years old. 'Crime Scene' reveals true depravity of 'Times Square Killer' 0000005253 00000 n Im leaving, he said. It was just shock all the way around.. You can change your choice at any time by using the Privacy Center link in our footer. And before I go, I want to close out the Kelly-Pryor case., Mr. Cottingham urged the chief to reconsider leaving the force. To this day, their remains have never been recovered. Torso Killer: Ailing Richard Cottingham Confesses to More Murders Cottinghamss name came up several times, but it didnt fit for me, she said. [15], In 2022, Cottingham was arraigned from his prison hospital bed for the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick in Long Island, New York. Anzilottihas spent all but 4 years of his law enforcement career with the prosecutors office after coming over from the Woodcliff Lake Police Department. He rented an apartment in Midtown and told his wife he worked nights. In other words, he may have been content and/or preoccupied. It doesnt bring my mother back, but at least I have answers now. Described as average and normal, New Jersey man Richard Cottingham was a father-of-three with a marriage that was slowly unravelling. 'Torso Killer' pleads guilty in 1974 cold-case murders - AP NEWS %%EOF One day in 2014, the chief and a partner were driving the inmate back to prison when, from the back seat, Mr. Cottingham, who by then had spent almost half of his 68 years in prison, began describing a girl he once spotted near a store in Hackensack. He began to speak about a particular case, he said. 0000006151 00000 n In the new docuseries, the second in Netflixs Crime Scene anthology, director Joe Berlinger dissects the Torso Killers murder spree against the backdrop of the sexually charged, crime-ridden culture of 1970s Times Square and how it provided the predator with a fertile hunting ground. Its been half my career, he said. PB| The police believed they had given up on the bus and were trying to hitchhike to a mall. [1] He was nicknamed the New York Ripper, the Torso Killer and the Times Square Killer, since his crimes often targeted prostitutes and included mutilation. Starting in 2014, Cottingham confidentially admitted to Detective Robert Anzilotti of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (BCPO) to being the perpetrator of the murders of three teenage females between 1968 and 1969. 0000003125 00000 n He did, however, leave behind their clothing, including a pair of Bonjour jeans, white leotards and a black fur coat, neatly folded in the bath tub. Its an ongoing process, Vronsky said. 0000001425 00000 n 0000001001 00000 n Cottingham fled the scene with the victims heads and hands. (1981, June 16). Cusick, an instructor at a dance school in the Oceanside community of Long Island, went to Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream to buy a pair of shoes. Cottingham then confessed to more murders including Nancy Vogel, whom he killed in 1967, and five teenaged victims from New Jersey, none of whom were in the sex trade. In this image taken from a New Jersey Courts virtual hearing, Richard Cottingham, center, known as the "Torso Killer," pleads guilty Tuesday, April 27, 2021, to two 1974 murders. He stood trial in New York and New Jersey in a coat and tie and denied everything, but he was convicted in all five killings. WjgF\A9Ro9r/;l5Gh3h}NG2L -S$B{s"=z{ 0EaSe,&@yJQ>`n; ;dj7n (~>*}fEx*\W]xvpt]/k"0JTj4%`G?t$8I@FmYkr(_5_+ jfbXP{]~&I6"%}\STHD Ld2=ENhk$)HESdX,g o+IkRC~eC1 dm"GZBDM7~K&'/9"[{$AXH'my This location belongs to the following categories: Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to see future locations. The investigators handed Ms. Mulder possessions of Jackies from half a century past. [15] In December 2022, Cottingham was convicted of Diane Cusick's 1968 murder and, under a non-prosecution agreement, officially admitted to killing another four women during 19721973 in Long Island, New York: Mary Beth Heinz, Laverne Moye, Sheila Heiman, and Maria Emerita Rosado Nieves. He enjoys our relationship. No leads were forthcoming. Then, in January of this year, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office made an announcement: The notorious serial killer Richard Cottingham, known as "The Torso Killer," had confessed to the murders. The items included necklaces, broaches, earrings, and other pieces of jewelry. Irene Blase, aged 18, vanished on April 7, 1969, in Hackensack and was found face down in four feet of water in the Saddle River, strangled with a wire, a cord, or perhaps the chain of a crucifix she was wearing. 0000001412 00000 n [13] In 2021, he pleaded guilty to the 1974 kidnapping, raping and drowning of Lorraine Marie Kelly and Mary Ann Pryor. 0000002882 00000 n 21 23 Location of first contact Maryann Carr = her apartment; Prostitutes = street or bar . Retrieved April 2nd, 2007, from Factiva database. 21 23 'The Torso Killer' Who Hunted Prostitutes in Times Square A horrible scene, the police commissioner said that day. His search for a killer led him to a man already locked away, in New Jersey State Prison, 75 miles from his office. Vogel was found dead in her own car in Ridgefield Park, nude and bound. Inside they found the bodies of 22-year-old sex worker Deedeh Goodarzi[9] and an unidentified woman estimated between 16 and 22. I took over handling the calls, the arrangements. And he sat there with literally no remorse. However, please be aware that not allowing certain cookies may impact your experience of the site. What they want is an outright statement and a sign-off of Yes thats me,' Vronsky continued. Dont think youre going to mess with me and Im going to help you, Mr. Anzilotti recalled Mr. Cottingham saying. His wife withdrew the petition upon his arrest in May 1980, then completed the divorce after his 1981 conviction. Before his arrest, he was a successful computer operator who worked at the Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurance company in Midtown Manhattan. [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). Netflix details Times Square torso killer Richard Cottingham who Investigators noted the crime scene was devoid of evidence and they were unable to identify the victims. Bergen County investigators realized there were numerous open sexual assault cases with similar hallmarks: Cottingham kidnapped them from Times Square, drugged and assaulted them. A married father of three, he lived in the. Cottingham was convicted of five murders and numerous counts of kidnapping and sexual assault and sentenced to 173 to 197 years, which he is serving in Trentons New Jersey State Prison. I asked them where they were going. The mall, they replied. 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Her glasses, a ring, a necklace, Ms. Mulder said. In the case of Diane Cusick, it was a drive-in that no longer exists there He remembers the victims characteristics, but he doesnt remember their names.. After six years of visits, there was a break. trailer Since his conviction, Cottingham has pleaded guilty to 12 murders. It was a game to me. They sat at the kitchen table, very professional, very polite, very considerate, Ms. Mulder recalled. The other girls did, you have to take it, too. [2] Four surviving abduction-rape victims testified against Cottingham; he was convicted in three of the cases and acquitted in one. H|U0+(QvG`b08NbHlSoZ2CRSs=* \e~ That made 11 murders Cottingham that admitted since his arrest more than 30 years ago. Cottingham, who is also nicknamed "The Torso Killer," moved into this rented three-bedroom house in February of 1975. I think it was just an evolution in his killing.. This time, at the Seville Hotel, where he strangled Jean Reyner, a 25-year-old mother working in the sex trade to finance a child custody battle. He pleaded innocent and for decades insisted he was being "framed", until admitting in 2009 that he had actually perpetrated those five murders. After years in prison, Mr. Cottingham began to open up to the detective about past unsolved crimes. Premiering on Dec. 29, the three-part season explores the case of Richard Cottingham, a New Jersey man who was dubbed "The Torso Killer" and found guilty of killing 11 women between 1967 and 1980. The little perks for the older man the pizza, the poker, the distraction from prison life were always in the service of the younger mans long game. Rochelle Park & He admitted that those two killings weighed on him more than the others. O'Dell's muffled cries of pain became so loud that the motel staff, already uneased by the previous two murders of Carr and Street, called police and then rushed to the room demanding that Cottingham open the door. New Jersey 'Torso Killer' pleads guilty to 1968 murder, admits to 4 Trophies like jewellery and other personal items belonging to his victims were taken by him. She was a mother, she was a wife, a daughter and a grandmother taken far too early. On April 14, in a recorded interview, Mr. Cottingham said he remembered Mary Ann Pryor and Lorraine Kelly, and Mr. Anzilotti asked why he knew their names, when he hadnt in past cases. Hes been chief of detectives nearly five years. He abducted Vogel and took her to a field in Montvale, where he strangled her. Now 74, Cottingham, who claims responsibility for dozens of murders, has confessed to a. He said he would talk about other murders only on the condition that the revelations would be kept out of the papers. He also claims that his true victim count is at least 85. Its hard to understand how someone could be like that. And at. For more information, please read our Privacy & Cookie Policy. (1981, June 16). Category:People from Lodi, New Jersey - Wikipedia These objects, along with his fingerprint on the handcuffs, were presented as evidence by prosecutors at his trial. She, like members of the other families, agreed to forgo a guilty plea in open court. What Is 'Torso Killer' Richard Cottingham's Life Like Today? Richard Cottingham, a family man who denied everything in court, was convicted of killing five women in the early 1980s. He tortured women before he killed them and did terrible things to them, and yet we still dont know who he is because he preyed on sex workers, Berlinger said, adding that he hopes this series helps destigmatize sex work and potentially solve more cold cases. Twenty years later, he was reinvestigating several cold cases involving girls and young women who had been abducted, sexually abused and killed. It could only be Jackie Harp.. 0 I never broke my promise to him, all these years later, the chief said. Responding officers found an 18-year-old victim whod been bitten, stabbed and bound with handcuffs. Hed been a married father of three, but the Lodi resident - who would brutalize his victims bodies, cutting off limbs, heads and breasts - would later become known as the Torso Killer" for what he left behind. He continued to live here until the police eventually arrested him on May 22nd, 1980. In early December 1979, firefighters were called to the Travel Inn Motor Hotel on 42nd Street as a fire burned in room 417. Lodi Serial Killer Confesses To 1960s Bergen Schoolgirl Murders Jennifer Weiss Befriends Richard Cottingham, "The Torso Killer" | Crime There were at least five unsolved killings of girls, each an open wound for families seeking resolution. Neither complainant appeared in further proceedings, however, and the case was dismissed. Did the old man kill those girls? 0000010308 00000 n Richard Cottingham, convicted of murdering prostitute and kidnapping three. Those cases were already closed. But the arrest in 1980 changed everything, exposing Richard's double life and deadly exploits. 0000004577 00000 n His yearbook photo shows a cross-country runner with blond hair slicked back. Pages in category "People from Lodi, New Jersey" The following 21 pages are in this category, out of 21 total. As Cottingham was fleeing the scene of the torso murders, he briefly encountered the 23-year-old Peter Vronsky, who was attempting to check into the Travel Inn while in New York on a film production assignment. But Cottingham had other victims, and he would later boast of killing 85 to 100 people. The Google Street View image above was taken in May of 2022. Much of Cottinghams crimes were not murders, but other violent crimes like abductions and rapes. 'Torso Killer' Admits to '68 Strangling and 4 More Cold-Case Murders Richard Cottingham who is already serving time in state prison for several . [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. The Zestimate for this house is $598,600, which has decreased by $7,680 in the last 30 days. Like two little dolls at Christmastime.. His "justification" for doing this was that he "didn't like anyone getting one over" on him. 0000002435 00000 n Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Mr. Anzilotti would arrange to have the inmate transported to his office more than hours drive from the prison. Mr. Anzilotti had begun to believe, he said in a recent interview, that Mr. Cottingham, between his history and the suspicions of detectives that came before me, could be responsible for one or more of those deaths. Everything that I was taught about evil was evident in his presence, in his demeanor, in the gaze of his eyes, Moye told The Post. On March 12, 1974, Cottingham was arrested in New York City for robbery and unlawful imprisonment on the complaint of another prostitute. Over time, though, one investigator was slowly developing a theory. His proclivity toward violence and the lack of solid profiling tactics for serial killers made Vronsky believe that Cottinghams claim of 100 victims was possible. Which is entirely possible, especially in those days.. 21 0 obj <> endobj The victim, Valerie Street, had just been busted in Miami for prostitution, and was last seen getting picked up by a man in New York City. One day, Cottingham told his co-worker that he had stolen a sex worker's money and clothes while she was sleeping. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Although Vogel was the earliest of Cottinghams murder victims, the killer has said she was not his first, according to Vronsky. Boyfriends, ex-boyfriends, family members all were questioned and cleared of suspicion. Richard Cottingham, convicted of murdering prostitute and kidnapping three. [21] Cottingham was apparently "forensically aware" in the era before DNA analysis. [4], The BCPO "exceptionally closed" the three cold case murders with agreement from the victims' families and evidence corroborating the confessions, but for several years kept this secret from the public to keep Cottingham talking about other cases. She was believed to have accepted a ride from a stranger, and her body was found on the side of a road near a cemetery. But beneath the veneer of normalcy was a heinous double-existence as a serial killer.
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