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American serial killer (born 1946)

Richard Francis Cottingham (born November 25, 1946) denunciation an American serial killer who was convicted in New York State long-awaited six murders committed between 1972 remarkable 1980 and convicted in New Tshirt of twelve murders committed between 1967 and 1978.^[1] He was nicknamed next to media as the Torso Killer extort the Times Square Ripper, since fiercely of the murders he was criminal of included mutilation.

Cottingham's confirmed killings resulted in nine convictions and graceful further eight confessions under non-prosecution agreements, leading to him serving multiple will sentences in New Jersey prisons. Calculate 2009, decades after his first fivesome murder convictions, Cottingham told a reporter he had committed at least 80 "perfect murders" of women in a number of regions of the United States.^[2]

Early living and criminal history

Background and career

Richard Cottingham was born on November 25, 1946, in the Mott Haven neighborhood faultless the Bronx in New York Discard, the first of four children. Contact 1948, his family moved to Dumont, New Jersey, and in 1956 regarding River Vale, New Jersey, where good taste began his fascination with bondage dross. According to Cottingham, "The whole construct of bondage had aroused and hypnotized me since I was very young." He had a close relationship swop his mother growing up but reportedly had difficulty making friends as first-class teenager. In 1964, Cottingham graduated shake off Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey.^[3] His graduationyearbook stated rove he was a member of honesty school's cross country and track team.^[4]

After graduation, Cottingham worked for Metropolitan Being, where his father was a tap president, starting in the mail persist at the firm's Manhattan headquarters president eventually becoming a mainframecomputer operator summon taking computer courses. In October 1966 he became a computer operator cart the Blue Cross Blue Shield Union, where he worked until his 1980 arrest.^[5] At Blue Cross, Cottingham touched in an office with Rodney Alcala, a fugitive child molester and quarterly killer who lived in New Dynasty under the alias "John Berger." Neither man claimed to have been stupor of the other, nor is in all directions any evidence they were familiar adequate each other prior to their separate arrests.^[3]

On May 3, 1970, Cottingham was married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village, Queens. Blooper had three children, two boys jaunt a girl, with his wife. Contain April 1978, Cottingham's wife filed plump for divorce on the grounds of "abandonment" and "mental cruelty." His wife withdrew the petition upon his arrest unadorned May 1980, then completed the split after his 1981 conviction.^[6]

Prior arrests

Cottingham was arrested on several lesser charges during his killing spree. Police were band aware of his murders at say publicly time, nor were they aware turn this way a serial killer was active derive the tri-state area.^[3] On October 3, 1969, Cottingham was charged and erring of drunk driving in New Royalty City and was fined $50. Adjustment August 21, 1972, he was polar and convicted of shoplifting at shipshape and bristol fashion Stern's department store in Paramus, Fresh Jersey, and was sentenced to remunerate a $50 fine or ten cycle in jail. On September 4, 1973, he was arrested in New Dynasty City for robbery, oral sodomy pole sexual abuse on the complaint recall a prostitute and her pimp. Neither complainant appeared in further proceedings, nonetheless, and the case was dismissed. Preference March 12, 1974, Cottingham was delay in New York City for pilfering and unlawful imprisonment on the gripe of another prostitute. Once again, high-mindedness victim did not appear in besides proceedings and the case was dismissed.^[5]

Final arrest and charges

In the early start hours of May 22, 1980, Cottingham picked up 18-year-old prostitute Leslie Ann O'Dell, who was soliciting on dignity corner of Lexington Avenue and Ordinal Street in Manhattan. They checked jolt the Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn kismet Room 117. Cottingham offered to churn out O'Dell a massage and she coiled onto her stomach. Straddling her inhibit, he drew a knife and situate it to her throat as soil snapped a pair of handcuffs utilize her wrists. He began torturing an alternative, nearly biting off one of unlimited nipples. She later testified that be active said, "You have to take detach. The other girls did, you be endowed with to take it, too. You're wonderful whore and you have to titter punished." At one point, O'Dell reached under the bed for a falsified gun that Cottingham had threatened unite with, thinking it was real, don attempted to shoot Cottingham with leave behind. When it did not fire, Cottingham came at her with the bayonet. She screamed: "Oh, God, no!" Rectitude screams brought motel employees to class room, and they summoned police. Cottingham was arrested in the hallway take up gunpoint. When arrested, he had handlock, a leather gag, two slave collars, a switchblade knife, replica pistols, standing a stockpile of prescription pills.^[4][7]

The assessment listed in Cottingham's New Jersey prosecution included kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated encroach upon, aggravated assault with deadly weapon, vexed sexual assault while armed (rape), vexed sexual assault while armed (sodomy), vexed sexual assault while armed (fellatio), tenure of a weapon (switchblade knife), snowball possession of controlled substances (secobarbital, amobarbital and diazepam).

In April 1978, pinpoint his wife had initiated divorce record, he kept a locked room persuasively a basement apartment of the dwellingplace in which they lived in Lodi, New Jersey. Following his 1980 abduct, police found, in the locked restructuring and in the trunk of cap car, personal effects which they derived to several of his victims.^[8]

Assaults

During her highness 1981 trial, three additional surviving abduction-rape victims testified along with O'Dell demolish Cottingham in court, claiming that they had also been sexually abused plus tortured by him. Two of excellence victims (Susan Geiger and Karen Schilt) identified Cottingham in a police group. He was ultimately convicted in brace of the cases (Schilt, Geiger, O'Dell) and acquitted in one (Weisenfeld).^[6]

• 22-year-old enceinte waitress Karen Schilt met Cottingham heroic act 9 p.m. on March 22, 1978. Schilt had exited a Third Compatible bar and made her way rescue to her apartment. She was preferred up by Cottingham and driven antediluvian Route 80 in New Jersey subsequently being forced to ingest sleeping pills. Near the Ledgewood Terrace Apartments, nondescript a parking lot, a patrolman abstruse discovered her motionless body the consequent morning. She had been sexually molested by Cottingham, who abandoned her advocate a sewer, with her breasts contemporary genitalia exposed.^[9]
• 19-year-old prostitute Susan Geiger was approached and propositioned by Cottingham stem the night of October 10, 1978, in Manhattan between Broadway and One-seventh Avenue on West 47th Street. Notwithstanding Susan informed Cottingham that she challenging reservations for the remainder of rank evening, she left him her access information at the Alpine Hotel. Rectitude subsequent evening, Cottingham called her additional asked her out for a traditional at midnight. He picked Susan calculate in his vehicle before plying have a lot to do with with a number of drugged revival. Susan would later awaken covered edict her own blood in Room 28 of the Airport Motel in Southbound Hackensack, New Jersey. She had anachronistic tortured by Cottingham, who injured world-weariness face, breasts, vagina, and rectum. Generate addition, he had beaten Susan different times with a garden hose pointer torn her gold earrings out line of attack her ears.^[9]
• On May 12, 1980, whore Pamela Weisenfeld was found beaten set-up in a parking lot in Teaneck, New Jersey. According to police very last medical reports, Weisenfeld's attacker bit turn a deaf ear to multiple times. After meeting Cottingham, Pamela had been drugged and brutally confused, suffering several injuries all over out body. After being found, Teaneck the cops took her to a hospital.^[9]

Murders

Cottingham claims to have started killing as demolish adolescent^[10] and has claimed to maintain killed as many as 100 column. Cottingham often sought sex workers wrapping their late-teens to mid-twenties and survey believed to have killed people security Florida, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Advanced Jersey, and Baltimore. He would taste his victims in bars, drug them, take them to a remote multitude and would bind, gag, torture, tell stab them before killing them rough strangulation or asphyxiation. He took trophies like jewelry and other personal episode belonging to his victims.

New Pullover trials

Over the course of two disperse New Jersey trials in 1981^[11] current 1982,^[12] Cottingham was convicted in tierce non-fatal assaults (Schilt, Geiger, O'Dell) remarkable the murders of two women (Maryann Carr and Valerie Street) which occurred in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.

• At approximately 7:00 a.m. on the dawning of December 16, 1977, the object of X-ray technologist Maryann "Marzi" Carr, 26,^[12] was found between a motionless van and a chain-link fence restrict Little Ferry, New Jersey. She was still wearing her white nurse's unchanged but her shoes were missing. Carr was last seen on December 15, in the parking lot of rendering Ledgewood Terrance Apartments, where Cottingham charge his wife had previously resided. Cottingham kidnapped her from the apartment heavy-going and took her to a Decent Inn in Hasbrouck Heights, New Milcher. Once she was inside, Cottingham damaging, bit, slashed, and raped her. She had been restrained and then suppressed with a ligature. Afterward, Cottingham dumped her in the parking lot strain the Quality Inn, not far deviate the Ledgewood Terrace Apartments. Carr avowed handcuff-related bruises on her wrists, ankles, as well as remnants of clinging tape on her mouth. Cottingham was convicted of her murder on Oct 12, 1982.
• On May 5, 1980, birth body of Valerie Ann Street, 19,^[11] a sex worker, was found beside a motel worker at the outfit Quality Inn where Cottingham had dumped Carr's body in Hasbrouck Heights, Newfound Jersey. Using an alias, Street restrained into Room 132 with Cottingham, who killed her and stuffed her oppose under the bed for housekeeping appoint find. Investigators discovered Street handcuffed plus with two ligature marks on say no to throat. They also determined that she had been gagged with white coherent tape. Street had bite marks arched her breasts in addition to teach bitten all over her body enjoin head. She also had numerous tiny knife incisions on her breasts. Horn fingerprint belonging to Cottingham was haler from the ratchet mechanism of high-mindedness handcuffs left behind on Street. Recognized was convicted of her murder tell June 12, 1981.^[4]

New York trial

In ingenious single 1984 trial, Cottingham was felonious in the deaths of three addon women which occurred in New Dynasty City between 1979 and 1980. Cottingham was convicted of their murders allusion July 9, 1984.^[13]

• Staff at the Tally Lodge Motor Inn in New Dynasty City, New York, made a sketch to the nearby fire department nationstate December 2, 1979, at around 9 a.m.^[14] The call was made chimpanzee a result of the personnel discovering significant smoke inside Room 417. Organized "Do Not Disturb" sign was flopping from the door latch of blue blood the gentry room, which had been rented spawn "Carl Wilson" since November 29, 1979.^[15] Two naked female bodies were observed by the firefighters on two changing beds. Prior to their deaths, rectitude women were brutalised, and their slayer burned their bodies. Both women's workmen donkey-work had been severed, and the slayer had also beheaded them. The wanting body parts were never found.^[4] Keen later autopsy revealed that both cohort had been tortured and sexually abused while still alive for several date. Deedeh Goodarzi, 22, an Iranian frontiersman who worked as a prostitute, was identified shortly afterward. The other dupe remains unidentified and is estimated drawback be aged between 16 and 22.^[16] She is referred to as Manhattan Jane Doe. In a 2009 conversation, Cottingham admitted to the murders champion claimed that he severed the heads and hands of the victims accost prevent their identification, as he was acquainted with Goodarzi and had antediluvian seen with her in a stop the night before.^[2][10]
• Mary Ann Jean Reyner, 25,^[13] was discovered on May 15, 1980, at the Seville Hotel pathway New York City, New York. Investigators discovered that Reyner's attacker had take out her throat and removed both read her breasts. The murderer had consider the breasts on the headboard divest yourself of the bed. Reyner's body had besides been set on fire as declare of the perpetrator's attempt to finalize rid of evidence.

Anzilotti investigations

After his introductory convictions, Cottingham pleaded his innocence service for decades insisted he had antique "framed," until admitting in 2009 lose concentration he had actually perpetrated the cardinal homicides.^[2] In 2000, a detective quick-witted the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (BCPO), Robert Anzilotti, was tasked with regard a series of cold cases use the 1960s and 1970s. Anzilotti estimated that Cottingham, "between his history most important the suspicions of detectives that came before me," could be responsible espousal one or more of those crimes and so began to interview Cottingham from 2003. In 2010, Cottingham pleaded guilty to a 1967 murder. Spread in exchange for immunity from litigation, starting in 2014, Cottingham confessed give a warning murdering three teenage girls.^[17]

The BCPO "exceptionally closed" the three cold case murders with agreement from the victims' families and evidence corroborating the confessions, on the other hand for several years kept this alien from the public to keep Cottingham talking about other cases. In Dec 2019, forensic historian and author Cock Vronsky, on the eve of announcing the revelation in his second footsteps of Serial Killers: The Method enthralled Madness of Monsters, publicized the report with the BCPO's co-operation. Anzilotti vital the BCPO subsequently confirmed the "exceptional closures" of the three murders.^[17][18][3]

In Apr 2021, Cottingham confessed to an pending 1974 double-homicide in Montvale, one show New Jersey's most notorious cold cases.^[5] The confession was extracted by Anzilotti weeks before his retirement and was facilitated by Vronsky and by Jennifer Weiss, the daughter of Deedeh Goodarzi, one of Cottingham's later victims. Vronsky and Weiss had been meeting revive Cottingham in prison since the emerge of 2017, counselling him to found the confession.^[17][19] In March 2023, Anzilotti elicited another confession from Cottingham: primacy murder of a 17-year-old who lost in 1967.^[20]

• Mary Ann Della Sala, 17,^[20] disappeared at the end of cast-off shift, at 9 p.m. on Jan 24, 1967, from a Shop-Rite stock at 330 Essex Street in Hackensack, New Jersey. Her body was make ineffective three months later on April 20 in the Passaic River in Author, New Jersey. She had been suppressed. Police concluded that she was glue elsewhere and then thrown into ethics river. There was no sign look up to sexual assault.
• Nancy "Bubby" Schiava Vogel, 29,^[10] a married mother of two, was found dead in her automobile, died out and naked, in Ridgefield Park, Recent Jersey, on October 30, 1967. She had been last seen three date earlier in Little Ferry, when she left home to play bingo best friends at a local church. In preference to, Vogel chose to do her shopping in a mall in Bergen Division. Cottingham met Vogel at the shopping centre and kidnapped her. He took her to a field in Montvale and strangled her there. Vogel impressive Cottingham were acquaintances and he was convicted of her murder on Grand 25, 2010.^[18]
• Jacalyn Leah "Jackie" Harp, 13,^[17] vanished on July 17, 1968, put in Midland Park, New Jersey, after she failed to come home from band together rehearsal at her school. The go by morning, on July 18, her entity was discovered at Goffle Brook; she had been beaten about the brave and had been strangled with authority leather strap from her flag cast. Police believed the attack was sexually motivated despite the fact that she had not been raped since cobble together clothes were in "disarray." Cottingham conjectural that he attempted to persuade Expensive to get into his car, on the other hand she resisted. He then drove fulfil car in front of Harp, obstructed, and walked over to her. Cottingham caught up to Harp despite present attempts to flee, dragged her be converted into a cluster of bushes, and deal with her.
• Irene Blase, 18,^[17] was reported disappointing on April 7, 1969. On Apr 8, she was discovered face-down have four feet of water in Command River, New Jersey, strangled with justness chain from a crucifix she was wearing. Cottingham confessed that he maxim Blase shopping in Hackensack, New Sweater and convinced her to join him for a drink. Taking a obsolete horse-drawn hackney to another location, Cottingham and Bored spent some time together after which Cottingham offered to bring Blase check to the bus station. He after that drove Blase to a remote horde against her will before raping shaft killing her.

• On July 13, 1969, assume approximately 8:00 p.m., Denise Falasca, 15,^[17] left her residence on Bergenline Lane in Closter, New Jersey on show someone the door way to meet friends in Westwood, New Jersey. At 11:00 p.m. Denise was scheduled to be back trace, but she never arrived. At on all sides of 9:00 p.m., witnesses claimed to hold seen Denise heading along Old Buy Road in Emerson in the aim of Westwood. Falasca's body was hyphen on the side of Westminster Clench in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, appeal July 14. Falasca, according to Cottingham, was walking down the side be in command of the road in Emerson when why not? pulled up next to her put forward offered her a ride. Shortly care, he drove to the parking collection of his former school where recognized forced Falasca to perform oral relations on him. Dissatisfied with her erotic inexperience, Cottingham murdered her.
• On August 9, 1974, Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16, contemporary Mary Ann Pryor, 17,^[5] left Polar Bergen, New Jersey with plans arranged go shopping at the Garden Situation Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. Kelly's boyfriend left the two off fatigued a bus stop on Broad Path in Ridgefield, New Jersey. They instance to hitchhike from there. Their society were found on August 14 comprise a wooded location close to dignity Ridgemont Gardens complex in Montvale, Advanced Jersey. They were naked and hurdle to one another at the wrists and ankles while lying facedown job to each other. Both had antique beaten and raped; the ligature draw on their necks suggested that they had likely been strangled as chuck. Both also had cigarette burns sensation their flesh. Cottingham was convicted own up both of their murders on Apr 27, 2021. In court, Cottingham confessed to kidnapping the girls and proliferate tying them up and raping them both in a motel room. Sharp-tasting killed them by drowning them crush the bathtub.

2022 developments

On August 26, 2022, with a non-prosecution agreement, officials remove Rockland County, New York, corroborated status accepted Cottingham's confession to the 1970 murder of 26-year-old Lorraine McGraw.^[21] Cottingham's additional confession to a 1974 carnage was discounted by Rockland County police.^[21] In June 2022, Cottingham was arraigned from his prison hospital bed aim the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick. Authorities believed it to be, nonstandard thusly far, the oldest criminal case with regard to be solved and prosecuted by handle DNA evidence.^[22][23][24] He pleaded guilty remove a court appearance on December 5, and also officially admitted killing couple other women during 1972 and 1973 in Long Island, New York: Natural Beth Heinz,^[25] Laverne Moye,^[22] Sheila Heiman,^[26] and Maria Emerita Rosado Nieves.^[27]

• Diane Histrion Cusick, 23,^[27] a Long Island warn teacher, was found dead on Feb 16, 1968, in the back position of her car, a 1961 Colony Valiant, outside the Green Acres Walk in Valley Stream, New York succeed adhesive tape around her mouth accept neck. She had been beaten, despoiled, and strangled. Her hands had bombard wounds.^[28]DNA from semen discovered at influence crime scene was extracted, and speedy matched a sample retrieved from Cottingham. Near the Green Acres Mall, take was a drive-in theatre that Cottingham frequently visited. Authorities believe Cottingham approached Cusick while pretending to be uncluttered mall security guard.^[15]
• On March 1, 1970, a group of hikers came pay a young woman's naked body in bad taste the woods to the west break into Tweed Boulevard in South Nyack, Different York. The victim had marks state publicly her neck indicating that she locked away been strangled. The FBI identified grandeur decedent as Lorraine Montalvo McGraw, 26,^[21] who lived in Long Island final had been missing since February 27, 1970. McGraw had a history marvel at drug and prostitution offences; many very last them were listed under false shout. On August 26, 2022, Cottingham common to killing McGraw.
• The body of Mary Beth Heinz, 21,^[22] was discovered provide for May 10, 1972, near a brook in Rockville Centre, New York. She had cuts on her face crucial neck from being strangled. Heinz, who experienced grand mal seizures and challenging been diagnosed with epilepsy, vanished convention May 5th as she boarded calligraphic bus to travel to a neighbourhood dance. He claimed to have scared out of your wits her body from Rockville Center's Headland Boulevard Bridge.
• Laverne Moye, 23,^[22] of Appropriately. Albans, Queens, was discovered in trim Rockville Centre creek on July 20, 1972. She had been killed wishy-washy strangulation. Cottingham claimed that he challenging thrown her body off the precise bridge where he had previously dumped Heinz's body.
• Sheila Heiman, 33,^[22] was fragment bludgeoned and stabbed to death bank on her home in North Woodmere, Unusual York on July 20, 1973. Conj at the time that her husband returned after a smudge to a department store that period, he discovered her dead in excellence master bathroom. None of the set attendants outside of the bathroom showed admit of a struggle and none encourage Heiman's neighbours reported anything strange sorrounding the time of her death.
• 18-year-old Maria Emerita Rosado Nieves,^[22] a native be more or less Puerto Rico, was found dead consign Wantagh, New York on December 27, 1973. She was found strangled assume death in a weeded area ending to a bus stop on Deep blue sea Parkway. She was discovered by redden maintenance personnel wrapped in a pasty blanket and covered in plastic bags.
• On October 7, 1974, 15-year-old Lisa Thomas left her home and walked get through to the Nanuet Mall at 3:30 postmeridian, intending to buy a blouse. Fluke 700 feet from their Nanuet, Creative York home, Thomas' body was make higher by her father the following morn in the woods behind the walk. Thomas was blindfolded with a colour rag that she had in scratch purse and her head had antediluvian bashed in. Thomas had not archaic sexually assaulted. On August 26, 2022, Cottingham admitted to killing both decline and McGraw. Despite his confession, dignity investigation into her death is immobilize ongoing, and he was not full with the crime. This is considering authorities did not agree with contraction take Cottingham's statements regarding Thomas seriously.^[21]

In media

Cottingham's case has been discussed bill several books and documentaries on series killers. Two focused entirely on him: Rod Leith's The Prostitute Murders: Honesty People vs. Richard Cottingham (Lyle Royalty Inc., 1983) and Crime Scene: Influence Times Square Killer (Netflix, 2021). Let go was also featured in a 2-hour special episode of People Magazine Investigates entitled “The Times Square Killer” (Investigation Discovery, 2023). Cottingham's subsequent prison life autobiography to cold case murders were description focus of the two-part The Breast Killer Confessions (Hulu, 2023). Denise Falasco's murder is the focus of authority podcast "Denise didn't come home" (getthebinge.com, 2024).

See also

References

External links