Deedeh Goodarzi, Jane Doe, Jean Reyner, Valerie Street, and Maryann Carr (who was killed in 1977). On the other hand, arresting officers had relieved him of handcuffs, a leather gag and two slave collars, a switchblade and replica pistol, plus several bottles of pills. But the arrest in 1980 changed everything, exposing Richards double life and deadly exploits. 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 . 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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. Its God-like, almost. On May 22, 1980, Cottingham picked up Leslie Ann O'Dell in Midtown Manhattan and dragged her back to the same New Jersey motel where he mutilated his last victim just 18 days earlier. Known for being particularly cruel, Cottingham earned the nickname "The Torso Killer" because he would sometimes mutilate the body of his victims, leaving . After his arrest, NYPD drew comparisons to the numerous unsolved sexual assault cases with similar hallmarks to the New Jersey crimes. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Police arrested 33-year-old Richard Cottingham at the scene. "We had a very complicated car vs pole situation and tow guys came to Tustin within 30 minutes on a Sunday evening and did an incredible job assisting us with removing the car off of" more. Richard kept things like jewelry and trinkets as souvenirs from the slayings. . The Story Of Richard Cottingham, The Times Square Torso Ripper. He raped, sodomized, killed and mutilated 6 prostitutes in New York and New Jersey. We Know What Kind of Creeps Are Out There ! The killer had registered at the hotel under a fake name with a fake address Carl Wilson of Merlin, N.J. and hotel employees had hardly interacted with him. Hopefully new developments are made and one day we will know the full scope of Cottinghams crimes, as well as hold him accountable for his actions. 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). 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. His name had floated around in the lore of Bergen County cold cases.. The other female victim has never been identified and to this day remains a Jane Doe. 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. He said the other girls took it, and I had to take it, too. On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at the Travel Inn motel[11] near Times Square. By all accounts, he seemed to be leading an everyday life in Lodi, New Jersey, with his wife and three kids. The other headless corpse was never identified. When they forced their way inside and put the fire out they found something more than burnt furniture. Cottingham pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder in the case of Diane Cusick. The police apprehended Richard Cottingham while trying to flee. Police believe that Cusick left the dance studio where she taught and went into the nearby mall to buy some shoes. Richard Cottingham was convicted of six murders and numerous counts of kidnapping and sexual assault using evidence found in his 'trophy room' combined with a matching fingerprint left on. 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. For the murders of Mary and Lorraine, Richard was to. 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. 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. They offered a possible description of a man in his 30s, about 510 and 175 pounds, with brown hair. Walter Leporati/Getty ImagesPornographic films are advertised in Manhattans Times Square in January 1971. Her body would be left in the room and subsequently set ablaze by Cottingham before fleeing the scene. 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. During the session the man would insist, "You have to take it. In October 1966, he became a computer operator for Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, where he worked until his 1980 arrest. After one of the trials, Richard smashed his glasses and attempted to take his own life but was unsuccessful. In the early morning hours, a couple decided to check in to a Quality Inn Hotel. His wife withdrew the petition upon his arrest in May 1980, then completed the divorce after his 1981 conviction. He later admitted that his psychopathic hobby for hunting sex workers in Times Square 'as a game.'. 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. Cops had a lucky break in the case almost six months after the two headless torsos were first found in Times Square. Her throat had been cut so severely that he nearly severed her head. The crime scene was particularly gruesome, Cottingham severed her breasts and placed them on the headboard before torching the room. 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. Richard was arrested at a motel in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, in May 1980. Richard had abducted the woman and brought her to a hotel. The notorious serial killer targeted women, mostly sex workers and those working in the adult entertainment industry. Weiss was given up for adoption when she was less than two weeks old. Richard was born in Bronx, New York, in November 1946. Straddling her back, he drew a knife and put it to her throat as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. 3 years later, in 1972, Richard would be caught shoplifting from a local store. Neither man has claimed to have been aware of the other, nor is there any evidence they were familiar with each other prior to their respective arrests. I think it was just an evolution in his killing.. [15], In 2022, Cottingham was arraigned from his prison hospital bed for the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick in Long Island, New York. Anzilotti and BCPO subsequently confirmed the "exceptional closures" of these three murders.[13][8]. Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders and sent to prison for a sentence of 300 years. 'It was a game to me. [6] At Blue Cross, Cottingham worked in an office with Rodney Alcala, the fugitive child molester and future serial killer who lived in New York under the alias "John Berger". She would die of asphyxiation and once finished, Richard stuffed the girl under the bed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. WickedWe is reader supported, some products displayed may earn us a commission if you purchase through our links. ODell, whod survived her encounter with the Torso Killer, described how he tortured his victims. It is believed that she was his first victim, In 2021Cottingham confessed and pleaded guilty to the double kidnapping and murders of Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16 and Mary Ann Pryor, 17 in 1974. [Cottingham] told me to shut up, that I was a whore and I had to be punished, ODell testified. 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. SERIAL killer Richard Cottingham has been behind bars for over 40 years, but he's still being linked to old crimes. 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. Though hes best known for killing sex workers, Richard Cottingham often killed whenever he had the opportunity. 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. Do not sell or share my personal information. [7] In a 2009 interview, Cottingham admitted to the murders and claimed that he severed the heads and hands of the victims to prevent their identification, as he was acquainted with Goodarzi and had been seen with her in a bar the night before.[2]. Goodarzi was only 22 when she was killed, beheaded and set on fire. Investigation of the suspects background revealed two arrests for consorting with hookers in the early 1970s, with both cases dismissed. North-jersey.comA father of three, Richard Cottingham seemed an unlikely killer. Despite obvious similarities, 'no one in New Jersey connected them to the Times Square killer,' explained former NYPD detective Malcolm Reiman in the doc. I was able to get almost any woman to do whatever I wanted them to do, psychologically,' said the sinister 75-year-old in a recent jailhouse interview with journalistNadia Fezzani. Richard then dumped the bodies in a wooded area in Bergen County, New Jersey. In 1979, Richard would abduct a teenage sex worker named Helen Sikes from Times Square. Today, Times Square is a glittering tourist attraction. 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. Richards wife filed for divorce in 1979, after years of affairs, but it was never finalized. Her killer, Richard Cottingham, was a computer operator, married with three children of his own, living a seemingly normal life. In a sign of things to come, Cottingham had kidnapped Pryor and Kelly after they asked him for a ride. But just a week later, police were able to apprehend him back at the Quality Inn when his would-be victim Leslie Ann ODell screamed for help. The last time anyone saw her, she had been on her way to play bingo at a nearby church. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. She would later be found in Queens horribly mutilated. In addition to killing sex workers, Richard Cottingham had also killed a number of girls and women in New Jersey. Tow Guys Towing. Once inside, Richard would bind both females and torture the two for hours. 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. The woman from the motel ended up surviving his torture, but police found her tied up and suffering from knife wounds and human teeth marks. Leslie told the authorities that Richard picked her up in New York City, New York, and brought her to the motel in New Jersey. The teenagers were last seen on Aug. 9, 1974, in North Bergen. But it soon came out that the Torso Killer had murdered many more than five victims. Then in exchange for immunity from prosecution, he confessed to murdering three New Jersey schoolgirls. A year later, conviction on second-degree murder charges in the death of Maryann Carr added another sentence of 20 years to life. Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer will stream on Netflix starting Dec. 29. 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. Lives that never came to fruition. Most recently, in April 2021, Cottingham confessed and pleaded guilty to the double kidnapping and murdersof Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16 and Mary Ann Pryor, 17 in 1974. Who is Richard Cottingham? Both 1974 cases would be dismissed. The other girls did, you have to take it too. Growing up, he had trouble making friends, and after graduating high school, he worked for his fathers insurance company. Her killer had cut her throat, left bite marks on her body, and severed her breasts. He brought Cottingham to his office and offered him pizza and card games. When found her head was hanging by a thread. She had been beaten, raped, sodomized and forced at knife point to give the man a blow job. 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. 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 views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Richard would soon meet his future wife, and the two were married on May 3rd, 1970. The man listened and suggested he could drive her to a different bus terminal in New Jersey to get her back home, away from her abusive pimp. In April 1978, Cottingham's wife filed for divorce on the grounds of "abandonment" and "mental cruelty" (refusing to have sex with her after the birth of their third child, staying out until early morning, and leaving her with insufficient household funds). Richard kept things like jewelry and trinkets as souvenirs from the slayings. He would continue this line of work until his arrest. Janet had even filed for divorce in 1979, though she reneged the next year. 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