Thankfully, Cottingham's reign of terror would not last forever. This case was soon linked to his previous murder victim, Helen Sikes, letting police know they were dealing with a serial killer. But when first responders attempted CPR, they realized the bodies had no heads and no hands. When found her head was hanging by a thread. Richard Francis Cottingham was linked with the brutal . The legs were laying side by side as if still attached to a body. 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. 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. After one of the trials, Richard smashed his glasses and attempted to take his own life but was unsuccessful. Today, Times Square is a glittering tourist attraction. She would later be found in Queens horribly mutilated. Following his 1980 arrest, police found, in the locked room and in the trunk of his car, personal effects which they traced to several of his victims. She would die of asphyxiation and once finished, Richard stuffed the girl under the bed. Later on, Richard took a job with Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York as a computer operator. He said the other girls took it and I had to take it, too. Leslie added, He told me to shut up, that I was a whore, and I had to be punished. In a strange turn of events,Deedah Goodarzi's biological daughter, Jennifer Weiss has forged an unlikely friendship with the man who strangled and beheaded her mother in 1979. Richard was born in Bronx, New York, in November 1946. Known for being particularly cruel, Cottingham earned the nickname "The Torso Killer" because he would sometimes mutilate the body of his victims, leaving . 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. Cottingham was apprehended in the hallway by arriving police officers. When she was found, she'd suffered beatings to her head and body, but her ultimate cause of death was suffocation. Lives that never came to fruition. During the session the man would insist, "You have to take it. She had gone missing from Times Square in January 1979. Like before, the murderous butcher had set the room on fire, which immediately tipped off authorities that they had a serial killer on their hands. Born in the Bronx on Nov. 25, 1946, Richard Cottingham lived an outwardly normal life. Soon after their arrival then man tried to escape but was apprehended shortly thereafter. In a similar case, Richard killed Jean Reyner, a sex worker, in another hotel in New York. New York City was gripped with fear after the Travel Inn Motor Hotel murders went unsolved. Published on January 3, 2022. 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. She had been brutally strangled and left nude in plain sight. A year after the previous charges he would then be charged with unlawful imprisonment and robbery. We dont know if hes the one who rented the room, Deputy Chief Richard Nicastro said at the time. Investigators were again able to quickly link this murder with many others due to the killer's M.O. FacebookDeedah Goodarzi, a sex worker who Cottingham killed and dismembered. . A married mother of 2, Nancy Vogel was found dumped in her car. It contained many items that linked him to the murders. He also confessed under immunity to the 1968 and 1969 homicides of New Jersey teenagers Jackie Harp, Irene Blase, and Denise Falasca. He decapitated the women and cut off their hands before setting them on fire. He returned back to the hotel to soak the crime scene in lighter fluid and set the room ablaze. One was identified as 22-year-old Deedeh Goodarzi, a sex worker. Netflixs Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer is a three-part docuseries that explores the horrific crimes committed by serial killer Richard Cottingham. 'It always weighs heavily over me. Over the years, he confessed to killing several more women, with his earliest known murder in 1967. [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. . Cottingham later described his motives as a game and mainly psychological., I was able to get almost any woman to do whatever I wanted them to do, psychologically, he said decades after being found guilty of five murders. Anzilotti and BCPO subsequently confirmed the "exceptional closures" of these three murders.[13][8]. Goodarzi was only 22 when she was killed, beheaded and set on fire. ', Over four trials in the early 1980s, three in Jersey and one in New York, Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders. Richard would soon meet his future wife, and the two were married on May 3rd, 1970. Beneath the happy exterior lurked an incredibly dangerous and vicious animal. Richard Cottingham, now 78, is a former computer programmer linked to at least 12 murders from the 60s and 70s. One week before Jean Reyner's body was discovered at a Manhattan hotel, a maid at the Quality Inn in New Jersey found the naked corpse of Valerie Ann Street under the bed, with her hands tightly handcuffed behind her back. [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. He was careful, and only one fingerprint was retrieved from a crime scene. we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously, Richard Francis Cottingham | Serial Killer, Incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison. Her killer had cut her throat, left bite marks on her body, and severed her breasts. Janet had even filed for divorce in 1979, though she reneged the next year. 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. In addition to multiple murder counts, Richard Francis Cottingham was linked with the brutal abduction and rape of three surviving victims including two prostitutes and a young housewife during 1978. 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. He admitted that he brought the two girls to a motel room where he tied them up, raped them, then drowned them in bathtub. He remained behind bars in a New Jersey prison during the hearing, where he received 25 years for Cusick's murder. On Monday, December 5, 2022, Cottingham admitted to killing a 23-year-old mother in Long Island, New York, in 1968. You're in complete control of somebody's destiny. 'It's God-like, almost. [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. 'So I maintain a relationship with Richard now because I want the names of the unidentified victims he took. The other female victim has never been identified and to this day remains a Jane Doe. I was preparing to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, the firefighter said, when I suddenly noticed there was no head.. 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.' Former FBI agent and criminal profiler Candice DeLong delves into Richard Cottingham, Show Killer Psyche, Ep Richard Cottingham: The Torso Killer - Mar 7, 2023 The notorious serial killer targeted women, mostly sex workers and those working in the adult entertainment industry. A father of three, Richard Cottingham seemed an unlikely killer. Richard Cottingham (1977-1980) was a 31-year old computer operator and valued employee of Blue Cross-Blue Shield in downtown New York City. Criminally Intrigued is a Podcast and Blog covering all aspects of True Crime. 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. Once in custody the man would be identified as Richard Francis Cottingham a father of 3 from Lodi, New Jersey. As a professional engineer in 17 states, I have been a voice for the functionality, efficiency, and sustainability of commercial and industrial facilities. Richard had also kidnapped 17-year-old Mary Ann Pryor and 16-year-old Lorraine Marie Kelly in August 1974 Manhattan, New York. 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. To date, the Torso Killer himself claims that he could have as many as 100 victims. I think it was just an evolution in his killing.. A search of Cottinghams home turned up a bizarre trophy room, containing personal effects from several of the murdered prostitutes. Prison records indicate that Richard, now about 74 years old, remains incarcerated at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. He was known for his signature "trophy taking," keeping items belonging to his victims as mementos. There easily could have been more crimes but its unknown. 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. Richard kept things like jewelry and trinkets as souvenirs from the slayings. Police believe that Cusick left the dance studio where she taught and went into the nearby mall to buy some shoes. It was mainly psychological. The Torso Killer seemed to be escalating fast. Over there, he began to torture and rape her repeatedly. Crystal Ponti. Leslie Ann ODell recalled what had happened and how things escalated so quickly. Like the other victims, she to had been bound with handcuffs and tortured, her body would be found covered in bite marks. 183 locals recently requested a quote. Richards criminal activity continued in 1969 when he was convicted of driving while intoxicated in New York. 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. Confounded, investigators used mannequins from nearby department stores and dressed them in the victims' clothing, hoping someone might come forward with information. I am proud of the growth and achievements of JRMA and the community of talented architects, engineers, and project . The couple had met a few hours earlier in Manhattan. 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. On May 5, 1980, a motel housekeeper found the body of 19-year-old Valerie Ann Street in the Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn. But it soon came out that the Torso Killer had murdered many more than five victims. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Richard was also connected to the murder of Valerie Street in New Jersey. 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. 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. Richard would become increasingly more deranged as time went on. 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. 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. We Know What Kind of Creeps Are Out There ! 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