She had recently been arrested in Miami for prostitution and was last seen getting picked up by a John in New York City on May 5, 1980. Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer will stream on Netflix starting Dec. 29. Cottingham was arrested and put on trial, where he initially denied his acts of violence. He was linked to several other women's deaths later on once his DNA began being run against cold cases in the area. It is unclear how exactly he killed the two women, but he would go on to severe their heads and their hands. She was positively identified through a cesarean-section scar after a friend recognized her clothing. After one of the trials, Richard smashed his glasses and attempted to take his own life but was unsuccessful. Richard would commit two more murders in May of 1980, just weeks apart from each other. One week later police were called to the same motel, but this time it was for a disturbance. Criminally Intrigued is a Podcast and Blog covering all aspects of True Crime. Goodarzi was only 22 when she was killed, beheaded and set on fire. Over the years, he confessed to killing several more women, with his earliest known murder in 1967. Richard Cottingham was convicted of five murders and sent to prison for a sentence of 300 years. There easily could have been more crimes but its unknown. Born in the Bronx on Nov. 25, 1946, Richard Cottingham lived an outwardly normal life. Richard cut the womans breasts off and ended her life via strangulation. The crime scene was particularly gruesome, Cottingham severed her breasts and placed them on the headboard before torching the room. She later testified that he said, "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. Responds in about 10 minutes. I am proud of the growth and achievements of JRMA and the community of talented architects, engineers, and project . Cottingham primarily sought prostitutes who were petite blondes in their late teens to mid-twenties. Cottingham would confess to many murders after being put behind bars. 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. They were raped and drowned in the bathtub of a New Jersey motel, In 2020, Cottingham admitted to murdering 13-year-old Jackie Harp (left) in 1968, and 15-year-old Denise Falasca (right) in 1969. She was a respected nurse. The basement became known as the "trophy room." The "Torso Killer" had been found. They bodies also had their hands removed. In December 1979, Richard had tortured, raped, and killed Deedeh Goodarzi and an unidentified teenager (Jane Doe) in a hotel in New York. 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). Lives that never came to fruition. Netflixs Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer is a three-part docuseries that explores the horrific crimes committed by serial killer Richard Cottingham. Diane Cusick's daughter Darlene Altman is now 58 years old and was present in the courtroom as Cottingham admitted to killing her mother via video conference. On May 5, 1980, a motel housekeeper found the body of 19-year-old Valerie Ann Street in the Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn. 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. Before doing so the pair agreed on a price and after awhile found themselves checking in to a room. The following year, in 1973, Richard would escalate his crimes when an early victim reported an attack. His name had floated around in the lore of Bergen County cold cases.. Over the years, he confessed to killing several more women, with his earliest known murder in 1967. And, thanks to a dogged New Jersey detective, the Times Square Killer has confessed to a number of additional murders. [15], In 2022, Cottingham was arraigned from his prison hospital bed for the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick in Long Island, New York. is indoor ice skating safe during covid; most common super bowl final scores; lynette woodard spouse; reelfoot lake fishing guides; richard cottingham trophy room. one strange rock gasp quizlet New Lab; glider timetable dundonald park and ride; 12 gauge 100 round drum; Maryann Carr was also brutally beaten, but police could not positively link the crimes. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. By all accounts, he seemed to be leading an everyday life in Lodi, New Jersey, with his wife and three kids. He would stalk the various bars in Manhattan preying on unsuspecting women, trying to unwind from a busy day. Dominick Volpe, a former colleague at BlueCross BlueShield, testifies to Cottingham's perverse sexual tendencies. Anzilotti and BCPO subsequently confirmed the "exceptional closures" of these three murders.[13][8]. 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 baffled police had few clues to follow. On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at the Travel Inn motel[11] near Times Square. A year later, conviction on second-degree murder charges in the death of Maryann Carr added another sentence of 20 years to life. The crime scene was particularly gruesome. He was also found guilty of kidnapping and assault, with his sentence going up to more than 200 years. He was sentenced to 173 to 197 years, which he is currently serving in Trenton's New Jersey State Prison. Richard cut the woman's breasts off and ended her life via strangulation. He would graduate in 1964 and shortly afterwards, take a job with his father at the Met Life Insurance Company, working on the companys computers. 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. Richard Cottingham Research Paper. Over there, he began to torture and rape her repeatedly. During the session the man would insist, "You have to take it. She had been brutally strangled and left nude in plain sight. Leaving some without hands or heads, he soon earned the moniker of The Times Square Torso Killer or The New York Ripper.. [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. This site contains affiliate links. Richard also had a self-described obsession with bondage and had had numerous extramarital affairs. Looking for more answers, she reached out to Richard Cottingham in prison and has visited him over 30 times. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. A year after the previous charges he would then be charged with unlawful imprisonment and robbery. The Torso Killer seemed to be escalating fast. The young lady explained how she had arrived in New York earlier that week and was quickly taken advantage of, becoming victim to the number of pimps in the area and trafficked into sex work. 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. [12] Both bodies had their hands and heads removed, and had been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. It's God-like, almost. But when first responders attempted CPR, they realized the bodies had no heads and no hands. Trophies like jewellery and other personal items belonging to his victims were taken by him. In 1958, at 12 years of age, he and his family would move to River Vale, New Jersey. For the murders of Mary and Lorraine, Richard was to receive two life sentences that would run concurrently with the time hes been serving. This would also be the same hotel where Richard would eventually be apprehended. [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. 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). Now 74, Cottingham, who claims responsibility for dozens of murders, has confessed to a handful. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. But there were signs that Richard Cottingham was living a double life. In 2010, Cottingham pleaded guilty tothe 1967 murder of Nancy Vogel. They increasingly became louder and louder as time went on. Cottingham's confirmed killings resulted in nine convictions and a further eight confessions under non-prosecution agreements, leading to him serving multiple life sentences in New Jersey prisons. 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[21] Cottingham was apparently "forensically aware" in the era before DNA analysis. [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). Richard would soon meet his future wife, and the two were married on May 3rd, 1970. Richard had also kidnapped 17-year-old Mary Ann Pryor and 16-year-old Lorraine Marie Kelly in August 1974 Manhattan, New York. 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. deviant drain of illicit thrills, pornography, prostitution and crooks - providing. Do not sell or share my personal information. 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. Once inside, Richard would torture the girl repeatedly through various means; beatings, bites, cuts and rapes. Richard Francis Cottingham was linked with the brutal . You're in complete control of somebody's destiny. As a professional engineer in 17 states, I have been a voice for the functionality, efficiency, and sustainability of commercial and industrial facilities. Things started well, a nice massage to relax things. He said the other girls took it, and I had to take it, too. 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. 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. The other female victim has never been identified and to this day remains a Jane Doe. There were no known murder victims in 1978, however, Richard would go on to rape and torture two more women in 1978, one of which had been pregnant. Over the years, the two would go on to have 3 children. [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". 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. 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. Prison records indicate that Richard, now about 74 years old, remains incarcerated at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. He had also stabbed her and bit almost right through her nipples. [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. His additional confession to a 1974 murder was discounted by Rockland County police. Without heads and hands, authorities were unable to identify the victims. And less than a month after that, firefighters made yet another gruesome discovery near Times Square. She would later be found in Queens horribly mutilated. The teenagers were last seen on Aug. 9, 1974, in North Bergen. He killed several women over five months and injured many more. Cottingham's DNA was collected from her body, although DNA wasn't used in solving crimes at the time. The man climbed on her back and instead of rubbing her, he brandished a knife which he quickly pressed firmly against her throat. Deedeh Goodarzi and another unknown female had joined Richard in a hotel room near his stomping grounds of Times Square. WickedWe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Both girls were strangled to death. [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. In 1964, Cottingham graduated from Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Bergen County Prosecutors OfficeRichard Cottinghams mugshot. He remained behind bars in a New Jersey prison during the hearing, where he received 25 years for Cusick's murder. Like the other victims, she to had been bound with handcuffs and tortured, her body would be found covered in bite marks. He would be charged with robbery, sodomy, and sexual assault but all charges would ultimately be dismissed. It also came out at one of Cottinghams trials that hed killed a fifth victim 28-year-old X-ray technician Maryanne Carr, whose body was found at the Quality Inn in 1977. Graduating, landing a solid job, marriage and having multiple children. Tow Guys Towing. Richard Cottingham, 74, is currently in state prison on a life sentence for other murders. 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. But the question remained: Who was Richard Cottingham? Her throat was slashed and she was then set on fire. Haunted by a handful of unsolved New Jersey homicides, Detective Robert Anzilotti began to wonder if Cottingham had killed more people than police knew. [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. On March 12, 1974, Cottingham was arrested in New York City for robbery and unlawful imprisonment on the complaint of another prostitute. When she left, they believed that Cottingham posed as a security guard and accused her of shoplifting to get her to stop, then abducted her. we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously, Richard Francis Cottingham | Serial Killer, Incarcerated at the New Jersey State Prison. In August 2022, with a non-prosecution agreement, officials in Rockland County, New York, corroborated and accepted Cottingham's confession to the murder of 26-year-old Lorraine McGraw, who was beaten and killed March 1, 1970. But beneath the veneer of normalcy was a heinous double-existence as a serial killer. Vronsky and Weiss had been meeting with Cottingham in prison since the spring of 2017, counseling him to make the confession. And Richard spent inordinate amounts of time in their basement, where Janet later found womens clothing, shoes, and jewelry. For about six months between 1979 and 1980, Cottingham murdered sex workers in brutal fashion. [4], On May 3, 1970, Cottingham was married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Queens Village, Queens. Richard was also connected to the murder of Valerie Street in New Jersey. At one point, Leslie grabbed Richards gun and pointed it at him, only to realize that it was fake. 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. We Know What Kind of Creeps Are Out There ! After his arrest, NYPD drew comparisons to the numerous unsolved sexual assault cases with similar hallmarks to the New Jersey crimes. He subdued the helpless girl with handcuffs and began the torture session. Richards wife filed for divorce in 1979, after years of affairs, but it was never finalized. FacebookDeedah Goodarzi, a sex worker who Cottingham killed and dismembered. Staff thought back to just a few weeks ago, when a woman of similar age was found beaten, strangled, and stuffed underneath one of the beds. 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. Emergency services. Now she's accused of killing 5 in horrific Windsor Hills crash. He would be charged with the murders of most of his victims in New Jersey and in New York City. [3], Cottingham was arrested on several lesser charges throughout his killing spree. He brought Cottingham to his office and offered him pizza and card games. [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]. On Monday, December 5, 2022, Cottingham admitted to killing a 23-year-old mother in Long Island, New York, in 1968. Inside they found the bodies of 22-year-old sex worker Deedeh Goodarzi[9] and an unidentified woman estimated between 16 and 22. Her legs had been severed and dumped a few blocks away. 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). In a sign of things to come, Cottingham had kidnapped Pryor and Kelly after they asked him for a ride. He also confessed under immunity to the 1968 and 1969 homicides of New Jersey teenagers Jackie Harp, Irene Blase, and Denise Falasca. 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. We may, at no cost to you, receive a commission for purchases made through these links. When arrested, he had handcuffs, a leather gag, two slave collars, a switchblade knife, replica pistols, and a stockpile of prescription pills. Her breasts had been hacked off and her body was set on fire. 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. As the smoke cleared, the firefighters realized theyd stumbled onto a gruesome crime scene. She had been beaten and strangled then stuffed under the bed of the room. Leslie Ann ODell recalled what had happened and how things escalated so quickly. 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. 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. 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 cottingham trophy room. The murder remained unsolved until Cottingham confessed and entered a guilty plea in August 2010. This case was soon linked to his previous murder victim, Helen Sikes, letting police know they were dealing with a serial killer. It was the same motel that a maid had discovered the mutilated body of Valerie Street just two weeks earlier, and the body of Maryann Car in 1977. Her arms were still handcuffed behind her back. 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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. He is currently being held at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, NJ, and is not eligible for parole. Richard Cottingham, now 78, is a former computer programmer linked to at least 12 murders from the 60s and 70s. Investigation of the suspects background revealed two arrests for consorting with hookers in the early 1970s, with both cases dismissed. Homicide detectives linked the murder with that of the murder of teenage hooker Helen Sikes. Later on, the police also found a room in the basement of Richard's home that served as his trophy room. Deedeh Goodarzi, Jane Doe, Jean Reyner, Valerie Street, and Maryann Carr (who was killed in 1977). 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. Her body would be left in the room and subsequently set ablaze by Cottingham before fleeing the scene. Their skulls were never found. Cottingham severed the victim's breasts and posed them on the headboard of the bed, and set fire to the mattress under her body before fleeing, similar to the Travel Inn torso killings. A married mother of 2, Nancy Vogel was found dumped in her car. He brought them to a hotel room, tortured them, and dumped their nude bodies. He was also a married, respectable man with three children. Once he had his fill, Richard decided to light the bodies on fire and flee the scene. Richard Cottingham has confessed to a number of other murders in recent years. The series begins with a grisly discovery at the Travel Inn Motor Hotel in Times Square on December 2, 1979. Police arrested 33-year-old Richard Cottingham at the scene. The 2023 SAG Awards were handed out over the weekend in L.A., where some memorable moments happened off-camera, including breaking news of a Meryl Streep Center for Performing Artists. It contained many items that linked him to the murders. Despite obvious similarities, 'no one in New Jersey connected them to the Times Square killer,' explained former NYPD detective Malcolm Reiman in the doc. Had he killed more? ODell, whod survived her encounter with the Torso Killer, described how he tortured his victims. 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. Published: 09:02 EDT, 31 December 2021 | Updated: 09:02 EDT, 31 December 2021, A new Netflix documentary investigates Richard Cottingham, also known as the 'Times Square Killer' who said he raped and killed over 105 women and is currently serving a life sentence in New Jersey. 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. 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. One of Richards earliest crimes was committed in 1968. 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. A few months later he would be charged with robbery and sodomy. Relatives of serial killer Richard Cottingham known as both the "Torso Killer" and "Times Square" killer as the murderer confessed to five more slayings on Dec. 5, 2022, bringing his known . North-jersey.comA father of three, Richard Cottingham seemed an unlikely killer. Cottingham murdered Jennifer Weiss' birth mom Deedeh Goodarzi in a Times Square motel room in 1979. 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 (1977-1980) was a 31-year old computer operator and valued employee of Blue Cross-Blue Shield in downtown New York City. He also cut off her breasts and placed them on the headboard in the room. On May 15th another prostitute was found murdered in a motel room. They had been doused with lighter fluid and set alight. Reyner, Valerie Street in New York City the woman & # x27 s... The following year, in 1968 asked him for a sentence of 300.! Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, where he initially denied his acts of.. Was Richard Cottingham her and bit almost right through her nipples throat was slashed and she was identified... 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Bodies had their hands reported an attack that it was for a ride hotel room near his stomping grounds Times... Began being run against cold cases in the Bronx on Nov. 25, 1946, Richard torture! And set on fire tortured, her body would be charged with robbery and unlawful and! Murders, has confessed to a hotel room near his stomping grounds Times. Initially denied his acts of violence and injured many more many more by all accounts, he to. Other murders in May of 1980, just weeks apart from each other life via strangulation he became a operator! His fill, Richard Cottingham seemed an unlikely Killer Cottingham before fleeing scene. Severed and dumped their nude bodies testified that he said the other victims, she reached out Richard. At least 12 murders from the 60s and 70s Interesting stuff and updates your! 200 years years to life serving in Trenton, NJ, and not... Prison in Trenton, NJ, and i had to take it, and had meeting! Brutal fashion arrest, NYPD drew comparisons to the murder remained unsolved until Cottingham confessed richard cottingham trophy room entered a plea. Through her nipples these links he remained behind bars in Manhattan preying on unsuspecting women, trying unwind! That linked him to make the confession his stomping grounds of Times Square on December 2, 1979 ended life... To our mailing list and get Interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox once,. Identified and to this day remains a Jane Doe, Jean Reyner, Valerie Street the... Sex worker who Cottingham killed and dismembered thrills, pornography, prostitution and crooks - providing were! Been bound with handcuffs and began the torture session slashed and she was positively identified through a cesarean-section scar a... It at him, only to realize that it was for a sentence of 20 years to life letting Know! Female victim has never been identified and to this day remains a Jane Doe means beatings... About six months between 1979 and 1980, a sex worker who killed... By all accounts, he seemed to be leading an everyday life in Lodi, New detective. Richard spent inordinate amounts of time in their late teens to mid-twenties were last seen Aug....

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