He was also extremely fidgety and unable to sit still. 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. Much of Cottinghams crimes were not murders, but other violent crimes like abductions and rapes. The third result is Richard Eric Cunningham age 50s in Skillman, NJ. Despite the gruesome nature of his murders, the butcher, named Richard Cottingham, never warranted the breathless news coverage of David Son of Sam Berkowitz, who only three years prior paralyzed the Big Apple with fear. Once again, the victim did not appear in further proceedings and the case was dismissed.[6]. Cottingham primarily sought prostitutes who were petite blondes in their late teens to mid-twenties. 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The public in Bergen County deserved to know the outcome of those girls, he said. It would take about five months after the grisly Travel Inn slayings for investigators to arrest their man, a married father of three from Lodi, New Jersey, who preyed on sex workers in Times Square, then a seedy nucleus of pornography, prostitution and crime. Vronsky, whose works also include an authoritative tome cataloging 17,000 years of pathological homicide, said Cottingham scouted his victims before transforming from a family man into a ferocious monster. A married father of three, he lived in the. My whole life has been this, she said. The back and forth went on for weeks. Then he shared his intentions to retire. 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. In other words, he may have been content and/or preoccupied. When arrested, he had handcuffs, a leather gag, two slave collars, a switchblade knife, replica pistols, and a stockpile of prescription pills. He needed a way to approach Mr. Cottingham and found an opening in 2003, when he got a tip: Mr. Cottingham was taking bets on sporting events from his cell. 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. 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. Their heads and hands had been cut off. 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. That night, city firefighters responded to a blaze at a motel in Times Square, the New York Daily News reported. All these factors created this crucible in the center of Manhattan for Richard Cottingham to flourish.. The family lived in Lodi, and Mr. Cottingham commuted to a job as a computer operator at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Manhattan. Theyre pushing him on multiple other cases. Hes been interviewing Cottingham in state prison for years. On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at the Travel Inn motel[11] near Times Square. Photos of the house and other related images. 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. He did not want his family hassled by reporters or the police, and he vowed to Mr. Anzilotti that he would never again allow himself to be thrust into the spotlight. What they want is an outright statement and a sign-off of Yes thats me,' Vronsky continued. 0000001982 00000 n 0000012661 00000 n A maid heard the teenagers guttural screams and called police. In April of 1979, he started living in the basement of the property after his wife initiated divorce proceedings against him for "abandonment" and "mental cruelty.". But Cottingham flew under the radar precisely because of how he chose his victims and who his victims were. %PDF-1.4 % trailer 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. 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. 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. Mr. Anzilotti would arrange to have the inmate transported to his office more than hours drive from the prison. Vronsky, who aided investigators in obtaining Junes indictment, is trying to coax as many confessions out of the aging, 300-pound serial killer as possible, but the clock is ticking since he suffers from diabetes and kidney disease, he said. I can go all the way back to the first detective on the case. The Google Street View image above was taken in May of 2022. Authorities executed a warrant on his Lodi home, which had a private room containing evidence linking him to the Torso Killer. 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. Over time, though, one investigator was slowly developing a theory. 0000007658 00000 n According to his neighbors, he seemed like a regular family man. [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). Accused serial killer nurse allegedly tried to murder premature infant twice. They'd left home for a trip 13 miles (21 kilometers) north to . His upcoming sentencing will add more time to a prison term that already extends beyond his remaining years. This case was always haunting me.. 0000007874 00000 n [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, too, had been strangled. Over the months that followed, Mr. Anzilotti cultivated an unusual relationship with Mr. Cottingham, sometimes testy, sometimes closer to a sort of warmth. 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 In early December 1979, firefighters were called to the Travel Inn Motor Hotel on 42nd Street as a fire burned in room 417. Cottingham was not charged with this murder until June 2022, when he was implicated by DNA.[10]. Mr. Cottingham was summoned before a judge on April 27, remotely, via Zoom, sitting in a wheelchair in a conference room at the prosecutors office. Blase was 18 when she was found strangled in Saddle River in 1969. For decades, a string of killings of teenage girls haunted suburban New Jersey. It was a game to me. Cottingham murdered at least twelve women between 1967 and 1980. [12] Both bodies had their hands and heads removed, and had been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. Getting to that point wasnt easy, Anzilotti said. Cusicks daughter, Darlene Altman, told Nassau County Judge Caryn Fink her late grandparents raised her after her mothers shocking slaying. 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 Trenton's New Jersey State Prison. [13] In 2021, he pleaded guilty to the 1974 kidnapping, raping and drowning of Lorraine Marie Kelly and Mary Ann Pryor. [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. I just kind of looked at it and touched it and put it in a box where I had some dried flowers for my mother when she passed.. I could feel it.. On May 4, 1980, the body of Street, a sex worker, was found at the same Quality Inn where Cottingham had dumped Carrs body. Peter Karas/The Record, via USA Today Network. There were similarities in the two cases: the girls ages, the apparently hasty disposal of their bodies, even their appearance, both with long, dark hair. It was an era when the sex worker was criminalized. To this day, their remains have never been recovered. It also left enormous holes in the souls of family and friends of Mary Ann Pryor, 17, and Lorraine Kelly, 16. This story has been shared 150,597 times. He enjoys our time together., The chief also had another theory. 0000002435 00000 n Justice was served and thats the end of it case closed. He was imprisoned. Hearing prosecutors detail grisly crime scenes like where Laverne was found was especially difficult to endure, her son said. Seth Wenig/Associated Press By Ed Shanahan Dec. 5, 2022 On a. Richard Cottingham was born in 1946 and grew up largely in New Jersey. %PDF-1.4 % And thats what bothers me, because I probably didnt have to do anything to them., Mr. Anzilotti left the confession both exhausted and relieved. Crime: Cottingham, a Lodi resident, killed six women in New Jersey and New York between 1967 and 1980. [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 is situated at 29 Vreeland Street in Lodi, New Jersey. Richard was arrested at a motel in Hasbrouck . Both men were keenly aware that it was their years-old relationship that had brought about this moment. Serial killer Richard Cottingham made his admission in the cold case murders of the high school girls, acknowledging that he kidnapped, raped and finally drowned the pair inside a motel room. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 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.. The police believed they had given up on the bus and were trying to hitchhike to a mall. Which, of course, I wasnt overly interested in, the former chief said. The New York Times, p. 26. I lost so much more than just my mother that day, Altman said. I think it was just an evolution in his killing.. Notably, none of his crimes took place on the property. Detective Anzilotti was startled to discover the same man killed all three. Author Peter Vronsky, who has a forthcoming book on Cottingham, and was first to publicly announce that the imprisoned Cottingham was responsible for the three 50-year-old crimes, says authorities want to add more to the list. 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. %%EOF How it ended was me literally shaking his hand and saying, Thank you, Mr. Anzilotti said. Then in exchange for immunity from prosecution, he confessed to murdering three New Jersey schoolgirls. 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. However, please be aware that not allowing certain cookies may impact your experience of the site. Richard Cottingham, a family man who denied everything in court, was convicted of killing five women in the early 1980s. The highly-respected law enforcement veteran knew the notorious killer was responsible for the deaths of the North Bergen teens, but Cottingham made him work for it. After years in prison, Mr. Cottingham began to open up to the detective about past unsolved crimes. [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). This is a somber day as we revisit the horrific acts and terror this man brought upon Bergen County nearly 50 years ago, the prosecutor said Tuesday. Select this result to view Richard P Cunningham's phone number, address, and more. 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.