The Torso Killer: Richard Cottingham Criminally Intrigued 0000002865 00000 n Her breasts had been hacked off and her body was set on fire. Great focus on the history (& plight) of sex workers and societys attitudes towards them. Anzilotti says they gave it their best try its been decades and they were dealing with a faded memory. Currently, Vronsky and Weiss claim, theyve gotten at least eight more confessions out of Cottingham to murders he committed in New York and theyre just waiting to make them official. A.J. He raped, sodomized, killed and mutilated 6 prostitutes in New York and New Jersey. Trophies like jewellery and other personal items belonging to his victims were taken by him. [1] He was nicknamed the New York Ripper, the Torso Killer and the Times Square Killer, since he was convicted of three murders that occurred there that included mutilation. Alex Aiono has a family of five including three siblings Hallie, Sidney Lee Lewis, and Taylor. Janet's husband, Richard, is a New Jersey-based American serial killer. If it was up to me, I would rather close the chapter. He asked the judge to play it cool, so as not to spook Cottingham out of future confessions. Curiously, though, Cottingham didnt entirely clam up after that mostly, Vronsky claims, because of Weiss. Richard Francis Cottingham began in the mail room and finally came to be a mainframe computer operator after accepting computer courses. At her husbands trial, she claimed he was at home from 5 AM to 1:30 PM on the day Valerie Street was murdered, but there was sometime after that which was not accounted for, leading the authorities to believe he killed Valerie then. I think at some level we became friends yet always aware of the line between us., I always planned on confessing at some point after I was found guilty of the earlier crimes, Cottingham wrote to, . She follows her heart and her instinct, is very determined and sometimes drives me out of my mind. On May 5, 1980, a motel housekeeper found the body of 19-year-old Valerie Ann Street in the Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn. I was upset for a decade, Weiss says. He was dubbed The Torso Killer and Times Square Torso Ripper. If they can get more confessions out of him, Ive always supported Peter and Jennifer in that regard. Hes able to recall details only police would know, after all. The daughter of one of his many victims through whom he atones for the murders of others, he says. Born in the Bronx on Nov. 25, 1946, Richard Cottingham lived an outwardly normal life. Although he preyed on sex workers, like Goodarzi, it wasnt a pattern; he also killed mothers, career women, and, horrifyingly, a 13-year-old girl. On May 22, 1980, he was captured at a New Jersey motel while abusing a young sex worker he had recruited and driven there from New York City. During his marriage, Richard reportedly had an apartment in Midtown in New York City, New York, and would stay there, telling Janet he worked the night shift. Decades later, she found herself at that same prison, confronting the man who had left her mother dismembered in a flaming hotel room in Times Square: Richard Cottingham, a.k.a. We want to hear it. In December 1979, police discovered a horrific scene at a Travel Inn Motor Hotel in New York City, believed to be Cottinghams first killing of this type. Do I think that thats why he confessed to the Lorraine Kelly, Mary Anne Pryor homicides? While I'm not sure if this has been confirmed/denied, we do know that Cottingham had 3 children with his wife, Janet Cottingham. Maryann Carr, 26, nurse, and Richard's first victim. The story of Richard Cottingham by Bronco6666 on DeviantArt [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. Its just a game of, Lets see if you can get this out of me., False confessions are a known phenomenon among serial killers, but those who have come into contact with Cottingham think his are credible. Robin is an actress and writer known for the Emmy-nominated series from HBO named A African Lady Sketch Sho Alex Aiono parents are Martin Aiono and Heather Lee Aiono. A hotel worker found the burned bodies of two women in a hotel room. Eventually, Richard began working as a computer operator with his fathers insurance company. [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. In the end, I think that he and I have a very, very different relationship than he has with the two of them, he adds. Richard Cottingham, the infamous North Jersey serial murderer renowned for dismembering his young female victims. Although Richard Francis Cottingham was born as the first of four children in New York in 1946, the family relocated to River Vale, New Jersey, when he was about 12 years old. Jean Reyner was stabbed to death in a motel near Time Square. [16] Cottingham confessed to a further 1967 homicide in March 2023. Richard, between 1967 and 1980, had murdered at least 17 young women and girls in New York and New Jersey. According to Vronskys upcoming book, American Werewolf: The Life and Crimes of Richard F. Cottingham, the Last Serial Killer on the Left. Throughout his murdering spree, Cottingham was detained on various minor counts; the authorities were unaware of his killings at the time. All rights reserved. 0000001071 00000 n 0000002420 00000 n Love & Death Boasts a Delightfully Gonzo Elizabeth Olsen and Little Else. It all depends on your own personality. Richard Francis Cottingham was born on the 25 th of November 1946, in New York. 0000001250 00000 n Enter Vronsky and Weiss. However, she withdrew her suit in 1980. If you ask him a question directly often he cant frame his memory around an answer. Previously she heard he frequented gay bars and had an affair with Barbara Lukas, it lasted for two years and . Yes, Sofia is the younger sister of Nicole Richie and Miles Richie. (Spoiler alert: He later confessed to many more crimes.). [12] Both bodies had their hands and heads removed, and had been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. The dismembered heads and hands were never discovered when Cottingham departed the site. 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. And so are the tears when Weiss talks about reaching out to Goodarzis family. [7] On October 28, 1967, he strangled Nancy Schiava Vogel, a 29-year-old married mother of two, in Little Ferry, New Jersey. Weiss kept writing to Cottingham, talking to him on the phone, and, eventually, even visiting him in prison. Its a strange relationship. Here are some of the details to follow. [Its a] love/hate relationship., Former Bergen County Chief of Police Robert Anzilotti a fast-talking silver-haired archetype of the word cop who has been on Cottinghams case for about 17 years first met Weiss and Vronsky in 2017. Cottingham, now 75, has spent the last four decades in relative obscurity, watching hours of police procedurals and detective shows behind bars as he slid into his seventies and his health hit a steady decline. How these confessions came about is highly contested, though: Former Chief of Detectives for the Bergen County Prosecutors Office Robert Anzilotti would say hes responsible for wearing Cottingham down over the years, while Weiss and her friend, serial killer expert Dr. Peter Vronsky, claim its her unlikely, uncomfortable relationship with Cottingham that has helped grease the gears. He had three children, two boys and a girl, with his wife. In April 1980, Cottinghams wife had filed for divorce, charging him with extreme cruelty and refusal to engage in marital sex since late 1976. The 76-year-old criminal was born in New York, United . Like many murderers, he was the picture of boring normalcy on the surface, but in between work and family life, he was a frequent patron of Times Squares sex clubs and bars, where he would hunt his victims. Three older brothers fill out the frame and everyone has the same slightly crooked smile except for Jennifer. I couldnt even go toward Trenton. We have a file here full of things wed like to discuss with you, Weiss recalls. Eventually, I gave him a case to see how he would handle it and keep his word to me.. Robin was born on July 27, 1979. And once you get him talking, he would sometimes blurt out where he left bodies on his way to get a sandwich at his favorite restaurant. Richard Cottingham Family: Wife, Siblings, Children, Parents Although retired, Anzilotti says he also has a few more in the works. The comedian often celebrates Christmas and New Year's Eve with his household members. Nancy Vogel was murdered in 1967, and Cottingham pleaded guilty to her murder in 2010. 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. PDF Richard Francis Cottingham - maamodt.asp.radford.edu [13][14] Anzilotti had spent 15 years interviewing Cottingham, working toward the confession. %PDF-1.4 % In April 1978 his wife filed for divorce on grounds of "mental cruelty" and "abandonment." [15], In 2022, Cottingham was arraigned from his prison hospital bed for the 1968 murder of Diane Cusick in Long Island, New York. Finally, in 2010, Cottingham cracked, confessing to the 1967 murder of Nancy Schiava Vogel, a 29-year-old married mother of two who was found, strangled and nude, in her car in Ridgefield Park. -esque upbringing. 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. Cottingham often sought female sex workers in their late-teens to mid-twenties. Calling all true crime fanatics: Netflixs latest docuseries, Crime Scene: The Times Square Serial Killer, just dropped and it's a deep-dive into a series of horrific crimes perpetrated in New York and New Jersey in the 1970s. Richard Cottingham Wife: Janet Cottingham - vimbuzz.com In 1967, aged 21, Cottingham committed his first murder, fatally strangling a 29-year-old woman, Nancy Vogel, a crime he didn't confess to until 2010. Jacqueline Tempera is an award-winning writer and reporter living in New Jersey with her many pets. Anzilotti says he pieced together the identities of the girls via scraps of information Cottingham let slip over the years: Blases similarity to a TV actress the killer liked and his nickname for Harp, Helmet Head (she had a bowl cut). [CDATA[// >