Cottingham had just raped, tortured and beheaded two sex workers in a room at the motel before setting it on fire. In recent years, he had asked Mr. Cottingham about the case, and the inmate had simultaneously denied responsibility and let on that he knew more than he would share. 21 0 obj <> endobj I was able to get almostany woman to do whatever I wanted them to do . There were at least five unsolved killings of girls, each an open wound for families seeking resolution. %PDF-1.4 % When you have a series of crimes today, everything goes through the computers, andwe have computer analysis and a wayof moving these through jurisdictionalboundaries. He was imprisoned. I knew, he recalled, that was Irene Blase.. The Zestimate for this house is $598,600, which has decreased by $7,680 in the last 30 days. Defense attorney John Bruno recited the details, which the white-bearded, 74-year-old killer acknowledged. But he eventually realized the years-long association, which involved countless state prison visits, was coming to an end. Its hard to understand how someone could be like that. After dismembering Goodarzi, Cottingham lit her torso on fire, along with a second unidentified woman, who was found next to Goodarzi on the same bed. 0000010308 00000 n What they want is an outright statement and a sign-off of Yes thats me,' Vronsky continued. A Detective's Work Ends: Lodi Serial Killer Admits Raping, Drowning Serial Killer House in Lodi, New Jersey, United States. They captured Cottingham soon after. 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. On March 12, 1974, Cottingham was arrested in New York City for robbery and unlawful imprisonment on the complaint of another prostitute. That made 11 murders Cottingham that admitted since his arrest more than 30 years ago. Cottingham didnt like the idea, apparently wanting to continue their dialogue. The New York Times, p. 26. His search for a killer led him to a man already locked away, in New Jersey State Prison, 75 miles from his office. 0000001082 00000 n 0000006151 00000 n The bodies of the women had no heads and no hands. After his wife filed for divorce in April of 1979, it seems as though his killings became far more frequent. Absolutely, its completely plausible. He would describe to me certain routes he would drive, Vronsky said of Cottinghamm relaying his murderous spree in letters and interviews over the span of five years. So we just stayed in the car and we kept talking to each other, getting to know each other and so forth., If the rain wasnt there, they would have just went to the mall and that would have been it, he said, And I would have went to work.. Zestimate Home Value: $598,600. In May of 1980, police arrested Cottingham while he was torturing a sex worker at a motel room in New Jersey. He drove his car ahead of Harp, pulled over and walked back toward her, Vronsky said. What started in 1967 with the discovery of a Ridgefield Park woman dead, nude and bound in her own car continued until 1980, when the hulking Cottingham, then 33, was arrested after the screams of a would-be victim pierced the walls of a Hasbrouck Heights motel room. Straddling her back, he drew a knife and put it to her throat as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists. A notorious New Jersey serial killer pleaded guilty Tuesday to the cold case murders of two teenage girls in 1974. Cottingham was apprehended in the hallway by arriving police officers. This guy was particularly ruthless. HUMs@Wf~}m1`16N7NLf%=Io8. This location belongs to the following categories: Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to see future locations. N.J serial killer now linked to 9 victims, but will his murder toll I didnt know what to expect. (1981, June 16). The Google Street View image above was taken in May of 2022. Over decades, through his rise from sergeant to detective to chief of detectives, Robert Anzilotti plugged away at cold cases in New Jersey involving young womens murders.CreditBryan Anselm for The New York Times. He pleaded guilty to the killing in 2010, but when the news got out, Mr. Cottingham, who evidently thought the hearing would be ignored, was furious. He enjoys our relationship. To Mr. Anzilotti, what had once seemed like a great disparity between the two series of murders one a group of suburban teenagers and the other mostly sex workers in the city now made sense. All rights reserved (About Us). On one occasion, he dismembered two sex workers and set fire to their torsos at a hotel near Times Square. I had long suspected that whoever killed Irene Blase also killed Denise Falasca, Mr. Anzilotti said. Cottingham, who grew up in River Vale, has been in prison since the 1980s, when he was convicted of the first five murders to which he was linked. Cottingham, who is also nicknamed "The Torso Killer," moved into this rented three-bedroom house in February of 1975. Its mind-boggling and very scary, especially to know theres more of them out there.. This case was always haunting me.. Here are the nine victims Cottingham has confessed to or been convicted of killing: On Oct. 28, 1967, Vogel, 29, told friends she was going to play bingo at a local church. Goodarzi had come to the United States years prior from Iran. He soon realized the woman had no head, the Daily News reported. trailer The following is a list of his victims in chronological order. Mr. Cottingham left behind no clues. Vogel was found dead in her own car in Ridgefield Park, nude and bound. She had been a teenager when her sister was killed. Which, of course, I wasnt overly interested in, the former chief said. Math-wise its possible," said Vronsky. At the mall, Cottingham, then a tall, brown-haired young man, met Vogel, a married mother of two. 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. It could only be Jackie Harp.. But it was a way to get him comfortable to talk to me about murders.. She knew that Mr. Anzilotti had solved Denises killing, too. I can go all the way back to the first detective on the case. During his trial, he testified that he had been fascinated by bondage since he was a young child. Jennifer Weiss Befriends Richard Cottingham, "The Torso Killer" | Crime Cottingham was serving time for five murders, following convictions in New Jersey and New York, when Bergen prosecutors detectives in 2010 tied him to the killing of 29-year-old Ridgefield Park mom Nancy Schiava Vogel, bringing the total then to six. Inmates were wagering everything from cash to cigarettes. [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]. Hours later, her parents drove to the mall and found Dianes Plymouth Valiant in the parking lot, where her body was discovered in the backseat. 'Crime Scene' reveals true depravity of 'Times Square Killer' Her breasts had been severed and torso had been set on fire, Vronsky said. He continued to live here until the police eventually arrested him on May 22nd, 1980. They found an 18-year-old victim who'd been bitten and stabbed bound with handcuffs. On December 2, 1979, firemen in New York responded to an alarm at the Travel Inn motel[11] near Times Square. This girl did everything right, Vronsky said. And at the time, it was beyond our capacity to look beyond New York City, he told The Post. Richard Cottingham seemed like a character from a pulp novel: the crazed killer and the family man. Questioning Mr. Cottingham was complicated. Morgan Wallen has best-selling album of 2021 despite his N Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, I'm a professional cleaner ditch these 4 household products immediately, Prince Harry was scared to lose Meghan Markle after fight that led to therapy, Prince Harry says psychedelics are fundamental part of his life, Inside Scheana Shay, Raquel Leviss heated confrontation about Tom Sandoval affair, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Infamous New Jersey 'Torso Killer' admits to abducting, torturing and For decades, a string of killings of teenage girls haunted suburban New Jersey. )' His murders were not the outcome of stalking or planning but of fleeting encounters. Cottingham primarily sought prostitutes who were petite blondes in their late teens to mid-twenties. They were facedown, side by side, as if placed there with care. The police pursued a welter of tips, rumors and false alarms, The New York Times reported at the time. Peter Karas/The Record, via USA Today Network. Blase was found strangled to death in 4 feet of water in Saddle River the next day. For a year, he refused to speak to Mr. Anzilotti. Little more than a week after Street was found, Reyner was found butchered in the Seville Motel in New York City. Twenty years later, he was reinvestigating several cold cases involving girls and young women who had been abducted, sexually abused and killed. Moye, who traveled from Georgia to see Cottingham confess to killing his mother and four other women as part of a plea deal, said he leaned heavily on his Catholic faith as the unrepentant killer watched via video feed from South Woods State Prison in New Jersey, where hes serving multiple life sentences. That was roughly one month after his arrest. Eventually, Mr. Cottingham began to loosen up, and he spoke about killing the prostitutes. It contains 0 bedroom and 0 bathroom. Cottingham has been given various nicknames over the years. In 2004, Vronsky published his first book on homicidal maniacs, Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters, an exhaustive look at executioners slayings dating back to ancient Rome. The chief contacted the Blase family and told them what they had ached to know for decades: He knew who had killed Irene. 0000008501 00000 n 29 Vreeland St, Lodi, NJ is a single family home that contains 2,716 sq ft and was built in 1974. Much of Cottinghams crimes were not murders, but other violent crimes like abductions and rapes. This number may increase in the future, as he has stated in the past that his victim count is much higher. Years ticked past, 1974 into 1975, into the 1980s, the 1990s. He abducted Vogel and took her to a field in Montvale, where he strangled her. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters, List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "New Jersey's 'Torso Killer' admits murdering 3 teenage girls over 50 years ago", "Justice Story: 'Times Square Ripper' revealed to be mild-mannered husband from suburban Jersey", "Long-Buried Secrets: The Serial Killer and the Detective", "First of Three Trials of Jerseyan in Prostitute Slayings Nears End", "Killer of 2 Is Guilty of 3 More Slayings", "Legislator Gaynor Honors Detectives Who Solved 50 Year Old Cold Case", "Mineola Woman's Murder 48 Years Ago Still Unsolved", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Cottingham&oldid=1142468060.