'Torso killer' Richard Cottingham pleads guilty to brutal murders of 5 more Long Island women
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised
NASSAU COUNTY, LONG ISLAND: A serial killer known as the "Torso Killer" admitted Monday to killing a 23-year-old woman outside a Long Island shopping mall in 1968 and four other women decades ago.
Richard Cottingham, who is now incarcerated in the New Jersey prison admitted on December 5 that he murdered five more women. The brutal killings took place between 1967 and 1980 and includes the death of six women in total, reports the Daily Mail. Richard Cottingham was arraigned earlier this year on a second-degree murder charge in connection with Diane Cusick's death during a trip she made to buy shoes at the suburban Green Acres Mall. Cottingham is believed to be one of America's most prolific serial killers and has already been convicted in 11 other killings.
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MEAWW previously reported that Cottingham is being detained in Bridgeton, New Jersey's South Woods State Prison. He earned his nickname 'Torso killer' based on the way he dismembered two women whose bodies were discovered with heads and hands missing. The murder took place in December 1969 at a motel close to Times Square.
A 22-year-old sex worker Deedeh Goodarzi was one of the victims while the identity of the other young woman is unknown. He was caught when a woman's loud scream was heard from his room by a maid at the New Jersey motel. Employed as a computer programmer in New York, Cottingham was married and had three children during his killings and arrest in 1980, reports MEAWW.
Adding another 25-years-to-life sentence for each of the victim's murders to which he confessed, Nassau County Court Judge Caryn Fink told Cottingham that “There are no words to describe how purely evil you are. You have stolen time and love from these people,” reports the New York Post.
The judge added, “The consequences of your murders and the brutality inflicted on those you killed have had a severe and lasting impact on the families of your victims. Make no mistake, Mr Cottingham. Nobody has any sympathy for you. There is no sentence that I can impose that will truly be enough.”
According to the Daily Mail, Cottingham was first charged and arrested for the rape and attempted murder of Leslie Ann O'Dell, an 18-year-old prostitute. The incident took place at a Quality Inn motel in Hasbrouck Heights. The notorious murderer has been imprisoned since 1981.
Until the recent confession of the five murders, he has only confessed to three of his brutal killings which include 13-year-old Jackie Harp's death, 18-year-old Irene Blase, and 15-year-old Denise Falasca.
In a statement on December 5, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement that “Serial killer Richard Cottingham has caused irreparable harm to so many people and so many families. Today, he took responsibility for the murder of five young women here in Nassau County between 1968 and 1973.”, reports the New York Post.
“He overpowered, assaulted and brutally murdered them to satisfy his craven desires. Thankfully, he will spend the rest of his life in prison, where he belongs.”, she further added.
Cottingham's brutal killing history is revealed in 'Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer,' a Netflix docu-series directed by Joe Berlinger. The series was released on December 29, 2021.