A serial killer known as the “Torso Killer,” is the centerpiece of a two-part documentary that airs starting Thursday night on A&E. The true-crime documentary “The Torso Killer Confessions” takes a deep dive into the two decades that Berge County (New Jersey) Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti spent eliciting murder confessions from serial killer Richard Cottingham, also known as the Torso Killer. Who is Richard Cottingham? What did he do?
He was dubbed The Torso Killer and Times Square Torso Ripper after dismembering and decapitating two victims in a Hell’s Kitchen hotel on W 42nd Street and Tenth Avenue near Times Square on December 2, 1979.
Deedeh Goodarzi, a 22-year-old sex worker, and an unidentified juvenile victim were tortured and murdered by him.
Related: Where Is Monique Now? The Serial Killer Michel Fourniret’s Wife Updated
Police believe that Cusick left the dance studio where she taught and went into the nearby mall to buy some shoes. 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.
When she was found, she'd suffered beatings to her head and body, but her ultimate cause of death was suffocation. Thankfully, the serial killer is still doing time in Trenton's New Jersey State Prison, where he's been for the last several decades. According to The New York Times, Richard was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison after being found guilty of five murders in 1984.
According to the show’s official synopsis “While Cottingham had been convicted of the brutal murders of several women in New York City in 1980, and was serving five consecutive life sentences, Anzilotti suspected he was tied to a number of unsolved murders as far back as the late 1960s. In his decades-long quest for the truth, including hours of conversations with Cottingham, he eventually elicited confessions tying the killer to multiple other deaths. DNA and ongoing investigations over those years also eventually convicted him to several more. The Torso Killer Confessions unravels for the first time the full breadth of Cottingham’s killing spree, shares publicly for the first time these taped confessions, and reveals how Anzilotti got to the truth.”
In addition to the new confession, the series features in-depth interviews with Anzilotti, never-before-heard audio tapes of the men’s conversations, exclusive footage and multiple confessions from Cottingham regarding his recent headline-making killings never heard on tape.
#1. Who is Richard Cottingham?
Source: KKTV
He was dubbed The Torso Killer and Times Square Torso Ripper after dismembering and decapitating two victims in a Hell’s Kitchen hotel on W 42nd Street and Tenth Avenue near Times Square on December 2, 1979.
Deedeh Goodarzi, a 22-year-old sex worker, and an unidentified juvenile victim were tortured and murdered by him.
Related: Where Is Monique Now? The Serial Killer Michel Fourniret’s Wife Updated
#2. Where is Richard Cottingham now?
Source: CNN
Police believe that Cusick left the dance studio where she taught and went into the nearby mall to buy some shoes. 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.
When she was found, she'd suffered beatings to her head and body, but her ultimate cause of death was suffocation. Thankfully, the serial killer is still doing time in Trenton's New Jersey State Prison, where he's been for the last several decades. According to The New York Times, Richard was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison after being found guilty of five murders in 1984.
#3. What is ‘The Torso Killer Confessions’ about
Source: Distractify
According to the show’s official synopsis “While Cottingham had been convicted of the brutal murders of several women in New York City in 1980, and was serving five consecutive life sentences, Anzilotti suspected he was tied to a number of unsolved murders as far back as the late 1960s. In his decades-long quest for the truth, including hours of conversations with Cottingham, he eventually elicited confessions tying the killer to multiple other deaths. DNA and ongoing investigations over those years also eventually convicted him to several more. The Torso Killer Confessions unravels for the first time the full breadth of Cottingham’s killing spree, shares publicly for the first time these taped confessions, and reveals how Anzilotti got to the truth.”
In addition to the new confession, the series features in-depth interviews with Anzilotti, never-before-heard audio tapes of the men’s conversations, exclusive footage and multiple confessions from Cottingham regarding his recent headline-making killings never heard on tape.
#4. Where to watch “The Torso Killer Confessions” free?
Source: IMDb
The two-night premiere of The Torso Killer Confessions will kick off on A&E Thursday, March 9 at 9/8c. Though airing on A&E, those who have ditched basic cable can still stream the premiere live with Philo or Sling. Philo is one of the cheaper streaming services available charging its users only $25 a month with over 60 channels to choose from live and on-demand.
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