Richard Cottingham: The Torso Killer Part 1

On May 22, 1980, around 9 AM a housekeeper named Eleanor at the Quality Inn Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey was making her usual rounds checking the rooms when she heard screams coming from room 117. Inside, eighteen-year-old Leslie Ann O’Dell had been enduring hours of torture at the hands of one of New York and New Jersey’s most prolific serial killers. The quick actions of the hotel staff at the Quality Inn likely saved the life of Leslie as well as countless other future potential victims. In the first part of our three episode deep dive into the life and crimes of Richard Francis Cottingham, we discuss his attack on Leslie Ann O'Dell and how the actions of the staff of the Quality Inn Hotel led to the arrest of Cottingham and the start of the investigation that would uncover other past victims- solving the cases of the deaths of two other women left at the same hotel- one in 1977 and the other only a few week's before Leslie's attack, as well as the rape and torture of three other women.

Episode Transcript: https://www.nydarksidepodcast.com/episodes-16-20/episode-20-richard-cottingham-the-torso-ripper-part-1/episode-20-transcript

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Source Material Information:

Berlinger, J. (Director). (2021). Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer [Documentary].

Bonvillian, C. (2021, April 30). Infamous New Jersey 'Torso Killer' admits to abducting, torturing, and drowning 2 teens in 1974. Retrieved from Boston 25 News: https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/infamous-new-jersey-torso-killer-admits-abducting-torturing-drowning-2-teens-1974/R4NVRGWOPNA7TCWOTJCV765NQI/

Cheng, P.-S. (2022, December 5). Infamous 'Torso Killer' Admits Murdering Long Island Dance Teacher, 4 others. Retrieved from nbcnewyork.com: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/long-island-serial-killer-richard-cottingham-diane-cusick-valley-stream-court-murder-torso-killer-nj/3983727/

District Attorney: County of Nassau, N.Y. (2022, June 22). Richard Cottingham Indicted for 1968 Murder Outside Green Acres Mall. Retrieved from nassauda.org: https://nassauda.org/civicalerts.aspx?aid=1420

Ehrlich, B. (2022, February 5). 'Darkness Enveloped My Soul': The Final Confessions of The Torso Killer. Retrieved from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/torso-killer-richard-cottingham-murder-confessions-1295148/

Gusoff, C. (2022, December 5). Richard Cottingham confesses to 1968 killing of Diane Cusick, 4 other murders on Long Island. Retrieved from CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/richard-cottingham-confesses-to-1968-killing-of-diane-cusick-4-other-murders-on-long-island/

Leith, R. (1983). The Prostitute Murders. New York: Pinnacle Books.

Murphy, M. (2022, August 24). Adult Children of Victims Traumatized by Serial killer. Retrieved from PIX11: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/adult-children-of-victims-traumatized-by-serial-killer/

Rosewood, J. (2016). Richard Cottingham: The True Story of The Torso Killer. Wiq Media.

Stuart, M. (1971, July 18). Profile of the Killer. The Sunday Record, pp. D-3.
Valentin, M. (Director). (2023, 9 March). The Torso Killer Confessions [Documentary].

The intro theme for this podcast are sections of Nightmare Machine by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 3.0 <⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0⁠⁠⁠⁠>, via Wikimedia Commons