Richard Cottingham, the 'Torso Killer,' Confesses 1965 Murder of Alys Eberhardt
Richard Cottingham, serving multiple life sentences, confessed to the 1965 killing of Alys Eberhardt in Fair Lawn, adding to his decades-long string of admitted murders.
Overview
Richard Cottingham, known as the 'Torso Killer,' is a 79-year-old inmate serving three life sentences at South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
He admitted to the 1965 murder of 18-year-old Alys Eberhardt, whose body was found in her family's home in Fair Lawn, a New Jersey suburb near Manhattan.
Cottingham has claimed responsibility for up to 100 homicides since the 1960s, but authorities have linked him to roughly a dozen cases in New York and New Jersey.
He was convicted of five murders, received a 25-to-life sentence for Diane Cusick's 1968 killing, and obtained immunity for four other killings through a plea deal.
Cottingham confessed to other killings while incarcerated; his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, and he has been imprisoned continuously since 1980.
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