“Torso Killer” Admits to Five More New York Murders

According to a report by Mary Murphy of Pix11, Richard Cottingham, the jailed serial killer also known as the "Torso Killer," admitted to five additional murders committed on Long Island, New York dating back to the 1970s.

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According to the report, appearing virtually from South Woods prison in New Jersey before a courtroom that included the families of four of the victims, Cottingham admitted to killing five women in Nassau County. In the past, he's claimed to have killed about 100 women before his incarceration. These five were part of a killing spree in New York and New Jersey that lasted at least 13 years and landed Cottingham in prison, where he's been since 1980. He was originally convicted of five murders, including the 1979 "Torso Killings" in New York City

According to Cottingham's deal with the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, he agreed to receive a 25 year to life sentence for the 1968 rape and murder of 23-year-old Diane Cusick on Long Island if he confessed to the other four murders as well. He also admitted to killing Mary Beth Heinz in 1972, Laverne Moye in 1972, Shirley Heiman in 1973, and Maritz Rosada Nieves in 1973.

According to the report, Cottingham was indicted for Cusick's murder when homicide investigators found a DNA match between his sample and genetic material on Cusick's clothing at the 1968 crime scene. Nassau County Police also credited criminologist Peter Vronsky for tips in the case, particularly surveying crime scenes and a map that highlighted Sunrise Highway on Long Island's south shore.