Episode 21- Richard Cottingham: New York's Torso Killer Part 2

On December 2, 1979, firefighters were responding to the Travel Inn Motor Lodge on 42nd Street in Manhattan, two blocks from Times Square where it had been reported that there was a fire in Room 417. A member of the squad entered the smoke-filled room and saw a person lying on one of the rooms double beds. Acting quickly, he pulled the motionless figure from the room to the hallway and prepared to start administering CPR. To his horror, once out of the smoke, he found that the body was missing a head... It would be several months before this gruesome crime scene was connected to the murders that had been happening across the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey. Join us as we continue our deep dive into Richard Cottingham.

Deedeh Goodarzi was a high end escort living in Trenton, New Jersey. She would take the train on the weekends into Manhattan to meet with her clients. On December 2, 1979, her burned dismembered torso was found along with that of another unidentified victim in room 417 of the  Travel Inn Motor Lodge. The first responders would describe the scene as one of the most traumatizing ones of their career. Deedeh had immigrated to the United States when she was around 8 years old. She likely met Richard Cottingham at a swinger's club called Plato's Retreat that they mutually frequented. He is believed to have been one of her clients before he ended her life. Her head and hands were removed post-mortem and have not yet been recovered as of February 2024. 

The body of a victim believed to have been around 16-years-old was found on the other double bed in Room 417 on December 2, 1979 and has still not been identified. The only thing that we know of her is that she was wearing bonjour jeans, a dark burgundy mohair sweater, black platform leather boots, and a full-length black coat when she arrived at the hotel. Her clothes were found neatly folded and stacked in the bathtub of the hotel room after her death. Her hands and head had been removed by Richard Cottingham post-mortem and as of February 2024 have not been recovered. Police attempted to identify this victim by placing her clothes on a store mannequin and posting the flyers around the city and in newpapers, however no one would come forward to identify them.

On May 15, 1980, police and the fire department responded to another hotel room fire, this time at the Hotel Seville in New York City. Inside they would find the burned and mutilated body of Mary Ann Jean Reyner, a 25-year-old sex worker who was also a mother of a young boy and had turned to sex work as a way to try to earn money for the upcoming custody suit. Jean had been brutally beaten, tortured, raped, strangled and dismembered. Later, a necklace belonging to her that she had been wearing in a mug shot from an arrest shortly before her death would be found in Richard Cottingham's trophy room, linking him to her murder. 

Richard Cottingham would be charged with kidnapping, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated sexual assault while armed- sodomy and fellatio, possession of a weapon, possession of controlled substances and the murder. 

He maintained his innocence and on October 5th, 1980, he entered a not guilty plea.

He went to trial in May of 1981 for the murder of Valerie Ann Street and the assaults of Susan Geiger, Karen Schilt, Pamela Wisenfeld, as well as the assault and attempted murder of Leslie Ann O'Dell. In June of 1981, Cottingham was convicted of 15 of the 21 felonies counts against him. He would make his first of three failed suicide attempts by drinking six ounces of liquid antidepressant that he was able to obtain. He was taken to Hackensack Hospital where he was stabilized and returned to jail. On July 25, 1981, he was sentenced to 173 to 197 years in jail for the murder of Valorie Ann Street and the assaults of Leslie O’Dell, Karen Schilt, and Susan Geiger. He was also fined $2350. On the charge of assault on Pamela Weisenman he was found not guilty.

In September of 1982, Richard Cottingham was granted a bench trial for the murder of Mary Ann Carr from December of 1977. Cottingham would attempt to escape from the courthouse as the trial was drawing to a close, pushing past guards when he was unshackled during a break and making a run for it, but was apprehended once he got outside. On October 13, 1982, he was found guilty of her murder and recieved another life sentence.

On May 31, 1984, the trial for his New York Victims would begin. Cottingham would again make an attempt on his life from behind bars, and then another attempt in court after recieving treatment for his first attempt. He was found to have been of sound mind and believed to have been trying to simulate mental illness. On July 9, 1984, the jury began deliberations and returned less than two hours later with their conviction- guilty of second-degree murder in all three counts. He was sentenced to an additional 75 years to life in prison and sent back to New Jersey’s Trenton State Prison.

We're still not done with this deep dive episode series though. Tune in next week when we finish it out with Richard Cottingham's confessions. 

Human Trafficking: According to the Polaris project: In 2021, 10,359 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline involving 16,554 individual victims. Reports of human trafficking are very likely under reported, so this is only a fraction of the picture. The Polaris Project operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the United States, if you or someone you know need help you can call 1-888-373-7888 or Text “BeFree” to 233733. You can go to www.polarisproject.org for more information, resources, statistics, or education regarding Human Trafficking and the work 

Sexual Assault: The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) is another resource that I wanted to share, they are the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence resource and run the National Sexual Assault Hotline. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call 1-800-656-4273 for help and support, download their mobile app, or visit www.rainn.org

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