Episode 130: Portrait of a Predator PT 1
On today’s episode, the first part of a two-parter, Kate and Paul travel to Long Island in the late 1960s. A series of murders are discovered and continue to happen, setting off one of the most in-depth character studies that our hosts have undertaken.
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Sources:
“The Torso Confessions” (Hulu)
https://www.hulu.com/watch/cf4f3190-ab95-479b-825a-8023718e958e
“Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer” (Netflix)
“Serial Killer Richard Cottingham & Dr. Peter Vronsky – Part 1 (Crossing the Line podcast) 2025.
“Serial Killer Richard Cottingham & Dr. Peter Vronsky – Part 2 (Crossing the Line podcast) 2025.
“Richard Cottingham Pleads Guilty to 1968 Cold Case Murder” (Nassau County DA) 2022.
https://nassauda.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1464
“FIRST OF THREE TRIALS OF JERSEYAN IN PROSTITUTE-SLAYINGS NEARS END” by Robert Hanley (New York Times) 1981.
“'Torso Killer' Richard Cottingham claims two more Rockland murders” by Steve Lieberman (Iohud) 2022.
“’Torso Killer’ Admits to ’68 Strangling and 4 More Cold-Case Murders” by Ed Shanahan (New York Times) 2022.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/05/nyregion/torso-killer-richard-cottingham-cold-case.html
'Torso Killer' Richard Cottingham claims two more Rockland murders” by Steve Lieberman (Iohud) 2022.
“Serial Killer Richard Cottingham's Crimes (S1, E2) | The Torso Killer Confessions | Full Episode” (A&E)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_wciZUgfdE
“JUSTICE STORY: ‘Torso Killer’ Richard Cottingham left a bloody trail of victims 30 years ago — and the body count is still rising” by Mara Bovsun and Robert Dominguez (NY Daily News) 2022.
“’Torso Killer’ Emails Confession to Families in Cold Case” (NewsNation) 2023.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66DvC3BhvRI
“Sister Of Nassau Torso Killer Victim Looks For Another Victim's Family” by Jacqueline Sweet (Patch) 2022.
https://patch.com/new-york/mineola/sister-nassau-torso-killer-victim-looks-another-victims-family
“Mary Beth Heinz” (Project Cold Case/University of North Florida)
https://projectcoldcase.org/2020/06/15/mary-beth-heinz/
“After 'Torso Killer' confession, NJ loved ones explain how 1960s murders changed their lives” (New Jersey Herald) 2020.
“Son of Queens Richard Cottingham murder victim recalls losing his mother 50 years ago: ‘Such pain in that … You have to put it away’” by Graham Rayman (New York Daily News) 2022.
“‘Times Square killer’ pleads guilty to 1 woman’s murder and admits killing 4 others” by Mark Morales and Kristina Sgueglia (CNN) 2022.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/us/richard-cottingham-times-square-murders/index.html
“L.I. Mother Slain in Home; Doors & Windows Locked” by Nat Kanter and Henry Lee (Daily News) 1973.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/465006627/?match=1&terms=Sheila%20Heiman%20
“Long-Buried Secrets: The Serial Killer and the Detective” by Michael Wilson (New York Times) 2021.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/nyregion/new-jersey-serial-killer-cottingham-anzilotti.html
“How a retired detective snared his seventh ‘Torso Killer’ confession” by Michael Starr (New York Post) 2023.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/02/how-a-retired-detective-snared-his-torso-killer-confession/
“100 Cops Probe Shop Center for Slaying” (Newsday, Suffolk Edition) 1968.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/715809915/?match=1&terms=%22diane%20cusick%22
“N.J serial killer now linked to 9 victims, but will his murder toll rise? The timeline of the ‘Torso Killer.'” By Rodrigo Torrejon (NC.com) 2020.
“Girl Dead in Stream Was Housemaid, 21” (Daily News) 1972.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/464133570/?match=1&terms=%22Mary%20Heinz%22
“Girl Dead in Stream Was Housemaid, 21” (Daily News) 1972.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/464133570/?match=1&terms=%22Mary%20Heinz%22
“Police Studying Slaying on L.I.” by Robert Mcg. Thomas Jr (New York Times) 1973.
“Father Identifies Dead Girl” (Newsday, Nassau Edition) 1972.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/714708836/?match=1&terms=%22Mary%20Heinz%22
“Strangling Victim Identified” by Bill Van Haintze and James W. Sullivan (Newsday) 1972.
https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition/114167972/
“Man admits to killing five women in infamous Long Island 'Torso Killer' slayings” by David K. Li (NBC News) 2022.
“Nassau DA seeks family of woman murdered by ‘Times Square Killer’ Richard Cottingham; ‘Was she all alone?’” by Graham Rayman (New York Daily News) 2022.
“What Is 'Torso Killer' Richard Cottingham's Life Like Today?” by Crystal Ponti (AETV) 2021.
https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/richard-cottingham-today
“‘Torso Killer’ pleads guilty in 1974 cold-case murders” by Stefanie Dazio and David Porter (AP) 2021.
https://apnews.com/article/new-jersey-torso-killer-1974-murders-971b7f56dfd8a981c38ed79977d45944