MONSTER

‘Torso Killer’ Found Guilty of Murdering, Raping Two Teenage Girls in 1974

Richard Cottingham claims to have killed up to 100 people but police have only been able to connect him to 11 deaths.

A New Jersey serial killer known as the “Torso Killer” pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to raping and killing two teenage girls in 1974, the Associated Press reports. Richard Cottingham, 74, admitted to kidnapping the girls and bringing them to a motel room. He said he raped them then drowned them in the room’s bathtub. The victims, aged 16 and 17, were found in the woods five days later. Cottingham has been in prison since 1981, serving a life sentence for other murders. He has claimed to have killed up to 100 people but police have only been able to connect him to 11 so far. His nickname came about because he was known to sever his victim’s heads and limbs. He’s expected to get another life sentence for the two girls’ deaths.