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FAIR LAWN, N.J. – A notorious serial killer from the New York City area has admitted to another murder, adding to his grim legacy.
On Tuesday, New Jersey authorities revealed that Richard Cottingham, infamously dubbed the “Torso Killer,” has confessed to the 1965 murder of Alys Eberhardt.
Eberhardt, who was 18 at the time of her death, was discovered lifeless in her family’s residence in Fair Lawn, a suburb situated roughly 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan.
The cold case was reopened in 2021, and after extensive interviews conducted over several years, investigators were able to secure a comprehensive confession from Cottingham. This confession included specific details about the crime that had never been made public, according to a statement from the police department.
Fair Lawn Police Chief Joseph Dawicki stated that Cottingham will not be facing new charges, as the department has decided to close the case following his admission.
The 79-year-old has been imprisoned since his arrest in 1980. He is serving three life sentences at the South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
“Alys was a vibrant young nursing student who was taken from our community far too soon,” Dawicki said in a statement. “While we can never bring her back, I am hopeful that her family can find some peace knowing the person responsible has confessed and can no longer harm anyone else.”
Lawyers in New York and New Jersey who have represented Cottingham over the years didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday.
Cottingham has claimed responsibility for up to 100 homicides going back to the 1960s, though authorities in New York and New Jersey have officially linked him to about a dozen.
In 2022, he admitting killing five women in the New York City suburbs of Long Island in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He was sentenced to 25 years to life for the 1968 slaying of 23-year-old Diane Cusick but received immunity from prosecution for the four other killings as part of the plea deal.
Cottingham was previously convicted of killing five other women — three in New York City and two in northern New Jersey. He has since admitted to killing several others while behind bars.
He is known as the “Torso Killer” because he dismembered some of his victims.
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