Richard Cottingham

The Torso Killer

  Active for 14 years
(1967-1980) in United States

6

CONFIRMED
VICTIMS

100

POSSIBLE
VICTIMS
Jump to:
  1. Summary
  2. Serial Killer Profile
  3. Serial Killer Type
  4. General Information
  5. Characteristics
  6. Childhood
  7. Cognitive Ability
  8. Incarceration
  9. Death
  10. 10 Timeline Events
  11. Serial Killers Active During Spree
  12. Boolean Statistical Questions
  13. 11 Books About Richard Cottingham
  14. 6 External References
  15. Internal References

Richard Cottingham an American serial killer from New Jersey who operated in New York City between 1967 and 1980. Cottingham often targeted prostitutes and utilized mutilation as well as dismemberment in his killings. He was known as the Torso Killer, convicted of six murders. He made claims of victim count as up to a hundred, however, there was no evidence to support this and is considered unsubstantiated. Cottingham's other nicknames the Butcher of Times Square, the New York Ripper, and the Times Square Torso Ripper.

Richard Cottingham Serial Killer Profile

Serial Killer Richard Cottingham (aka) The Torso Killer, was active for 14 years between 1967-1980, known to have ( 6 confirmed / 100 possible ) victims. This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: United States

Richard Cottingham was born on November 25th 1946 in The Bronx, New York City, NY.

Cottingham a male citizen of the United States of America. He had 3 children.

In 1967 (Age 20/21) Richard Cottingham started his killing spree, during his crimes as a serial killer he was known to murder his victims.

He was arrested on May 22nd 1980 (Age 33) Cottingham was convicted on charges of murder and other possible charges during his lifetime.

Profile Completeness: 41%
serial killers by profile completeness

Richard Cottingham has been listed on Killer.Cloud since November of 2016 and was last updated 5 years ago.

Richard Cottingham a known:

Richard Cottingham
Serial Killer Profile:

Updated: 2018-10-09 Collected by Killer.Cloud
General Information
Name: Richard Cottingham
Nickname: The Torso Killer
Victims: 6 - 100
Years Active: 1967 - 1980
Ages Active: 20/21 - 33/34
Active Countries: United States
Convicted Of: murder
Life Span: 1946 -     
Characteristics
Gender: Male
Citizenship: United States of America
Sexual Preference: N/A
Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
Nov 22 - Dec 22
Birth Month: November
Marital Status: N/A
Children: 3 children
Living With: N/A
Occupation: criminal, serial killer
Childhood Information
D.O.B.: Nov 25, 1946
Family Name: Cottingham
Given Name: Richard
Birth Location: The Bronx, New York City, NY
Birth Order: N/A
Siblings: N/A
Raised By: N/A
Birth Category: N/A
Mother: N/A
Father: N/A

Cognitive Ability
IQ: N/A
Highest School: N/A
Highest Degree:

Incarceration
Arrested: May 22, 1980 (Age 33)
Convicted: N/A
Sentence: N/A
Prison Location: N/A
Executed: N/A
Previous Crimes: N/A
Previous Jail: N/A
Previous Prison: N/A

Death Information
Death Date: N/A
Cause of Death: N/A
Death Location: N/A
Killed In Prison: N/A
Suicide: N/A
10 Timeline Events of Serial Killer
Richard Cottingham

The 10 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer Richard Cottingham. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline.

Date Event Description
Nov 25 1946Richard Cottingham was born in The Bronx, New York City, NY.  #19461125
Nov 25 1966
(Age 20)
20th Birthday
1967
(Age 20/21)
Richard Cottingham started his serial killing spree. #1967
Nov 25 1976
(Age 30)
30th Birthday
1980
(Age 33/34)
Richard Cottingham ended his serial killing spree. #1980
May 22 1980
(Age 33)
Richard Cottingham arrested. #19800522
Nov 25 1986
(Age 40)
40th Birthday
Nov 25 1996
(Age 50)
50th Birthday
Nov 25 2006
(Age 60)
60th Birthday
Nov 25 2016
(Age 70)
70th Birthday

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Books that Mention Richard Cottingham

Book: Serial Killers (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Peter Vronsky
Serial Killers
Book: Serial Killers (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Peter Vronsky
Serial Killers
Book: Signature Killers (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Robert D. Keppel
Signature Killers
Book: The Big Book of Serial Killers (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Jack Rosewood
The Big Book of Serial Killers
Book: Richard Cottingham (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Jack Rosewood
Richard Cottingham
Book: Through the Eyes of Serial Killers (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Nadia Fezzani
Through the Eyes of Serial Killers
Book: The New York Ripper (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Peter Vronsky
The New York Ripper
Book: An In-depth Analysis of the True Li... (mentions serial killer Richard Cottingham)
Professor Vidanage P...
An In-depth Analysis of the True Living Vampi...

11 Books that mention Serial Killer
Richard Cottingham

ISBN10 Book Title Killers
1101204621 Serial Killers 19
0425196402 Serial Killers 24
0671001302 Signature Killers 6
1548119644 The Big Book of Serial Ki... 60
1539101819 Richard Cottingham 1
1459724690 Through the Eyes of Seria... 7
198427726x The New York Ripper 1
0818403454 The Prostitute Murders 1
1927526884 An In-depth Analysis of t... 5
076192437x Encyclopedia of Murder an... 10
1107495245 Teaching Medical Professi... 1

Richard Francis Cottingham (born November 25, 1946) is an American serial killer from New Jersey who operated in New York City between 1967 and 1980. Cottingham was given several nicknames including the Butcher of Times Square, the Torso Killer, the New York Ripper, and the Times Square Torso Ripper, due to how he dismembered his victims and only left their torsos behind. He targeted prostitutes in Times Square.

Wikipedia
External References
  1. Richard Cottingham on en.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  2. Juan Ignacio Blanco, Richard Francis COTTINGHAM on murderpedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  3. Kristin Elink-Schuurman-Laura, Cottingham, Richard Francis on skdb.fgcu.edu, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  4. Jacklyn Cowin, Jenna Leonette, Richard Francis Cottingham on maamodt.asp.radford.edu, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  5. Q2364408 on www.wikidata.org, Retrieved on Oct 9, 2018.
  6. Gina Tron, Jennifer Weiss Befriends Richard Cottingham, The Torso Killer on www.oxygen.com, Retrieved on Mar 5, 2020.
Internal References

Richard Cottingham is included in the following pages on Killer.Cloud the Serial Killer Database

  1. #17 of 43[ Page 2 ] of Sagittarius Serial Killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  2. #28 of 51[ Page 2 ] of Serial Killers with birthdays in November
  3. #109 of 651[ Page 8 ] of the A-Z List of Serial Killers
  4. #115 of 651[ Page 8 ] of serial killers sorted by Years Active
  5. #140 of 327[ Page 10 ] of Serial Killers active in the United States
  6. #304 of 651[ Page 21 ] of serial killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  7. #499 of 651[ Page 34 ] of serial killers sorted by Profile Completeness
Statistics:
Serial Killers Statistics, charts Richard Cottingham is included in: Active Serial Killers by Country, Serial Killers By Gender, Age of Serial Killer by Date, Killers By Astrological Sign, Killers By Birth Month, Active Serial Killers by Year and Statistical Boolean Questions.
Years Active: