Richard Cottingham, also known as the “Torso Killer,” is serving life in prison for murders he committed in the 1960s and 1970s. While he initially admitted to committing dozens of killings in New York and New Jersey, Cottingham is now owning up to nearly 100 murders amid his old age and ailing health. While discussing Cottingham’s crimes, historian Peter Vronsky shared insight into the serial killer’s admission that he killed a woman named Alys Eberhardt while speaking to investigative journalist Kristin Thorne for Us Weekly’s Uncovered.
Vronsky, who has a unique relationship with Cottingham, said that the killer “generally knows” some details of the past murders he committed. He then brought up Eberhardt’s 1965 death as an example of one death Cottingham has recently owned up to.
18-year-old Alys Eberhardt, a nursing student, was found stabbed and bludgeoned in her family’s home in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
The Fair Lawn Police Department has accepted Cottingham’s confession in Eberhardt’s murder.
Vronsky said Cottingham has also admitted to killing 8th grader Jackie Harp in 1968.
“He was driving around aimlessly and he drove into Midland Park without knowing he was in Midland Park. And he got thirsty and he stopped for a root beer,” Vronsky said of Cottingham. “When he was having the root beer, Jackie Harp walked by on her way home from marching band practice at her school.”
Cottingham spotted Harp and he “followed her and forced her into the bushes and murdered her,” he said. Vronsky said that Harp “was dead within 15 minutes, maybe even less.”
While Vronsky said that Cottingham has admitted to killing Harp, he insisted that the killer “never knew her name” and “never knew the town” that the murder took place in.
Many people are skeptical that Cottingham is actually unaware of all of the killings he performed, though Vronsky told Thorne that he believes Cottingham doesn’t actually know about all of the murders he committed because he has “no insight into himself.”
“The closest he comes to giving a motive is, ‘It was fun. It was a challenge to get away with it,’” Vronsky said. “He would act on impulse. He didn’t stalk his victims or target them.”
Vronsky also said that Cottingham “doesn’t know” much about most of his victims. “He acted spontaneously. Only in one case, he knew the victim’s name,” he said. “Otherwise, he doesn’t even know where he perpetrated these crimes.”
He went on to say that Cottingham only “generally knows” some details of the past murders he was behind.
Also during the interview, Vronsky revealed what his relationship with Cottingham is like. He said that the pair are in frequent communication, adding that Cottingham calls him “every day” from behind bars.
“I’ve probably recorded, by now, maybe 700 hours of conversations with Cottingham on the phone, because all my personal visits were interrupted when the pandemic hit in 2020,” he said.
Vronsky also shared why he has continued a relationship with Cottingham, explaining that he believes it’s important for Cottingham to admit his crimes to authorities so they can close the cases.
In fact, Vronsky said that Cottingham’s ailing health is the main reason he wants authorities to take the serial killer’s recent confessions more seriously. “He’s paralyzed. He cannot move. He’s got kidney disease,” the historian said. “He’s got advanced necrosis of the legs. He’s in terrible condition.”
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