Very Scary People (2019)

Episode Overview

Richard Francis Cottingham, born on November 25, 1946, is a notorious serial killer and rapist who took the lives of at least eighteen young women and girls across New York and New Jersey from 1967 to 1980. Known by several monikers, including The New York Ripper, The Torso Killer, and The Times Square Killer, Cottingham was apprehended on May 22, 1980. He faced multiple murder charges and received several life sentences in prison. In a chilling revelation in 2009, long after his initial convictions, Cottingham claimed to a journalist that he had carried out between 80 to 100 "perfect murders" of women throughout the United States.