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Notorious New York City-area ‘Torso Killer’ confesses to 1965 killing

Tuesday's statement from the Fair Lawn Police Department said Richard Cottingham, 79, confessed last month to killing 18-year-old Alys Jean Eberhardt, closing Fair Lawn's only unsolved homicide.
Detectives reopened the investigation in 2021 and, after Peter Vronsky, forensic historian and confidant, alerted investigators in November 2025, they conducted repeated interviews culminating in December 2025 sessions that yielded admissions from Richard Cottingham.
During the final interviews he provided a full verbal and written confession, supplying corroborating, never-public details about the family home on Saddle River Road and the murder of Alys Jean Eberhardt, who suffered a skull fracture and was stabbed 61 times.
Michael Smith, nephew of Alys Eberhardt, said `Our family has waited since 1965 for the truth`, while Chief Joseph Dawicki, Fair Lawn Police Department, called closing the case `a tremendous accomplishment`.
Cottingham has long claimed up to 100 killings, and officials say at least 10 active investigations and roughly 80 unsolved cases remain under review while he serves multiple life sentences.

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One of the New York City area's most notorious serial killers has confessed to another killing, per the AP . Police in New Jersey announced Tuesday that Richard Cottingham, known as the "Torso Killer," has admitted killing Alys Eberhardt in 1965. The 18-year-old was found dead in her family's home in...

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