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♪

2
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♪

3
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[Anzilotti]
In the year 2000,

4
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I was assigned a series
of 12 unsolved murders.

5
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There were a
number of girls

6
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that were either last
seen hitchhiking,

7
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or had been picked up
by a stranger...

8
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in and around
Bergen County.

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I am born and raised
in Bergen County.

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This is my home, and
this is my community.

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And these cases hit home.

12
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It absolutely became
my mission to

13
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try and solve these cases,

14
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and bring some justice
and some closure

15
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to the people that
were left behind.

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♪

17
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By 2004,
I zeroed in on

18
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convicted serial killer
Richard Cottingham,

19
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known as 'The Torso Killer'.

20
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It would take me
six more years,

21
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but I finally got him to
confess to killing

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married mother-of-two,
Nancy Vogel.

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In the middle of the
court proceeding,

24
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the judge just goes
off on Cottingham.

25
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All that work and grind...

26
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was just gone in an instant.

27
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Someone hurt your feelings?
You're kidding me?

28
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My mother was murdered.
He should feel like a freak.

29
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He just completely
shut down on me.

30
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And I'm just like,
this is so [bleep] bad.

31
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I know this guy's
responsible for

32
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more of these killings.

33
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How am I gonna get
him to talk again?

34
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♪

35
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You could take all the serial
killers that's ever been.

36
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And there's not
been one like me.

37
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♪

38
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Richard Cottingham
is a control freak and

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a master manipulator.

40
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♪

41
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After he went to
court in 2010,

42
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I made a point to kind
of let him just...

43
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percolate and
sit in prison...

44
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and leave him alone.

45
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♪

46
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This was the
cat-and-mouse game that

47
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we played for
many, many years.

48
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♪

49
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And,
three weeks later,

50
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boom,
it gets even worse.

51
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I went to such lengths to

52
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keep the court
appearance quiet.

53
00:03:03,313 --> 00:03:04,879
But somehow the media
found out about it,

54
00:03:04,966 --> 00:03:06,490
and there was a
newspaper article.

55
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I was so [bleep] pissed.

56
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♪

57
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And, he somehow found
out about that and,

58
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in typical Richard Cottingham
fashion, he's like,

59
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"There's no scenario I'm
going back to court."

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He didn't want his
kids to know the real,

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true monster
that he was.

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I don't know if after this,

63
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this guy's ever gonna
talk to me again.

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♪

65
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I invested so many years
trying to solve these cases.

66
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And I'm like, I can't give up
now because then he wins.

67
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And all I could
think about is,

68
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how do I bring justice
for these other girls?

69
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♪

70
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I dropped him a letter.

71
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He went off on me in
his letter in response:

72
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"You and your bosses
have had

73
00:04:15,428 --> 00:04:17,735
your day of glory
at my expense.

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Did you really believe
I wouldn't learn about

75
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my name being splattered
all over the media?"

76
00:04:23,262 --> 00:04:25,743
He claimed that
one of his kids,

77
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I believe his daughter,
wrote him a letter saying,

78
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"How could you
do this to us?"

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"For us to continue
will be difficult.

80
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First, a way will have to be
found to guarantee,

81
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not 90%, not 95%,
not even 99%,

82
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but 100% that nothing will
ever be made public

83
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to the media
or the public."

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♪

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He's Richard being
Richard, which is...

86
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making an excuse on why
I needed to do more...

87
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to get something from him.

88
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But he left the window
open just enough...

89
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that I knew I was
going to get him again.

90
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Anzilotti stayed vigilant.

91
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He's always watching for,
"Where's the opening?

92
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And how can I use that to
potentially get information?"

93
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♪

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I'm stuck with a killer
who's refusing to

95
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ever be in a
courtroom again.

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So, there's only
one choice left...

97
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and that's what we call
'Exceptional Clearance'.

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That is, as long as
the confession

99
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is corroborated by
the evidence,

100
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and the witness statements,

101
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and we felt it was a
credible confession,

102
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that we would simply tell
the family what we learned,

103
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what happened to
their loved one,

104
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and close the case without
any public fanfare and

105
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without a courtroom.

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It's a gamble.

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You're making a
deal with the devil.

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Because it's a
tough balancing act.

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And the right for the
public to know, versus

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the integrity of future
investigations, potentially.

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I have no idea if Richard
was gonna go for it.

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And while he agreed that
he was willing to have

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discussions with me,
it is not as if

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he suddenly became an open
book and gave me everything.

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♪

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In Richard's mind,

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he thought he had
the upper hand.

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So, he of course, was
making demands on me,

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whether it be
food packages,

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the TV Guide subscription.

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Stupid stuff to you and I,
but things that are...

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hard to come by in prison.

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♪

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Eventually, we went
down to New Jersey State Prision

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in Trenton to pick him up.

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We would bring him up from
New Jersey State Prison,

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and we would keep him
for overnight or

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maybe for the weekend.

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♪

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Jim McMorrow transferred
to the Bergen County

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prosecutor's office
from the

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Hackensack
Police Department.

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He's a strong,
tough Irish cop and,

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I always knew that
Jimmy had my back,

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and he was a hell
of a detective.

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So, that started Jimmy on a
journey to always be with me

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when I would talk
to Cottingham.

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♪

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The car ride up from
New Jersey State Prison

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was important because
during that time

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was really when
we tried to

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just kind of smooth him out.

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I'm six years into this
strange relationship

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with a serial killer,

145
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and I still have 11 of
these cases unsolved.

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I'm convinced that
Richard's good for more,

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but was conscious not to
go too hard, too fast.

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♪

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During my time
with Richard,

150
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I learned what was working.

151
00:08:05,963 --> 00:08:09,488
And that was me making him
feel like a human being.

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And, as disgusting as
that was to make this

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sadistic killer feel good
about himself,

154
00:08:16,060 --> 00:08:18,236
it was necessary to
get him to open up.

155
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This became like a game.

156
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But we didn't want to
offend him at this point.

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You have to remember that at
any given time, if he gets...

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annoyed, he's going
to shut down on us.

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And we're starting
from square one.

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Anzilotti would allow
Cottingham to drift...

161
00:08:55,316 --> 00:08:57,275
but then he'd
pull him back in.

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"No, we're here for this."

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♪

164
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So, in 2010, Rob and I
were bringing him

165
00:09:06,066 --> 00:09:09,548
back to New Jersey
State prison.

166
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Jim McMorrow was driving and
I'm in the passenger seat.

167
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And, we're just
getting him to

168
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talk about total nonsense.

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I'm telling him, "Hey Rich,
it's been, been a while now.

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You haven't really given
much of substance."

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And he'd be like, "Well,
I didn't tell you that

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we're going to talk about
another case."

173
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And I'm like, "Well, let's
just say hypothetically

174
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we're going to talk about
another case, you know.

175
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Which, which...
which file should I pull?"

176
00:09:44,235 --> 00:09:46,150
And obviously,
at this point

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he's much more comfortable,
and he started to talk.

178
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He goes, "Well, you know,
there was this one case."

179
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And he goes, "I really
remember this girl.

180
00:09:54,332 --> 00:09:56,943
And I remember her because
I watched this TV show

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00:09:57,074 --> 00:09:59,598
in my cell,
called Roswell.

182
00:09:59,685 --> 00:10:02,949
And there's this actress,
Shiri Appleby."

183
00:10:03,036 --> 00:10:04,211
And he's like,

184
00:10:04,342 --> 00:10:05,560
"I've never been able to
forget this homicide

185
00:10:05,691 --> 00:10:09,956
because this actress
reminds me of her so much."

186
00:10:10,043 --> 00:10:12,829
He also said that he had
picked her up at

187
00:10:12,916 --> 00:10:14,308
a bus stop in Hackensack.

188
00:10:14,395 --> 00:10:18,182
♪

189
00:10:18,269 --> 00:10:19,574
As he's saying it,

190
00:10:19,705 --> 00:10:21,011
I'm furiously typing notes
on my Blackberry.

191
00:10:21,141 --> 00:10:23,491
♪

192
00:10:23,578 --> 00:10:25,189
I have no idea who she is.

193
00:10:25,319 --> 00:10:28,192
I don't spell it right,
of course.

194
00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:30,368
It's a little crumb that
he's thrown my way

195
00:10:30,455 --> 00:10:32,587
without even realizing
he's throwing it.

196
00:10:32,718 --> 00:10:34,851
And he's like, "Let's just
leave it alone for now."

197
00:10:34,981 --> 00:10:39,420
♪

198
00:10:39,507 --> 00:10:43,033
Jimmy and I couldn't get back
up the turnpike fast enough.

199
00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,600
And sure enough, when I
got back to the office,

200
00:10:45,688 --> 00:10:48,038
I went on the internet,
Googled Shiri Appleby,

201
00:10:48,168 --> 00:10:49,909
the show,
and sure enough...

202
00:10:49,996 --> 00:10:52,085
Bam.

203
00:10:52,216 --> 00:10:54,871
She bore a striking
resemblance to Irene Blase.

204
00:10:55,001 --> 00:10:59,353
♪

205
00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,923
Irene Blase was murdered
in April of 1969.

206
00:11:04,010 --> 00:11:05,446
That's nearly
two years after

207
00:11:05,533 --> 00:11:07,100
the killing of Nancy Vogel.

208
00:11:07,187 --> 00:11:08,972
This was huge.

209
00:11:09,059 --> 00:11:11,452
This is the second female
from the 60s that

210
00:11:11,539 --> 00:11:13,846
I'm thinking Cottingham
may be responsible for.

211
00:11:13,933 --> 00:11:17,589
♪

212
00:11:17,676 --> 00:11:18,982
We need detail,
we need detail that

213
00:11:19,069 --> 00:11:20,157
only the killer's
gonna know.

214
00:11:43,223 --> 00:11:48,533
♪

215
00:11:48,663 --> 00:11:50,187
Anything that Richard
Cottingham gave us,

216
00:11:50,317 --> 00:11:52,189
we had to be able to
support it by evidence.

217
00:11:52,276 --> 00:11:54,060
And, the detectives
interviewed

218
00:11:54,191 --> 00:11:55,627
hundreds of people.

219
00:11:55,714 --> 00:11:58,195
So, we had to go through
each of these interviews,

220
00:11:58,282 --> 00:12:00,588
their notes, to see if
there was anything

221
00:12:00,675 --> 00:12:04,505
that we could match up with
what he would give us.

222
00:12:04,636 --> 00:12:06,638
Irene Blase was an
18-year-old girl

223
00:12:06,725 --> 00:12:09,684
when she went missing
in April of 1969.

224
00:12:09,815 --> 00:12:13,123
And, she was last seen
at a bus stop

225
00:12:13,253 --> 00:12:14,951
in Hackensack,
New Jersey.

226
00:12:15,081 --> 00:12:18,128
♪

227
00:12:18,215 --> 00:12:20,608
She was found the next
day in the Saddle River,

228
00:12:20,695 --> 00:12:23,220
which is in Bergen County.

229
00:12:23,307 --> 00:12:25,135
She has a stab
wound in her back.

230
00:12:25,265 --> 00:12:27,398
♪

231
00:12:27,485 --> 00:12:29,443
She had been strangled...

232
00:12:29,530 --> 00:12:33,621
and she had been raped.

233
00:12:33,752 --> 00:12:37,190
As I reviewed the case file,
one of the primary suspects

234
00:12:37,321 --> 00:12:39,236
from the beginning was
her boyfriend at the time,

235
00:12:39,366 --> 00:12:41,629
Richard Guadagno.

236
00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:44,502
And I'm like, holy [bleep],

237
00:12:44,632 --> 00:12:48,288
I've known this
person my entire life.

238
00:12:48,419 --> 00:12:50,769
Richard Guadagno...

239
00:12:50,856 --> 00:12:52,162
is my cousin.

240
00:12:59,343 --> 00:13:05,218
♪

241
00:13:05,305 --> 00:13:07,612
This is Irene.

242
00:13:07,742 --> 00:13:10,354
That was in 1968,

243
00:13:10,441 --> 00:13:13,531
about a year before
she was killed.

244
00:13:13,661 --> 00:13:17,317
And I kept this
all these years.

245
00:13:17,404 --> 00:13:20,451
I truly loved her
a lot, a real lot.

246
00:13:20,581 --> 00:13:23,367
♪

247
00:13:23,454 --> 00:13:27,197
She loved life,
you know?

248
00:13:27,284 --> 00:13:31,462
She was 16 when I first
started going out with her.

249
00:13:31,549 --> 00:13:33,594
I'm a motorcycle guy, and...

250
00:13:33,681 --> 00:13:35,814
we used to go
everywhere together.

251
00:13:36,075 --> 00:13:42,255
♪

252
00:13:42,342 --> 00:13:46,520
The last time I saw Irene
was on a Saturday night.

253
00:13:46,607 --> 00:13:49,567
We went to a
club in the city.

254
00:13:49,654 --> 00:13:51,786
I had an argument
with her at the club.

255
00:13:51,874 --> 00:13:54,311
I don't remember why, but...

256
00:13:54,398 --> 00:13:58,054
I got mad,
and I went home.

257
00:13:58,141 --> 00:14:00,491
And then...

258
00:14:00,578 --> 00:14:02,536
I didn't hear nothing until...

259
00:14:02,623 --> 00:14:04,538
late Monday.

260
00:14:04,625 --> 00:14:06,323
♪

261
00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:08,542
I was leaving work...

262
00:14:08,629 --> 00:14:12,372
and two cop cars
cut in front of me.

263
00:14:12,459 --> 00:14:14,418
Richard had already
a checkered past.

264
00:14:14,505 --> 00:14:16,594
So, of course, the police
right away latched on to the

265
00:14:16,681 --> 00:14:19,205
idea that he was already
somewhat of a bad guy,

266
00:14:19,292 --> 00:14:21,555
and now his
girlfriend's dead.

267
00:14:21,642 --> 00:14:24,341
So, of course,
they look hard at him.

268
00:14:24,471 --> 00:14:27,518
They took me to the Teaneck,
New Jersey Police Department.

269
00:14:27,648 --> 00:14:29,824
♪

270
00:14:29,955 --> 00:14:33,698
The piece of garbage police
turned polaroids around and

271
00:14:33,785 --> 00:14:37,832
slid them over to me and
showed me her dead body.

272
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,617
You know, she was
just dragged

273
00:14:39,747 --> 00:14:42,359
out of the
Saddle Brook River.

274
00:14:42,446 --> 00:14:45,275
♪

275
00:14:45,362 --> 00:14:47,538
And I cried.

276
00:14:47,668 --> 00:14:50,367
♪

277
00:14:50,454 --> 00:14:52,804
They kept asking me,
"Why'd you choke her?

278
00:14:52,891 --> 00:14:54,458
Did you want sex from her,

279
00:14:54,588 --> 00:14:55,763
and she wouldn't
give it to you?

280
00:14:55,850 --> 00:14:59,637
So, you beat it out of her?"

281
00:14:59,724 --> 00:15:01,856
I knew I didn't do it.

282
00:15:01,944 --> 00:15:04,511
But people always had it
in the back of their head,

283
00:15:04,642 --> 00:15:06,949
"Was it Richie?"

284
00:15:07,036 --> 00:15:10,039
Oh, her mother,
she thought it was me.

285
00:15:10,126 --> 00:15:13,346
"He's not comin'
to the funeral."

286
00:15:13,433 --> 00:15:17,437
And, I couldn't go.

287
00:15:17,524 --> 00:15:20,571
That hurt.
I loved her so much.

288
00:15:20,658 --> 00:15:25,532
♪

289
00:15:25,619 --> 00:15:27,795
For nearly 50 years,

290
00:15:27,882 --> 00:15:31,190
my cousin was suspected
in this killing.

291
00:15:31,321 --> 00:15:32,887
But I needed a lot more
evidence than just

292
00:15:32,975 --> 00:15:36,326
Richard Cottingham's passing
comment in the car about

293
00:15:36,413 --> 00:15:38,589
an actress that reminds him
of a girl he killed.

294
00:15:38,719 --> 00:15:42,419
♪

295
00:16:00,872 --> 00:16:02,743
One of the really more
challenging aspects of

296
00:16:02,830 --> 00:16:04,919
getting confessions
from Cottingham,

297
00:16:05,050 --> 00:16:07,661
where decades have
gone by, is, you know,

298
00:16:07,748 --> 00:16:09,533
that he doesn't know
the person's name.

299
00:16:09,620 --> 00:16:12,318
He doesn't have immediate
recollection of

300
00:16:12,405 --> 00:16:13,580
all of the facts.

301
00:16:13,667 --> 00:16:15,408
And, at the same time,

302
00:16:15,495 --> 00:16:16,931
you can't feed
anything to them and

303
00:16:17,019 --> 00:16:18,498
put thoughts
in their head.

304
00:16:18,585 --> 00:16:20,326
So, you know, you kind of
have to just

305
00:16:20,413 --> 00:16:21,849
bring them back
in time without...

306
00:16:21,980 --> 00:16:23,460
feeding them the
answers, right?

307
00:16:53,229 --> 00:16:54,882
One of the things that
really stood out to me,

308
00:16:54,969 --> 00:16:57,407
in the case file I had read
that there was

309
00:16:57,537 --> 00:17:00,801
a witness account of the
man that was seen

310
00:17:00,888 --> 00:17:02,977
with Irene Blase at
that bus stop...

311
00:17:03,065 --> 00:17:04,979
seemed to have
a twitch where

312
00:17:05,067 --> 00:17:06,242
he was pulling
on his ear lobe.

313
00:17:14,902 --> 00:17:19,603
And sure enough,
he admitted to that.

314
00:17:19,690 --> 00:17:23,520
That's what we needed
to know that he did it.

315
00:17:23,607 --> 00:17:25,565
Those little bits
counted because

316
00:17:25,696 --> 00:17:27,785
you need those details,

317
00:17:27,872 --> 00:17:30,701
you need the specifics,
and you get enough,

318
00:17:30,831 --> 00:17:33,573
you have what's called the
totality of circumstances.

319
00:17:33,704 --> 00:17:34,835
It's like a tipping point-

320
00:17:34,966 --> 00:17:36,707
you have enough
to make a case.

321
00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,677
But Richard being Richard,
he wants something

322
00:17:50,808 --> 00:17:51,809
or he's not going to
give you something.

323
00:18:09,783 --> 00:18:11,655
And then he would throw another
obstacle in front of me

324
00:18:11,742 --> 00:18:13,700
on why he wouldn't
go on record with it,

325
00:18:13,831 --> 00:18:15,441
why I couldn't turn
the recorder on and

326
00:18:15,528 --> 00:18:16,486
take a confession.

327
00:18:24,581 --> 00:18:26,409
Listen, enough.
Enough bull-[bleep].

328
00:18:26,539 --> 00:18:27,888
It's now back on you.

329
00:18:28,019 --> 00:18:29,673
I've done everything
that you've asked of me.

330
00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:31,109
I've told you that we're
gonna keep this quiet.

331
00:18:31,196 --> 00:18:32,458
We're just gonna
talk to the family.

332
00:18:32,589 --> 00:18:33,459
[Talking over each other]

333
00:18:36,854 --> 00:18:39,378
And, just finally overcame him,
the resistance.

334
00:18:39,465 --> 00:18:41,815
♪ [Suspenseful] ♪

335
00:18:41,902 --> 00:18:44,209
♪

336
00:18:44,296 --> 00:18:47,081
And he decided to let me
turn the tape recorder on,

337
00:18:47,169 --> 00:18:49,519
and give me the detail of
the Irene Blase murder.

338
00:19:05,535 --> 00:19:08,842
♪

339
00:19:49,318 --> 00:19:52,669
Ultimately, he notices that
she walks to a bus stop.

340
00:19:52,756 --> 00:19:54,932
♪

341
00:19:55,062 --> 00:19:56,716
And she is last seen
by witnesses

342
00:19:56,803 --> 00:19:59,545
talking to an
unknown white male.

343
00:19:59,676 --> 00:20:01,417
And he starts pulling
on his ear lobe.

344
00:20:25,919 --> 00:20:27,660
When Cottingham mentions

345
00:20:27,747 --> 00:20:29,619
taking Irene Blase
to Little Ferry,

346
00:20:29,749 --> 00:20:31,621
a light bulb goes
off in my head.

347
00:20:31,751 --> 00:20:34,058
In 1967,
some two years earlier,

348
00:20:34,145 --> 00:20:35,755
that's exactly where he met
Nancy Vogel and

349
00:20:35,842 --> 00:20:37,540
abducted her from.

350
00:20:37,627 --> 00:20:40,673
♪

351
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:42,936
Now, he's feeling that
some of the people in the

352
00:20:43,023 --> 00:20:44,895
restaurant might
recognize him because

353
00:20:44,982 --> 00:20:46,592
he's been there before.

354
00:20:46,723 --> 00:20:48,420
So, he wants to get
her out of there.

355
00:21:37,861 --> 00:21:39,993
Richard is out for
his own satisfaction.

356
00:21:40,124 --> 00:21:42,561
And, when he attacked her,

357
00:21:42,692 --> 00:21:44,911
his plan was to rape
Irene Blase.

358
00:21:45,042 --> 00:21:47,261
He takes the scarf that
she purchased at Sears,

359
00:21:47,392 --> 00:21:49,307
and he ties it around her
hands to prevent her

360
00:21:49,394 --> 00:21:50,874
from trying to get
out of the car.

361
00:22:30,827 --> 00:22:33,177
He liked to do what
we call Piquerism,

362
00:22:33,307 --> 00:22:35,135
which is a
paraphilia where

363
00:22:35,222 --> 00:22:39,966
you stick the knife in,
in very shallow ways.

364
00:22:40,097 --> 00:22:42,665
He talks himself into,

365
00:22:42,752 --> 00:22:46,320
"Oh, I wasn't forcing them
to do anything."

366
00:22:46,451 --> 00:22:48,322
Well, you have a
knife in your hand,

367
00:22:48,453 --> 00:22:50,063
and you're sticking
them with it.

368
00:22:50,150 --> 00:22:52,326
And you're tying them up,

369
00:22:52,457 --> 00:22:54,938
and you're keeping them
for hours and hours.

370
00:22:55,068 --> 00:22:57,767
That's forcing!
You did rape them.

371
00:23:22,139 --> 00:23:23,880
His demeanor when
he's confessing is

372
00:23:23,967 --> 00:23:26,273
just pure lack of empathy,
lack of caring,

373
00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,406
as if, as if he was just
as matter of fact

374
00:23:28,493 --> 00:23:29,712
as you could be.

375
00:23:29,842 --> 00:23:31,061
It's just disgusting.

376
00:24:15,279 --> 00:24:18,674
♪ [Somber instrumental] ♪

377
00:24:18,761 --> 00:24:21,720
He just leaves her there.

378
00:24:21,851 --> 00:24:23,853
And that's ultimately
how she's found.

379
00:24:23,983 --> 00:24:26,116
♪

380
00:24:26,203 --> 00:24:27,857
There's no mistake about it,

381
00:24:27,944 --> 00:24:29,989
Richard Cottingham is a
stone-cold sociopath.

382
00:24:30,076 --> 00:24:33,950
♪

383
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:35,995
When Richard finally
confessed to the murder of

384
00:24:36,126 --> 00:24:39,042
Irene Blase, this is now the
second confession I was able

385
00:24:39,172 --> 00:24:41,000
to get out of him,
out of this original

386
00:24:41,131 --> 00:24:44,526
12 cold case homicides that
I'd been investigating.

387
00:24:44,613 --> 00:24:47,703
It was literally ten years
since the start of this

388
00:24:47,833 --> 00:24:49,356
endeavor to get
Richard Cottingham to

389
00:24:49,443 --> 00:24:51,707
speak about the murders
that he committed.

390
00:24:51,837 --> 00:24:55,014
♪

391
00:24:55,101 --> 00:24:58,496
We very quickly went
and notified the family.

392
00:24:58,583 --> 00:25:00,280
We gave them the details
of the confession,

393
00:25:00,411 --> 00:25:02,805
as painful as it was.

394
00:25:02,935 --> 00:25:04,894
And then we had the
difficult conversation of

395
00:25:05,024 --> 00:25:07,984
asking them to,
of course,

396
00:25:08,071 --> 00:25:09,855
share it with any loved ones
that they felt appropriate,

397
00:25:09,942 --> 00:25:13,990
but to keep it as tight a
circle as possible because

398
00:25:14,077 --> 00:25:16,035
if it leaked out to the
press in any way,

399
00:25:16,122 --> 00:25:17,776
it might be the last
confession we ever get

400
00:25:17,863 --> 00:25:18,908
out of Cottingham.

401
00:25:19,038 --> 00:25:21,432
♪

402
00:25:21,519 --> 00:25:23,869
They knew that there were all
these other unsolved homicides

403
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,089
of teenage girls
just like Irene.

404
00:25:26,219 --> 00:25:31,529
♪

405
00:25:31,660 --> 00:25:34,967
A few days before
Christmas, my cousin Rob...

406
00:25:35,054 --> 00:25:38,797
called me and invited me to a
Christmas party at his house.

407
00:25:38,884 --> 00:25:41,278
And, he said,

408
00:25:41,408 --> 00:25:44,368
"I know who killed
Irene Blase."

409
00:25:44,455 --> 00:25:45,848
I said,
"How do you know?"

410
00:25:45,935 --> 00:25:49,068
He goes, "Because the guy
that we thought might have

411
00:25:49,155 --> 00:25:53,203
done it finally confessed to
me that he did do it."

412
00:25:53,290 --> 00:25:55,205
He was genuinely stunned.

413
00:25:55,335 --> 00:25:57,120
And that was really the first
time I heard him tell me

414
00:25:57,207 --> 00:26:00,036
about how affected he
was as a young man

415
00:26:00,123 --> 00:26:03,039
of being accused of murder
by the police.

416
00:26:03,126 --> 00:26:07,086
That was like 50 years
before I found out,

417
00:26:07,173 --> 00:26:09,219
but that's 50 years
too late.

418
00:26:09,306 --> 00:26:14,137
♪

419
00:26:14,267 --> 00:26:16,008
I always think what
could have been.

420
00:26:16,139 --> 00:26:17,357
You know?

421
00:26:17,488 --> 00:26:19,751
Had a stupid argument
and now she's dead.

422
00:26:19,838 --> 00:26:21,884
♪

423
00:26:22,014 --> 00:26:23,929
Closure, to me, is me

424
00:26:24,016 --> 00:26:26,497
getting my hands
on him for five minutes.

425
00:26:26,628 --> 00:26:28,978
And I was told not
to say that to you.

426
00:26:29,108 --> 00:26:31,110
♪

427
00:26:31,241 --> 00:26:32,721
But I don't
care who knows.

428
00:26:32,851 --> 00:26:37,160
Given the opportunity...

429
00:26:37,290 --> 00:26:41,381
He would get
what he gave.

430
00:26:41,512 --> 00:26:45,908
She was just a little,
petite girl.

431
00:26:45,995 --> 00:26:49,912
Tough guy...
You know?

432
00:26:50,042 --> 00:26:51,827
Tough guy.

433
00:26:51,957 --> 00:26:57,659
♪

434
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,243
After Cottingham confessed to
the killing of Irene Blase,

435
00:27:17,374 --> 00:27:20,159
I began talking to him about
the 15-year-old girl

436
00:27:20,246 --> 00:27:22,596
who was last seen walking in
Westwood, New Jersey,

437
00:27:22,727 --> 00:27:24,860
just months after
Irene Blase's body's found.

438
00:27:46,490 --> 00:27:49,449
The following morning,
on July 15th of 1969,

439
00:27:49,580 --> 00:27:52,365
a man that was out walking
his dog finds the body

440
00:27:52,496 --> 00:27:54,280
five or six feet
off the road,

441
00:27:54,367 --> 00:27:56,587
just behind a cemetery in
Saddle Brook, New Jersey.

442
00:27:56,935 --> 00:28:00,417
♪

443
00:28:00,504 --> 00:28:02,114
The medical examiner
determined that

444
00:28:02,245 --> 00:28:04,073
she had been strangled
with a ligature,

445
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,293
possibly with the actual
crucifix and chain

446
00:28:07,424 --> 00:28:10,122
that was around her
neck at the time.

447
00:28:10,253 --> 00:28:13,212
And her body was found
not far from where

448
00:28:13,299 --> 00:28:16,302
Irene Blase's body
had been found.

449
00:28:16,389 --> 00:28:18,087
It's Denise Falasca.

450
00:28:18,217 --> 00:28:21,003
♪

451
00:28:26,443 --> 00:28:28,271
♪

452
00:28:28,401 --> 00:28:30,186
Denise Falasca was very
similar in appearance

453
00:28:30,316 --> 00:28:33,406
to Irene Blase.

454
00:28:33,493 --> 00:28:35,539
Good-looking,
typical teenage girl,

455
00:28:35,626 --> 00:28:38,455
slender, brunette.

456
00:28:38,585 --> 00:28:40,239
So, the victimology,

457
00:28:40,370 --> 00:28:42,764
the looks of the two
victims, and...

458
00:28:42,894 --> 00:28:46,289
the proximity and time of
when these murders occurred

459
00:28:46,376 --> 00:28:48,421
made me feel like it
was the same killer.

460
00:28:48,508 --> 00:28:51,555
♪

461
00:28:51,642 --> 00:28:53,644
Denise was going into her
sophomore year at

462
00:28:53,731 --> 00:28:57,039
Northern Valley Regional
High School in Demarest.

463
00:28:57,126 --> 00:28:58,736
And she was an active girl.

464
00:28:58,823 --> 00:29:01,217
She played field hockey,
basketball.

465
00:29:01,304 --> 00:29:03,436
♪

466
00:29:03,523 --> 00:29:05,003
Denise was headed out
that summer night

467
00:29:05,090 --> 00:29:07,353
to meet her boyfriend.

468
00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:09,138
And then the next thing
you know, she was gone.

469
00:29:27,243 --> 00:29:30,202
Getting confessions out of
Richard Cottingham is, is...

470
00:29:30,289 --> 00:29:32,422
grinding, time after
time after time.

471
00:30:05,368 --> 00:30:07,109
At that point in
the interview,

472
00:30:07,196 --> 00:30:08,371
he didn't want to
go any further.

473
00:30:08,458 --> 00:30:12,114
And, that was the
hardest part for us.

474
00:30:12,201 --> 00:30:13,637
Then if communication
shut down,

475
00:30:13,724 --> 00:30:15,247
then it shut down.

476
00:30:15,378 --> 00:30:17,119
And it could
shut down for years.

477
00:30:17,206 --> 00:30:26,215
♪

478
00:30:26,345 --> 00:30:28,347
My relationship with
Richard Cottingham

479
00:30:28,434 --> 00:30:30,436
has ebbed and flowed
over the years.

480
00:30:30,523 --> 00:30:32,221
There are times when we
get mad at each other.

481
00:30:32,308 --> 00:30:33,613
There's times when
he gets stubborn and

482
00:30:33,700 --> 00:30:35,877
doesn't want to talk.

483
00:30:35,964 --> 00:30:37,966
And then I had
everyday life in between.

484
00:30:38,096 --> 00:30:40,707
♪

485
00:30:40,794 --> 00:30:43,580
I had an obsession
for these cases, and...

486
00:30:43,710 --> 00:30:47,279
that certainly impacted
my home life.

487
00:30:47,366 --> 00:30:49,673
I would talk to Cottingham
for hours and hours

488
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,283
and days and days
sometimes,

489
00:30:51,414 --> 00:30:55,244
and, as focused as I was,
and as obsessed as I was,

490
00:30:55,331 --> 00:30:57,507
I have three beautiful
children and a family at home

491
00:30:57,594 --> 00:31:01,293
to, to worry about
and care for.

492
00:31:01,380 --> 00:31:02,642
I think I was probably
overly more overprotective

493
00:31:02,729 --> 00:31:04,514
than most
parents would be.

494
00:31:04,601 --> 00:31:06,429
♪

495
00:31:06,516 --> 00:31:08,605
It made it a little extra
special to get a hug,

496
00:31:08,735 --> 00:31:11,216
or a kiss from my
daughters and my son,

497
00:31:11,303 --> 00:31:15,177
just knowing what
can happen, right?

498
00:31:15,264 --> 00:31:18,745
♪

499
00:31:18,832 --> 00:31:21,531
And I think that really
drove my resolve

500
00:31:21,618 --> 00:31:23,489
to get this done.

501
00:31:23,576 --> 00:31:26,362
Because the more I spoke to
Richard, the more I'm like,

502
00:31:26,449 --> 00:31:28,190
I'm not letting this
guy get away with it.

503
00:31:28,277 --> 00:31:34,196
♪

504
00:31:34,326 --> 00:31:38,417
Shortly after I got him
to confess to Irene Blase,

505
00:31:38,504 --> 00:31:40,419
I was promoted to
the rank of captain,

506
00:31:40,506 --> 00:31:43,205
overseeing the operations of
all our investigative squads.

507
00:31:43,292 --> 00:31:47,165
♪

508
00:31:47,296 --> 00:31:49,515
There was still no
cold case unit, per se,

509
00:31:49,602 --> 00:31:52,040
that I could pass
Cottingham off to.

510
00:31:52,127 --> 00:31:55,739
So, I needed to make sure I
continued this relationship.

511
00:31:55,826 --> 00:31:57,697
I never wanted to forget
these unsolved murders

512
00:31:57,828 --> 00:31:59,351
of these young women.

513
00:31:59,438 --> 00:32:00,831
I never wanted to
give up on them.

514
00:32:01,179 --> 00:32:04,269
♪

515
00:32:04,356 --> 00:32:06,489
So, we're writing
each other letters.

516
00:32:06,576 --> 00:32:08,012
Every time I got promoted,

517
00:32:08,099 --> 00:32:10,536
he would write me a letter
congratulating me.

518
00:32:10,667 --> 00:32:14,410
He just started to get this
very weird attachment to me.

519
00:32:14,497 --> 00:32:18,588
♪

520
00:32:18,718 --> 00:32:22,418
So, by 2017,
I, by now,

521
00:32:22,548 --> 00:32:23,810
was the
chief of detectives.

522
00:32:23,897 --> 00:32:26,335
And I literally said to him,

523
00:32:26,422 --> 00:32:28,293
"The only person that
ever believed..."

524
00:32:28,380 --> 00:32:31,557
Ah, ah, excuse me.

525
00:32:31,688 --> 00:32:33,385
"The only person that
ever believed that

526
00:32:33,472 --> 00:32:35,692
I'd be the chief was
my grandfather."

527
00:32:35,779 --> 00:32:37,999
He was dead by the time
it happened, but...

528
00:32:38,086 --> 00:32:39,304
Pop used to say to me
all the time,

529
00:32:39,435 --> 00:32:40,827
"You know what, Robert,

530
00:32:40,914 --> 00:32:42,612
you're going to run that
place one day."

531
00:32:42,699 --> 00:32:45,919
♪

532
00:32:46,007 --> 00:32:47,921
And, I told Richard,
and he's like,

533
00:32:48,009 --> 00:32:50,837
'You're wrong,
you're wrong.

534
00:32:50,968 --> 00:32:53,101
I told you you were going
to run this place one day."

535
00:32:53,188 --> 00:32:55,668
And he said it with this
weird fatherly like pride

536
00:32:55,755 --> 00:32:57,627
that was a little creepy.

537
00:32:57,714 --> 00:33:00,412
♪

538
00:33:00,543 --> 00:33:02,588
It's not really a
father-son thing.

539
00:33:02,675 --> 00:33:06,723
It's, "Without me, you'd be
an ordinary detective.

540
00:33:06,810 --> 00:33:08,725
And now, you've got a
little bit of immortality

541
00:33:08,812 --> 00:33:10,553
thanks to me."

542
00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,817
So, Cottingham wants
to keep the game going.

543
00:33:13,947 --> 00:33:16,472
And that means he's gonna have
to give up another case.

544
00:33:16,559 --> 00:33:19,388
♪

545
00:33:19,475 --> 00:33:21,390
It's now three years since
the last confession that

546
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:23,740
I've gotten from
Richard, and...

547
00:33:23,827 --> 00:33:26,569
I was getting tired of the
cat-and-mouse game

548
00:33:26,656 --> 00:33:28,701
that we continually play.

549
00:33:28,788 --> 00:33:31,617
So, on this particular day,
I'm interviewing Richard,

550
00:33:31,704 --> 00:33:34,490
and I said, "Let's stop
bull-[bleep] each other.

551
00:33:34,577 --> 00:33:36,535
Let's talk about
a real case."

552
00:33:36,622 --> 00:33:39,364
And, he would
ultimately confess to

553
00:33:39,451 --> 00:33:41,584
the murder and rape
of Denise Falasca,

554
00:33:41,671 --> 00:33:43,760
a 15-year-old girl that he
picked up on Old Hook Road

555
00:33:43,847 --> 00:33:45,327
in Westwood, New Jersey.

556
00:33:53,204 --> 00:33:54,988
And this time around,
although the tape recorder

557
00:33:55,119 --> 00:33:57,513
was flowing, Richard
seemed more at ease.

558
00:34:22,451 --> 00:34:24,801
Remember,
we're talking late 1960s,

559
00:34:24,888 --> 00:34:27,020
hitchhiking and young girls,
young teenage girls

560
00:34:27,108 --> 00:34:29,197
thought nothing of jumping
in a car with a stranger.

561
00:34:43,124 --> 00:34:47,040
Richard used a car like
a vessel for killing.

562
00:34:47,128 --> 00:34:50,392
Once he had them
in the car...

563
00:34:50,522 --> 00:34:53,569
they were his.

564
00:34:53,656 --> 00:34:57,094
And he ultimately takes her
down to St. Andrew's School.

565
00:34:57,181 --> 00:34:59,183
And St. Andrew's School is
important because

566
00:34:59,270 --> 00:35:01,490
that's where Mr. Cottingham
went to school.

567
00:35:01,577 --> 00:35:02,752
So, he knows this area.

568
00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:15,547
When I pushed him hard
for some detail

569
00:35:15,678 --> 00:35:17,810
about the rape,
itself, he said

570
00:35:17,897 --> 00:35:20,857
he forced her to
commit oral sex on him.

571
00:35:20,944 --> 00:35:22,989
And he just kind of sat
back for a minute...

572
00:35:23,076 --> 00:35:24,643
and casually looked at me,
and he goes,

573
00:35:24,730 --> 00:35:27,342
"Well... she wasn't
very good at it."

574
00:35:35,176 --> 00:35:38,483
And it took every ounce of
energy in my body to not

575
00:35:38,570 --> 00:35:40,529
leap across that table
and be like,

576
00:35:40,616 --> 00:35:42,487
"She's 15 [bleep]
years old, [bleep]!"

577
00:35:55,761 --> 00:35:57,633
It was very difficult
to listen to.

578
00:35:57,763 --> 00:36:00,113
You know, I always had
an endgame in mind.

579
00:36:00,201 --> 00:36:02,899
Everything he's ever done,
I want him to spit out.

580
00:36:02,986 --> 00:36:05,510
So, I wasn't about to
blow that endgame

581
00:36:05,597 --> 00:36:06,903
by, by losing my
cool with him.

582
00:36:18,784 --> 00:36:20,656
He drives her down
to Saddle Brook...

583
00:36:20,743 --> 00:36:23,006
to an area that, again,
he's familiar with.

584
00:36:23,093 --> 00:36:24,616
And, he pulls over to
the side of the road,

585
00:36:24,703 --> 00:36:25,922
by the cemetery.

586
00:36:41,677 --> 00:36:43,809
He dragged her body
out of the car,

587
00:36:43,896 --> 00:36:45,855
and just disposed of her
body like it was nothing.

588
00:37:02,306 --> 00:37:04,787
His confession of
Denise Falasca was

589
00:37:04,874 --> 00:37:07,920
tough to get over,
to be honest with you.

590
00:37:08,007 --> 00:37:10,880
I've seen a lot, but all I
could envision was somebody

591
00:37:11,010 --> 00:37:13,839
knocking on my door and
having to tell me, as a dad,

592
00:37:13,926 --> 00:37:18,148
that my daughter
was found like that.

593
00:37:18,279 --> 00:37:19,932
Denise Falasca was now
the third confession that

594
00:37:20,063 --> 00:37:21,804
I obtained from
Richard Cottingham,

595
00:37:21,934 --> 00:37:24,154
with all three of these
murders occurring in a

596
00:37:24,241 --> 00:37:27,679
two-year timeframe between
October of 1967 and

597
00:37:27,766 --> 00:37:29,594
July of 1969.

598
00:37:29,681 --> 00:37:33,032
♪

599
00:37:33,119 --> 00:37:35,818
I'm beginning to see
a pattern emerge

600
00:37:35,905 --> 00:37:38,255
in Cottingham's victimology.

601
00:37:38,516 --> 00:37:40,649
♪

602
00:37:40,779 --> 00:37:42,085
The killings were
very different

603
00:37:42,215 --> 00:37:45,828
than what he
became known for.

604
00:37:45,915 --> 00:37:48,831
Remember, this is more than
a decade before

605
00:37:48,918 --> 00:37:51,094
Richard becomes
known as 'The Torso Killer'

606
00:37:51,224 --> 00:37:54,576
for mutilating and
decapitating prostitutes.

607
00:37:54,663 --> 00:38:03,062
♪

608
00:38:03,193 --> 00:38:05,064
In June of 2017,

609
00:38:05,195 --> 00:38:06,892
We went down to
New Jersey State prison

610
00:38:07,023 --> 00:38:08,416
picked him up,

611
00:38:08,503 --> 00:38:09,939
And I had him back up at the
prosecutor's office to now

612
00:38:10,069 --> 00:38:12,681
see who else he might be
responsible for out of these

613
00:38:12,768 --> 00:38:15,858
unsolved killings
that I'm looking at.

614
00:38:15,945 --> 00:38:19,035
I got him to say that he'd
be willing to look at

615
00:38:19,165 --> 00:38:23,387
some pictures of
different victims.

616
00:38:23,474 --> 00:38:27,260
And, he pointed to one
of the pictures and said,

617
00:38:27,348 --> 00:38:30,002
"It's, that's not her, but
kind of that same haircut."

618
00:38:45,191 --> 00:38:47,019
Sure enough,
who wasn't pictured

619
00:38:47,150 --> 00:38:49,152
in that newspaper article,

620
00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:52,547
but who had a very, very
short, boyish haircut...

621
00:38:52,634 --> 00:38:54,505
was Jacalyn Harp.

622
00:39:05,821 --> 00:39:07,344
Of all the cold case
homicides I've investigated

623
00:39:07,475 --> 00:39:08,737
over the years,

624
00:39:08,824 --> 00:39:10,913
Jacalyn Harp was by
far the youngest,

625
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,656
just 13 years' old
when she was murdered.

626
00:39:14,743 --> 00:39:15,961
♪

627
00:39:16,048 --> 00:39:18,616
In 1968,

628
00:39:18,747 --> 00:39:21,663
someone assaulted her
and strangled her.

629
00:39:21,750 --> 00:39:25,754
♪

630
00:39:25,841 --> 00:39:27,277
I was blown away that
Richard Cottingham

631
00:39:27,364 --> 00:39:29,279
could be responsible for
Jackie Harp's murder,

632
00:39:29,366 --> 00:39:30,976
for a number of reasons.

633
00:39:31,063 --> 00:39:34,240
One, she didn't fit the
victimology of the other ones.

634
00:39:34,327 --> 00:39:38,114
The tall, very feminine,
long brown hair.

635
00:39:38,244 --> 00:39:40,812
Jackie Harp was
a very tomboyish,

636
00:39:40,943 --> 00:39:44,381
like short blonde hair,
and very young.

637
00:39:44,468 --> 00:39:46,731
There was no mistaking
Jackie Harp for anything

638
00:39:46,818 --> 00:39:49,952
other than a 12 or
13-year-old child.

639
00:39:50,039 --> 00:39:52,258
And also, it occurred in
Midland Park, New Jersey,

640
00:39:52,345 --> 00:39:54,478
which is not
the usual areas

641
00:39:54,565 --> 00:39:55,958
that he talked
about...

642
00:39:56,088 --> 00:39:58,700
hunting
for victims.

643
00:39:58,787 --> 00:40:01,137
But this was in 1968,

644
00:40:01,267 --> 00:40:03,313
and it's at the beginning of
his killing curve.

645
00:40:03,661 --> 00:40:09,275
♪

646
00:40:09,362 --> 00:40:11,713
Jackie Harp had just
finished band practice

647
00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:13,410
with the local
school band.

648
00:40:13,671 --> 00:40:15,368
♪

649
00:40:15,456 --> 00:40:17,893
And, she was
the flag holder.

650
00:40:17,980 --> 00:40:21,287
♪

651
00:40:21,374 --> 00:40:24,987
This is the harness she had
worn during band practice.

652
00:40:25,074 --> 00:40:27,380
So, it wraps around your
body, I guess, kinda-

653
00:40:27,511 --> 00:40:28,947
and around your
shoulder and then, the,

654
00:40:29,034 --> 00:40:32,342
the actual flag goes-
is held in here.

655
00:40:32,429 --> 00:40:34,126
They must've been
individually assigned

656
00:40:34,213 --> 00:40:37,086
because it has the
name "J. Harp."

657
00:40:37,173 --> 00:40:40,132
♪

658
00:40:40,219 --> 00:40:44,180
And, as she was
walking home, she was...

659
00:40:44,267 --> 00:40:46,008
dragged into an alleyway...

660
00:40:46,095 --> 00:40:47,923
and murdered.

661
00:40:48,010 --> 00:40:57,889
♪

662
00:40:58,020 --> 00:40:59,848
I remember I went
out that night,

663
00:40:59,978 --> 00:41:03,242
looking for my
sister, Jackie.

664
00:41:03,373 --> 00:41:06,202
Calling out her name.

665
00:41:06,289 --> 00:41:09,466
And we did go right on
past where she was found.

666
00:41:09,727 --> 00:41:12,251
♪

667
00:41:12,338 --> 00:41:16,081
This picture is of Jackie
in her uniform, obviously,

668
00:41:16,168 --> 00:41:18,867
going to a practise
or to a meet.

669
00:41:18,954 --> 00:41:22,958
So, it was the Imperial
Knights Drum and Bugle Corp.

670
00:41:23,045 --> 00:41:26,178
She was very proud of it.

671
00:41:26,265 --> 00:41:28,050
Of course,
being the youngest,

672
00:41:28,137 --> 00:41:29,834
she had four big sisters and

673
00:41:29,965 --> 00:41:33,229
always wanted to be
around all of us.

674
00:41:33,316 --> 00:41:35,405
We were all close.

675
00:41:35,492 --> 00:41:38,539
It was all about family.

676
00:41:38,626 --> 00:41:41,280
Jackie was just walking
home that night,

677
00:41:41,367 --> 00:41:43,195
she was just
headed home.

678
00:42:13,008 --> 00:42:15,314
That's when the hair on the
back of my neck stood up,

679
00:42:15,401 --> 00:42:19,362
and I recognized
that this is Jackie.

680
00:42:19,492 --> 00:42:21,190
She was wearing moccasins.

681
00:42:21,277 --> 00:42:23,932
♪

682
00:42:24,019 --> 00:42:26,935
So, once we got him to
line up those details,

683
00:42:27,065 --> 00:42:28,240
and he was
comfortable with it,

684
00:42:28,371 --> 00:42:30,025
we took his statement
of the murder.

685
00:42:30,112 --> 00:42:33,681
♪

686
00:42:48,130 --> 00:42:51,307
♪

687
00:42:51,394 --> 00:42:53,962
It was November, 'cause
it was my birthday.

688
00:42:54,092 --> 00:42:55,311
The message was that
they would like to

689
00:42:55,441 --> 00:42:58,314
come to the house
and speak to me.

690
00:42:58,401 --> 00:43:00,838
Your heart does start
pounding and you do think,

691
00:43:00,925 --> 00:43:02,579
oh, my God.

692
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:04,668
♪

693
00:43:04,755 --> 00:43:06,235
In a cold case homicide,
these folks have been

694
00:43:06,322 --> 00:43:08,498
living with this forever.

695
00:43:08,585 --> 00:43:12,241
So, you don't know how
they're going to take it.

696
00:43:12,328 --> 00:43:15,200
We sat in the kitchen
at the kitchen table,

697
00:43:15,287 --> 00:43:18,943
and Rob and James returned
my sister's possessions that

698
00:43:19,030 --> 00:43:22,512
was, what was on her,
when she was found.

699
00:43:22,599 --> 00:43:26,211
And this is a box.
It was my mother's.

700
00:43:26,298 --> 00:43:27,952
And when my mother died,

701
00:43:28,039 --> 00:43:30,085
I put Jackie's belongings
in this box.

702
00:43:30,172 --> 00:43:33,392
♪

703
00:43:33,523 --> 00:43:36,569
I haven't opened this
box in a long time.

704
00:43:36,657 --> 00:43:40,182
Her glasses
that she had on.

705
00:43:40,312 --> 00:43:42,271
A medal from the
Imperial Knights.

706
00:43:42,358 --> 00:43:46,710
♪

707
00:43:46,797 --> 00:43:49,321
And then, Rob told us that
Richard Cottingham

708
00:43:49,408 --> 00:43:52,324
confessed to
killing my sister.

709
00:44:14,346 --> 00:44:16,131
[Suzan]
He offered her a ride and

710
00:44:16,218 --> 00:44:18,611
she said no, and
turned around,

711
00:44:18,699 --> 00:44:20,962
started walking back into
town and she had thought that

712
00:44:21,092 --> 00:44:23,007
he had just drove off.

713
00:44:23,094 --> 00:44:29,884
♪ [Sinister] ♪

714
00:44:53,429 --> 00:44:54,517
[Suzan] I just kind
of was like,

715
00:44:54,604 --> 00:44:58,434
"Oh, my God,"
you know...

716
00:44:58,521 --> 00:45:01,829
I walked that path
many times, myself.

717
00:45:12,404 --> 00:45:14,363
She's screaming
at that point.

718
00:45:14,450 --> 00:45:17,148
♪

719
00:45:17,235 --> 00:45:20,151
He sees lights on in the
houses around the area.

720
00:45:20,238 --> 00:45:21,283
So, he gets nervous.

721
00:45:32,163 --> 00:45:33,469
Now, remember,
this is 1968.

722
00:45:33,556 --> 00:45:35,079
This is a young
Richard Cottingham.

723
00:45:35,210 --> 00:45:36,602
So, panic would set in.

724
00:45:36,689 --> 00:45:38,300
He hasn't really
honed his craft yet.

725
00:45:54,316 --> 00:45:57,188
Jackie Harp was wearing
her parade belt

726
00:45:57,275 --> 00:46:01,453
that held the flag.

727
00:46:01,540 --> 00:46:04,065
This was found wrapped
around her neck.

728
00:46:04,195 --> 00:46:05,501
It sickens me.

729
00:46:05,631 --> 00:46:07,416
It really does,
it sickens me.

730
00:46:07,503 --> 00:46:14,292
♪

731
00:46:14,423 --> 00:46:17,034
Any kind of asphyxiation
or strangulation

732
00:46:17,121 --> 00:46:19,080
requires up close.

733
00:46:19,167 --> 00:46:20,516
It's very intimate.

734
00:46:20,603 --> 00:46:24,520
It's really about being
pretty much close to the

735
00:46:24,607 --> 00:46:28,524
individual, so you
can watch them die.

736
00:46:28,654 --> 00:46:32,267
I know he says he
didn't enjoy killing.

737
00:46:32,397 --> 00:46:33,921
I think he did.

738
00:46:34,051 --> 00:46:37,576
♪

739
00:46:37,663 --> 00:46:39,274
By this point,
I had gotten Richard

740
00:46:39,361 --> 00:46:40,971
to confess to four murders,

741
00:46:41,102 --> 00:46:43,844
three of which we closed
through exceptional clearance.

742
00:46:43,931 --> 00:46:46,281
The Blase family,
the Falasca family,

743
00:46:46,368 --> 00:46:47,630
and the family
of Jacalyn Harp,

744
00:46:47,717 --> 00:46:49,458
all agreed to
keep this quiet.

745
00:46:49,588 --> 00:46:52,548
♪

746
00:46:52,635 --> 00:46:55,377
Suzan understood the
longer-term mission ahead.

747
00:46:55,464 --> 00:46:57,422
And, it was never
disclosed to the press

748
00:46:57,509 --> 00:46:59,033
or to the community.

749
00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:00,512
I agreed to that.

750
00:47:00,599 --> 00:47:04,603
You do have to
accept a deal...

751
00:47:04,690 --> 00:47:08,390
and, and go on
with your life.

752
00:47:08,477 --> 00:47:10,435
I wasn't even filling in
the local police in the

753
00:47:10,566 --> 00:47:12,611
jurisdictions where
these crimes occurred.

754
00:47:12,742 --> 00:47:14,178
It was just us as the
prosecutor's office

755
00:47:14,309 --> 00:47:15,614
dealing with these cases.

756
00:47:15,701 --> 00:47:17,921
And this, if it
ever came out,

757
00:47:18,008 --> 00:47:22,404
would surely cause all
sorts of hell for me.

758
00:47:22,491 --> 00:47:25,189
But imagine the angst and
the anxiety of the community

759
00:47:25,276 --> 00:47:26,712
of Bergen County.

760
00:47:26,799 --> 00:47:30,325
We have all of these
killings of young women.

761
00:47:30,412 --> 00:47:32,718
These are big deals in
our county's history and

762
00:47:32,849 --> 00:47:35,330
folklore, in our
crime folklore.

763
00:47:35,417 --> 00:47:39,812
♪

764
00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:42,685
In 1968, when I was
15 years old,

765
00:47:42,772 --> 00:47:47,429
I lived around the corner
from Jacalyn Harp.

766
00:47:47,559 --> 00:47:50,823
And after Jacalyn Harp's
murder...

767
00:47:50,911 --> 00:47:53,348
there's this fear that
went through everybody.

768
00:47:53,435 --> 00:47:58,309
♪

769
00:47:58,396 --> 00:48:00,790
This went on and on.

770
00:48:00,877 --> 00:48:03,662
And when it got to
the 50th anniversary,

771
00:48:03,749 --> 00:48:05,664
it was on Facebook.

772
00:48:05,795 --> 00:48:08,232
Everybody was just
discussing this again,

773
00:48:08,363 --> 00:48:10,017
and saying how,

774
00:48:10,147 --> 00:48:13,934
"Remember how it changed
everything in town?"

775
00:48:14,064 --> 00:48:16,414
And then there was
another posting.

776
00:48:16,501 --> 00:48:20,244
And, it was from an author
of serial killer books.

777
00:48:20,331 --> 00:48:24,292
♪

778
00:48:24,379 --> 00:48:26,424
[Anzilotti] I always knew
that it was a gamble,

779
00:48:26,555 --> 00:48:29,384
keeping these cases to myself
and closed from the community.

780
00:48:29,471 --> 00:48:31,734
♪

781
00:48:31,821 --> 00:48:34,519
And, sure enough,
one day...

782
00:48:34,606 --> 00:48:36,695
[News] And a serial killer
confessing to three more

783
00:48:36,782 --> 00:48:39,481
murders after more
than 50 years.

784
00:48:39,611 --> 00:48:42,223
All of a sudden,
it all blew up.

785
00:48:50,100 --> 00:48:53,321
In an odd twist of events,
Richard Cottingham

786
00:48:53,451 --> 00:48:55,149
was befriended by an author,

787
00:48:55,236 --> 00:48:58,369
and they began cooperating
in this author

788
00:48:58,456 --> 00:49:01,329
writing a book
about his life.

789
00:49:01,416 --> 00:49:03,418
Richard had told him that
he had confessed

790
00:49:03,548 --> 00:49:05,159
to these cases to me.

791
00:49:05,289 --> 00:49:07,204
♪

792
00:49:07,291 --> 00:49:08,510
I was thinking more about,

793
00:49:08,597 --> 00:49:11,339
how am I going to get
closure for my town...

794
00:49:11,469 --> 00:49:13,297
because he's writing a book.

795
00:49:13,384 --> 00:49:15,299
I got in touch
with him, I said,

796
00:49:15,386 --> 00:49:18,607
"How about a public meeting?
I'll put it on Facebook.

797
00:49:18,737 --> 00:49:20,391
I'll make it known."

798
00:49:20,478 --> 00:49:21,523
And so, that's how
the meeting in

799
00:49:21,653 --> 00:49:25,527
December of 2019
came about.

800
00:49:25,614 --> 00:49:29,574
In 2018, I learned that

801
00:49:29,705 --> 00:49:32,969
three of the cases have
been actually closed

802
00:49:33,056 --> 00:49:36,668
by the Bergen County
prosecutor's office.

803
00:49:36,755 --> 00:49:40,324
Jackie Harp,
Irene Blase...

804
00:49:40,455 --> 00:49:43,893
and Denise Falasca.

805
00:49:44,024 --> 00:49:45,938
He announced it,
in public, you know,

806
00:49:46,069 --> 00:49:48,419
to an audience of people
at the public library.

807
00:49:48,550 --> 00:49:50,595
And that quickly
made the newspaper.

808
00:49:50,726 --> 00:49:52,728
[News] And a serial killer
confessing to three more

809
00:49:52,858 --> 00:49:56,514
murders after more
than fifty years.

810
00:49:56,601 --> 00:49:58,473
Of course,
once it was public,

811
00:49:58,603 --> 00:50:03,521
we obviously confirmed that
these cases had been cleared.

812
00:50:03,652 --> 00:50:05,610
There were a lot of people
that criticized the fact that

813
00:50:05,741 --> 00:50:07,612
we kept it quiet.

814
00:50:07,743 --> 00:50:12,356
And all that criticism
was squarely at my feet.

815
00:50:12,443 --> 00:50:15,403
I understand where
they're coming from.

816
00:50:15,533 --> 00:50:17,448
I could see why,
you know,

817
00:50:17,579 --> 00:50:19,015
the communities want
to know about it.

818
00:50:19,146 --> 00:50:21,583
But, I was looking at
this more globally.

819
00:50:21,713 --> 00:50:26,849
♪

820
00:50:26,979 --> 00:50:32,768
It's a strange thing to learn
that a serial killer did it.

821
00:50:32,855 --> 00:50:34,813
A lot of people did not
want to believe that

822
00:50:34,900 --> 00:50:36,511
it was that simple.

823
00:50:36,641 --> 00:50:39,253
So, they, they were very,
very shocked at that.

824
00:50:39,383 --> 00:50:46,869
♪

825
00:50:46,956 --> 00:50:49,524
The blow to me with
the whole thing was,

826
00:50:49,611 --> 00:50:53,005
for all these years that he
used the potential publicity

827
00:50:53,093 --> 00:50:55,747
as a roadblock for me to
get confessions out of him,

828
00:50:55,834 --> 00:50:59,186
here he is now letting
it out to everybody.

829
00:50:59,316 --> 00:51:01,623
I was pretty pissed off.

830
00:51:01,753 --> 00:51:03,842
I was like, "This is
all on you, man.

831
00:51:03,973 --> 00:51:05,496
You're the one cooperating
on this book, and,

832
00:51:05,627 --> 00:51:08,282
and your boy is
who let this out."

833
00:51:08,412 --> 00:51:09,979
It was a bit of a betrayal.

834
00:51:10,327 --> 00:51:12,373
♪

835
00:51:12,503 --> 00:51:16,507
Fast forward to 2020,
and the pandemic hits.

836
00:51:16,594 --> 00:51:18,292
And then, we just weren't
able to see each other.

837
00:51:18,422 --> 00:51:20,990
♪

838
00:51:21,077 --> 00:51:23,471
I wrote him a few
letters here and there.

839
00:51:23,601 --> 00:51:28,040
Then,
in March of 2021...

840
00:51:28,171 --> 00:51:31,696
I made the rather difficult
decision to retire,

841
00:51:31,827 --> 00:51:33,655
effective May 1st.

842
00:51:33,785 --> 00:51:37,876
♪

843
00:51:37,963 --> 00:51:39,443
It wasn't easy for me because
I really loved the job,

844
00:51:39,530 --> 00:51:41,619
loved the place.

845
00:51:41,750 --> 00:51:45,623
But I had completed nearly
30 years in law enforcement.

846
00:51:45,710 --> 00:51:49,888
And, I just felt in my heart
it was time to move on.

847
00:51:49,975 --> 00:51:51,673
But once I put
that in motion,

848
00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:53,675
I decided there was
one last thing that

849
00:51:53,805 --> 00:51:57,113
I really wanted to
do before I left.

850
00:51:57,200 --> 00:51:58,897
I had made a very
conscious decision that

851
00:51:59,028 --> 00:52:02,640
I was going to use my
retirement as leverage

852
00:52:02,727 --> 00:52:06,035
to get Richard to
cooperate one last time.

853
00:52:06,166 --> 00:52:07,950
[News] The bodies of
Mary Ann Pryor and

854
00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:10,648
Lorraine Marie Kelly were here,
in a wooded area

855
00:52:10,735 --> 00:52:12,824
near the Ridgemont
Apartments in Montvale.

856
00:52:12,911 --> 00:52:16,698
♪

857
00:52:16,785 --> 00:52:18,482
The Lorraine Kelly,
Mary Ann Pryor case

858
00:52:18,569 --> 00:52:20,571
in August of 1974

859
00:52:20,702 --> 00:52:23,095
was really one of
our most gruesome...

860
00:52:23,226 --> 00:52:27,143
and haunting cases
in Bergen County.

861
00:52:27,274 --> 00:52:29,406
They're found nude.

862
00:52:29,493 --> 00:52:31,060
They're face down.

863
00:52:31,191 --> 00:52:32,801
And they've been
sexually assaulted.

864
00:52:37,762 --> 00:52:38,807
[Reporter] Where?

865
00:52:42,898 --> 00:52:44,682
It was clear that they
had been tortured,

866
00:52:44,769 --> 00:52:46,815
and then just tossed
away like trash.

867
00:52:46,902 --> 00:52:51,472
♪

868
00:52:51,559 --> 00:52:53,343
Everybody loved Mary Ann.

869
00:52:53,474 --> 00:52:54,823
Everybody loved her.

870
00:52:54,910 --> 00:52:56,781
She had a lot of friends.

871
00:52:56,868 --> 00:53:00,611
She had such a kind heart.

872
00:53:00,742 --> 00:53:03,962
I was the last person to
see Mary Ann that day.

873
00:53:04,093 --> 00:53:06,922
She wanted to go to Macy's
to buy a new swimsuit

874
00:53:07,009 --> 00:53:09,794
for her trip to the shore.

875
00:53:09,925 --> 00:53:12,841
She said, "I'm going to
the mall with Lorraine.

876
00:53:12,971 --> 00:53:15,757
And I'll see you later."
I'm like, "Okay, have fun."

877
00:53:15,887 --> 00:53:18,803
♪

878
00:53:18,934 --> 00:53:20,675
Lorraine Kelly and
Mary Ann Pryor

879
00:53:20,805 --> 00:53:23,852
were two best friends,
16 and 17 years' old.

880
00:53:23,982 --> 00:53:26,942
They left their respective
houses to take a bus

881
00:53:27,072 --> 00:53:29,901
up to a mall in
Bergen County.

882
00:53:30,032 --> 00:53:31,773
But they never
returned home.

883
00:53:31,903 --> 00:53:37,735
♪

884
00:53:37,822 --> 00:53:38,823
One of the big points
that Richard

885
00:53:38,910 --> 00:53:40,564
always made to me was...

886
00:53:40,651 --> 00:53:42,218
how, in his mind,

887
00:53:42,349 --> 00:53:45,439
he was the smartest killer
that ever walked the earth.

888
00:53:51,575 --> 00:53:53,055
"I always killed
differently.

889
00:53:53,185 --> 00:53:55,013
I always mixed things up,
that's why the police

890
00:53:55,100 --> 00:53:56,667
never figured me out."

891
00:53:56,754 --> 00:53:58,452
And he bragged about it.

892
00:54:15,817 --> 00:54:18,123
So, I challenged him:
"Convince me,

893
00:54:18,210 --> 00:54:20,996
convince me that you were
so smart back in the day."

894
00:54:21,083 --> 00:54:24,608
And he's like, "I can give
you details about a murder

895
00:54:24,695 --> 00:54:26,654
that even fooled the
medical examiner."

896
00:54:26,784 --> 00:54:29,134
♪

897
00:54:29,221 --> 00:54:30,527
And he said, "You're
never gonna be able to

898
00:54:30,614 --> 00:54:31,485
guess how I did it."

899
00:54:46,761 --> 00:54:50,591
He's like, "Well, because
they were left outside

900
00:54:50,678 --> 00:54:53,158
in the hot summer
for a few days,

901
00:54:53,289 --> 00:54:56,031
the medical examiner didn't
find water in their lungs."

902
00:55:17,095 --> 00:55:18,967
Cottingham doesn't say
who these girls are,

903
00:55:19,054 --> 00:55:22,362
but he is dumb enough
to use the plural.

904
00:55:22,449 --> 00:55:25,103
And, I only had one
double homicide

905
00:55:25,234 --> 00:55:26,888
that I was looking at.

906
00:55:27,018 --> 00:55:28,716
♪

907
00:55:28,846 --> 00:55:30,065
And sure enough,
the autopsy showed

908
00:55:30,152 --> 00:55:34,809
both girls had congestion
in their lungs.

909
00:55:34,896 --> 00:55:38,378
We consulted with our
medical examiners.

910
00:55:38,465 --> 00:55:41,032
Would something like that
in the bodies of these girls

911
00:55:41,119 --> 00:55:43,861
lead us to believe that
they were in fact drowned?

912
00:55:43,948 --> 00:55:46,342
And he agreed that,
that we would.

913
00:55:46,473 --> 00:55:49,911
And it was at that moment
that I first realize

914
00:55:50,041 --> 00:55:52,000
he was the killer of
Lorraine Kelly and

915
00:55:52,087 --> 00:55:53,567
Mary Anne Pryor.

916
00:56:00,835 --> 00:56:02,140
Over the years, I,
of course,

917
00:56:02,271 --> 00:56:04,752
would try and prod him
for more information.

918
00:56:04,882 --> 00:56:07,755
And he'd shut down
because he told me,

919
00:56:07,885 --> 00:56:09,104
"You'll never be able
to keep it quiet.

920
00:56:09,234 --> 00:56:10,932
That case is too
famous around here."

921
00:56:11,062 --> 00:56:13,369
♪

922
00:56:13,456 --> 00:56:16,024
So, after I put in
my retirement papers,

923
00:56:16,111 --> 00:56:19,419
I only had about six weeks to
put this idea I had in motion

924
00:56:19,506 --> 00:56:22,639
to get Richard to confess to
the murders of

925
00:56:22,770 --> 00:56:25,294
Lorraine Kelly and
Mary Anne Pryor.

926
00:56:25,425 --> 00:56:27,078
The clock was
definitely ticking.

927
00:56:27,165 --> 00:56:28,863
And I was on a mission
to get this done.

928
00:56:35,913 --> 00:56:39,787
Richard never agreed to
anything until it was time to

929
00:56:39,874 --> 00:56:43,878
actually cross the line
and get that confession.

930
00:56:43,965 --> 00:56:45,923
So, I sat with him
by myself and

931
00:56:46,054 --> 00:56:47,925
told him that I was leaving.

932
00:56:48,056 --> 00:56:50,885
And he was
stunned and...

933
00:56:50,972 --> 00:56:53,801
tried to talk me
out of retiring.

934
00:56:53,931 --> 00:56:55,846
Think of the irony of
a serial killer

935
00:56:55,977 --> 00:56:57,935
trying to talk a cop
out of leaving.

936
00:56:58,022 --> 00:56:59,720
I told him I was adamant,
I was insistent.

937
00:56:59,807 --> 00:57:01,896
I wanted to go out
on a high.

938
00:57:01,983 --> 00:57:03,941
I watched too many
chiefs stay too long.

939
00:57:04,072 --> 00:57:05,160
And then hit him with like,

940
00:57:05,290 --> 00:57:07,771
"There's one thing left,
Richard."

941
00:57:07,858 --> 00:57:10,208
"I'm asking you
to do this for me.

942
00:57:10,295 --> 00:57:12,167
Confess to the murders of

943
00:57:12,297 --> 00:57:13,995
Lorraine Kelly and
Mary Ann Pryor."

944
00:57:24,875 --> 00:57:26,486
He was hesitant.

945
00:57:26,573 --> 00:57:28,444
And I just put the tape
recorder down, and I said,

946
00:57:28,531 --> 00:57:31,882
'Stop [bleep] around
and let's do this."

947
00:57:32,013 --> 00:57:34,276
And, in the end,
almost like, you know,

948
00:57:34,363 --> 00:57:36,104
a retirement gift
to me, he said,

949
00:57:36,234 --> 00:57:38,019
"I want to do this."

950
00:57:38,149 --> 00:57:39,847
And that's how the
confession started.

951
00:58:06,743 --> 00:58:08,571
[Thunder]

952
00:58:08,658 --> 00:58:12,053
On this particular
day in 1974,

953
00:58:12,140 --> 00:58:15,099
he claims that he
drove them to the mall.

954
00:58:15,186 --> 00:58:16,971
And it was pouring rain.

955
00:58:27,111 --> 00:58:29,200
He decided that he was
going to kidnap them and

956
00:58:29,287 --> 00:58:30,724
take them for
his own pleasure.

957
00:58:30,854 --> 00:58:40,037
♪

958
00:58:40,124 --> 00:58:41,996
So, he drove to an
area motel that

959
00:58:42,083 --> 00:58:44,085
he had used before
to rape women.

960
00:59:10,285 --> 00:59:15,290
♪ [Sinister] ♪

961
00:59:41,882 --> 00:59:44,232
When Richard
claimed that...

962
00:59:44,319 --> 00:59:45,494
the girls were laughing and

963
00:59:45,581 --> 00:59:47,235
he was joking
around with them,

964
00:59:47,365 --> 00:59:49,759
I was just flat-out disgusted
by what he was saying

965
00:59:49,890 --> 00:59:51,152
because I knew
it was not true.

966
00:59:59,116 --> 01:00:01,249
In typical Richard
Cottingham fashion,

967
01:00:01,379 --> 01:00:03,991
he was minimizing the
brutality of his crime.

968
01:00:09,170 --> 01:00:12,216
I didn't get home
until about 10 PM.

969
01:00:12,347 --> 01:00:14,349
And my mother said,
"Where's your sister?"

970
01:00:14,479 --> 01:00:18,222
I'm like, "I don't know,
I just got in."

971
01:00:18,309 --> 01:00:21,573
So, then we
started panicking.

972
01:00:21,704 --> 01:00:24,228
We started calling
Lorraine's family.

973
01:00:24,315 --> 01:00:26,187
They hadn't heard
from Lorraine.

974
01:00:26,317 --> 01:00:29,886
♪

975
01:00:30,017 --> 01:00:31,540
We called the
police department,

976
01:00:31,627 --> 01:00:33,847
and they said, "Oh,
they're just runaways."

977
01:00:33,977 --> 01:00:36,588
♪

978
01:00:36,719 --> 01:00:40,897
I stayed up all night,
driving around, searching.

979
01:00:40,984 --> 01:00:44,335
Yelling, "Mary Ann,
Mary Ann!"

980
01:00:44,466 --> 01:00:48,775
Of course, we're imagining
all kinds of different things.

981
01:01:13,321 --> 01:01:15,758
They were hogtied, right,
hogtied while

982
01:01:15,845 --> 01:01:18,065
he was sleeping, so they
wouldn't go anywhere.

983
01:01:18,152 --> 01:01:20,023
And according to him,
they never cried,

984
01:01:20,154 --> 01:01:21,764
they weren't afraid.

985
01:01:21,851 --> 01:01:23,897
That's, that's
the twisted mind.

986
01:01:30,425 --> 01:01:35,038
♪

987
01:01:35,125 --> 01:01:40,609
This became a huge
story in the area.

988
01:01:40,740 --> 01:01:43,438
My mother was
pleading on camera:

989
01:01:43,525 --> 01:01:45,875
"Mary Ann, if you're out there
and you can hear this,

990
01:01:46,006 --> 01:01:49,313
please come home."

991
01:01:49,444 --> 01:01:52,273
For all the days that
Mary Ann was missing,

992
01:01:52,403 --> 01:01:56,233
we had the radio on,
for the news.

993
01:01:56,364 --> 01:01:59,410
And then, I can remember we
were sitting in the kitchen,

994
01:01:59,497 --> 01:02:02,152
and they interrupted the
broadcast to say,

995
01:02:02,283 --> 01:02:05,939
"Two girls were found in
Montvale, New Jersey."

996
01:02:06,069 --> 01:02:09,769
♪

997
01:02:09,856 --> 01:02:12,075
And right away, we all
looked at each other, like,

998
01:02:12,206 --> 01:02:16,297
disbelief that,
could it be?

999
01:02:16,384 --> 01:02:18,168
A couple seconds later,

1000
01:02:18,255 --> 01:02:20,344
there were knocks
on the door...

1001
01:02:20,475 --> 01:02:22,956
and it was the detectives
coming to tell us.

1002
01:02:23,086 --> 01:02:26,524
♪

1003
01:02:26,611 --> 01:02:29,136
My mother passed out.

1004
01:02:29,223 --> 01:02:32,052
She held her heart and
she just kind of, like,

1005
01:02:32,182 --> 01:02:33,967
passed out on the floor.

1006
01:02:46,588 --> 01:02:49,243
This is the magnitude of the
monster that Cottingham is.

1007
01:03:10,220 --> 01:03:12,179
♪ [Sinister] ♪

1008
01:03:12,266 --> 01:03:14,398
After keeping the girls
for nearly three days,

1009
01:03:14,529 --> 01:03:16,270
he decided that he
had to kill them.

1010
01:03:53,611 --> 01:03:55,657
The haunting
things that I'll,

1011
01:03:55,787 --> 01:03:59,095
I'll never get out of my
head is just the cavalier and

1012
01:03:59,182 --> 01:04:01,271
callous way that
he talks about...

1013
01:04:01,402 --> 01:04:04,666
drowning one while the
other girl is still alive.

1014
01:04:04,796 --> 01:04:08,583
I said to him, "Could you
imagine the fear that,

1015
01:04:08,713 --> 01:04:10,759
you know, the one
left there had?"

1016
01:04:11,064 --> 01:04:12,804
♪

1017
01:04:12,935 --> 01:04:15,329
But he has a way of
minimizing the brutality

1018
01:04:15,416 --> 01:04:18,071
that he inflicted on
all of his victims.

1019
01:04:36,045 --> 01:04:39,353
That's a highly sadistic act

1020
01:04:39,440 --> 01:04:43,357
that would make him
feel very powerful.

1021
01:04:43,487 --> 01:04:47,056
He wanted to experience
their deaths at his hands.

1022
01:04:47,143 --> 01:04:49,580
♪

1023
01:04:49,667 --> 01:04:52,670
[Nancy] She would have
fought for her life.

1024
01:04:52,801 --> 01:04:54,759
She would have bit,
kicked, punched,

1025
01:04:54,890 --> 01:04:58,807
grabbed for hair,
anything.

1026
01:04:58,894 --> 01:05:03,420
I'm sure she was calling for
my mother, my father, me.

1027
01:05:03,551 --> 01:05:05,814
And fighting 'til the end.

1028
01:05:06,119 --> 01:05:13,735
♪

1029
01:05:13,822 --> 01:05:15,345
And that's when those bodies
are dumped a short distance

1030
01:05:15,432 --> 01:05:17,304
from the hotel,
into the woods.

1031
01:05:17,434 --> 01:05:21,482
♪

1032
01:05:21,612 --> 01:05:22,744
This particular confession was

1033
01:05:22,874 --> 01:05:24,876
one of the worst
I've ever heard.

1034
01:05:24,964 --> 01:05:26,226
I can't wait to go home
and take a shower and

1035
01:05:26,356 --> 01:05:28,315
wash the stink of his...

1036
01:05:28,445 --> 01:05:30,578
sins off my body,
from listening to it.

1037
01:05:30,665 --> 01:05:33,407
♪

1038
01:05:33,494 --> 01:05:35,713
After we got the
confession from Cottingham,

1039
01:05:35,800 --> 01:05:39,543
I was trying to leverage my
retirement as a means to

1040
01:05:39,674 --> 01:05:41,850
try and get Richard
to go to court

1041
01:05:41,937 --> 01:05:46,855
the way we did with Vogel,
ten years prior.

1042
01:05:46,942 --> 01:05:48,683
He was afraid that our
relationship was

1043
01:05:48,770 --> 01:05:51,860
going to be over because
of my retirement.

1044
01:05:51,947 --> 01:05:56,386
And I promised him
that it would not be.

1045
01:05:56,517 --> 01:06:00,347
And in the end, I convinced
him to go to court.

1046
01:06:00,434 --> 01:06:03,306
It was his way of keeping
the relationship going.

1047
01:06:03,393 --> 01:06:05,265
Because of the pandemic,
it was a virtual proceeding.

1048
01:06:15,797 --> 01:06:17,320
More than a decade earlier,

1049
01:06:17,407 --> 01:06:18,582
he literally looked
at me and said,

1050
01:06:18,713 --> 01:06:21,455
"You'll never get me in
a courtroom again."

1051
01:06:21,542 --> 01:06:24,893
And hearing him give details
to the judge in a courtroom

1052
01:06:25,024 --> 01:06:27,896
with the victims' families
looking on,

1053
01:06:28,027 --> 01:06:32,466
that, for me,
was a huge victory.

1054
01:06:32,553 --> 01:06:35,208
He was given another
two life sentences.

1055
01:06:35,338 --> 01:06:37,645
♪

1056
01:06:37,775 --> 01:06:41,475
I'm so grateful for Chief
Anzilotti for pursuing this.

1057
01:06:41,562 --> 01:06:44,652
He's an angel.

1058
01:06:44,739 --> 01:06:47,829
For me, it was the
culmination of nearly

1059
01:06:47,916 --> 01:06:51,398
20 years of work trying to
bring justice for these girls.

1060
01:06:51,528 --> 01:06:57,534
[Sirens]

1061
01:06:57,621 --> 01:06:59,014
♪

1062
01:06:59,101 --> 01:07:00,755
My last day...

1063
01:07:00,885 --> 01:07:04,672
[Sighing]
...was emotional.

1064
01:07:04,759 --> 01:07:07,327
It was crazy.

1065
01:07:07,457 --> 01:07:10,852
It was just an amazing
tribute to my career.

1066
01:07:10,982 --> 01:07:12,723
There were hundreds of people
waiting to clap me out.

1067
01:07:12,810 --> 01:07:14,856
[Applauding]

1068
01:07:14,986 --> 01:07:17,772
It was wild,
it was wild.

1069
01:07:17,859 --> 01:07:20,818
[Applauding]

1070
01:07:20,905 --> 01:07:23,691
I was lucky enough,
not only to work with Rob,

1071
01:07:23,778 --> 01:07:26,346
but be part of the
command staff with him.

1072
01:07:26,433 --> 01:07:28,652
He had an uncanny ability

1073
01:07:28,783 --> 01:07:31,960
to get to the bottom
of a, of a crime.

1074
01:07:32,091 --> 01:07:34,528
And he inspired
people to work harder,

1075
01:07:34,658 --> 01:07:36,486
not just because of the
threat of authority,

1076
01:07:36,573 --> 01:07:38,923
but because of who he was.

1077
01:07:39,054 --> 01:07:40,621
I never thought I'd leave as

1078
01:07:40,708 --> 01:07:42,579
the Chief of Detectives
of the county.

1079
01:07:42,666 --> 01:07:44,451
You know, I always just wanted
to be a really good cop.

1080
01:07:44,581 --> 01:07:47,584
♪

1081
01:07:47,671 --> 01:07:49,804
Six days after Cottingham
appeared in court,

1082
01:07:49,891 --> 01:07:52,285
admitting his guilt...

1083
01:07:52,372 --> 01:07:53,982
I retired.

1084
01:07:54,287 --> 01:07:56,898
♪

1085
01:07:57,028 --> 01:07:58,943
I had solved 6 out of these

1086
01:07:59,074 --> 01:08:03,687
original 12 cold case homicides.

1087
01:08:03,818 --> 01:08:07,778
That left 6 more
still to be solved.

1088
01:08:07,865 --> 01:08:09,824
And it made me wonder
whether Richard was

1089
01:08:09,954 --> 01:08:12,305
responsible for all
or any of those 6.

1090
01:08:12,435 --> 01:08:17,658
♪

1091
01:08:17,745 --> 01:08:19,573
We started emailing
each other, really,

1092
01:08:19,660 --> 01:08:21,662
almost on a weekly
basis once I first left.

1093
01:08:21,792 --> 01:08:25,709
♪

1094
01:08:25,840 --> 01:08:27,842
And to the credit of
the new administration,

1095
01:08:27,929 --> 01:08:31,280
they were adamant
that I stay involved.

1096
01:08:31,367 --> 01:08:34,718
♪

1097
01:08:34,805 --> 01:08:37,068
That is just who Rob is.

1098
01:08:37,199 --> 01:08:38,592
He's not going to let
his retirement

1099
01:08:38,722 --> 01:08:41,334
get in the way of finding
closure for a family.

1100
01:08:41,464 --> 01:08:46,556
♪

1101
01:08:46,643 --> 01:08:48,906
The case that
came to my mind

1102
01:08:49,037 --> 01:08:53,433
was Mary Ann Della Sala.

1103
01:08:53,563 --> 01:08:57,088
On January 24th of 1967,

1104
01:08:57,176 --> 01:09:00,048
she left her place
of employment

1105
01:09:00,135 --> 01:09:02,877
at the local ShopRite
in Hackensack.

1106
01:09:03,007 --> 01:09:05,053
And, she was never
seen alive again.

1107
01:09:05,358 --> 01:09:07,403
♪

1108
01:09:07,490 --> 01:09:09,884
11 weeks later, her body
was found floating in the

1109
01:09:09,971 --> 01:09:11,712
Passaic River in
Hawthorne, New Jersey.

1110
01:09:11,842 --> 01:09:16,107
♪

1111
01:09:16,238 --> 01:09:18,849
She was 18 years' old at
the time of her death.

1112
01:09:18,936 --> 01:09:21,635
Brunette, pretty girl, and...

1113
01:09:21,722 --> 01:09:23,637
knowing what I now
know about Cottingham,

1114
01:09:23,767 --> 01:09:27,293
for what he was hunting
back in those days,

1115
01:09:27,423 --> 01:09:28,903
the 60s and early 70s,

1116
01:09:28,990 --> 01:09:33,081
she fit his look to a tee.

1117
01:09:33,168 --> 01:09:35,605
Mary Ann's cause of death
was never really

1118
01:09:35,692 --> 01:09:37,999
made clear by the
medical examiner.

1119
01:09:38,129 --> 01:09:41,394
There was some speculation
that maybe she jumped off of

1120
01:09:41,481 --> 01:09:42,786
a nearby bridge and
that's how her body

1121
01:09:42,873 --> 01:09:44,571
floated up where it did.

1122
01:09:44,701 --> 01:09:45,702
♪

1123
01:09:45,833 --> 01:09:47,835
But her family insisted that

1124
01:09:47,965 --> 01:09:49,576
Mary Ann would have
never taken her own life.

1125
01:09:49,706 --> 01:09:51,708
♪

1126
01:09:51,795 --> 01:09:54,798
And, the investigators
came across a diary

1127
01:09:54,929 --> 01:09:57,845
that Mary Ann had.

1128
01:09:57,932 --> 01:10:00,674
And in that diary,
they found an entry...

1129
01:10:00,804 --> 01:10:03,546
a week or so prior to her
disappearance in which

1130
01:10:03,633 --> 01:10:07,811
she describes a white male
driving a Chevy who had

1131
01:10:07,942 --> 01:10:11,815
been stalking her from the
ShopRite at times.

1132
01:10:11,946 --> 01:10:14,949
This was a huge clue.

1133
01:10:15,079 --> 01:10:16,690
Richard had previously
told me that

1134
01:10:16,777 --> 01:10:19,693
he had a Chevy
in the late 60s.

1135
01:10:19,823 --> 01:10:22,696
And he also told me that

1136
01:10:22,826 --> 01:10:25,829
there was a girl that
was found in the river

1137
01:10:25,960 --> 01:10:29,746
that he may have
been responsible for.

1138
01:10:29,833 --> 01:10:31,792
I had always been convinced
that his first victim

1139
01:10:31,879 --> 01:10:35,012
was Nancy Vogel.

1140
01:10:35,143 --> 01:10:38,102
Now, I begin to develop
this hunch that

1141
01:10:38,189 --> 01:10:40,801
Mary Ann Della Sala may have
been his first victim.

1142
01:10:40,931 --> 01:10:43,847
♪

1143
01:10:43,978 --> 01:10:45,458
[Monitor beeping]

1144
01:11:09,743 --> 01:11:10,874
The reality is...

1145
01:11:11,005 --> 01:11:14,008
I retired, but...

1146
01:11:14,138 --> 01:11:15,749
I wasn't done with
Richard Cottingham.

1147
01:11:24,540 --> 01:11:26,107
Richard is now bedridden

1148
01:11:26,237 --> 01:11:28,239
with a lot of
health ailments.

1149
01:11:28,370 --> 01:11:30,677
He's been moved to
South Woods State Prison,

1150
01:11:30,764 --> 01:11:32,200
in a long-term infirmary.

1151
01:11:32,548 --> 01:11:34,637
♪

1152
01:11:34,768 --> 01:11:36,596
So, Sergeant Kevin Dempsey,

1153
01:11:36,726 --> 01:11:38,946
who's with the BCPO
cold case unit, and I,

1154
01:11:39,076 --> 01:11:41,209
take the ride down
there to interview Richard.

1155
01:11:41,514 --> 01:11:44,908
♪

1156
01:11:44,995 --> 01:11:47,128
Richard can't
get out of bed.

1157
01:11:47,258 --> 01:11:49,913
He needs help sitting up.

1158
01:11:50,044 --> 01:11:51,654
I was like, wow,
this guy looks like

1159
01:11:51,741 --> 01:11:53,917
he's gonna die
at any minute.

1160
01:11:54,048 --> 01:11:56,659
I really wanted to give one
last shot to see

1161
01:11:56,746 --> 01:11:58,444
if I could get a
confession out of him.

1162
01:12:09,280 --> 01:12:10,760
But he's of sound mind.

1163
01:12:10,891 --> 01:12:13,894
And, Kevin and I sat
by his bedside and...

1164
01:12:13,981 --> 01:12:15,374
interviewed him.

1165
01:12:30,214 --> 01:12:32,216
It was still our
typical back and forth,

1166
01:12:32,347 --> 01:12:35,089
him telling me why he doesn't
want to cooperate and,

1167
01:12:35,176 --> 01:12:36,873
"What have you done
for me lately?"

1168
01:12:36,960 --> 01:12:38,745
And, same old Richard
being Richard.

1169
01:13:05,989 --> 01:13:08,905
But in the end, I got him
talking about this

1170
01:13:09,036 --> 01:13:12,082
beautiful young girl that he
used to have an eye for

1171
01:13:12,213 --> 01:13:15,738
in a ShopRite
in Hackensack.

1172
01:13:15,869 --> 01:13:18,045
In January of 1967,

1173
01:13:18,175 --> 01:13:20,395
when Mary Anne Della Sala
was last seen alive,

1174
01:13:20,526 --> 01:13:23,224
Richard Cottingham
was going on 21 years' old.

1175
01:13:23,354 --> 01:13:26,009
He had just started working
at Blue Cross Blue Shield

1176
01:13:26,140 --> 01:13:27,620
in New York City.

1177
01:14:25,068 --> 01:14:27,897
He told me that on the
night of her disappearance,

1178
01:14:28,028 --> 01:14:30,030
he stalked her
leaving the store.

1179
01:14:44,044 --> 01:14:45,959
Her dad had actually
stopped in at the store,

1180
01:14:46,046 --> 01:14:47,961
and asked her,

1181
01:14:48,048 --> 01:14:49,919
"Do you want me to give you a
ride at the end of your shift?"

1182
01:14:50,050 --> 01:14:51,834
But it was an
unusually warm night,

1183
01:14:51,965 --> 01:14:53,706
and she told her dad that
she was going to walk home.

1184
01:15:30,351 --> 01:15:32,005
He wasn't certain the
exact spot that he put her

1185
01:15:32,092 --> 01:15:33,833
in the water, but he knew
it wasn't where

1186
01:15:33,963 --> 01:15:35,399
the body had been found.

1187
01:15:35,486 --> 01:15:37,401
And that would be
consistent with a body

1188
01:15:37,488 --> 01:15:39,142
being in the water for
a period of time...

1189
01:15:39,273 --> 01:15:40,927
as Mary Ann's was.

1190
01:16:07,910 --> 01:16:10,957
What Richard didn't realize,
while he was confessing

1191
01:16:11,087 --> 01:16:12,959
about the Mary Ann
Della Sala case,

1192
01:16:13,046 --> 01:16:16,179
was I was actually recording
the conversation.

1193
01:16:16,266 --> 01:16:17,528
He didn't see a
tape recorder,

1194
01:16:17,659 --> 01:16:20,183
so he thought we were just
having a conversation.

1195
01:16:20,270 --> 01:16:23,796
The reality is that was a
tape-recorded confession.

1196
01:16:56,263 --> 01:16:58,352
When it comes to these
exceptional clearances,

1197
01:16:58,482 --> 01:16:59,875
the manner in which
we record the

1198
01:16:59,962 --> 01:17:01,529
actual confession
is irrelevant.

1199
01:17:01,616 --> 01:17:04,880
All that matters is that
it's documented properly.

1200
01:17:05,011 --> 01:17:06,142
And that it's irrefutable
that these

1201
01:17:06,273 --> 01:17:09,406
words came out of his mouth.

1202
01:17:09,537 --> 01:17:12,105
There was information
provided by Mr. Cottingham

1203
01:17:12,192 --> 01:17:15,151
that we believe were
specific enough that

1204
01:17:15,282 --> 01:17:17,153
only the killer would know.

1205
01:17:17,240 --> 01:17:19,329
And, the team felt
as though there was

1206
01:17:19,416 --> 01:17:21,549
sufficient evidence
to charge him.

1207
01:17:21,854 --> 01:17:31,690
♪

1208
01:17:36,433 --> 01:17:38,000
♪

1209
01:17:38,087 --> 01:17:39,001
I don't just like
solving cold cases,

1210
01:17:39,132 --> 01:17:40,873
I love solving cold cases.

1211
01:17:41,003 --> 01:17:44,746
♪

1212
01:17:44,833 --> 01:17:47,401
I love the
satisfaction and the

1213
01:17:47,488 --> 01:17:50,534
emotional pride
that it gives me...

1214
01:17:50,621 --> 01:17:54,451
to knock on someone's door
that hasn't had answers

1215
01:17:54,538 --> 01:17:58,064
in 30, 40, 50 years.

1216
01:17:58,151 --> 01:17:59,021
I don't think I can
put it into words,

1217
01:17:59,152 --> 01:18:00,283
to be quite honest.

1218
01:18:00,414 --> 01:18:01,458
I think you have to walk
in these shoes

1219
01:18:01,545 --> 01:18:03,939
to know what it feels like.

1220
01:18:04,070 --> 01:18:05,854
And every homicide detective
out there

1221
01:18:05,941 --> 01:18:07,900
knows exactly what
I'm talking about.

1222
01:18:08,030 --> 01:18:12,034
♪

1223
01:18:12,165 --> 01:18:14,254
Cottingham confessing to the

1224
01:18:14,384 --> 01:18:16,125
Mary Anne Della Sala homicide

1225
01:18:16,256 --> 01:18:18,388
brings his timeline of
killing even earlier.

1226
01:18:18,475 --> 01:18:21,261
♪

1227
01:18:21,391 --> 01:18:24,220
She went missing
in January of 1967,

1228
01:18:24,351 --> 01:18:27,310
so that's some ten months
before Nancy Vogel is killed.

1229
01:18:27,397 --> 01:18:29,399
And, who knows if Mary Ann
Della Sala was his first?

1230
01:18:29,486 --> 01:18:33,099
♪

1231
01:19:00,126 --> 01:19:04,695
♪

1232
01:19:04,826 --> 01:19:08,047
Then, in June of 2022,
something I had always

1233
01:19:08,134 --> 01:19:11,267
hoped would happen,
finally did.

1234
01:19:11,398 --> 01:19:12,747
[News] A woman's family
finally getting some answers

1235
01:19:12,878 --> 01:19:15,315
after she was found strangled
in the back seat of her car

1236
01:19:15,402 --> 01:19:16,751
more than 50 years ago.

1237
01:19:16,882 --> 01:19:18,492
Yeah, prosecutors say the
so-called 'Torso Killer'

1238
01:19:18,622 --> 01:19:20,102
who's been convicted
in 11 other deaths

1239
01:19:20,233 --> 01:19:21,582
is responsible.

1240
01:19:21,712 --> 01:19:23,192
Jennifer McLobin shows us
how they were able to

1241
01:19:23,279 --> 01:19:24,454
tie him to this case.

1242
01:19:24,541 --> 01:19:27,153
♪

1243
01:19:36,031 --> 01:19:38,077
During my last visit
at his bedside,

1244
01:19:38,164 --> 01:19:40,906
Richard explained to me that
Nassau County detectives

1245
01:19:41,036 --> 01:19:42,255
had come to visit him.

1246
01:20:00,882 --> 01:20:02,318
I'm like, "Well, then
cooperate with them."

1247
01:20:02,449 --> 01:20:03,537
"There's no reason not to."

1248
01:20:03,624 --> 01:20:05,321
"If you did it,
then tell them you did it."

1249
01:20:05,408 --> 01:20:06,496
"What, you know,
what, what are you...

1250
01:20:06,583 --> 01:20:09,108
holding out for?"

1251
01:20:09,195 --> 01:20:10,196
"At this point in your life,

1252
01:20:10,326 --> 01:20:12,198
look at the state of
health you're in."

1253
01:20:12,285 --> 01:20:14,591
"Don't take these cases
to the grave with you."

1254
01:20:14,678 --> 01:20:16,985
"Just... man up
and admit it."

1255
01:20:17,072 --> 01:20:20,423
♪

1256
01:20:20,510 --> 01:20:23,252
[News] Emotions spilled over for
the family of Diane Cusick.

1257
01:20:23,339 --> 01:20:26,603
A cold case breakthrough after a
chilling murder

1258
01:20:26,734 --> 01:20:27,953
more than 5 decades ago.

1259
01:20:28,040 --> 01:20:29,737
Prosecutors blame...

1260
01:20:29,824 --> 01:20:32,261
I learned through the news
media that Nassau County

1261
01:20:32,348 --> 01:20:35,482
indicted Cottingham
on DNA evidence.

1262
01:20:35,612 --> 01:20:37,963
[News] Diane Cusick, of New Hyde
Park,a dance teacher

1263
01:20:38,093 --> 01:20:39,138
left her 4 year old daughter
with her parents

1264
01:20:39,225 --> 01:20:41,096
and drove to the
Green Acres Mall

1265
01:20:41,227 --> 01:20:43,011
and never came home.

1266
01:20:43,098 --> 01:20:45,231
We believe this may
be the oldest DNA hit

1267
01:20:45,318 --> 01:20:49,409
to lead to a prosecution
in the United States.

1268
01:20:49,539 --> 01:20:52,107
♪

1269
01:20:52,238 --> 01:20:54,066
This case prompted the
Nassau District Attorney's

1270
01:20:54,196 --> 01:20:56,285
office to review all
unsolved homicides

1271
01:20:56,416 --> 01:20:59,636
involving women
from 1967 to 1980,

1272
01:20:59,723 --> 01:21:02,204
and police tell us so far
they've submitted DNA for

1273
01:21:02,335 --> 01:21:04,554
an additional five cases to
see if there's any connection.

1274
01:21:04,641 --> 01:21:12,345
♪

1275
01:21:12,475 --> 01:21:15,652
Today is one of the most
emotional days we've ever had

1276
01:21:15,783 --> 01:21:19,178
in the Nassau County
District Attorney's Office.

1277
01:21:19,308 --> 01:21:22,355
This morning, serial killer
Richard Cottingham

1278
01:21:22,442 --> 01:21:24,487
pleaded guilty to
23-year-old

1279
01:21:24,618 --> 01:21:29,579
Diane Cusick's murder
in February of 1968.

1280
01:21:29,666 --> 01:21:31,886
Cottingham also admitted
to the murders of

1281
01:21:31,973 --> 01:21:33,583
Mary Beth Heinz,

1282
01:21:33,670 --> 01:21:36,325
Laverne Moy,
Sheila Hyman,

1283
01:21:36,412 --> 01:21:39,285
and Maria Emerita
Rosado Nieves.

1284
01:21:39,415 --> 01:21:45,595
♪

1285
01:21:45,682 --> 01:21:49,164
As more jurisdictions learn
just how active he was

1286
01:21:49,295 --> 01:21:51,688
in the 60s and 70s,
in killing women,

1287
01:21:51,819 --> 01:21:54,126
I'm sure more crimes
can be connected to him.

1288
01:21:54,256 --> 01:21:57,477
♪

1289
01:21:57,607 --> 01:22:00,784
If this guy's not
arrested until 1980...

1290
01:22:00,871 --> 01:22:03,309
holy [bleep], how many
could be out there?

1291
01:22:46,134 --> 01:22:49,616
He says it could be up to
100 women that he's killed.

1292
01:22:49,746 --> 01:22:51,531
I have no idea.

1293
01:22:51,661 --> 01:22:55,274
But he went out
and hunted women,

1294
01:22:55,404 --> 01:22:58,799
from the 60s until he
was caught in 1980.

1295
01:22:58,929 --> 01:23:00,670
I've done the math.

1296
01:23:00,757 --> 01:23:02,846
Even just four or
five a year

1297
01:23:02,933 --> 01:23:06,415
adds up to an
astronomical number.

1298
01:23:06,502 --> 01:23:09,201
The reality is,
he liked to kill.

1299
01:23:40,101 --> 01:23:41,798
There are more.

1300
01:23:41,929 --> 01:23:44,671
I know there are.

1301
01:23:44,758 --> 01:23:47,065
I'm hoping...

1302
01:23:47,152 --> 01:23:50,590
as his days grow shorter
and a little darker,

1303
01:23:50,720 --> 01:23:53,288
he, himself,
realizes that...

1304
01:23:53,375 --> 01:23:56,422
his time to allow
these families to

1305
01:23:56,509 --> 01:23:58,946
close those chapters
is running out.

1306
01:23:59,294 --> 01:24:03,690
♪

1307
01:24:03,777 --> 01:24:06,562
You never stop
thinking about it.

1308
01:24:06,649 --> 01:24:09,696
All these girls
were innocent kids.

1309
01:24:09,783 --> 01:24:13,613
You know, they had a
life ahead of them.

1310
01:24:13,743 --> 01:24:16,398
"To the person who
killed my sister,

1311
01:24:16,529 --> 01:24:18,835
The depths of depravity

1312
01:24:18,922 --> 01:24:20,924
necessary for
you to plan and

1313
01:24:21,011 --> 01:24:23,405
commit a crime of
this nature

1314
01:24:23,536 --> 01:24:26,365
against helpless
teenage girls

1315
01:24:26,495 --> 01:24:28,889
is beyond the capacity
of human comprehension

1316
01:24:29,019 --> 01:24:32,371
to adequately understand.

1317
01:24:32,501 --> 01:24:34,460
Before you burn in hell,

1318
01:24:34,590 --> 01:24:37,463
I wish for you a slow,
painful death."

1319
01:24:37,593 --> 01:24:42,685
♪

1320
01:24:42,816 --> 01:24:46,298
Years later, I bumped
into Rob and his family.

1321
01:24:46,385 --> 01:24:48,735
And, I just had to go up
and say, you know,

1322
01:24:48,865 --> 01:24:50,519
I wanted to thank him
because after that point,

1323
01:24:50,606 --> 01:24:52,826
I had the closure
and I felt good.

1324
01:24:52,956 --> 01:24:55,524
And I turned to his son,
and I said,

1325
01:24:55,655 --> 01:24:57,047
"You know, your dad's
a real hero.

1326
01:24:57,178 --> 01:25:01,313
He's a good man, he helped
my family out a lot."

1327
01:25:01,400 --> 01:25:03,489
He's like an unsung hero.

1328
01:25:03,619 --> 01:25:06,709
♪

1329
01:25:06,840 --> 01:25:10,670
18 years of Richard Cottingham
and Rob Anzilotti.

1330
01:25:10,800 --> 01:25:14,413
♪

1331
01:25:14,543 --> 01:25:18,025
The toll that it took on me
was just having to

1332
01:25:18,112 --> 01:25:20,723
kind of eat my
own conscience...

1333
01:25:20,810 --> 01:25:25,075
and my own moral code to
sit and listen to this guy,

1334
01:25:25,206 --> 01:25:30,168
and take in just
how vicious he was.

1335
01:25:30,255 --> 01:25:34,476
But no matter what kind
of scars it's left for me,

1336
01:25:34,563 --> 01:25:36,652
it's been well
worth the ride,

1337
01:25:36,739 --> 01:25:38,480
you know,
for these families.

1338
01:25:38,611 --> 01:25:40,352
It really has been.

1339
01:25:40,482 --> 01:25:47,489
♪

1340
01:25:47,620 --> 01:25:51,363
It was like a game of cat and
mouse between the two of us.

1341
01:25:51,450 --> 01:25:53,843
Each of us was trying
to play the other.

1342
01:25:53,930 --> 01:25:57,456
♪

1343
01:25:57,543 --> 01:26:02,069
That was his way of keeping
the whole game going.

1344
01:26:02,200 --> 01:26:04,463
And as long as
Richard Cottingham

1345
01:26:04,550 --> 01:26:05,942
has air in his lungs,

1346
01:26:06,073 --> 01:26:08,771
he has more
confessions to give.

1347
01:26:08,858 --> 01:26:10,556
I'm convinced of that.

1348
01:26:10,686 --> 01:26:14,560
♪