‘Torso Killer’ Pleads Guilty in 1974 Cold-Case Murders

Richard Cottingham (C) known as the "Torso Killer," pleads guilty to two 1974 murders, at a New Jersey Courts virtual hearing, on April 27, 2021. New Jersey Courts via AP

NEWARK—For years, a savage murderer called the “Torso Killer” dribbled out confessions to a New Jersey detective, closing cold cases into the brutal deaths of four young women that dated back to the late 1960s.

But there was one unsolved case the notorious serial killer would never admit to: The slayings of 17-year-old Mary Ann Pryor and 16-year-old Lorraine Marie Kelly in 1974.