American homicide; a family man and model employee who lived a double life. Married on 5/03/1970, he was a good provider and husband, working as a computer operator at Blue Cross Insurance Co. His son Blair was born 10/15/1973, son Scott on 3/28/1975 and daughter 10/13/1976. After her birth, he stopped having sex with his wife for the following three years.
He did, however, have a rap sheet. On 10/03/1969 he served ten days in jail for drunk driving. On 8/21/1972, he was picked up for shoplifting and on 9/04/1973, robbery and sexual assault of sodomy; the case was dismissed.
From 1977, at night he prowled Manhattan’s red-light district looking for women to abuse. On 3/22/1978, Karen Schilt left Bellevue Hospital about 7:30 PM after visiting her husband. He stopped at a bar for a drink where she talked to Cottingham for about an hour. He slipped a drug into her drink and when she left, feeling woozy, offered to drive her home to New Jersey. At her home, he sexually assaulted and robbed her; she survived. On 10/12/1978, he picked up a prostitute, Susan Geiger, in New York. He drugged her and took her to a motel where he assaulted and beat her; she survived.
On 12/02/1979, he left two dead prostitutes in a motel room that was set on fire. Their heads and hands had been severed and the fire set between their legs. He had checked into the motel three days before.
On 5/04/1980, he left a mutilated dead prostitute, Shelly Dudley. She was found badly beaten after intercourse. His m.o. was to pick up a girl, arrange a fee and take her to a bar where he doped her drink. When she was too drugged to comprehend, he would take her to a motel, beat, rape, sodomize and kill her.
On 5/11/1980, he picked up Pamela Weisenfeld, a prostitute; she lived. The body of another prostitute, Jean Reyner, was found on 5/15/1980. On 5/22/1980, Leslie Ann O’Dell was tortured at a motel. Cottingham was arrested the next morning about 9:30 AM. On 8/14/1980, he was charged with three homicides.
On 6/27/1984, Cottingham slashed his left wrist; survived. During his time in prison he made two suicide attempts and had a bleeding ulcer. He was found guilty on 7/09/1984 of three murders, though suspected of others.
Link to Wikipedia biography