18: The Times Square Killer: Reconstructing the Crimes — What His Conversations Reveal

About this episode

This episode analyzes the crimes of Richard Cottingham, the Times Square Killer, through interviews and evidence reconstruction.

Who is the Times Square Killer—and how many people did Richard Cottingham actually kill? In this episode of UNMARKED, we reconstruct the timeline of Cottingham’s crimes across New York and New Jersey—tracking his early escalation, his use of deception and control, and how he was able to evade detection for years. Featuring criminologist Peter Vronsky, who has spent over 700 hours in direct conversation with Cottingham, this episode draws on firsthand interviews, police records, and cold case developments to separate fact from fiction. We examine: Cottingham’s early violent escalation in the 1960s His movement across jurisdictions and how it prevented linkage His use of authority ruses, manipulation, and control The Times Square environment in the 1970s and its role in victim selection Ongoing efforts to identify unknown victims and close cold cases This is not a retelling—it’s an analysis of the evidence itself. Because with Cottingham, the story isn’t just what happened. It’s what’s missing. If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday When life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at…

People in this episode

Host: UNMARKED

Guest: Peter Vronsky

Topics covered

• Times Square Killer
• Richard Cottingham
• criminology
• cold cases
• victim identification
• crime analysis

Keywords

• Times Square Killer
• Richard Cottingham
• criminologist
• cold cases
• victim selection
• crime timeline
• New York
• New Jersey

Sponsors

BetterHelp

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Charles Manson: The Last Words

More episodes of UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast

• 26: Clifford Olson: The Killer Who Sold Bodies · June 10, 2026 · 50 min
• 25: Wayne Williams: Psychopath or Scapegoat? · June 3, 2026 · 56 min
• 24: Erin Caffey: Who Was Really Responsible? · May 27, 2026 · 55 min
• 23: John Wayne Gacy: What His Death Row Attorney Discovered · May 20, 2026 · 58 min
• 22: The Happy Face Killer: Psychopathy, Control, and Confession · May 13, 2026 · 48 min
• 21: Joel Rifkin: What the Psychologist Discovered · May 6, 2026 · 54 min