Netflix is continuing to explore the world of true crime with their new three-part documentary series Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer that focuses on the serial killer that stalked Times Square in the 70s and 80s, believed to have taken over 100 lives.
In December of 1979 firemen responded to a call at a seedy hotel in the middle of Times Square, what they discover among the smoke and ash shocked even the most seasoned NYC homicide detectives, triggering a hunt for a vicious serial killer who preyed upon sex workers operating within Times Square’s then-booming, anything-goes sex industry, leading to the arrest of Richard Cottingham, also known as the “Torso Killer,” who was arrested in May of 1980 after the muffled screams of his last victim alerted hotel staff as he tortured her, assaulting her which included him nearly biting her nipple clean off.
The three-part series takes viewers deep into the investigation, detailing the social and systemic forces at play in a near-lawless area that allowed multiple horrific crimes to go unnoticed for years. The killer would torture and brutalize his victims with his youngest victim being 13-year-old, Jacalyn Harp. Over the years he has continued to name his victims and reveal details of the gruesome murders with the most recent being named in April of this year.
Cottingham flew under the radar for years while working at a health insurance company in Manhattan, and hiding behind the mask of a family man, husband, and father of three, he earned the name the “Torso Killer” due to his habit of mutilating the bodies of his victims and leaving behind only their torsos after butchering them and sometimes torturing them for days. Many of the victims’ heads were never found.
The documentary explores the crimes of Cottingham, news footage, and features interviews with those involved in the cases and manhunt that ended with the killer being caught and put through three separate trials in which he was sentenced to 200 years in prison in all.
As a lifelong New Yorker, I’ve watched Times Square become the tourist mecca it is today – but many people have forgotten about the darker era of the late 1970s and early 80’s when it was a near-lawless sexual playground that enabled predators to exploit sex workers, or worse. Through the location-focused lens of this series and this particular season, we unpack how this particular time and place, and a confluence of social forces, created an environment that allowed terrible things to happen and a killer to go unnoticed for too long.” Director Joe Berlinger said.
Explore the unflinching documentary Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer when it debuts on Netflix on December 29, 2021.
