Denise Didn't Come Home | 4. The Girl On Old Hook Road

Summary

Summary of "Denise Didn't Come Home | Episode 4: The Girl On Old Hook Road"

The Binge Cases: Denise Didn't Come Home, hosted by Anthony Scalia and produced by Sony Music Entertainment, delves deep into the haunting unsolved murder case of Denise Falasca. In this fourth episode, titled "The Girl On Old Hook Road," the narrative intensifies as new leads and shocking confessions emerge, bringing Karen Falasca, Denise’s sister, closer to uncovering the truth.

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1. Reopening the Case: Suspicions and Frustrations

Timestamp: [00:49] - [03:29]

The episode commences with Karen Falasca reconnecting with host Anthony Scalia. Karen reveals that she has long been skeptical of Richard Cottingham being Denise’s murderer. Despite authorities’ persistent focus on Cottingham, Karen harbors doubts about his involvement due to the disparity between his known brutal methods and the circumstances surrounding Denise’s death.

• Karen Falasca: “I never thought Cottingham did it because what he was arrested for didn't even resemble what happened to Denise. He was horrible. He's a serious piece of work. And his murders were gruesome and brutal. Death and desecration and torture and dismemberment. Why would you think that he did this?” ([01:57])

Karen expresses her mistrust in the prosecutor’s office, suggesting that Cottingham was being used as a convenient scapegoat without substantial evidence directly linking him to Denise’s murder.

• Karen Falasca: “It's not right.” ([02:32])

Despite her low confidence level—rating it a 2 out of 10—Karen remains determined to seek justice, feeling that the authorities have dismissed her theories without proper consideration.

• Karen Falasca: “Probably there is something wrong with me that I can't just let this go. And I can't just accept the fact that they don't call me back.” ([25:52])

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2. Karen’s Journey Post-1969: Struggles and Relocation

Timestamp: [03:45] - [07:55]

Anthony Scalia shifts focus to Karen’s life after Denise’s disappearance. The years following the tragic event were tumultuous for Karen. She struggled academically and personally, ultimately leaving New Jersey to start anew in Colorado. Her journey reflects a desperate attempt to find peace and stability while grappling with the unresolved murder of her sister.

• Karen Falasca: “I just sold everything I owned and left to Colorado. Came out here sort of like, nomadically.” ([05:32])

Karen’s relocation to Colorado marks a period of significant personal growth and hardship. She marries a rodeo cowboy at 21, has two daughters, and eventually becomes a single mother. Her diverse employment history, ranging from waitressing to working for the University of Colorado Police Department, showcases her resilience and relentless pursuit of normalcy amid chaos.

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3. Sparked by JonBenet Ramsey: Renewed Hope for Denise’s Case

Timestamp: [07:55] - [09:50]

The narrative takes a pivotal turn in the mid-1990s when the high-profile JonBenet Ramsey case resurfaces Karen’s interest in Denise’s unsolved murder. Witnessing another young girl’s tragic death reignites Karen’s determination to apply modern investigative techniques, such as DNA testing, to her sister’s case.

• Karen Falasca: “JonBenet Ramsey's murder was very much like Denise's murder. It was scandalous... Can we try this new DNA testing?” ([09:14])

However, upon contacting the Bergen County Prosecutor's office, Karen discovers a stark lack of progress and support, prompting her to take matters into her own hands by visiting the "war room" where Denise’s case files are dismally stored in a cardboard box.

• Karen Falasca: “Why would you think that he did this? It's always been Richard’s time.” ([03:20])

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4. Confrontation with Law Enforcement: Seeking Answers

Timestamp: [09:50] - [15:17]

Determined to push for justice, Karen confronts the investigators handling Denise’s case. Her professional background in law enforcement empowers her to challenge the detectives, but instead of collaboration, she faces hostility and dismissiveness.

• Karen Falasca: “They have to prove it. You can't just wave your finger willy nilly at someone and say they've committed murder.” ([03:45])

The interaction is tense, with detectives refusing to take responsibility for past investigative oversights and showing reluctance to revisit the case with fresh eyes. Among the few sympathetic figures is Detective Rob Anzilotti, who recognizes Karen’s tenacity and begins to take her theories seriously.

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5. Detective Rob Anzilotti: A Beacon of Hope

Timestamp: [12:30] - [19:22]

Detective Rob Anzilotti becomes a pivotal character in Karen’s quest for answers. Assigned to the cold case squad, Anzilotti is impressed by Karen’s dedication. Together, they explore new leads, including interviewing Max, Denise’s boyfriend, though this avenue yields little progress.

Simultaneously, Anzilotti’s investigation into other unsolved murders introduces Richard Cottingham, a known serial killer with a history of heinous crimes. The dynamic between Anzilotti and Cottingham is fraught with tension, as Cottingham initially resists cooperation.

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6. The Relationship with Richard Cottingham: Manipulation and Confession

Timestamp: [20:00] - [29:36]

Anzilotti employs unconventional methods to elicit information from Cottingham, including offering him favours in prison to gain his trust. Cottingham, recognizing the potential benefits, begins to share details about his past murders.

• Cottingham: “I just don’t want you to fuck me. You don’t want me to fuck you?” ([22:00])

Over several years, Cottingham confesses to additional murders, including that of Nancy Vogel, a 29-year-old housewife. His detailed confession includes specific information that aligns with known facts of the crimes, thereby strengthening the case against him.

• Cottingham: “I ended her life. It was in a wooded area behind a cornfield.” ([29:24])

However, Cottingham remains evasive about his involvement in Denise’s case until his conversations with Anzilotti inadvertently lead to new breakthroughs.

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7. Linking Cottingham to Denise: New Discoveries

Timestamp: [30:19] - [36:46]

Cottingham’s confessions, combined with his proximity to other unsolved cases, bring fresh scrutiny to Denise’s murder. Anzilotti connects Cottingham’s modus operandi to the specific details of Denise’s death, particularly the discovery of a bloody handprint and missing skin at the crime scene.

• Karen Falasca: “That was the one piece of evidence that would have solved her case.” ([14:43])

Through Cottingham’s revelations, Anzilotti identifies Irene Blaze, an 18-year-old girl whose murder closely mirrors Denise’s case, both in method and location. Cottingham’s detailed account of Blaze’s abduction and murder provides a tangible link to Denise’s unsolved case.

• Cottingham: “I grabbed her. She was mine at that point.” ([34:22])

The connection is further solidified when Cottingham mentions another victim from Old Hook Road, unmistakably pointing to Denise Falasca. This revelation propels the investigation into a new phase, with Karen’s relentless pursuit of the truth finally aligning with concrete evidence.

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8. The Toll on Karen: Persistence Amidst Frustration

Timestamp: [25:12] - [26:33]

Throughout the episode, Karen’s unwavering commitment contrasts with the bureaucratic inertia of the prosecutor's office. Her persistent calling and emotional toll highlight the personal cost of seeking justice for a loved one.

• Karen Falasca: “It's just been a lot of years of being strung along.” ([25:36])

Anzilotti empathizes with Karen’s struggle, underscoring the emotional burden carried by those left behind in unresolved cases.

• Afwah Hirsch: “She was a monster example of how no matter how many decades go by, the pain of losing a loved one in a violent way and not having answers to that violent ending impact the person that you are.” ([26:06])

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9. Closer to the Truth: Confessions and Concrete Evidence

Timestamp: [30:19] - [36:46]

As Cottingham continues to elaborate on his crimes, his detailed confessions about the murders of Nancy Vogel and Irene Blaze paint a clearer picture of his involvement in Denise’s death. The specific locations, methods, and personal interactions described by Cottingham provide undeniable links to Denise’s case.

• Afwah Hirsch: “Today, Richard Cottingham had confessed to the unsolved murder of Nancy Vogel.” ([31:58])

Cottingham’s admission not only incriminates him further but also opens avenues to explore his potential involvement in Denise’s disappearance and murder on Old Hook Road.

• Cottingham: “I went into my end game. I strangled it.” ([34:22])

The episode culminates with the startling realization that Cottingham’s actions and confessions may hold the key to finally solving Denise Falasca’s murder, setting the stage for the next installment in the series.

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10. Conclusion: The Unfolding Mystery

Timestamp: [36:46]

The episode concludes with a cliffhanger, revealing that Denise Falasca was the only unsolved homicide linked to Old Hook Road, intensifying the anticipation for the next episode. Karen’s unwavering determination combined with Cottingham’s confessions signal a potential breakthrough, yet the mystery remains unresolved, leaving listeners eager for more revelations.

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Notable Quotes

• Karen Falasca: “They have to prove it. You can't just wave your finger willy nilly at someone and say they've committed murder.” ([03:45])

• Richard Cottingham: “I was more than welcoming. We sat in his living room, spoke for several hours. I never got the gut feeling that he was hiding anything or that he was involved.” ([15:39])

• Afwah Hirsch: “She was a monster example of how no matter how many decades go by, the pain of losing a loved one in a violent way and not having answers to that violent ending impact the person that you are.” ([26:06])

• Richard Cottingham: “I ended her life. It was in a wooded area behind a cornfield.” ([29:24])

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Final Thoughts

"The Girl On Old Hook Road" intricately weaves Karen Falasca’s personal anguish with the procedural aspects of re-investigating a decades-old crime. Through meticulous storytelling and compelling interviews, the episode not only advances the quest for Denise’s killer but also poignantly highlights the enduring impact of unsolved crimes on survivors. As new evidence surfaces and alliances form, listeners are left on the edge of their seats, anticipating the eventual unraveling of this cold case.

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Denise Didn't Come Home is available for subscription and further episodes can be accessed through The Binge Cases show page on Apple Podcasts or via GetTheBinge.com.

Transcript

[Afwah Hirsch]

I'm Afwah Hirsch.

[Peter Frankopan]

I'm Peter Frankopan.

[Afwah Hirsch]

And in our podcast Legacy, we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history.

[Peter Frankopan]

This season, we are looking at the life of the British prime minister, Winston Churchill. It's fair to say he's a complex and controversial character almost 150 years since his birth. How does his legacy hold up today?

[Afwah Hirsch]

Follow Legacy now wherever you get your.

[Peter Frankopan]

Podcasts or binge entire seasons early and ad free on Wondery.

[Richard Cottingham]

The Bench.

[Peter Frankopan]

Hey, everyone. Just a quick heads up before we get started. This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault, so please take extra care when listening.

[Karen Falaska]

Hi, Anthony.

[Peter Frankopan]

How are you?

[Karen Falaska]

I'm good. How are you doing?

[Peter Frankopan]

I'm pretty good. Just setting up some equipment here. And I'm back on the phone with Karen Falaska. Since we last spoke, I've learned a lot of stuff that might relate to her sister Denise's case. And I'm thinking that I struck gold. So I have some stuff to tell you, actually.

[Karen Falaska]

Okay.

[Peter Frankopan]

I did, like, a little research on my own. Found out that, you know, like, since I'm in, I told her about my trip to the library, about all the articles I found on the murders of young women in Bergen county, how detectives thought the murders could be connected and that they might be the work of one man, a serial killer named Richard Cottingham. I was expecting a big response, but Karen didn't bat an eye because she already knew about all of it.

[Karen Falaska]

I'd known about Cottingham for a long time.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen told me that Bergen county detectives had been speaking to Richard Cottingham for years, hoping to get information on his unsolved murders. She said they believed that Cottingham killed Denise.

[Karen Falaska]

I never thought Cottingham did it because what he was arrested for didn't even resemble what happened to Denise. He was horrible. He's a serious piece of work. And his murders were gruesome and brutal. Death and desecration and torture and dismemberment. Why would you think that he did this?

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen said she hadn't mentioned Cottingham to me because the detectives had asked her to keep it quiet. Cottingham had told him that if anything he said was leaked to the media, he would shut down, swearing me to silence.

[Karen Falaska]

It's not right.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen said she already had her doubts. And then she found out that Cottingham was getting special perks in prison for the information he gave them.

[Karen Falaska]

They just kept buying this guy who's in prison for life favors to get him to say something. They've always wanted to pin this on him. And I said, he's like a sitting duck. He'll say anything for a meal ticket. And I know, and I really feel in my heart they've told me a big lie to get this case off their plate.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen said that detectives never took her theories of who killed Denise seriously.

[Karen Falaska]

They've never done anything with the information that I brought to them because in their mind, they already knew it was Richard.

[Peter Frankopan]

Let me ask you this question. What is your confidence that Cottingham is responsible on a scale of 1 to 10?

[Karen Falaska]

2.

[Peter Frankopan]

Wow. Okay, so Karen seemed so sure that Cottingham wasn't Denise's killer. But after doing my own investigation, I was starting to think he might have done it. And I was starting to wonder why Karen didn't.

[Karen Falaska]

I wanted to accept that he did this. I will accept. But they have to prove it. You can't just wave your finger willy nilly at someone and say they've committed murder. They have to prove it.

[Peter Frankopan]

My name is Anthony Scalia from Truth Media and Sony Music Entertainment. This is. Denise didn't come Home.

[Afwah Hirsch]

These unsolved cases haunted the Bergen County Prosecutor's office for many years.

[Peter Frankopan]

What happened here?

[Afwah Hirsch]

Two carefully decapitated female bodies were found at a West side motel.

[Karen Falaska]

I whiskered up the bed, went into a whole body, a naked body.

[Afwah Hirsch]

We had a serial killer that was out there almost on a daily basis.

[Richard Cottingham]

Mentioned his name was Richard Cottingham, I think.

[Karen Falaska]

Holy smoke. I caught one hell of a guy.

[Afwah Hirsch]

He said he didn't go back far enough.

[Richard Cottingham]

Oh, my God.

[Afwah Hirsch]

13 years. He's out on the street.

[Peter Frankopan]

He could be responsible for hundreds of victims. Chapter four. The Girl on Old Hook Road. I'd been talking to Karen Falaska for months, and I learned a lot about her life before her sister Denise's murder. But we hadn't talked much about what happened after. I have a really clear picture of your childhood. But between 1969 and 1996, what were you doing? What was your life like? That's the sort of big gap right now that I can't picture.

[Karen Falaska]

Oh, wow. Okay. That's a big question. I was trying to find myself. Yeah.

[Peter Frankopan]

After Denise was killed, Karen struggled to get through high school. And as soon as she graduated, she decided to get away for good.

[Karen Falaska]

I just sold everything I owned and left to Colorado. Came out here sort of like, nomadically. Didn't know anyone. I lived in this really beautiful mountain town, really kind of remote, and I just came out here and got lost for a while. But really lost in those years that you're asking me about. Underneath everything, I was always trying to be okay. The way everything fell apart, I didn't want to be losing my mind or you know what I mean? Like I was working hard on being okay.

[Peter Frankopan]

Up to that point. Karen had told me in great detail about the darkest thing that had ever happened to her. But when we got to the years after the murder of her sister, for some reason Karen held back.

[Karen Falaska]

I'm leaving out a lot. I definitely went through some dark times. At one point my dad flew out here and really begged me to come home. And I had nothing here and no one. But I didn't want to go back to New Jersey. It took me a while to find my feet. And I kind of got involved with a real cowboy, a real rodeo riding, bronco busting cowboy. I don't know if I was just looking for something to hold onto in my life, but I married him when I was young. I was 21.

[Peter Frankopan]

Eventually, Karen and her cowboy had two daughters. They all lived in a little cabin together.

[Karen Falaska]

We were like worlds apart in the sky and it didn't work out for us.

[Peter Frankopan]

After a few years, the marriage ended and by the 80s, Karen was raising her two daughters alone.

[Karen Falaska]

I just worked and worked and tried to raise kids. I feel like I struggled. I wanted to be the best person I could be for the young people in my life, you know.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen cycled through a series of jobs. She worked as a waitress. She wrote essays for college students. She was even a cashier at a gas station. And then one day in the mid-90s, she noticed a posting for a job with the University of Colorado Police Department in Boulder.

[Karen Falaska]

Never in a million years thought I would get that job. But I did. And I thought maybe there was a reason why I got to be there. And I didn't even realize it. The next thing that happened was Shawn Bonnet got killed.

[Peter Frankopan]

Past Santa Claus in his sleigh and a double row of candy canes. Deputy coroners brought the body of six year old JonBenet Ramsey from her upscale home. In 1996, on the day after Christmas, a little girl named JonBenet Ramsey was found strangled in the basement of her house in Boulder. Boulder police won't comment on her cause of death. They are investigating her death as a homicide. So far no arrests have been made. The case became a nationwide spectacle and the media swarmed.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Mr. And Mrs. Ramsey, what do you want to say to the killer of your daughter?

[Peter Frankopan]

God knows who you are and we will find you. Crowds of reporters Were camping out in front of the police department where Karen worked and where detectives were meeting on the Ramsey case.

[Karen Falaska]

I had a front row seat to everything that was going on. Jonbenet Ramsey's murder was very much like Denise's murder. It was scandalous. You know what I mean? It was a huge case. It was JonBenet's case that made me look again at Denise's case. I started thinking about how much we can do now as opposed to what we could do in 1969. Can we try this new DNA testing? And that's where I sort of hooked back into the case.

[Peter Frankopan]

From Colorado, Karen started calling the bergen county prosecutor's office. She wanted to see if there'd been any updates or breakthroughs. She learned that there hadn't been any progress at all.

[Karen Falaska]

It wasn't being taken as seriously as I was taking. It seemed like more aggressive steps needed to be taken. I flew to the bergen county prosecutor's office to review the case file and ask them a line of questions that I had developed. They took me in to see the case file in what they called the war room. Denise's pile was literally a cardboard box. It hadn't been protected in any way from the air, from the elements. I was shocked to see that the crime scene pictures were terrible. She was there on the ground. There were a lot of police officers walking around. There were photographers leaning over her body taking pictures. There were a lot of people, Like a lot of cops, they smoked cigars right over her body. Not the way we know to handle a crime scene.

[Peter Frankopan]

Today, Karen started paging through the police reports.

[Karen Falaska]

No work's been done on him. No transcriptions, no organization pages missing. Like, how are you supposed to work this case?

[Peter Frankopan]

After going through the case file, Karen was taken upstairs to a conference room.

[Karen Falaska]

We were sitting around a table, and I was at the head of the table. I was there alone because they told me I couldn't bring anybody. And there were six of them. Everybody looks big to me because I'm really small, but these guys were big, and they were intimidating.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen must have felt like she did when she was 13, when detectives like these had interrogated her about Denise's murder. But Karen wasn't a little kid anymore. She was a professional working in law enforcement. And she started peppering the detectives with questions. Had they thought about retesting for DNA? Had they considered exhuming Denise's body to collect more evidence? And why were no new suspects being developed?

[Karen Falaska]

It was tense. They got mad at me, and they leaned forward and raised their voices with me and told me that they weren't going to take the blame for what some investigator did X amount of years ago and that they didn't feel that they had to explain what somebody else did in another date and time.

[Peter Frankopan]

As Karen glanced around, there weren't a lot of friendly faces except for one young man down at the other end of the conference table, a detective by the name of Rob Anzilotti.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I was just still a young buck of a homicide detective. Like, what the hell did I know? I would have just sat there, pretty much kept my mouth shut and listened.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzalotti had recently been assigned to the cold case squad, and watching Karen that day left an impression on him.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I gave her a lot of props and kudos for her tenacity and relentlessness to make sure that the Bergen County Prosecutor's office stayed focused on her sister's case. I think that Karen was tormented by the death of her sister and the fact that it had never been solved. And I felt for her. I wanted justice for Denise, but for Karen as well.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzilotti was put in charge of the cold cases of murdered women in Bergen county, and he became Karen's main point of contact at the prosecutor's office. Karen wanted to meet with Anzilotti to share the information she'd gathered on Denise's murder. And eventually he and his partner flew out to Colorado.

[Afwah Hirsch]

She had an entire binder full of her own investigative report and whatever supporting documentations that she was able to do in her own way as a civilian. She made a pitch on who she suspected the killers were and why.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzilatti sat with Karen, thumbing through her binder as she told him about what she remembered from the weeks leading up to the murder. Things you heard about in episode two. She remembered Denise fighting with her boyfriend Max in the parking lot at a fourth of July fireworks display. She said that a couple days later, Max had drugged Denise and told her that he was going to kill her. And she remembered that in the days after the funeral, Max had a nasty looking gash on his hand.

[Karen Falaska]

That's when they stopped and told me about the square patch of skin that was missing in the bloody handprint.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzilotti told Karen that when Denise's body was found in 1969, she had a bloody handprint on her leg and there were fingerprints. At the autopsy, the coroner removed a patch of skin to preserve the handprint. Then Anzilotti told her the bad news.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I was never able to find that evidence where it ultimately was lost. I Have no idea.

[Karen Falaska]

I said, what? What? That was the one piece of evidence that would have solved her case. I said, that is part of this story. I'm not saying you guys screwed up. I'm saying help me uncover what happened.

[Peter Frankopan]

Despite the tension, Anzilatti was intrigued by Karen's memories.

[Afwah Hirsch]

She had a lot of detail, and there was enough merit there that they needed to be run out. So we went down every road.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzolatti went back to New Jersey, back to his other cases. But he kept thinking about Karen's theory about Max. And eventually he tracked him down.

[Afwah Hirsch]

We ended up interviewing him in his home. He was more than welcoming. We sat in his living room, spoke for several hours. I never got the gut feeling that he was hiding anything or that he was involved.

[Karen Falaska]

It took, like, a year to act on that information. And then when they acted, I have no way of knowing if they acted properly or not. They claimed they interviewed him, they separated him from his family, but they couldn't hold him, and they had nothing to hold them on. There was nothing they could do.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I think I told her, like, listen, we ran it out, and we're going to look in other directions.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen didn't know it at the time, but Anzilotti had started working another angle. He'd been making trips to Trenton State Prison to interview known killers, and one of them was this guy, Richard Kuklinski. Kuklinski was a notorious Mafia hitman, better known on the streets as the Iceman.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I was getting some confessions from him on some organized crime hits and some unsolved cases in Bergen and Hudson counties.

[Peter Frankopan]

And on one of those visits, Anzlotti learned something. The Iceman had a famous neighbor on his cell block, Richard Cottingham.

[Afwah Hirsch]

What I knew about Cottingham initially was that he was this torso killer, killing prostitutes and quote, unquote, like easy prey, right? Street walkers, runaways.

[Peter Frankopan]

And Ancelotti knew that Cottingham had murdered more women than he was convicted of.

[Afwah Hirsch]

The Iceman despised Cottingham. He felt like Cottingham was beneath him. He felt Cottingham was, you know, a savage for hurting women. And, you know, who does that type of thing?

[Richard Cottingham]

That fucking guy out there. He's lucky I'm not on the street. I bang his fucking head.

[Afwah Hirsch]

One killer's moral code was offended by the other.

[Peter Frankopan]

The Iceman told Anzalati that Cottingham was running a bookmaking operation in the prison.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Monday morning after Super Bowl Sunday, I had arranged for the prison to raid Cottingham's cell and some of his runners cells. That led to some evidence of prison violations because it led to evidence of the bookmaking operation. So that got Cottingham thrown into what they called the hole, solitary confinement. He'd been sitting in the hole for about 48 hours before I went down there. They brought him out to the interview room I was in. He's dripping in sweat, his eyes are like bright red. He's got to be £350. And he's got the long white beard. He's a fat Santa Claus looking motherfucker. And I was like, this guy's a fucking mess. I've stepped to him and explained to him that I was the reason he was in the hole. Hello, Mr. Cardigan.

[Richard Cottingham]

You caught me. You got me. Throw a hole, a wall, fucked up. If you fuck me, I'm not going to take nothing.

[Afwah Hirsch]

So that started the relationship, obviously on a contentious and confrontational note. But we worked our way through it.

[Peter Frankopan]

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[Afwah Hirsch]

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[Peter Frankopan]

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[Afwah Hirsch]

In the shadow of Princeton.

[Peter Frankopan]

In 1989, a prominent woman was found stabbed to death in her Princeton home.

[Afwah Hirsch]

With no clear motive.

[Peter Frankopan]

It's a chilling mystery that vexed investigators for years.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Was the culprit a young outsider the police said was a serial attacker? Or someone in her family? Or even well heeled students at the renowned Princeton University? He had a ski mask in his possession and a knife.

[Peter Frankopan]

She was familiar enough with them and trusted them enough that she turned her back on him.

[Richard Cottingham]

And that was her mistake.

[Peter Frankopan]

One investigator sees a conspiracy. Is he way off base or does.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Privilege help you get away with murder?

[Peter Frankopan]

In the Shadow of Princeton is available wherever you get your podcasts or you can binge it ad free by joining.

[Afwah Hirsch]

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[Karen Falaska]

I'm Indra Varma and in the latest season of the Spy who we open.

[Afwah Hirsch]

The file on Daphne park, the spy.

[Karen Falaska]

Who killed a prime minister.

[Peter Frankopan]

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[Karen Falaska]

Listen to podcasts.

[Peter Frankopan]

Detective Rob Anzolatti had introduced himself to Richard Cottingham by getting him thrown in the hole. Now Anzalotti was hoping to mend the relationship. Step one, being on time for their meetings at Trenton State Prison.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Hello, Mr. Cottingham, you asked for 115, 117. You got a complaint? I know there's got to be a complaint.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzilotti was hoping to get Cottingham to open up about other murders he'd committed in Bergen county, maybe even confess to some of those murders. But Cottingham made it clear he wouldn't be giving any information for free.

[Richard Cottingham]

I'm not gonna do anything until I get what I want first.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Well, you'd like something if we can do it. Then that's what motivates you to tell us about something then we both have. He was big on, well, what are you gonna do for me? And really, what can you do for somebody that's doing multiple life sentences in prison, right? Little stuff. They get food packages. So it started with, I'll pay for your food package so it doesn't come out of your commissary account.

[Richard Cottingham]

So the food packages, yeah, that's. That's the meal.

[Peter Frankopan]

Karen told me that Cottingham was the kind of guy who would say anything for a meal ticket. And in these first tapes Anzolatti recorded, Cottingham is driving the terms of the deal.

[Richard Cottingham]

You know, I just don't want you to fuck me. You don't want me to fuck you?

[Peter Frankopan]

Cottingham insisted that any murders he confessed to would never be made public. Anzalotti agreed.

[Afwah Hirsch]

If it was something that I said, I'll take care of that for you. I made sure that I took care of it, and I came through on my end. What I'm trying to show you is that I am willing to bend over backwards to make sure that everything's accommodating. That's the big thing. And that started to build up a level of trust between the two of us. Are we fairly comfortable with the roadmap.

[Richard Cottingham]

We just laid out?

[Afwah Hirsch]

Yeah, it's probably the wackiest thing I ever heard of.

[Richard Cottingham]

A ceiling.

[Afwah Hirsch]

But you know what? This whole thing is a little wacky, so why the fuck not?

[Richard Cottingham]

This is crazy. You have a number in your head that you think. I would say it's well over 80. You think that many? Well over. You might think the number I threw out 80s as being alive. I was out there every night like an animal. So what was the thrill?

[Afwah Hirsch]

Was it more rape control?

[Richard Cottingham]

It was getting away with it. It was the game, the stalking. I didn't go out to kill somebody. I wasn't a serial killer. You just told me you think you killed. That fits the definition pretty well.

[Afwah Hirsch]

In his mind, he was the smartest killer ever out there, constantly changing up his methodologies as a way to throw off law enforcement.

[Richard Cottingham]

Most anyone I killed was when I would be somehow Connected to them. And I didn't want to get caught. It was more a thing, just not getting caught. My whole thing was not to make a pattern, which I never did. I wasn't stupid, you know, it was like the perfect murder every time.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzolatti wanted Cottingham to confess to his unsolved crimes, but he started to realize that Cottingham was playing games with him, stringing him along to keep him showing up.

[Richard Cottingham]

There's a particular case that I want.

[Afwah Hirsch]

To try and figure out if we can either rule you in or rule you out.

[Richard Cottingham]

So if it is impossible that it's you, then I'd appreciate you just telling me that it's not impossible. It's possible. I'm pretty confident it's possible to be ill.

[Afwah Hirsch]

He loves to play with people. He's the king of the carrot and the stick. I mean, he absolutely would throw out just a little tidbit. And then when he saw I got excited over that tidbit, he'd shut it right down and be like, ah, I didn't say we were gonna talk about that.

[Richard Cottingham]

Not just for free with him. And the longer you keep me talking and you're getting all these little snippets, what do they add up to though, buddy? Add up to nothing.

[Afwah Hirsch]

You're right.

[Richard Cottingham]

Nothing's for free. Nothing's for free for you either, though. It's a two way street. So, of course.

[Peter Frankopan]

These conversations between Cottingham and Anzalotti went on for years. And across the country, Karen was getting impatient.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Karen was very frustrated by the process. If she could call every day and say, you know, why aren't you working on my case? She would. I talked to Karen for hours at times on a Sunday night when I'm off and trying to put my kids to bed or whatever. But she would be going through something and she just really needed an ear. And I would sit there and talk to her and listen to the pain that she had.

[Karen Falaska]

It's been a lot of years of bringing things to them and waiting a year for them to make a decision, or waiting six months. It's just been a lot of years of being strung along.

[Peter Frankopan]

There was only so much Anzolatti could tell Karen, but that made her feel like he was shutting her out.

[Karen Falaska]

Probably there is something wrong with me that I can't just let this go. And I can't just accept the fact that they don't call me back. I was mad that we lost her, but I was really mad that nobody wanted to do anything about it.

[Afwah Hirsch]

She was A monster example of how no matter how many decades go by, the pain of losing a loved one in a violent way and not having answers to that violent ending impact the person that you are and how much you're consumed with this thirst for answers and a thirst for knowledge of what happened. And she was utterly consumed by it.

[Richard Cottingham]

What do you want for dinner tonight? Let's start with the simple what do we. What do we. I don't need anything expensive. Well, that's good because I didn't really.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Want to splurge on you because you.

[Richard Cottingham]

Haven'T given me anything.

[Peter Frankopan]

By 2010, Anzalotti had started bringing Cottingham out of prison to the Burton County Prosecutor's Office where they would sometimes spend days talking. And Cottingham would be rewarded with his favorite foods.

[Richard Cottingham]

Kenny, fried chicken. Really? I don't eat that.

[Peter Frankopan]

They had been talking for six years. If Anzolatti was going to keep doing Cottingham favors, he needed something real out of him.

[Richard Cottingham]

Give me some one of these girls, tell me a little something about them. Little something?

[Karen Falaska]

Go ahead.

[Richard Cottingham]

It's always a little something.

[Afwah Hirsch]

It was a grind. I mean, to spend eight or 10 hours in a room with him was really a grind at times.

[Richard Cottingham]

Don't go back to the old Richie. The old Richie was a cantankerous pan in the ass. The old Richie is not done.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Dirty little rabbit fucker.

[Richard Cottingham]

But we gotta talk about what I'm gonna get out of it. The satisfaction of righting a wrong.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I constantly hammered the theme home to him about how important it is for the survivors, the victims, families to know what happened.

[Richard Cottingham]

The surviving people have an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

[Afwah Hirsch]

They want to know every last detail.

[Richard Cottingham]

Of what happened or.

[Peter Frankopan]

And one of those surviving people was Karen Falaska.

[Afwah Hirsch]

We had one from 1960, 1969.

[Richard Cottingham]

The girl's sister to this day harps on us over what are we doing.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzolatti kept pushing and finally Cottingham started to give details on his first murder. The murder of a 29 year old housewife named Nancy Vogel.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Today's date is Wednesday, July 7, 2010. The time now is 7:10pm this will be the statement of Richard Cottingham. Once we put the recorder in front of him, he gets noticeably nervous. His leg starts to shake, he pulls on his ear when he's nervous. Where was it that you met her?

[Richard Cottingham]

Little ferry. We had a couple drinks and the Holiday Inn.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Did you ultimately then end up taking a ride with her?

[Richard Cottingham]

Yes, up to northern New Jersey. I believe it was Montvale.

[Afwah Hirsch]

And what occurred while you were up there in Montvale.

[Richard Cottingham]

I ended her life. It was in a wooded area behind a cornfield. We had sex.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Did it begin consensual and turn into an assault? What happened?

[Richard Cottingham]

It was. It was like a forced consensual. But she didn't have a choice.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Do you recall how it is that you killed her?

[Richard Cottingham]

I believe I smothered her.

[Afwah Hirsch]

You smothered her how?

[Richard Cottingham]

I held my hand over her mouth and held her nose closed.

[Afwah Hirsch]

And did you do that to the point of her death?

[Richard Cottingham]

Yes.

[Afwah Hirsch]

When you don't have conclusive evidence. We're still taking the word of a convicted serial killer. I trusted him when I could verify what he had to say during the actual confession. He gave a number of things that only the killer would know. She had just gone shopping and there were packages in the trunk. And that was something from the file. Did you check anything in the car?

[Richard Cottingham]

Well, I looked in the trunk.

[Afwah Hirsch]

Do you recall anything being inside the trunk?

[Richard Cottingham]

There was a couple packages.

[Afwah Hirsch]

And that made me very comfortable that he was truly the killer.

[Peter Frankopan]

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[Afwah Hirsch]

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[Peter Frankopan]

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[Richard Cottingham]

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[Richard Cottingham]

Today.

[Peter Frankopan]

Richard Cottingham had confessed to the unsolved murder of Nancy Vogel. Now, Detective Rob Ancelotti was sure that Cottingham had killed a woman in Bergen county in the late 60s. And he knew that there were more.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I remember it like it was yesterday. We were driving him back to prison and he was real chatty on the way back. It was almost like his guard was down. He's talking so casually, he thinks, like, this is not going to hurt him at all. He's like trying to convince me, like, listen, I don't remember everybody, but some of them I have an image in my head. He's like, there's this one girl and she looks just like this actress on this TV show that Roswell that I watch in prison. And he said the name of the actress. The office was about an hour and a half drive. So I can't wait to just drop his fat ass back in prison and get back to the office and google this name. And sure enough, when I pulled up the picture of her, she was a striking resemblance for Irene Blaze.

[Peter Frankopan]

Irene Blase was an 18 year old girl who was strangled in Saddlebrook in 1969. Her body had been dumped about a mile from where Denise's body would be found just three months later.

[Afwah Hirsch]

I was very convinced that the same killer that killed Irene Blaze killed Denise Velaska.

[Peter Frankopan]

Anzolati went back to Cottingham to get him to talk about Blaze.

[Richard Cottingham]

If we can just.

[Afwah Hirsch]

In your own words, why don't you.

[Richard Cottingham]

Just tell me what you remember? Where did you first encounter this victim? They seen her inside the Sears department store and she walked out and I followed her out. I asked her, you know, how about we go get a drink? And she hesitated. And then she says, well, I can go for one drink. We walked over to the bus station. There was a phone there and I picked that up and I got a taxi cabin.

[Peter Frankopan]

A witness who saw Irene Blaise that night remembered her talking to a man who fit Cottingham's description near a bus stop. And that witness remembered something else.

[Afwah Hirsch]

The witness said that the person had, like a nervous tick where they kept pulling on their ear.

[Richard Cottingham]

Is there any particular, for lack of a better word, nervous habit or anything you would do when you're standing around speaking to somebody? I constantly would do it. Okay, so you play with your ear. My right ear.

[Peter Frankopan]

Cottingham told Anzolatti that he took Irene for a couple drinks. Then they got in his car.

[Richard Cottingham]

I pulled the car over. It Might have been like a parking lot of a closed store or something that was all dark. And then I grabbed her. She was mine at that point. I mean, once they were in a darkened area, you know, they do what you tell them to do. It's out of fear, right? Exactly. I go, like into my end game. I strangled it. I'm going to show you a couple of pictures. Is that the girl that you met.

[Afwah Hirsch]

On Main street and ultimately killed that night?

[Richard Cottingham]

Yes. For the record, Richard Tottenham has identified a photograph of Irene Blaze.

[Peter Frankopan]

When he was done confessing to the murder of Irene Blaze, Cunningham said that something about it jogged his memory. There was another girl he picked up right around that time.

[Afwah Hirsch]

You recall abducting a girl from Old Hook Road?

[Richard Cottingham]

I definitely took a girl from Old Hook Road.

[Afwah Hirsch]

What he told me was he remembers a girl on Old Hook Road by the hospital. This is an entirely different case, correct?

[Richard Cottingham]

Yes, correct. Entirely different case. Can you describe for me what you remember?

[Afwah Hirsch]

And I know you don't remember a whole lot of it at the moment.

[Richard Cottingham]

I remember seeing a girl walking along the street along Old Look Road. I pulled up in front of her. She walked up and she was just looking in the car. I said, you need a ride? I think she said, no at first. I said, okay, and I started to drive and then she said, oh, okay. When you're willing to just drive off, they feel safe that you weren't going to do anything. That's when she got in the car. When I would do these things, it was almost like a different person doing it. I would go into what I used to call the zone. It was like being drunk. You know, you did something. Sometimes a whole blotch isn't there?

[Afwah Hirsch]

From what you remember.

[Richard Cottingham]

You're rock solid. Taking this girl from Old Hook Road. I did have a girl from all the Grove.

[Afwah Hirsch]

There's only one unsolved homicide of a girl that we last saw on Old Hook Road, and it's Denise Velasquez.

[Peter Frankopan]

That'S on the next episode of Denise Didn't Come Home. Unlock all episodes of Denise Didn't Come Home ad free right now by subscribing to the Binge Podcast channel. Not only will you immediately unlock all episodes of this show, but you'll get binge access to an entire network of thrilling true crime and investigative podcasts, all ad free. Plus, on the first of every month, subscribers get a binge drop of a brand new series that's all episodes all at once. Unlock your listening now by clicking subscribe at the top of the binge Cases show page on Apple podcasts or visit getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen. Denise Didn't Come Home is a production of Truth Media in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment. I'm your host Anthony Scalia. This episode was produced by Ryan Sweiker and me with help from Alexa Burke. Story editing by Mark Smerling. Kevin Shepard is our Associate producer. Scott Curtis is our Product Production Manager from Sony. Our executive producers are Jonathan Hirsch and Catherine St. Louis. Fact checking by Dania Suleman. Kenny Kusiak did the mix. Sound design by Kenny Kusiak and Ryan Swigert Music by Kenny Cusiak, Epidemic Sound and Marmoset. Our title track is Gimme Some by Weevil. If you've been enjoying the show, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 646-665-2748 and leave us a voicemail. Don't forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It really helps other people find the show and thanks for listening.