An infamous 'torso killer' who chopped the hands and heads of his victims has admitted to five more gruesome murders.
Richard Cottingham, 76, was convicted of killing six women between 1967 and 1980 after carving up and leaving the mutilated bodies in New York and New Jersey, in the US.
The dad-of-three is currently serving a life-sentence in New Jersey but is now expected to admit to the murder and rape of 23-year-old dance teacher Diane Cusick in 1968.
He has also admitted to the killings of four other women in Nassau County in 1972 and 1973.
Ms Cusick had gone out to purchase some shoes when she failed to return home from a trip to the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.
She was found murdered and the killer was never caught but thanks to DNA testing Cottingham was eventually linked to her murder.
In June this year, the killer was charged for the killing of the Long Island dance teacher after DNA testing showed he was responsible for her death.
Cusick’s daughter, Darlene, thanked authorities during a press conference for not giving up on her mum's case.
She said: “I never thought I’d see this day. I had given up, but all these people got justice for me and for my mother.”
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly believes it is the oldest DNA testing to lead to a prosecution in the US.
The killer is due to enter a plea at Mineola courtroom via a video link from his cell in New Jersey on Monday where he is serving his life sentence.
Cummings has said he murdered as many as 100 victims but his evidence has not been linked to a large majority of them.
The killings Cottingham has been linked to have been proven, including the two women who were found at a hotel near Times Square with their missing heads and hands in December 1979.
One of the victims included 22-year-old sex worker sex worker Deedeh Goodarzi, who was found beheaded. The other victim has never been identified.
Cottingham, who was married and worked as a computer programmer for a health insurance company in New York, was arrested in 1980.
His arrest came after a maid at a New Jersey hotel heard a woman screaming inside his room.
Police were called and found the 18-year-old woman alive.
However, she suffered knife wounds and bite marks to her chest after she was left handcuffed by Cottingham.
