The Golden Age of Murder: A True Crime Podcast · Golden Age of Murder

Interview with Dr Peter Vronsky, author of “Sons of Cain”

·1 hr 31 min·5 clips

Dr. Peter Vronsky says he met Richard Cottingham fleeing a double murder in a hotel elevator.

1. The Golden Age of Serial Murder episode centers on The Golden Age of Serial Murder interview with Dr. Peter Vronsky about Sons of Cain and Richard Cottingham. 2. Simeon and Toby host Dr. Peter Vronsky, a historian and author, and he says Sons of Cain is foundational for their podcast series. 3. The episode asks how serial murder became a subject of study for Vronsky and why his historical method matters. 4. Vronsky says his interest began on December 2, 1979, when he encountered Richard Cottingham in a hotel elevator in New York City. 5. He describes the hotel as being in Hell's Kitchen near Times Square and says Cottingham was fleeing a double murder. 6. Vronsky says the newspaper reports later showed two female torsos were found burning in the room he had just left. 7. He says he did not recognize Cottingham’s face at first and later identified him by his haircut after seeing a newspaper photo about 18 months later. 8. Vronsky says the term “serial killer” was not part of media, literature, or public culture in 1979. 9. He says New York Times references to “serial murderer” begin appearing around May 1981 in coverage of Wayne Williams. 10. He connects the later spread of the label to books, movies, and other media during the 1980s and 1990s. 11. Vronsky contrasts Cottingham with earlier labels such as Jack the Ripper, the Boston Strangler, and Psycho-style movie monsters. 12. He says Robert Ressler, John Douglas, and Ann Burgess were building the behavioral program that later became FBI profiling. 13. Vronsky says the profiling manual did not appear until 1986, so investigators in 1979 lacked a shared model for serial offenders. 14. He says Cottingham’s crimes were not obviously linked because some victims were strangled, some were stabbed, and some were left in different places. 15. He says Cottingham’s signature was control and possession of the victim, even when the modus operandi changed. 16. Vronsky says the room fire was meant to trigger firefighters to hose out the scene, and only one small hemming pin survived as physical evidence. 17. He says the Cottingham trials in New Jersey and New York were largely circumstantial and relied on pattern evidence, witness testimony, and limited forensic links. 18. The conversation becomes more theoretical when Vronsky links serial murder, espionage, and human evolution to repeated concealment and control. 19. This episode suits listeners who want Cottingham, FBI profiling, and historical criminology. 20. It may not suit listeners who want a short, light interview with no forensic detail.

As heard by us

A historian's route into serial murder, with reporting gaps and police silos that kept cases apart.

Dr. Peter Vronsky brings a historian's eye to serial murder, starting with the 1979 moment when Richard Cottingham crossed his path and widening into an era when the term serial killer was still being tested in law enforcement and had not yet entered common use elsewhere.

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Why you'd press play

A hotel check-in, a torso killer, and the hard-to-name beginnings of serial murder.

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