Aged-23-years 'Dance Teaher', Diane Cusick, Killer charged after 54 years

Diane Cusick was a 23-year-old dance teacher and mother of one when she was found beaten, r*ped, and duct-taped in her car in the parking lot of Valley Stream’s Green Acres Mall that year. It was two days after Valentine’s Day.

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Brutal 1968 mall murder of a Long Island dance teacher: Notorious Serial Killer Charged

Diane Cusick was a 23-year-old mother whose body was found over five decades ago in 1968, but no one had been charged with her murder.

The death of a woman who was strangulated with tape around her neck received a MAJOR update on Wednesday, with her murder reportedly being connected to the infamous “Times Square torso killer.” On February 16, 1968, on Long Island, according to investigators, Cusick was r*ped and strangled in a parked automobile.

According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, “that evening, she informed her parents that she planned to buy a pair of shoes at the Valley Stream Green Acres Mall.”

More than five decades after Diane Cusick's lifeless body was discovered in the parking lot of a mall on New York's Long Island, authorities have linked her death to the so-called "Torso Killer," a serial killer already convicted in 11 other killings. https://t.co/vh5KZzlGlk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 22, 2022

“She never came home again.” After hunting for her, Cusick’s father discovered her body inside the car. For more than 50 years, the case remained unresolved. However, recent DNA evidence has linked Richard Cottingham, the alleged “Times Square Torso killer,” to Cusick’s slaying.

For a slew of killings committed in the 1970s, Cottingham, who is now 75, is presently imprisoned in New Jersey.

He acquired the moniker “Torso murderer” as a result of those crimes, which were even included in a Netflix show. Cottingham entered a not guilty plea after being arraigned on Wednesday from the Saint Francis Medical Center.

12th Murder of Cottingham

If Cottingham is found guilty, this might be the 12th murder for which he is sentenced. Authorities offered fresh information about what they thought took on the night Cusick was killed. They think Cottingham posed to be a mall security guard or police officer.

Officials also think Cottingham may have accused Cusick of shoplifting prior to the killing. “That is what we believe happened on that night,” said homicide squad Detective Capt Stephen Fitzpatrick.

According to the New York Daily News, police were able to match DNA found on Cusick’s hand to Cottingham thanks to recent technological advancements. She had apparently tried to fend him off.

According to Nassau prosecutor Jared Rosenblatt, chief of the homicide division, “Now (he’s) a recognized serial killer, but then an unknown computer programmer in Times Square.” He unknowingly left his DNA behind. According to authorities, he has also been connected to five other murders on Long Island.

Diane Cusick Age, Family, and Early Life

Diane Cusick was 23 years at the time of her death. She was born around 1945. However, we don’t have any information regarding her exact birthdate, birthplace, and parents.