Cold Case Closure Follows Richard Cottingham Confession

Authorities closed a decades-old murder case after Richard Cottingham confessed to the 1965 killing of 18-year-old Alys Eberhardt in Fair Lawn.Investigators reopened the cold case in 2021 and eventually secured a full confession from Cottingham, who is currently 79 years old and serving multiple life sentences.Local police confirmed that Eberhardt was a nursing student murdered in her family home, but the serial killer will not face additional charges for the crime.