Warning! This post contains spoilers for Woman of the Hour.
This post contains mentions of murder, sexual assault and the real-life violent crimes of Rodney Alcala and Richard Cottingham.
Despite going through many crucial events of Rodney Alcala’s criminal timeline, Woman of the hour Missing one crucial detail. Given that the Anna Kendrick true-story thriller only has a limited runtime, it’s understandable why it only depicts a segment of Rodney Alcala’s true-crime story instead of going through his long list of crimes. However, it is still surprising that the show does not even mention one interesting fact about Alcala’s time in New York, despite some of the crimes he committed during his stay in the city.
Before Woman of the hours final arc ensues, a sequence shows how an unsuspecting flight attendant took the help of Rodney Alcala while moving furniture to her new home. It was based on Alcala’s real-life encounter with a 23-year-old Trans World Airlines flight attendant, Cornelia Creeley, whom he sexually assaulted and murdered in June 1971. Alcala was not only associated with several other crimes during his New York City. Stay, however, also worked with another American serial killer.
Rodney Alcala worked with serial killer Richard Cottingham while living in New York
The two surprisingly worked under the same roof
Rodney Alcala first moved to New York to avoid an arrest warrant issued against him for the sexual assault and attempted murder of an 8-year-old in California. To avoid his arrest, he even adopted a new identity by enrolling at NYU under the name “John Berger.“In the years that followed, he also spent several years working in New York City, which is when he ended up being recruited by the same company where serial killer Richard Cottingham was employed.
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Long before Richard Cottingham served multiple life sentences for committing several murders and being labeled as the “Torso killer“and the”times square repair,” He was a computer operator for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. During his stay in New York in the early 1970s, Rodney Alcala, too, ended up being recruited by the same organization. Given how Richard Cottingham continued to work at the same location until his 1980 arrest, He and Rodney Alcala shared a unique, uneasy connection by coexisting in the same workplace.
Did Rodney Alcala and Richard Cottingham know about each other’s crimes?
Neither claimed to know the other
Although Rodney Alcala and Richard Cottingham worked for the same organization in New York City, there are no reports of the two being aware of each other’s presence. While the two may have unknowingly crossed paths at some point, There is no evidence that they knew each other.
The fact that the timelines of Rodney Alcala and Richard Cottingham intersect is even more disturbing because it highlights how both had a very similar facade of normalcy before they were caught.
As coincidence would have it, the two serial killers just somehow ended up in the same workplace at a time when both were actively committing their respective crimes. The fact that the timelines of Rodney Alcala and Richard Cottingham intersect is even more disturbing because it highlights how both had a very similar facade of normalcy before they were caught.
What happened to the Times Square Ripper, Richard Cottingham
He was caught on May 22, 1980
In the early 1970s, Richard Cottingham was arrested twice after two different sex workers filed complaints against him. However, both cases were eventually dismissed because the complaints did not appear in court for further proceedings. His last arrest was on May 22, 1980, when he took an 18-year-old sex worker, Leslie Ann O’Dell, to his room at the Hasbrouck Heights Quality Inn. After abusing and threatening her in the motel room, Odell pointed a fake gun at him that Cottingham had previously used to scare her.
However, when the gun did not work, Cottingham charged at her with his knife. Fearing for her life, O’Dell screamed, drawing the attention of the motel’s employees. Shortly after, the police arrived and arrested Cottingham at gunpoint. After his 1981 trial ensued, three more abduction and sexual assault victims testified against him in court with Leslie Ann O’Dell. In the trials and investigations that followed, Richard Cottingham was linked to at least 18 victims. According to reports, Richard Cottingham is serving a life sentence at South Woods State PrisonBridgton, New Jersey, US
Woman of the Hour Key Facts Breakdown |
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Directed by |
Anna Kendrick |
Rotten Tomatoes critics score |
90% |
Rotten Tomatoes audience score |
70% |
Running time |
1 hour 29 minutes |
Rodney Alcala, like Richard Cottingham, also managed to get away with his crimes for several years. After many initial arrests, however, Alcala, too, was finally arrested on July 24, 1979, which triggered the investigation of his long and disturbing criminal history. As shown in Woman of the hourRodney Alcala died at the age of 77 on July 24, 2021, while on California’s death row.