Overview
- Fair Lawn police announced on January 6 that Cottingham, 79, admitted to killing 18-year-old nursing student Alys Eberhardt in her family home in 1965.
- Detectives reopened the case in 2021 under then-Chief Glen Cauwels and pursued renewed interviews and leads led by Detectives Eric Eleshewich and Brian Rypkema.
- Cottingham provided specific information about the home and crime scene that had never been released, which investigators used to corroborate his account.
- Authorities said no new charges will be filed because Cottingham remains incarcerated at South Woods State Prison serving multiple life sentences and faces murder detainers.
- Eberhardt’s family described the development as long-awaited closure, with Police Chief Joseph Dawicki highlighting the community’s loss and investigators’ persistence.