Thomas J. Cavanagh Jr., 82, the New York detective who inspired the TV series "Kojak" and acquired the nickname "Velvet Whip" for his skill in extracting confessions, died Aug. 2 in Margate, Fla. He had chronic lung disease.
"The Marcus-Nelson Murders," a 1973 TV movie in which Savalas first played Kojak, was based on the sensational 1963 murders of two young women on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a case solved by Mr. Cavanagh's investigative team.
Police had arrested a 19-year-old who was carrying a picture of a young woman who resembled one of the victims. The man claimed he found the picture in the trash in New Jersey -- but later confessed to both murders.
Mr. Cavanagh didn't buy the confession. His detectives found experts who said foliage in the photo was from New Jersey and eventually tracked down the woman, still living, who said she had thrown the picture out.
The detective team's efforts exonerated the first suspect, whose confession was found to have been coerced. Another man was arrested, and after Mr. Cavanagh obtained his confession, he was convicted.
The possibility that the wrong man could have been executed was a factor in leading New York state to abandon the death penalty in 1965.
Mr. Cavanagh retired in 1976 after 36 years as a police officer.
Survivors include five children, a brother, two sisters and seven grandchildren.
