Rifkin initially told investigators that he'd driven to New York City in 1989 to pick up a prostitute named Susie, according to a 2013The Associated Pressarticle. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family. Eugene Corcoran, shown onJune 18, was one of the lead investigators in the Joel Rifkin case. clothing, jewelry, drivers licenses, library cards, and credit cards belonging to approximately 10 women. But he accelerated, speeding down the next off-ramp, into the streets of Wantagh. The victims who have been identified, from past Newsday coverage: Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. Oh! Actually, he later said, I thought I liked her.. Anna Lopez: Lopezs nude body was found May 25, 1992 in a wooded area off Interstate 84 in Putnam County, according to The New York Times. The killing game was over, but the quest for justice had only begun. The only 80s action star that would prove victorious against a 21st-century assassin is not a man but a machine. Joel Rifkin was an unemployed New York landscaper living a dark double life as a prolific serial killer claiming the lives of 17 women, a staggering total. Unlike Orvieto, Holloman was identified from dental records and returned to her family for burial. Simpson. [Sex workers are]easy because they travel a lot. His lawyer argued that his statements to the police at the time of his arrest should be suppressed because he had not been informed of his rights. This guy seems like the real deal.". Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for April 9, Prince Harry's 'attacks' on 'villain' Camilla led to Frogmore Cottage eviction: expert, Film industry reacts to death of 'Saving Private Ryan' star Tom Sizemore: 'You're a legend', Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves take bumpy second flight after 'CHAOS' on Lufthansa plane: 'Wish me luck', Kelsey Grammer wont apologize for the 'difference' that Jesus has made in his life, Person roaming in 'Scream' Ghostface costume prompts multiple police calls. Rifkin had apparently forgotten the date of his fathers death and told police he murdered Barbara Jacobs in August 1991, although her body had been found in July. While Jan and Jeanne stayed mostly silent during the court proceedings, even as reporters staked out their now-infamous home, his sister did speak to New York Post reporter Andrea Peyser. A 9 a.m. media report cleared up the mystery, and Jeanne phoned her lawyer, who referred her to criminal attorney Robert Sale. He was also an academic failure, suffering from undiagnosed dyslexia despite a tested IQ of 128. Bored and restless, he cut classes habitually, completing only one course in the 1977-78 academic year. Prison was an exaggerated replay of high school, with constant threats and taunts from other convicts. At first he was telling us like he didnt know anything about the body in the back of the car and then he was basically saying that he knew she was there but he doesnt know what happened, former New York State Police Trooper Sean Ruane told CNN in 2018. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. (Robert Mladinich). Rifkin arrived at Attica state prison in February 1996, sporting a black eye from his first assault by fellow inmates while confined on Rikers Island. So who were the women who lost their lives to this disturbingkiller? Susie was still alive, however, and she fought back when he tried to move her, biting one of Rifkins fingers deeply before he strangled her to death. Joel Rifkins zodiac sign is Aquarius. He dismembered the corpse as before, placing the head, arms and legs in buckets weighted with concrete; the torso filled a milk crate by itself. By the time Rifkin was done taking guilty pleas throughout the area, he had been sentenced to 203 1/3 years to life in prison. Three years later they moved to East Meadow, Long Island, and Joel entered first grade at Prospect Avenue Elementary School. The 31-year-olds body was later found inside a plastic bag, stuffed into a cardboard box and thrown into the Hudson River. Midway through the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Fred Klein offered Rifkin a sweetheart deal--46 years to life on all 17 murders, in return for a blanket guilty plea--but Rifkin refused the bargain, apparently convinced that he would be acquitted on grounds of insanity. Rifkin then asked for paper, a pen, a map and a calendar, and wrote out a list of 17 victims, how he killed them and where he left them. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Rifkins bedroom reading material included a book on the unidentified Green River Killer and news clippings about the case of New York serial slayer Arthur Shawcross. Jane Doe #2: A second unidentified woman was killed some time during 1991. New York: St. Martins Press, 1993. Neighbors recalled strange odors emanating from Rifkins garage, but they had assumed he stored insecticides there, for use in his garden and landscaping business. Hes not the murderer, she reassures. And Rifkin told WCBS-TV in 2011 that his victim count would have likely been much higher if he hadnt been arrested in 1993. Joels parents gave him a car that year, and he used it to troll for prostitutes, first in nearby Hempstead, later in Manhattan. Fred Klein described Rifkin as a sexual sadist who relished his victims suffering: He got caught red-handed, and now hes using and abusing the concept of mental illness. Lawrence called his client a paranoid schizophrenic who lived in the twilight zone, overwhelmed by violent, irresistible compulsions that took control of his life. Rifkin, for his part, snored through much of the prosecutions case, a performance Lawrence blamed on allergies to the bologna sandwiches he ate in jail. Rifkin initially claimed he had blacked out, but soon admitted that Bresciani had not been his only victim. O.J.! In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, where Joel would spend most of his remaining years. When its Joel Rifkin, the name of a notorious New York serial killer whose brutal four-year murder spree ended when he was caught in June 1993, it was grim grist for an episode of the hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld that premiered just five months after his arrest. He didn't wet the bed or torture animals or start fires. Maryann Holloman, age 39, was retrieved from Coney Island Creek in her oil drum on July 9, two days before passers-by found the skeletal remains of Lorraine Orvieto nearby. Rifkin had his only real girlfriend in Brockport, but the relationship went nowhere, his paramour recalling Joel as sweet, but always depressed. Back at home with his parents, Rifkin tried Nassau Community College again, attending erratically, earning only 12 credits by the time he finally quit in 1984. Instead of fighting back, Rifkin invited them to watch TV and drink beer at his house. In Rifkins cluttered garage, detectives followed their noses to a reeking wheelbarrow, extracting three ounces of human blood. He never really displayed that. Her severed head was found on a golf course and her legs were found in Jefferson Township, the Times of Trenton reported. He gave names when he knew them, dates, where he picked them up and, crucially, where he had dumped the bodies. Rambo: Last Blood is currently in theaters. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Compatible with Rabbit or Goat. The only thing that makes me feel a little better is to think that perhaps she didnt die in pain.. June 27, 1993. Throughout the 1980s, Rifkin worked a series of odd jobs around Long Island, seldom staying long at any. A forensic anthropologist was hired to reconstruct the victims face, but Rifkin confessed before the model was finished. Please, it would be so great!. It came from the dead body of Tiffany Bresciani, 22, the girlfriend of Dave Rubinstein (a.k.a. From the motel, he drove upstate to Orange County and left DeLucas body at a rest stop outside Cornwall, near West Point. Joel picked her up on July 13, 1991, and took her home to East Meadow for sex. , After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. or redistributed. Violet ONeill, a 21-year-old prostitute, was the first victim Rifkin had taken home to East Meadow in nearly a year. The night he was arrested, Rifkin told troopers where he had picked up the woman found in his truck, Tiffany Bresciani, 22, of Louisiana, and how he had killed her, but troopers wondered if hed done this before, Corcoran said. When police later searched his mothers home, they found a treasure trove of mementos that Rifkin had saved from his victims,including drivers licenses, their underwear, jewelry, and other trophies, according to a 2018Newsdayarticle. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! "Water is harder to investigate than land because it washes everything," he said. Credit: Newsday/K. Abandoned by the father of her two children, Evens found solace in drugs and worked the streets to keep herself well. Rifkin found her tricking on February 27, 1993, stopping for sex in an abandoned parking lot. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. They could learn life skills, like write a check, parenting skills just how to livetheir lives in a safe way. Instead of keeping him away from prostitutes, the incident made him more devious. There was no regret or wanting to bring the victims back. Theyre never disturbed by the sounds of murdering, just stereo. A chainsaw found in the garage was stained with blood and bits of human flesh. Somewhere along the way, he moved from abstract study of the killers into emulation of their brutal crimes. And police weren't aware that one man was specifically targeting sex workers in the area. Rifkin didn't display the typical signs of a budding murderer. NASHVILLE TV PRODUCER VERONICA BOZZAS MURDER EXPLORED IN TRUE CRIME DOC: THE WHOLE THING WAS SENSELESS, O.J. His employer at a local music store described Joel as a total piece of work. The Seinfeld team wasted no time trying to churn laughs out of one of New Yorks most horrible mass murderers Rifkin is believed to have killed up to 17 women and is the subject of Oxygens upcoming special, Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer,, The whole city is talking about this monster. That explained Rifkins use of Noxema. He will be eligible for parole in 2197. MADHATTERDESIGN@GMAIL.COM, Like old school VHS Covers? I want to show these girls, these prostitutes, have families who care. Featuring specials about fearsome and fascinating serial killers, its a cant-miss event for true crime fans. On May 25, 1992, he strangled crack addict Anna Lopez, dumping her corpse in some woods off Interstate 84, in Brewster. He dismembered their bodies and disposed theirremains in the New York area. Their recorded conversations are the focus of a new true-crime documentary titled "Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer," which is part of Oxygen channels "Serial Killer Week.". Joel Rifkin, and I am dating Joel Rifkin, laments Elaine, whose coworkers have gotten wind of the creepy coincidence. Joel Rifkin was an unemployed New York landscaper living a darkdouble life as a prolific serial killer claiming the lives of 17 women, a staggering total. Back at the landscaping lot, Rifkin stuffed her into an oil drum, drove her body to Brooklyn and dropped it into Coney Island Creek. Check out our sister site VHS WASTELAND. He was born on January 20, 1959, the son of unwed college students who were not prepared to start a family. The severed head was found in 1989 in Hopewell, a town north of Trenton. And if he hadn't been caught, he likely wouldn't have stopped, he admits in Oxygen's new special, "Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer," airing Saturday, April 10 at 7/6c on Oxygen. He wasn't driving erratically or doing anything odd. MURDER OF MICHAEL JORDAN'S FATHER EXAMINED IN NEW DOC, RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT SHOCKING INVESTIGATION, Joel Rifkin, New York's most prolific serial killer, is the subject of a new true-crime documentary on Oxygen. Joel Rifkin telephone. The crowd stops cheering and squirm, while Elaine does damage control. Before the trial, Lawrence said, Rifkin established a better rapport with the prosecution psychiatrist, serial killer expert Eliot Park Dietz, than he did with his own mental health expert, forensic psychologist Barbara Kirwin of Huntington. A shy, awkward child, he was a target for bullies. Poor hygiene, chronic absenteeism and general ineptitude blocked the road to advancement. She wasnt what they said she was, Gonzales said. When she fell asleep, he clubbed her with the same table leg he had used on Julie Blackbird, then finished the job by manual strangulation. The Terminator could easily take out John Wick and he wouldnt even see it coming. When authorities searched Rifkin's East Meadow home, they found all the evidence they needed:clothing, jewelry, drivers licenses, library cards, and credit cards belonging to approximately 10 women. Corcoran said it played a role in his promotion from lieutenant to captain. She was found by a fisherman on July 11, 1992, two months before her family filed a missing persons report. "Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer,". Rifkin was ultimately sentenced to 203 years in prison, where he remains to this day. Oxygens Serial Killer Week brings viewers inside the minds of the most notorious criminals of all time. The couple was so happy with their son that they repeated the procedure, with a daughter, three years later. He kept her credit cards and a wicker handbag filled with costume jewelry--so much, in fact, that the amount would briefly cause detectives to inflate his body count. Classmates dubbed him The Turtle, after his slouching posture and slow gait. Rifkin didnt stop after his first murder. Klein became chief of Nassaus Major Offense Bureau soon afterward. "Some people viewed him as an oddball. Mladinich, Robert. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz. They cite physical evidence and Rifkin's statements in linking Balch's killing to him. Homicide detectives began interrogating Rifkin at 8:25 a.m. on June 28, 1993. The drivers license identified him as 34-year-old Joel David Rifkin, residing on Garden Street in East Meadow, Long Island. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Sale called the state police at 3:30 p.m. and ordered them to cease interrogation of his client, but the questioning continued in Sales absence for at least another hour, until Rifkin completed his grim recital of death. As much as I say I wanted to stop, there probably wouldve been others, he admitted. When asked about the body, Rifkin said, She was a prostitute. It worked. She was actually a woman named Heidi Balch, who had used various identities throughout the years. Rifkin went back to school in spring of 1992, taking uncredited classes at SUNY Farmingdale. She had pieces of skin under her fingernails, her sister Margarita Gonzales told The Associated Press in 1993. He was still so tense when he got out of his car that he said he sprained his back. He then dismembered Susies body and her remains were scattered throughout New Jersey. O.J. The pickup truck Joel Rifkin was driving when he was caught sits at New York State Police Headquarters in Farmingdale on June 28, 1993. Credit: Newsday/Jim Peppler. The site he chose was an illegal dump, 200 feet off Rockaway Boulevard, within sight of JFK International Airport. (It was still there, waiting for detectives, at the time of Joels arrest.) Tiffany Bresciani: Rifkins final victim, Tiffany Bresciani, 22, hadmoved to New York from her home in Louisiana to pursue her dream of becoming an actress or singer. Most of Rifkins 20 paintings and sketches depicted wildlife or flowers, but one--titled Guardians Failure--showed a bare foot with a coroners toe tag and an angel weeping in the corner. Joel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. Joel Rifkin is a serial killer who went on a string of murders in New York in the 1990s. A motorist stopping to relieve himself found Lopez the next day. Another colleague chimes in, adding Hey, Elaine, listen. Rifkin, who is the focus of Oxygen's upcoming special,"RifkinonRifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer" airing Saturday, April 10 at 7/6conOxygenas part ofSerial Killer Week,often targeted sex workers,who he was able to kill without calling much too much attention to their disappearances. Would. Joel dismembered her body into the East River. Joel David Rifkin: New York's Most Prolific Serial Killer. She was a prostitute, he told the officers. Hewent to painstaking efforts to try to conceal the bodies, often dismembering the victims, placing their bodies in oil drums, or throwing them into bodies of water, he would later tell WCBS-TVin 2011. Confronting them, she was first told that Joel had been detained after a traffic accident, then that he was jailed for a crime which the officers refused to describe. When police approached the vehicle, they noticed an absolutely overwhelming odor, according to Newsday. In 2010, Rifkin was interviewed by ABC's Martin Bashir as part of the Nightline Prime mini-series, Secrets of Your Mind. Welcome to November, the month when, according to some studies, serial killers and mass murderers are most likely to be born. Mary Catherine Williams, 31, was linked to Rifkin after some of her credit cards were found among Rifkins belongings, according to a, She had pieces of skin under her fingernails, her sister Margarita Gonzales told, in 1993. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Curiously, though, the driver of the pickup did not stop. "There were no cameras on every block. Weary of the pain by February 1987, he took a massive dose of barbiturates and died after four days in a coma. He was only caught because of a small mistake, and he would have kept killing, he admits. Her body was never recovered. Do you think I need a lawyer?. It was a half-hearted effort at best. At 39, Mary Ann Holloman was his oldest victim, an addict who sewed personalized G-strings for strippers when she wasnt working the streets. Joel She vowed at the time to be present in the courtroom to let Rifkin and others know that the victims had been more than sex workers. Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a. . both were veterans, but Teasle was ruler of his own little fiefdom and wanted to keep it. A high-speed chase ended in Mineola, where he crashed into a utility pole which was located directly in front of the courthouse in which he would eventually stand trial. Despite finding that Wexner should have excluded Rifkins confession to the Bresciani murder--an argument pursued in vain for five years--the appellate court found overwhelming evidence establishing his guilt and refused to overturn any part of his sentence. ", GARY HEIDNIKS ATTORNEY TALKS INSANE HOUSE OF HORRORS KILLER IN DOC: THERE WAS A METHOD TO HIS MADNESS', Jenny Soto's family. He recalls killing one hooker in 1989 and another in 1990, dismembering their bodies and dropping the pieces into Manhattan canals, but the butcher work repulsed him, and he didnt really hit his stride until 1991. Rifkin arrived at Attica state prison in February 1996, sporting a black eye from his first assault by fellow inmates while confined on Rikers Island. Rifkins last victim, Tiffany Bresciani, was another southern girl. (Photo by Rick Maiman/Sygma via Getty Images), "If these crimes were happening today, I think the police would have made the connection quickly," he shared. They let him go with a warning. They also sought to suppress his initial admission of Brescianis murder, made at the time of his arrest, while claiming that police had lacked sufficient probable cause for a legal search of Rifkins truck. Joel Rifkin "Joel never expressed any remorse whatsoever to me," said Mladinich. Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? On the early morning hours ofJune 28, 1993, three days after he had killed Bresciani, Rifkin stashed her body in his car's trunk and headed down the Southern State Parkway to dispose of her, the New York Daily News reported at the time. They questioned him for eight hours, but for some reason never recorded the sessions. Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! June 29, 1993. When they signaled for him to pull over, Rifkin kept driving. In many ways, it was almost like a tsunami.. In 1989, Rifkin picked up a sex worker named "Susie." Her mother told the newspaper in 1993 that her daughter had been a happy and outspoken child, who later struggled with drug abuse and began to work as a prostitute. The Disturbing Truth Of Serial Killer Joel Rifkin YouTube By Tyler MacDonald / April 1, 2021 10:52 am EST For a span of four years in the early 1990s, serial killer Joel Rifkin left a string of terror across New York City as he satisfied his fixation on strangling sex workers to death. Prosecutor Fred Klein described Rifkin as a killing machine who acted in deliberate, premediated and methodical ways to carry out his gruesome murders, The New York Times reported in 1994. A formal suppression hearing was scheduled for November, but Rifkin had other plans. I couldnt put two nickels together, Rifkin recalled of those years, and most of what he did earn went to prostitutes. Of course, many of the victims had concerned loved ones who were desperately looking for them after they vanished however, many of the bodies weren't recovered until after his capture, so police weren't making a connection in the cases. Each giant issue is perfect bound and chock full of true crime articles, artwork, letters, documents and more. Market data provided by Factset. It also includes the best true crime artwork from around the world. He specifically killed women who were less visible insociety. They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings. In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. This massive perfect bound Ted Bundy collection includes art, articles, rare interviews, documents, letters, transcripts and the serial killers entire FBI file. They opened the truck and found Bresciani. Barbara Jacobs: Jacobs was killed on July 14, 1991. The suppression hearing convened before Judge Ira Wexner on November 8, 1993, Soshnick and Lawrence picking up where Sale left off in the effort to quash Rifkins confession. He remembered her tattoos, a pickup in Manhattan, and the way she fought for life when he began to strangle her. That first murder gave way to many more; he killed 16 more sex workers, often dismembering their bodies and disposing of themin the New York area. She fought him, resisting strangulation until he snapped her neck. The cocaine in her system prompted detectives to brand her a drug mule, killed accidentally by the rupture of drug-filled condoms in her stomach. WebJoel Rifkin, best known for being a Criminal, was born in New York, United States on Tuesday, January 20, 1959. He admitted dumping two womens bodies in Suffolk County, but troopers continued to question him, Corcoran said. They talked about trial strategy and how to present his case. What I found the most interesting was when he said they could also learn how to protect themselves from people like me. He described himself as a wolf in sheeps clothing. She was missing one earring, later found in Rifkins bedroom stash. Doubling back from there, he returned to Manhattan, pitching the arms and torso into the East River. Excluded from team sports and neighborhood games, Joel was the butt of every prank and sadistic joke: bullies assaulted him in school and pulled his pants down, stole his lunch and books, and harassed him constantly. The argument over whose killings were better reportedly ended when Ferguson punched Rifkin in the mouth. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! One high school date was scuttled after fellow track team members trapped him in the gym and pelted him with eggs, forcing Joel to call his father for help. He has been married to Iva Rifkin since August 28, 1966. WebJoel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. He was vague on dates, different reports placing the crime 14 months after Susies murder, or late in 1990. Here is a list of Rifkins victims: Heidi Balch: Authorities believe Heidi Balch was Rifkins first victim but it would take decades before she would ever be properly identified. Rambos escape made him look bad and so he had to eliminate that insult to his own overblown ego. After sex, he reportedly bludgeoned her with a Howtizer artillery shell and strangled her to death. The son of unwed teenage parents, born in 1959, Joel was adopted by Ben and Jeanne Rifkin at three weeks of age. found in 1989 identified, linked to serial killer She liked dressing up.. When they left, six hours later, the searchers carried off at least 228 items (one report claimed there were more than 1,000) linked to Rifkins four-year murder spree. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Michael Ahearn, then the chief of the Suffolk district attorneys Homicide Bureau, recalled how Rifkin continually corrected him during cross-examination. If he were to receive any money, it would be subject to state laws that earmark most of the award for the families of his victims. This huge, perfect bound copy of SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE is chock full of artwork, rare documents, trivia and in depth articles regarding serial murder. He picked her up on West 46th Street in Manhattan and strangled her in his car during oral sex, describing the event as very quick. Afterward, he drove back to Long Island with the body slumped beside him, concealing her under a tarp at his rented workplace. When flashing red lights failed to stop the driver, they used the loudspeaker, ordering the driver to halt. Oh please, please, please change your name to O.J.! However, a drug problem resulted in sex work to feed her addiction, Newsday reported. Pittsburgh woman missing for 31 years found alive in Puerto Rico, School shooting survivor has emotional audition on "American Idol", exclusive 2011 interview with CBS-2's Mary Calvi. The Rifkins also adopted a daughter, Jan, in 1962. Lawrence said he paid an enormous toll, starting with the day of the conviction. The other parts went into garbage bags and then into his mothers car. Why do people try to quit smoking for their entire lives?" It did change me personally, he said. It was hell from day one. One of the bullies who harassed him later called Rifkin an abuse unit. Troopers detected an odor from the back of the truck. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. "Where I am right now today, I know this is the best placefor me," he says. Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. He complained to his landlord, I keep losing all my customers, and by summer he was falling behind on his rent. Joel JODI ARIAS APPEARED FRIENDLY AFTER TRAVIS ALEXANDERS BRUTAL MURDER, EXPRESSED REMORSE FOR HIS DEATH: DOC, Serial killer Joel Rifkin led cops to the skeleton of one victim at the outskirts of New York City's Kennedy International Airport. WebLearn about Joel Rifkin Net Worth, Biography, Age, Birthday, Height, Early Life, Family, Dating, Partner, Wiki and Facts. Theyre intelligent, always seeking more knowledge, and exclusive. The New York Times Next Up Episode 5: Oak Beach Is there more than one? Rifkin Rifkins father was chronically ill. A heavy smoker, already afflicted with emphysema, Bernard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in fall 1986. Credit: Randee Daddona. [2] Early life [ edit] Rifkin's birth parents were both young college students and his biological father was an Army veteran.
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