She was identified through DNA testing on August 20, 1993. Homicide detectives began interrogating Rifkin at 8:25 a.m. on June 28, 1993. "He said he wanted to feel some remorse or feel some humanity towards them. A pair of womens panties lay on the floor, near a stockpile of rope and tarp. On the September night he picked up 31-year-old Yun Lee, a Korean native he had been with before, she was his second prostitute in an hour. Script writer Peter Mehlman had clearly read reports about how the serial killer was captured. But that all change in 1993 after Rifkin said he made a "25 cent mistake. Lawrence said he paid an enormous toll, starting with the day of the conviction. You dont even use a name, its just initials. 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. There was none of that. In interviews this month, investigators and lawyers shared their memories of the case that stunned Long Island 25 years ago, and the effects it had on their lives. "And a lot of them are dangerous people. Oh please, please, please change your name to O.J.! Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer Premieres Saturday, April 10th, 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, 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 2018. The crowd stops cheering and squirm, while Elaine does damage control. He said he had demanded an attorney 20 times. He never really displayed that. He is now the district executive for the federal courts in the Eastern District of New York. He was very interested in horticulture and interned at the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park. Thats right. Whats in a name? A shy, awkward child, he was a target for bullies. (Oxygen). Rifkin's prison life In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. As he strangled her, Rifkin recalled, She did nothing, just accepted it. He remembered her murder as one of the weird ones.. They had destroyed themselves through their lifestyle. Though Rambo didnt kill anyone in 1982s First Blood, he was basically a psychopath by the end of the James Cameron-scripted sequel; Stallone directed 2008s Rambo with an understanding that the formula works best when distilled to its gun-blazing essence. Featuring specials about fearsome and fascinating serial killers, its a cant-miss event for true crime fans. By Becca van Sambeck & Oxygen Staff From 1989 to 1993, a Joel According to the documentary, Rifkin picked up hundreds of sex workersand he eventually left college before finishing. Called The Masseuse, the episode first aired on November 18, 1993. Rifkin just didn't excel in academia or sports, and so he struggled with feeling like a disappointment to his dad. We are happy to say that the Serial Killer Trading Cards are back! Back in East Meadow, Jeanne Rifkin found officers circling her house by mid-morning. Joel Rifkins zodiac sign is Aquarius. Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans. Credit: Newsday/K. They also found a blood-stained wheelbarrow and chainsaw at the residence. Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) is an American serial killer convicted of the murder of 9 women (although it is believed he killed as many as 17), mostly drug addicted prostitutes, between 1989 and 1993 in New York City. New York state troopers Sean Ruane and Deborah Spaargaren were patroling Long Islands Southern State Parkway at 3:15 a.m. on June 28, 1993, when they spotted a Mazda pickup truck with no rear license plate. She had pieces of skin under her fingernails, her sister Margarita Gonzales told The Associated Press in 1993. According to the outlet, Rifkin admitted to the other slayings during questioning. A forensic anthropologist was hired to reconstruct the victims face, but Rifkin confessed before the model was finished. alaw enforcement source told The New York Daily News at the time. 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. Joel Rifkin Real-life romance eluded Rifkin, for the most part. Appearing for the state, Dr. Park Dietz--earlier a prosecution witness against Arthur Shawcross, Jeffrey Dahmer and John Hinckley--found Rifkin sick but not insane. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Hes not the murderer, she reassures. Joel Rifkin, meanwhile, killed 17 people a staggering amount of victims that makes him New Yorks most prolific serial killer. She was found by a fisherman on July 11, 1992, two months before her family filed a missing persons report. He was vague on dates, different reports placing the crime 14 months after Susies murder, or late in 1990. In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. By the time he got home, she was swaddled in tarp and concealed in the trunk. Put off by the thought of another dismemberment, Rifkin wrapped Jacobs in plastic, folded her into a cardboard box, and placed her in the back of his mothers Toyota pickup. "When I heard his name on the radio, I pulled over. All rights reserved. "Back in the late 80s and early 90s, it really was not hard to get away with such crimes," said Mladinich. He researched past crimes for details. aspect of comedy, the Rifkin episode of Seinfeld aired just five months after his The next to die, Lauren Marquez, was a 28-year-old addict and prostitute, hooked on drugs before she left her native Tennessee for New York City. Wexner gave Rifkin 25 years to life for murder, plus two and one-third to seven years on the lesser charge. Joel Rifkin, and I am dating Joel Rifkin, laments Elaine, whose coworkers have gotten wind of the creepy coincidence. New York: Berkley Books, 1994. He was deployed to South Vietnam in September of 1966 with the 101st Airborne, which he would complete two tours of duty with. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. He didnt speed up, either, but he kept on driving. Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) is an American serial killer who was sentenced to 203 years in prison for the murders of nine women between 1989 and 1993, though he is believed to have killed up to 17 victims in all. It is also packed with unusual trivia, exclusive interviews and much more. As his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. She fought him, resisting strangulation until he snapped her neck. New York: St. Martins Press, 1993. The confession and the evidence collected from Rifkins bedroom left him boxed in as his first trial approached in Nassau. He said he sat in his car outside his home for an hour and a half, listening to Frank Sinatra. In November, he pleaded guilty to the Sanchez homicide in Queens and to three more counts in Brooklyn: victims Orvieto, Holloman and the Jane Doe killed in 1992. So altogether that makes 299 kills by one man so far, and theres still two more films to come. Rifkin had no time to move the corpse, but his mother never knew. And police weren't aware that one man was specifically targeting sex workers in the area. He was on his way to dump the corpse near Melvilles Republic Airport, some 15 miles north of his house, when Troopers Ruane and Spaargaren noted his lack of a rear license plate. Mary Catherine Williams, 10 years older than ONeill, had been a high school homecoming queen and college cheerleader in her native North Carolina. . With no money, Rifkin attempted to hold down a job, but that also became another unsuccessful moment in his life. Rifkins first two victims have never been found or identified. 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. She was missing one earring, later found in Rifkins bedroom stash. Rifkin suffered a major anxiety attack after learning that Susie was HIV positive, following the case as police prepared artists renderings of the victim in life and checked them against a list of 700 missing women. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Rifkin admitted to the 17 slayings after his May 1994 murder conviction in Nassau County. The New York Times Next Up Episode 5: Oak Beach Rifkin was transferred at once to the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. His other victims included Tiffany Bresciani, Julie Blackbird, Lauren Marquez, Mary Catherine Williams, Barbara Jacobs, Yun Lee, Maryann Hollomon, Leah Evens, Violet ONeill, Mary Ellen DeLuca, Lorraine Orvieto, Iris Sanchez, Jenny Soto, and Anna Lopez, Newsday reported. 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Police searched his mothers home and discovered a room full of evidence driver's licenses of victims, their underwear, their jewelry and other trophies Rifkin had kept. Rifkins father was chronically ill. A heavy smoker, already afflicted with emphysema, Bernard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in fall 1986. Eugene Corcoran, shown onJune 18, was one of the lead investigators in the Joel Rifkin case. Joel Rifkin, New York's most prolific serial killer, is the subject of a new true-crime documentary on Oxygen. I had sex with her, and then I killed her. Out in the garage, they found a wheelbarrow and a chainsaw stained with human gore. Joels poor grades embarrassed his father, a member of the East Meadow School Board. Seventeen women in total were murdered by this shadowy figure but police at the time weren't even aware he existed. Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time. Flexing his ego, he fired Sale and retained two new lawyers: former Nassau County assistant district attorney Michael Soshnick and his partner, John Lawrence. Two floaters in as many days suggested a serial killer at large, but New York police had their hands full with 2,000 murders a year in those days, and junkie prostitutes were never high priority. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. The drivers license identified him as 34-year-old Joel David Rifkin, residing on Garden Street in East Meadow, Long Island. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Her mother, Florence Orvieto,told The New York Times that she had been saving her Christmas presents for two years until she learned in 1993 that her daughters body had been discovered in a 55-gallon oil drum in Coney Island Creek in Brooklyn. Troopers detected an odor from the back of the truck. The couple adopted another child, a daughter, three years later. Mladinich, Robert. The main story plot concerned Elaine (Julie Louis-Dreyfus) going out with a likable guy named Joel Rifkin (Anthony Cistaro) at the same time serial Joel Rifkins gruesome exploits were all over the news. The killing game was over, but the quest for justice had only begun. The murders spanned four years, and all the victims were described as prostitutes by Rifkin, though surviving relatives of several vocally dispute his claim. After strangling Lopez in his car, Rifkin drove through the night to Brewster, in Putnam County, and dumped her corpse along I-84. Joel Rifkin, also known as Joel the Ripper, was a serial rapist and killer who operated in the New Y ork City area and surrounding boroughs, from 1989 until his capture in June 1993. Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. 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. "There were mini clusters, little sets of three," Rifkin said. They enjoy helping others and are good companions until someone close crosses them, then look out! "RifkinonRifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer". Authorities say 25-year-old Heidi Balch likely was the first victim of Joel Rifkin, who is in prison in New York after admitting he killed 17 women in the early 1990s. Rifkin was bullied throughout his school years, an experience that left him feeling angry and isolated. Poor hygiene, chronic absenteeism and general ineptitude blocked the road to advancement. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. What is the current air quality in Salem Oregon? The oil drum was a new kink with Rifkin, used at least four times by his count. He wasn'tcapable of that. 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. Jane Doe #2: A second unidentified woman was killed some time during 1991. assessed at 128, but struggled academically in school due to severe dyslexia. Williams would fill another nameless paupers grave until Rifkin confessed to her murder, six months after she was found. Rifkin had been bludgeoning or strangling women for five years, dismembering some of them. Rifkin told Dietz in detail how he planned his killings, how he avoided detection, how he got sexual gratification from both the killings and the victims personal effects much to Lawrences dismay. In case there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want you to spend your second life in prison.. After sex, he reportedly bludgeoned her with a Howtizer artillery shell and strangled her to death. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a rank odor coming from Rifkins car. Garden of Graves. Rifkin started his own landscaping business in April 1991, renting space at a local nursery to store his equipment. Her case remained unsolved until Rifkin confessed in 1993. Brescianis body was found in the back of Rifkins pickup truck after he was stopped by the state police for a traffic violation, The New York Times reported. "Last Christmas (1991) she came home and we begged and begged her not to go back to New York," she said. On July 14 of that year, 31-year-old Barbara Jacobs was found, strangled and rotting, in the Hudson River; her body had been wedged inside a plastic bag, then forced into a cardboard box. Throughout the 1980s, Rifkin worked a series of odd jobs around Long Island, seldom staying long at any. These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. He had forgotten names of several victims and knew others only by their street names. He directed police to the remains of Lauren Marquez and Iris Sanchez, found five hours apart on June 29, but Julie Blackbird was gone forever. From the motel, he drove upstate to Orange County and left DeLucas body at a rest stop outside Cornwall, near West Point. Joel Rifkin Why do people try to quit smoking for their entire lives?" They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings. Fred Klein,the major offense prosecutor on call, drove to the scene. If theres a serial killer loose in your neighborhood, it seems like the safest thing is to be the neighbor, he says. Some were dismembered, others were not. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By that time, Ruane and Spaargaren had smelled his reeking cargo, moving toward the rear bed of the truck, where something long and thick was wrapped in plastic, bound with rope. At 39, Mary Ann Holloman was his oldest victim, an addict who sewed personalized G-strings for strippers when she wasnt working the streets. He expressed a similar view in an interview with the New York Daily News in 2010: "No family "They can be gone six or eight months, and no one is looking," he said. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images). (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). Long Island psychiatrist Barbara Kirwin deemed Rifkins psychological test results the most pathological she had seen in 20 years of practice. I stopped when I got tired.. 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. Judge Robert Hanophy, passing sentence in the Sanchez case, told spectators: It is not in my power to give Mr. Rifkin the sentence he deserves. Joel Rifkin "And he kept saying things like, 'I killed that one. Its like my own little nightmare scenarios, he said. Back at the landscaping lot, Rifkin stuffed her into an oil drum, drove her body to Brooklyn and dropped it into Coney Island Creek. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. According to Joel Rifkin, it was a '25-cent mistake' that finally led to his capture. Out of the 17 women Rifkin said he murdered, two have yet to be identified. New York State Police escort Joel Rifkin, 34, a landscaper from East Meadow, to a holding cell after charging him with second-degree murder in East Farmingdale, L.I. Three years later they moved to East Meadow, Long Island, and Joel entered first grade at Prospect Avenue Elementary School. Rifkin had dated Williams twice and enjoyed a great time before the final pickup on October 2, 1992. Serial Killer Joel Rifkin Details (In fact, the latter name is spelled Aholah.) Rifkin called his plan a way of paying back a debt, I guess, and while the idea drew praise from some quarters --including prosecutor Fred Klein-- most objected to Rifkins inclusion of a Motivation Room where residents would be scared straight with photos of hookers murdered on the job. This is a savings of over $100! Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Legal Statement. Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. March 27, 2013 / 3:17 PM It was the smell of death, and it would linger long after the source had been removed. Joel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. This massive 8.5 x 11 perfect bound book contains over 150 pages of rare interviews, letters, documents, transcripts, art and articles about serial killer, Richard Ramirez (aka the Nightstalker). I function better in prison. There was ample room for Jane Doe in the barrel, safely hidden for their ride to the South Bronx, where Rifkin found a district rife with junkyards and rolled her into the East River. Faced with pistols now, the solemn driver gave his license up and stepped out of the car. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! O.J. Joel waited more than a year to claim his second victim. An addiction to drugs would derail that dreamand influence herto enter the world of sex workand begin topless dancing, according to Newsday. New York: Pocket Books, 2001. Rifkin told authorities he had taken the lives of another 16 women, revealingexactly where he placed the bodies and how he actually had killed them, Ruane said. We were out every night, her 16-year-old sister Jessy Olmedo said at the time. A motorist stopping to relieve himself found Lopez the next day. Then, as if in a fugue state, he spent the next three days working on his pickup, ignoring the summer heat and pervasive reek of decomposing flesh. He wanted to know why he lacked that empathy and humanity. 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. Orval was killed by John Rambo after he went into the mountains with his bloodhounds, which he went to use to hunt Rambo down. There was no regret or wanting to bring the victims back. Iris Sanchez: Sanchez, 25, was reportedly killed on Mothers Day weekend in 1992. "Where I am right now today, I know this is the best placefor me," he says. Joel left his parents several times, renting small apartments, but he was never gone long, always moving home again when his latest job fell through. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, During questioning, Rifkin described her death in clinical detail, but his emotional detachment was not the worst part of the confession. Well, 17 girls thought that, and now theyre dead.. She was found on October 1, nude except for a brassiere, without ID. It was a half-hearted effort at best. Within weeks, Rifkin faced murder charges not only in Nassau but in the numerous other counties where he had dumped other victims. About to leave, he was confronted by patrolmen who accused him of illegal dumping, but Joel persuaded them he was collecting junk instead. They talked about trial strategy and how to present his case.