Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a. . Some were on land. Joel Rifkin After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. Sotos grim fight for life gave Rifkin pause. They could see part of a hand and the head of Rifkins finalvictim. "He was very matter of fact about it. Many of the victims were never even reported missing, and so police were unaware of the scope of the killing spree. The couple was so happy with their son that they repeated the procedure, with a daughter, three years later. At 39, Mary Ann Holloman was his oldest victim, an addict who sewed personalized G-strings for strippers when she wasnt working the streets. Is The New York Review the same as the New York Review of Books? During the course of the episode, Rifkin underwent a brain scan to see if abnormal brain chemistry could have possibly made him more likely to commit murder. "There are a lot of damaged people out there," he said. Theyre perfectionists who enjoy finer things but are not perceived as snobs. The coroner blamed her death on a drug overdose, and Jacobs was buried in Potters Field cemetery, unidentified until Rifkin confessed her murder two years later. Her body was never recovered. He was eventually acquitted. Featuring specials about fearsome and fascinating serial killers, its a cant-miss event for true crime fans. Rifkin's lawsuit seeks $50,000 for each of his 1,540 days in solitary confinement (totaling $77 million). The oil drum worked so well for Rifkin that he purchased several more for use as makeshift coffins. Seventeen women in total were murdered by this shadowy figure but police at the time weren't even aware he existed. 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. He described all 17 murders in the absence of counsel, writing out the names he remembered, sketching maps to help police find those victims still missing. Rifkin wedged Lee into the same trunk hed used for Mary DeLuca and dropped her in the East River. "In an effort to show there was some grain of decency in him, he wrote this manifesto, a proposal really, to establish a facility where wayward women that had been living on the streets could go be safe. 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. Would. Distinctive for its long balletic action sequences, 77 people are killed onscreen in the first John Wick, a massive 128 in John Wick: Chapter 2 and a slightly more sensible 94 in John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum. He was on his way to dump the body near Republic Airport, he explained, when he was spotted by Ruane and Spaargaren. He told investigators he dismembered her body, put it into various buckets filled with concrete, and dropped the buckets into the East River and Brooklyn canal. Crack addict Mary Ellen DeLuca, a 22-year-old Long Island native, was last seen alive at 11:00 p.m. on September 1, 1991, when she left a group of friends to earn the price of her next fix. Lockdown. State and local detectives found Balch's aunt in New York, who identified her picture this month. As the hearing dragged on, Rifkins lawyers alienated Judge Wexner by Soshnick repeatedly arriving late for court and unprepared and Lawrence missing whole days. 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. A shy, awkward child, he was a target for bullies. 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. So if a body was found in The Bronx, detectives in Brooklyn might not hear about that for weeks, days, even months sometimes never. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. Iris Sanchez: Sanchez, 25, was reportedly killed on Mothers Day weekend in 1992. 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. Now, hes claiming that he once didnt believe he could kill. Three years later they moved to East Meadow, Long Island, and Joel entered first grade at Prospect Avenue Elementary School. For more on Rifkin, watch Oxygen's special Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer, airing Saturday, April 10 at 9/8c on Oxygen. It's like my own little nightmare scenarios.". I had sex with her, and then I killed her. Oxygens Serial Killer Week brings viewers inside the minds of the most notorious criminals of all time. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. Jane Doe #1: Rifkin killed an unidentified woman in December 1991 by strangling her to death during sex. In addition to Rifkin, the episode discusses the phenomenon of serial killers in one of Jerry Seinfelds stand-up routines. Back in East Meadow, Jeanne Rifkin found officers circling her house by mid-morning. What it gave me was that he liked to be in control. Joel Rifkin is a serial killer who went on a string of murders in New York in the 1990s. Although Rifkin often hired prostitutes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, he lived in East Meadow, a suburban town on Long Island. 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. Joel Rifkin Death Fact Check Joel is alive and kicking and is currently 64 years old. "Everybody has some kind of fantasy life, whether it's negative or positive. How far is Las Vegas from the California coast? With Rifkins detailed confession, investigators got to work. 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 dispassionate, referring to the murders as events or incidents, listing his victims by number. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. In February 1987, Rifkin's adoptive father committed suicide to end the pain of cancer, thereby increasing Rifkins depression. He didn't wet the bed or torture animals or start fires. Script writer Peter Mehlman had clearly read reports about how the serial killer was captured. From the Mouth of the Monster. Today, Joel Rifkin is 60 years old and serving his life sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. Rifkin started his own landscaping business in April 1991, renting space at a local nursery to store his equipment. Leah Evans: The body of Evans, a 28-year-old mother of two, was discovered in May 1992 by a family hunting for dandelions off County Road 51 in Southampton, according to Newsday. A forensic anthropologist was hired to reconstruct the victims face, but Rifkin confessed before the model was finished. 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. Joel Rifkin was one of the worst serial killers in New York's history, suspected of killing as many as 17 women between 1989 and 1993. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family, The New York Timessaidin 1993. According to wikipedia latest update, he is still alive. Rifkin had reached the detonation point. 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). "We were trying to catch up from the previous 20 years. Joel Rifkin, and I am dating Joel Rifkin, laments Elaine, whose coworkers have gotten wind of the creepy coincidence. She appeared to have been dead for several days. He said he sat in his car outside his home for an hour and a half, listening to Frank Sinatra. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. Joel Rifkin The obsession with murder had consumed his life and he began using the rented job site as a way station for corpses in transit. We were out every night, her 16-year-old sister Jessy Olmedo said at the time. 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. Joel Rifkin Rifkins victim was identified as Tiffany Bresciani, a 22-year-old Louisiana native, tricking in Manhattan the past two years to feed her drug habit. He will be eligible for parole in 2197. He is now the district executive for the federal courts in the Eastern District of New York. A panel of seven men and five women was seated nine days later, with opening arguments begun on April 20. Joels poor grades embarrassed his father, a member of the East Meadow School Board. Five more patrol cars joined the convoy, sirens wailing, before the Mazdas driver missed a turn in Mineola and crashed his truck into a telephone pole at 3:36 a.m. Simpson. She wasnt what they said she was, Gonzales said. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Instead, he concocted an elaborate fantasy affair, frustrated beyond endurance when she failed to reciprocate his secret passion. But I was also thinking to myself, How was I going to turn the conversation into talking about the crimes? I dont really recall how it happened exactly, but within 20 minutes, it was a seamless transition into talking about the murders.". It seemed like the only people who noticed him were his childhood tormenters,he thought. All of our Serial Killer Magazines and books are massive, perfect bound editions. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. O.J. Troopers detected an odor from the back of the truck. Some of the bodies already found had not been classified as homicides, Klein said. After strangling Lopez in his car, Rifkin drove through the night to Brewster, in Putnam County, and dumped her corpse along I-84. Oholah, Rifkin explained, was both the Hebrew word for sanctuary and the name of a prostitute whose violent death is described in Ezekiel 23:3-10. Decomposition made it impossible to determine a cause of death, and she was buried nameless, unidentified until June 1993. In February 1987, Rifkins father killed himself to end the pain of cancer, and Joel delivered the eulogy at his funeral. 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. Rifkins first two victims have never been found or identified. Prison officials decided in 1996 that Rifkin was so notorious that his presence in the general prison population could be disruptive. clothing, jewelry, drivers licenses, library cards, and credit cards belonging to approximately 10 women. The other parts went into garbage bags and then into his mothers car. Joel picked her up on July 13, 1991, and took her home to East Meadow for sex. Jenny Soto was the last victim of 1992, a 23-year-old addict whose many trips to detox never turned her life around. found in 1989 identified, linked to serial killer He used the next one on Lorraine Orvieto, a 28-year-old manic-depressive who tried to control her mood swings with cocaine. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Your IP: Jenny Soto's family. Click to reveal 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. He struck her on impulse, strangling her while she mouthed something about making a big mistake. It was Rifkins first murder of someone he knew beforehand, and he experienced fleeting remorse. Barbara Jacobs: Jacobs was killed on July 14, 1991. Get the best of Fox News' entertainment coverage, right in your inbox. Next to him is his attorney, John Lawrence of Mineola. Birthday: January 20, 1959 How Old - Age: 64 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. 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. Fred Klein, shown in his office at Hofstra Universityon June 13, was the lead Nassau County prosecutor in the Joel Rifkincase. Welcome to November, the month when, according to some studies, serial killers and mass murderers are most likely to be born. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Joel Rifkin "Oh! Williams, a former cheerleader at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, had struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine after her marriage broke up and often turned to prostitution to help support the habit, according to Newsday. Hikers found her on May 9 after they spied a withered hand protruding from the ground. DNA tests confirmed her identity. Her case remained unsolved until Rifkin confessed in 1993. In March 1989, Rifkin, who admitted he had often fantasized about strangling women during sex, turned his disturbing ideas into reality. Exclusive: Inside The Mind Of A Serial Killer - CBS New York His memory was far from perfect. Eugene Corcoran, shown onJune 18, was one of the lead investigators in the Joel Rifkin case. I was just in complete shock that someone like him could be arrested for these crimes. Seven months later, Simpsons name became connected to murder. Rambo: The Franchises 10 Most Brutal Kills. Joel Rifkin Called The Masseuse, the episode first aired on November 18, 1993. Joel Rifkin It also includes the best true crime artwork from around the world. Throughout the 1980s, Rifkin worked a series of odd jobs around Long Island, seldom staying long at any. In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, New York, where Rifkin would spend most of his remaining years. 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. Psychological Profile Assessment of Serial Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Pig are extremely nice, good-mannered and tasteful. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Rifkin picked her up on April 2, 1993, while she was working Second Avenue. They initiated a traffic stopand a high-speed chase ensues, said Eugene Corcoran, then the State Policelieutenant who supervised the investigation. This is the best deal on the site. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz. 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. It was the smell of death, and it would linger long after the source had been removed. . Prison was an exaggerated replay of high school, with constant threats and taunts from other convicts. The wild chase was on. Rifkin initially claimed he had blacked out, but soon admitted that Bresciani had not been his only victim. New York. Joel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. The argument over whose killings were better reportedly ended when Ferguson punched Rifkin in the mouth. Evens started to undress, then balked, demanding greater privacy. Despite a tested IQ of 128, Joel did poorly in school, at least part of his problem traceable to the merciless teasing of class-mates. In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, where Joel would spend most of his remaining years. I stopped when I got tired.. 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. They drove to a point near the Manhattan Bridge, Rifkin clutching at her throat without the usual preliminaries. Joel Rifkin, 34, is transferred to District Court 29 June, 1993 in Farmingdale, NY after police said he confessed to killing as many as 17 women. Except for his grades, Joel was the stereotypical nerd, in glasses and high-water pants with white socks. 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 said he disposed of the bodies in threes. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Sheriff Teasle hated Rambo because he represented a threat to his own power base. Legal Statement. Jenny Soto was the fighter, breaking off her fingernails on Rifkins face before he snapped her neck on November 16, 1992. Nonetheless, after Ben Rifkin died by suicide in 1987, one year after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, Joel chose to remember his father as a loving parent when he was delivering his eulogy. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. At age 33, Anna Lopez had three children by three different fathers, but she worked the streets primarily to feed her own cocaine addiction. I was completely numb. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family. Even before he was sentenced, on May 9, 1994, Rifkin was transferred to Suffolk County, pending trial for the Evens and Marquez slayings. Her slaying capped his own frenzied acceleration period and left him with embarrassing wounds to explain. 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. A peek inside the tarp revealed a womans decomposing body. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2a73bfae92a8aa In case there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want you to spend your second life in prison.. Unlike Orvieto, Holloman was identified from dental records and returned to her family for burial. Joel Rifkins zodiac sign is Aquarius. 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. Failing that, he sought to have the various murder charges consolidated in one Nassau County trial, hoping a hometown jury would be more inclined to find Rifkin not guilty by reason of insanity. get yours now before they are gone forever. The Disturbing Truth Of Serial Killer Joel Rifkin Officers staked out the house in East Meadow, where Rifkin lived with his sister and elderly mother. A motorist stopping to relieve himself found Lopez the next day. She liked dressing up.. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. By the time Rifkin found her, in the predawn hours of June 24, 1993, she was his second hooker of the night--his fourth within two days. , After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. Hes not evil. Rifkin had been bludgeoning or strangling women for five years, dismembering some of them. 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. Joel waited more than a year to claim his second victim. Every issue of Serial of Serial Killer Magazine we sell. An addiction to drugs would derail that dreamand influence herto enter the world of sex workand begin topless dancing, according to Newsday. Later, he recalled the act as very automatic. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images). "He always seemed like he was slower or a step behind," Fred Reiter, who lived next door to Rifkin in East Meadow, New Yorkgrowing up, recalls in the special. ", JONBENET RAMSEYS HALF BROTHER STILL WANTS TO FIND HER KILLER: THIS CASE CAN BE SOLVED, 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. In Joels room, they struck pay dirt, recovering dozens of ID cards, drivers licenses and credit cards, photographs, articles of jewelry, and piles of womens clothing taken from his victims. ", "If I didnt kill them, they would have died anyhow. This guy seems like the real deal.". Instead, he was a rather meek, unassuming child. 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. 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. In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. WebSusie 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. Weary of the pain by February 1987, he took a massive dose of barbiturates and died after four days in a coma. I dont think I could now. She fought him, resisting strangulation until he snapped her neck. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! They trade suggestions for a possible new name, and of course, they cant come close to agreeing. Joel Rifkin was born in the Year of the Pig. Lorraine Orvieto: Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. The next time Rifkin made headlines, in April 1998, the news involved sale of his artwork at the New York State legislatures office building in Albany as part of a program to compensate crime victims. Attorney John Lawrence, shown in his office June 14,was Joel Rifkin's triallawyer. The son of unknown parents, he was adopted by Bernard and Jeanne Rifkin when he was three weeks old. The remains were never found. 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. Next, he drove to a recycling plant in Westbury, where he had once worked part-time, and helped himself to a 55-gallon oil drum. 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. It was really unnerving., Marie Alonso, left,mother of Joel Rifkin victim Anna Lopez, shares an emotional moment with Margarita Gonzales,mother of victim Jenny Soto, outside of Nassau County Court in Mineolaon July 7, 1993. Rifkin picked her up at about 11 p.m. on November 16, near the Williamsburg Bridge in lower Manhattan. After a struggle to get the car started and moving, Rifkin drove Williams to Yorktown, a Westchester suburb, where she was found on December 21, 1992. State Troopers who chased down his pickup truck for a routine traffic violation said they found a woman's decomposing body in the back and a driver who confessed to killing 17 women. The Joel Rifkin reference certainly grounds Seinfeld 's episode in its own time, but its the idea that O.J. As much as I say I wanted to stop, there probably wouldve been others,Joel Rifkin said of the likelihood he would have continued to kill if he hadnt been caught in 1993. The discovery of a serial killer on Long Island came in the midst of a year dominated by bizarre and disturbing stories here it began with 10-year-old Katie Beers still captive in an underground dungeon and ended with Colin Ferguson shooting dozens of commuters going home on an evening train, killing six of them. The whole focus of my life, he later said, was on the streets. Even there he proved inept, robbed by hookers or their pimps at least a dozen times. Corcoran said it played a role in his promotion from lieutenant to captain. Rifkin's downfall came about simply because of a "25 cent mistake," as he told the New York Daily News. Rifkin didnt stop after his first murder. Because Kramer has no ID on him, the box office employee has to use the public address system. Some were in water. ", JOHN WALSHS SON CALLAHAN EXPLAINS HOW HIS BROTHER ADAM'S MURDER MADE HIM DETERMINED TO CATCH BAD GUYS, Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. 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.