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. Klein became chief of Nassaus Major Offense Bureau soon afterward. In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. It was nearly 8 p.m. when authorities presented Jeanne Rifkin with a search warrant, scouring her two-story house for evidence against the man who appeared to be New Yorks most prolific serial killer. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. 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. After strangling Lopez in his car, Rifkin drove through the night to Brewster, in Putnam County, and dumped her corpse along I-84. There was no emotion whatsoever. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Archive Photos/Getty Images). Today, Joel Rifkin is 60 years old and serving his life sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. They talked about trial strategy and how to present his case. The oil drum worked so well for Rifkin that he purchased several more for use as makeshift coffins. A low-speed car case ensued for about 20 minutes, until Rifkin lost control of the car and crashed into a utility pole in Mineola, according to the paper. His rage and self-loathing only grew, according to the special. Scattering the remains throughout New York also made it less likely for authorities to notice a pattern. O.J.! He is referenced in a "Seinfeld" episode in which Elaine, played by Julia Louis Dreyfus, is embarrassed to be dating a man who shares a serial killer's name. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. One girl duped him twice, using the same ruse both times to flee with his cash before sex. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. They were so decomposed that no signs of violence were visible, and medical examiners had mistakenly concluded that some had died of drug overdoses, he said. I was just in complete shock that someone like him could be arrested for these crimes. 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. Ten minutes later, with a call for reinforcements on the air, their quarry missed a turn and crashed into a lamp post at a Mineola intersection. Jenny Soto is one of Joel Rifkin's victims. She loved the clubs. "Three were dismembered. Simpson. Mary Catherine Williams, 10 years older than ONeill, had been a high school homecoming queen and college cheerleader in her native North Carolina. Unlike Orvieto, Holloman was identified from dental records and returned to her family for burial. 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. The prison van carried him past the high school where he had graduated 16 years before. The habit was expensive and she tricked to keep herself supplied. Rifkin just didn't excel in academia or sports, and so he struggled with feeling like a disappointment to his dad. Relieved of his little anxiety attack, Joel moved Bresciani into the cluttered garage, leaving her body in a wheelbarrow. 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. Joel would not strike again for 15 weeks, and when he did, he would take better care to hide his tracks. At the time, she was pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer and actress. Wiles Stabile. He picked her up in the city, strangled her after sex at his mothers house and dismembered her corpse in the bathtub. The experience quickly led toan addiction. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She was a prostitute, he told the officers. Even before he was sentenced, on May 9, 1994, Rifkin was transferred to Suffolk County, pending trial for the Evens and Marquez slayings. Rifkin said. I picked her up on Allen Street in Manhattan. ", JOHN WAYNE GACY LIKED THE POWER OF DEATH, RETIRED DETECTIVE REVEALS IN DOC: IT MADE HIM FEEL LIKE A GOD, Oxygen's new documentary on Joel Rifkin is part of their 'Serial Killer Week" line-up. From the motel, he drove upstate to Orange County and left DeLucas body at a rest stop outside Cornwall, near West Point. This is someone whos trying to show you to be a sadistic killer., Joel Rifkin listens to the guilty verdict against him in Nassau County Court in Mineola on May 9, 1994,in the killingof Tiffany Bresciani. We are now looking for artists, writers and interviewers to take part in the world famous Serial Killer Magazine. He spent more than four years in solitary confinement before being transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County. "He was very matter of fact about it. During questioning, Rifkin described her death in clinical detail, but his emotional detachment was not the worst part of the confession. 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. Rifkin found Orvieto on December 26, 1991, in Bayshore, Long Island. Arraigned for the Bresciani homicide on July 15, 1993, Rifkin repeated his plea of not guilty. Rifkin drove her to the same parking lot where he had taken Yun Lee and strangled her during fellatio. Type of Villain John James Rambo is the main protagonist of the 1972 novel First Blood and its 1982 film adaptation. I saw him as artistically inclined. (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. Determined not to bungle the disposal this time, Rifkin went out to purchase cement and a large mortar pan. 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. Corrections officials say that Rifkin is now imprisoned with more than 200 other inmates at Clinton who are not allowed into the general prison population. "Water is harder to investigate than land because it washes everything," he said. Rifkin picked her up on Allen Street and drove her to the New York Posts parking lot, where he strangled her at 5:30 a.m. From there, he drove back to East Meadow, stopping at stores along the way for rope and tarp, while Bresciani lay sprawled in the backseat of his mothers car. Out in the garage, they found a wheelbarrow and a chainsaw stained with human gore. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Through newly revealed interviews from Attica Correctional Facility, New York's most prolific serial killer, Joel Rifkin, reveals exclusive insights into the mind of a monster. Theyre never disturbed by the sounds of murdering, just stereo. Growing up, he struggled with confidence and lacked a natural athletic ability, which frustrated his father. Script writer Peter Mehlman had clearly read reports about how the serial killer was captured. Violet ONeill: ONeills dismembered body parts were found over three days in July 1992 in multiple waterways including the Harlem River, East River, and a body of water near Governors Island, according to a New York Times article. Throughout his trial and incarceration, Rifkin still could not explain one thing: why. By the time he got home, she was swaddled in tarp and concealed in the trunk. He wanted to know why he lacked that empathy and humanity. Performance & security by Cloudflare. June 29, 1993. The special revealed that while his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. WebJoel 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 chock full of artwork, rare documents, FBI files and in depth articles regarding serial murder. By March 1994 Wexner had heard enough to reject the various defense motions outright and hold Rifkin for trial, scheduled for mid-April. Rifkin was AWOL from his part-time job at an East Meadow liquor store, looking for trouble. He was vague on the details in later confessions, unable to recall the womans name, if he had ever known it. Three were in oil drums. 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. Birthday: January 20, 1959 How Old - Age: 64 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. Joel picked her up on July 13, 1991, and took her home to East Meadow for sex. As his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. Flexing his ego, he fired Sale and retained two new lawyers: former Nassau County assistant district attorney Michael Soshnick and his partner, John Lawrence. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. Even the parents of his victims didnt seem to miss Rifkins prey. She was found hours later by firefighters on a training exercise, but this time Rifkin reported, It didnt even faze me.. That was an experience, because Joel aside from the pathological issues had some smarts about him, Lawrence said. Lorraine Orvieto: Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. A woman whose severed head was found on a New Jersey golf course more than 20 years ago has been identified, and police say the trail leads to a notorious serial killer. The drivers license identified him as 34-year-old Joel David Rifkin, residing on Garden Street in East Meadow, Long Island. This guy couldnt even count to 10. In his down time, idling between jobs and classes, Rifkin dreamed of becoming a famous writer, churning out fragments of bleak poetry. He found Iris Sanchez, a 25-year-old crack addict, working First Avenue on Mothers Day weekend. Lorraine Orvieto, age twenty-eight, was strangled by Rifkin a few days before Christmas, jammed in a 55-gallon oil drum and dropped into Coney Island Creek, where her body would remain undiscovered for over six months. Rifkin was arrested for soliciting a prostitute on August 22, 1987 in Hempstead, Long Island. These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. WebJoel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. He is now in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, near the Canadian border. It is in their nature to take action, sometimes before they think about it well. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. 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. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. 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. On December 14, 2001, Rifkin lost his latest appeal of his conviction. Despite his confessions and the overwhelming evidence against him, Rifkin pled not guilty at his murder trial. 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. Featuring specials about fearsome and fascinating serial killers, its a cant-miss event for true crime fans. He was eventually acquitted. Rifkin specifically chose women who wouldnt immediately draw attention if they went missing. The Rifkins also adopted a daughter, Jan, in 1962. Simpson. That explained Rifkins use of Noxema. 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. Rifkin was booked at Hempstead, where homicide detectives launched a marathon interrogation. , After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. While he was portrayed as a more heroic character in the film, the novel portrays him as a ruthless, psychotic murderer and unlike the movie counterpart, this version of Rambo slaughters innocent people. 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. 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. NASHVILLE TV PRODUCER VERONICA BOZZAS MURDER EXPLORED IN TRUE CRIME DOC: THE WHOLE THING WAS SENSELESS, O.J. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa. (Oxygen). He bought Williams a fix that night, then tried to choke her when she dozed off in his mothers car. Violet ONeill, a 21-year-old prostitute, was the first victim Rifkin had taken home to East Meadow in nearly a year. Another 31-year-old victim, Korean hooker Yun Lee, was fished out of the East River on September 23, her body folded inside a steamer trunk. There was really no coordination between police precincts. He concealed this arrest from his family. The break came in 2013 when investigators discovered that Balch, who had been reported missing by her aunt in 2001, had also used the name Susan Spencer. They were able to successfully match her to the remains, according to the AP. disposed of the bodies all over New York state, from a Brooklyn creek to an Orange County town. He drifted in and out of jobs, mostly living at home, enjoying one brief relationship with a girl who recalls him as sweet, but always depressed. Rifkins ninth victim, ironically, surfaced before numbers seven and eight. Every issue of Serial of Serial Killer Magazine we sell. 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. After graduating from high school, Rifkin, who was particularly interested in horticulture and photojournalism, made several attempts at community college and attended the State University of New York at Brockport, where he worked for a time as a photographer on the school's newspaper The Stylus. He remembered her tattoos, a pickup in Manhattan, and the way she fought for life when he began to strangle her. Rifkin was sentenced to 203 years to life in prison and he is not eligible for parole until 2197. On March 5, 1989, a member of the Hopewell Valley Golf Club sliced his ball into the woods along the seventh green and found the can containing Susies head. Tragedy plus time equals comedy, so its been said. Joel dismembered her body into the East River. Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. Rifkin planned to offer a defense in Suffolk that being adopted made him what he was, but ultimately he ended the case with the first of numerous guilty pleas to his crimes. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Family: He was living with his mother and sister at the time of his arrest. As per our current Database, Joel Rifkin is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time.