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. Joel Rifkin murdered17 women, making him New York's deadliest serial killer. Faced with pistols now, the solemn driver gave his license up and stepped out of the car. Rambo earned his Airborne Ranger Wings in May of 1966. . 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. Thirty minutes later, Sale and Rifkin appeared before Judge John Kingston, entering a preliminary plea of not guilty on the Bresciani murder. Joel would not strike again for 15 weeks, and when he did, he would take better care to hide his tracks. 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. Script writer Peter Mehlman had clearly read reports about how the serial killer was captured. 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. DNA tests confirmed her identity. 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. Rifkin was also able to hide in plain sight by switching up his modus operandi: Hedisposed of the bodies all over New York state, from a Brooklyn creek to an Orange County town, the New York Times reported in 1993. Mary Ann Holloman: Authorities believe that 39-year-old Holloman was killed on January 2, 1992. "Leah was not a throwaway," Evans' friend tearfully says in the special. Currently, Joel Rifkin is 64 years, 1 months and 12 days old. (Photo by Neil Schneider/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images), "When we first started talking, it was kind of awkward," said Mladinich. 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. After strangling Lopez in his car, Rifkin drove through the night to Brewster, in Putnam County, and dumped her corpse along I-84. He is now the district executive for the federal courts in the Eastern District of New York. "There were no cameras on every block. A panel of seven men and five women was seated nine days later, with opening arguments begun on April 20. ", Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. Throughout his trial and incarceration, Rifkin still could not explain one thing: why. They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings. Theyre perfectionists who enjoy finer things but are not perceived as snobs. A pair of womens panties lay on the floor, near a stockpile of rope and tarp. "I don't know. 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. And police weren't aware that one man was specifically targeting sex workers in the area. They could learn life skills, like write a check, parenting skills just how to livetheir lives in a safe way. They let him go with a warning. Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans. He would be eligible for parole only in 2197, at the age of 238. Rifkin was dispassionate, referring to the murders as events or incidents, listing his victims by number. Troopers detected an odor from the back of the truck. Why not? Julie Blackbird: Rifkin killed again about 16 months later, after picking up Julie Blackbird in 1990 and bringing her back to his home. 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. 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Rifkin said. WebJoel Rifkin was born on January 20, 1959 and is 64 years old now. These are not the kind of tiny paperback novels that you are accustomed to. Is Joel Rifkin still alive It is also packed with unusual trivia, exclusive interviews and much more. 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. With no money, Rifkin attempted to hold down a job, but that also became another unsuccessful moment in his life. 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. She hailed from Metairie, Louisiana, and had been drawn to New York by dreams of acting or dancing. 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. That may explain his failure to perform as Lee went to work. His upstairs bedroom yielded 75 pieces of womens jewelry, photographs Rifkin had taken of several unidentified women, various items of feminine clothing, makeup cases, a womans curling iron, wallets and pocketbooks, plus a mixed bag of ID cards. Check out our sister site VHS WASTELAND. "Water is harder to investigate than land because it washes everything," he said. From the motel, he drove upstate to Orange County and left DeLucas body at a rest stop outside Cornwall, near West Point. Rambo: Last Blood is currently in theaters. In 1989, he killed his first woman. 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. alaw enforcement source told The New York Daily News at the time. 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. How did Rifkin become such a vicious murderer? His trial lawyer, John Lawrence of Mineola, planned an insanity defense, but that allowed Klein to introduce evidence of all of Rifkins murders. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Rifkin found Orvieto on December 26, 1991, in Bayshore, Long Island. He admitted dumping two womens bodies in Suffolk County, but troopers continued to question him, Corcoran said. He used the next one on Lorraine Orvieto, a 28-year-old manic-depressive who tried to control her mood swings with cocaine. The confession and the evidence collected from Rifkins bedroom left him boxed in as his first trial approached in Nassau. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. 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. The wild chase was on. Decomposition made it impossible to determine a cause of death, and she was buried nameless, unidentified until June 1993. I was completely numb. 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. 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. Below we countdown to Joel Rifkin upcoming birthday. He was also an academic failure, suffering from undiagnosed dyslexia despite a tested IQ of 128. Crossing the Line. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He was deployed to South Vietnam in September of 1966 with the 101st Airborne, which he would complete two tours of duty with. 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. Joel Rifkin 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. 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. 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. 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, John Wayne Gacy. My daughter was a very beautiful girl, Victoria ONeill said. 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. 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. 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. "She did not come home this Christmas, so we knew something was wrong.". 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. But other times, Lawrence said his client made him uncomfortable. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. From the Mouth of the Monster. 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. Joel Rifkin telephone. The crowd stops cheering and squirm, while Elaine does damage control. A chainsaw found in the garage was stained with blood and bits of human flesh. 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. After sex, he reportedly bludgeoned her with a Howtizer artillery shell and strangled her to death. A failure in athletics, Rifkin joined the yearbook staff, and promptly had his camera stolen. Corcoran had troopers take Rifkin to Troop L, located then on the grounds of Republic Airport in East Farmingdale where Rifkin was headed that night to bury that body. They trade suggestions for a possible new name, and of course, they cant come close to agreeing. 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. This huge, perfect bound copy of SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE is chock full of artwork, rare documents, trivia and in depth articles regarding serial murder. Joel Rifkin was born in the Year of the Pig. In June of that year, he murdered Bresciani, a 22-year-old who left Louisiana for Los Angeles before arriving inNew York. In Rifkins cluttered garage, detectives followed their noses to a reeking wheelbarrow, extracting three ounces of human blood. The recordingsof their conversations are the focus of the special, as Rifkin's horrific killing spree is explored. "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. 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. get yours now before they are gone forever. The neighbor always survives to do the interview afterwards. Still, it would take years for authorities to formally identify her, as "Susie" wasn't her real name. His lawyer Bob Sale sought to have Rifkins confession thrown out on grounds that police could not prove he was ever advised of his rights. Corcoran said it played a role in his promotion from lieutenant to captain. Serial Killer Joel Rifkin On February 20, 1989, Joel Rifkin perpetrated his first homicide by killing Heidi Balch in her home in East Meadow. As per our current Database, Joel Rifkin is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). He specifically killed women who were less visible insociety. Legal Statement. Welcome to November, the month when, according to some studies, serial killers and mass murderers are most likely to be born. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. Joels poor grades embarrassed his father, a member of the East Meadow School Board. 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. Soto also had a past record for prostitution, but her family insisted she had been getting her life together before she was killed. SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE is an official release of the talented artists and writers at SerialKillerCalendar.com. This massive perfect bound Ted Bundy collection includes art, articles, rare interviews, documents, letters, transcripts and the serial killers entire FBI file. Before Rifkin left for college, hedrove to New York City and picked up a sex workerfor the first time. (Oxygen). In 2000, a state appellate court determined that prison officials had not violated Rifkin's constitutional rights by housing him in isolation. In February 1987, Rifkin's adoptive father committed suicide to end the pain of cancer, thereby increasing Rifkins depression. He raged at Joel, Why cant you do anything to please me? Jeanne Rifkin shared her love of gardening and photography with Joel oblivious to his torment by peers. At 39, Mary Ann Holloman was his oldest victim, an addict who sewed personalized G-strings for strippers when she wasnt working the streets. (Robert Mladinich), "I wanted to reach out to him right away after the arrest," Mladinich told Fox News. On the far right is Gonzales'daughter, also named Margarita Gonzales. He was generally unkempt, and a thick layer of Noxema was smeared across his mustache. He said he told Rifkin, This is someone who is not trying to work with you and help you. ", Evidence In The Case Of Serial Killer Joel Rifkin, Explored, 'If I Didn't Kill Them, They Would Have Died Anyhow': How Joel Rifkin Evaded Capture For Years. In the documentary, readers will learn how Rifkin was a meek, mild-mannered child. Rifkin drove her to the same parking lot where he had taken Yun Lee and strangled her during fellatio. Some were left abandoned in fields. Rifkin drove the body parts across the state line to New Jersey, dropping the head and legs in the woods near Hopewell. State troopers Deborah Spaargaren and Sean Ruane were working the graveyard shift in East Meadow, Long Island, when they spotted a pickup truck with no license plate ahead of them, at 3:15 A.M. 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). About to leave, he was confronted by patrolmen who accused him of illegal dumping, but Joel persuaded them he was collecting junk instead. Infamous New York mass murderer Joel Rifkin was caught in June 1993. 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. Real-Life 'Criminal Minds' Attempt To Make Sense Of Serial Killer It was finally too much. He then dismembered Susies body and her remains were scattered throughout New Jersey. Rifkin didn't display the typical signs of a budding murderer. Married to a pro football player in 1986 and divorced the following year, she had come to New York in search of an acting career, but wound up doing drugs and living on the streets. In 1994, Rifkin was sentenced to life in prison. After Rifkin was convicted in Nassau, he was sent to Suffolk where he faced two murder charges. He would be eligible for parole only in 2197, at the age of 238. 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. Theyre intelligent, always seeking more knowledge, and exclusive. All rights reserved. (Photo by Neil Schneider/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). She appeared to have been dead for several days. He rolled Soto into the Harlem River, near the spot where Yun Lee had been found 14 months earlier. 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. June 29, 1993. Joel Rifkin 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. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. WebJoel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. His fantasies about strangling women became more frequent. Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a. . Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time. Discovered the following day, Soto was identified from fingerprint records of her last arrest, police initially suspecting her ex-con ex-boyfriend of the murder. ", I wanted to be normal. Rambos escape made him look bad and so he had to eliminate that insult to his own overblown ego. Mary Catherine Williams was number 13, Joels omission of her name confusing police and some reporters into citing Williams as an 18th victim. Many of the victims were never even reported missing, and so police were unaware of the scope of the killing spree. 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. Would Joel Rifkin report to the stadium office? 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. With Joels confession in hand, police descended on Jeanne Rifkins home, scouring the premises for evidence. She was identified through DNA testing on August 20, 1993. If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) . Although the magazine takes this subject very seriously and in no way attempts to glorify the crimes describe in it, it also provides a unique collection of rare treats (including mini biographical comics, crossword puzzles and trivia quizzes). 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.". 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. Black-painted Bowie clip-point with 14 or 12 saw teeth, 1 Stick Around (Rambo: Last Blood / 2019), 2 Take A Bow (Rambo: First Blood, Part II / 1985), 7 The Grenade With A Real Kick (Rambo III / 1988), 8 Hammer Smashed Face(s) (Rambo: Last Blood / 2019). Evens had been the daughter of a civil court judge and had once attended Sarah Lawrence College. Before Rifkin left for college, he drove to New York City where he picked up a sex worker for the first time. 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. It was a trick for handling corpses, to avoid their stench, portrayed by Hollywood two years earlier in the Oscar-winning Silence of the Lambs. 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. Tune in on Oxygen April 10 to April 18. Type of Villain John James Rambo is the main protagonist of the 1972 novel First Blood and its 1982 film adaptation. 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. "We kept asking him, 'What about this one?'" Joel Rifkin will celebrate 65rd birthday on a Saturday 20th of January 2024. Whatever their employment status, there was no doubt of the body count--unless, some officers suggested, Rifkins estimate was low. Do you think I need a lawyer?. Jenny Soto was the last victim of 1992, a 23-year-old addict whose many trips to detox never turned her life around. The only 80s action star that would prove victorious against a 21st-century assassin is not a man but a machine. Exclusive: Inside The Mind Of A Serial Killer - CBS New York Market data provided by Factset. His guide enabled police all over the metropolitan area to find bodies they didnt know existed or to explain how and why bodies had been found earlier. 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. 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. Sale waived application for bond, knowing it was hopeless, but won a two-week postponement of formal arraignment. Her mother, Victoria ONeill, told the newspaper she had last seen her daughter on July 16, 1992. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. That one was easy.' MADHATTERDESIGN@GMAIL.COM, Like old school VHS Covers? In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, where Joel would spend most of his remaining years. The 31-year-olds body was later found inside a plastic bag, stuffed into a cardboard box and thrown into the Hudson River. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Is Joel Rifkin Still Alive He picked her up in the city, strangled her after sex at his mothers house and dismembered her corpse in the bathtub. In retrospect, a shockingly prophetic moment happens when Elaine comes up with a suggestion after reading a sports magazine. 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. Her torso surfaced in the Hudson River, wrapped in black plastic, while her arms and legs were found in a discarded suitcase. Buoyed perhaps by that effort, in August 1999 Rifkin unveiled his plans for Oholah House, a proposed shelter for prostitutes that would include drug treatment, counseling, medical care and job training. A peek inside the tarp revealed a womans decomposing body. Joel found himself strongly attracted to one of the other interns, a pretty blond, but while he shadowed her at every opportunity, he never found the nerve to ask her out. In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. Her family described Soto as a quiet Brooklyn girl who loved to play with her nieces and nephews but said she had a wilder side when she went into the city. We used him, to be blunt about it, one of them recalled, years later. Rifkin was booked at Hempstead, where homicide detectives launched a marathon interrogation. It was, as Joel Rifkinsaid later, a 25-cent part that brought him down, but it caught the eye of two troopers patrolling the Southern State Parkway. Simpson wouldnt be associated with murder that truly makes it one of the worst aged jokes in sitcom history. Stephen Urbanski says Balch worked as a prostitute in New York City and used numerous aliases. Lorraine Orvieto: Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. 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. Rifkin admitted to the 17 slayings after his May 1994 murder conviction in Nassau County. "Back in the late 80s and early 90s, it really was not hard to get away with such crimes," said Mladinich. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. Life could only get better, he reasoned. When police approached the vehicle, they noticed an absolutely overwhelming odor, according to Newsday. So who were the women who lost their lives to this disturbingkiller? The New York Times Next Up Episode 5: Oak Beach As much as I say I wanted to stop, there probably wouldve been others, he admitted. To have the normal picket fence and three kids and a dog and a cat and get on with life. disposed of the bodies all over New York state, from a Brooklyn creek to an Orange County town. He was later acquitted. 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.