Crossing the Line. Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com. ", RetiredSuffolk prosecutor Michael Ahearn, shown at home on June 13, was chief of the Homicide Bureau for the Suffolk District Attorney's Office. It is also packed with unusual trivia, exclusive interviews and much more. At about nine the next morning, Rifkin recalled completely bugging out, beating Blackbird with a heavy table leg before he strangled her. He was later acquitted. Afterward, he drove Evens to the far eastern end of Long Island and buried her in the woods, the only one of his victims who rated a shallow grave. While his mother was out of town, Rifkin and Balch returned to his childhood home, where they stayed for the night but Rifkin soon took out his rage on Balch, bashing her in the head with a Howtizer artillery shell and strangling her to death, as recounted on "Rifkin on Rifkin.". "Last Christmas (1991) she came home and we begged and begged her not to go back to New York," she said. And Rifkin told WCBS-TV in 2011 that his victim count would have likely been much higher if he hadnt been arrested in 1993. Instead of keeping him away from prostitutes, the incident made him more devious. WebJoel Rifkin, best known for being a Criminal, was born in New York, United States on Tuesday, January 20, 1959. I couldn't function in the real world then. Corcoran said it played a role in his promotion from lieutenant to captain. 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. In 2010, Rifkin was interviewed by ABC's Martin Bashir as part of the Nightline Prime mini-series, Secrets of Your Mind. "You think of people as things.". 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. In retrospect, a shockingly prophetic moment happens when Elaine comes up with a suggestion after reading a sports magazine. In this exclusive sneak peek from April 10's new Oxygen special, Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer, Joel Rifkin detailed a murder he committed. 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. 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. Rifkin initially claimed he had blacked out, but soon admitted that Bresciani had not been his only victim. Rifkin started his own landscaping business in April 1991, renting space at a local nursery to store his equipment. Joel couldnt wait to play the deadly game again. Rifkins father was chronically ill. A heavy smoker, already afflicted with emphysema, Bernard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in fall 1986. Thanks to its ruling planet Mars and the fact it belongs to the element of Fire (just like Leo and Sagittarius), Aries is one of the most active zodiac signs. 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. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. It was finally too much. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. Very few people start out life thinking, 'Oh gee, my goal in life is to wind up in Attica. ", "Even when we first spoke at the correctional facility, it was like we had been friends the previous 20 years," he shared. After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. This is truly a one of a kind collectors item for anyone interested in the macabre world of true crime, prison art or the strange world of murderabelia. An anonymous caller reported Hollomans floating remains to police on July 9, 1992, two days before Orvietos corpse was found. She fought him, resisting strangulation until he snapped her neck. "Oh! Jenny Soto was the fighter, breaking off her fingernails on Rifkins face before he snapped her neck on November 16, 1992. Not much with that one. He followed the same disposal procedure as with Orvieto: back to Long Island, the oil drum and Coney Island Creek. As he strangled her, Rifkin recalled, She did nothing, just accepted it. He remembered her murder as one of the weird ones.. Lauren Marquez: Marquez, 28, was found dead in Westhampton. 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. 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Before Rifkin left for college, hedrove to New York City and picked up a sex workerfor the first time. He remembered her tattoos, a pickup in Manhattan, and the way she fought for life when he began to strangle her. Homicide detectives began interrogating Rifkin at 8:25 a.m. on June 28, 1993. Flexing his ego, he fired Sale and retained two new lawyers: former Nassau County assistant district attorney Michael Soshnick and his partner, John Lawrence. 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. Is there more than one? He enjoyed the photography club but turned in his usual lackluster academic performance over the next two years, before dropping out in 1980. He was vague on the details in later confessions, unable to recall the womans name, if he had ever known it. 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. He concealed this arrest from his family. The argument over whose killings were better reportedly ended when Ferguson punched Rifkin in the mouth. He specifically killed women who were less visible insociety. Her case remained unsolved until Rifkin confessed in 1993. On the side, he began collecting books and press clippings on serial killers of whores, including the unidentified Green River Killer and New Yorks own Arthur Shawcross. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. ", 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. When the troopers used their siren, he appeared oblivious; likewise when Ruane got on the loudspeaker and ordered him to stop. When they signaled for him to pull over, Rifkin kept driving. In fact, quite the opposite. Mary Ellen DeLuca, age twenty- two, had been missing for a month when her nude, strangled body was found in a field upstate, at Cornwall, New York. . She was a prostitute, he told the officers. Hes not the murderer, she reassures. Joel Rifkin is a member of Criminal Does Joel Rifkin Dead or Alive? Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. In addition to Rifkin, the episode discusses the phenomenon of serial killers in one of Jerry Seinfelds stand-up routines. Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time. Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. Joel waited more than a year to claim his second victim. 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. She was actually a woman named Heidi Balch, who had used various identities throughout the years. Ahearn saidRifkins lack of concern for his victims haunted him for years and still does. They cite physical evidence and Rifkin's statements in linking Balch's killing to him. He took really terrific photos and had an attractive artistic side. These are not the kind of flimsy magazines or tiny paperback novels that you are accustomed to. June 29, 1993. 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. 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. Williams would fill another nameless paupers grave until Rifkin confessed to her murder, six months after she was found. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. Rifkin! she says, inspired by the name O.J. It was hell from day one. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. They were probably alone on the streets, but not in the world.. And in a moment that really tested the "too soon?" "Where I am right now today, I know this is the best placefor me," he says. 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. They trade suggestions for a possible new name, and of course, they cant come close to agreeing. ", 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. "Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer,". 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. Rifkin was transferred at once to the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. Later, he recalled the act as very automatic. As his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. Below we countdown to Joel Rifkin upcoming birthday. Rifkin didnt stop after his first murder. Real-life romance eluded Rifkin, for the most part. After strangling Lopez in his car, Rifkin drove through the night to Brewster, in Putnam County, and dumped her corpse along I-84. 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. 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. Years of pent-up anger and humiliation craved release. However, a drug problem resulted in sex work to feed her addiction, Newsday reported. He said he disposed of the bodies in threes. In 1988 Rifkin enrolled in a two-year horticulture-study program at the State College of Technology in Farmingdale, New York. The driver wasnt speeding, but the absence of a tag was in itself a minor violation, and they turned the flashers on, prepared to write a quick citation. The Terminator could easily take out John Wick and he wouldnt even see it coming. 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. Days later, Rifkin was transferred from Attica to the Clinton Correctional Facility at Dannemora--long known as the Siberia of New York prisons, isolated in the Adirondack Mountains, 350 miles north of Manhattan. "I don't know. The only thing that makes me feel a little better is to think that perhaps she didnt die in pain.. It did change me personally, he said. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Joel picked her up on July 13, 1991, and took her home to East Meadow for sex. Joel Rifkin will celebrate 65rd birthday on a Saturday 20th of January 2024. Sotos grim fight for life gave Rifkin pause. Called The Masseuse, the episode first aired on November 18, 1993. A Jane Doe victim, thus entombed, was dredged from Newtown Creek, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on May 13, 1992. Joel Rifkin murdered17 women, making him New York's deadliest serial killer. Rifkin told authorities he placed her body into a mattress and put it at an illegal dump site near the JFK Airport, according to ThoughtCo. Rambos escape made him look bad and so he had to eliminate that insult to his own overblown ego. Theyre never disturbed by the sounds of murdering, just stereo. Five months after Rifkin was caught, "Seinfeld" released an episode titled "The Masseuse" in which Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is dating a man named Joel Rifkin (Anthony Cistaro) at the same time the murderer was drawing headlines. It was the smell of death, and it would linger long after the source had been removed. She had pieces of skin under her fingernails, her sister Margarita Gonzales told The Associated Press in 1993. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. But his eventual capture was a total accident as the serial killer wasn't even on police's radar. Rifkin painstakingly covered up his crimes. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Rambo hasnt died and he hasnt found some sort of peace in his life that means hes going to stop fighting. 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. He picked her up in the city, strangled her after sex at his mothers house and dismembered her corpse in the bathtub. "There were no cameras on every block. 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. Rifkin's downfall came about simply because of a "25 cent mistake," as he told the New York Daily News. It didnt fully come home to me what was happening until later., Things went from bad to worse at East Meadow High School. He shared his mothers enthusiasm for photography and handicrafts, a brainy child who never quite fit in with other kids his age. The confession and the evidence collected from Rifkins bedroom left him boxed in as his first trial approached in Nassau. New Yorks worst serial murder case of this century began--or ended--with a routine traffic stop in the predawn hours of June 28, 1993. All of our Serial Killer books are massive, 8.5" x 11" perfect bound editions. Rambo, one of Sylvester Stallones signature characters, now understands Spanish and somehow raised a Mexican-American girl, Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) whose father abandoned her and mom died of a terminal illness. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. Something about Joel Rifkin set him apart, an undefined quality that made him an immediate outsider, natural prey to all manner of bullies. In 1994, Rifkin was sentenced to life in prison. Mladinich hopes the documentary will show people to be wary of who they choose to associate with. He said he had demanded an attorney 20 times. Julie Blackbird: Rifkin killed again about 16 months later, after picking up Julie Blackbird in 1990 and bringing her back to his home. The 31-year-olds body was later found inside a plastic bag, stuffed into a cardboard box and thrown into the Hudson River. In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. 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. He used the next one on Lorraine Orvieto, a 28-year-old manic-depressive who tried to control her mood swings with cocaine. Joels poor grades embarrassed his father, a member of the East Meadow School Board. 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. It also left Rifkin with a new problem. (Oxygen). Orval was killed by John Rambo after he went into the mountains with his bloodhounds, which he went to use to hunt Rambo down. He killed mostly prostitutes and drug addicts; he was convicted of nine murders, although he is believed to have killed many more. This includes ebooks of every book and magazine on the site. I wouldn't sleep with my back to him if I were you, cracks a colleague. 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. The experience quickly led toan addiction. 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. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Bored and restless, he cut classes habitually, completing only one course in the 1977-78 academic year. The rest would be revealed to her on television, hours later, when detectives laid the outline of their case before the media. The couple adopted another child, a daughter, three years later. They called him The Turtle, mimicking his slouched posture and slow footsteps, seldom missing a chance to make him the butt of cruel jokes. He never relishedtalking about these horrible crimes. There, Rifkin testified himself in a pretrial hearing to contest that his confession was voluntary. With Joels confession in hand, police descended on Jeanne Rifkins home, scouring the premises for evidence. Rifkin wedged the body underneath a rotting mattress, first relieving Sanchez of her watch and other jewelry. Mary Catherine Williams: Mary Catherine Williams, 31, was linked to Rifkin after some of her credit cards were found among Rifkins belongings, according to a Newsday article from 1993. These girls think, I cant be touched, Rifkin explained. 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. 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. He wanted to know why he lacked that empathy and humanity. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. There was no regret or wanting to bring the victims back. A forensic anthropologist was hired to reconstruct the victims face, but Rifkin confessed before the model was finished. Because Kramer has no ID on him, the box office employee has to use the public address system. "Water is harder to investigate than land because it washes everything," he said. Every issue of Serial Killer Magazine, every Ultimate Collection, trainscript, FBI file and more! One girl duped him twice, using the same ruse both times to flee with his cash before sex. 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 talked about trial strategy and how to present his case. Lawrence said he paid an enormous toll, starting with the day of the conviction. Credit: Randee Daddona. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Your IP: Joel Rifkin is now serving 203 years to life in the Clinton, N.Y. correctional facility. One drivers license belonged to Mary DeLuca, found dead in Cornwall, New York, in October 1991. Jane Doe #2: A second unidentified woman was killed some time during 1991. Her torso surfaced in the Hudson River, wrapped in black plastic, while her arms and legs were found in a discarded suitcase. She would not be found until June 1993, when Rifkin drew detectives a map. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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). 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. He maintained his interest in photography and horticulture, but failed to make either a paying proposition. 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. Growing up, he struggled with confidence and lacked a natural athletic ability, which frustrated his father. A panel of seven men and five women was seated nine days later, with opening arguments begun on April 20. 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. Throughout his trial and incarceration, Rifkin still could not explain one thing: why. Her body was thrown into the East River. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. 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). He wasn't driving erratically or doing anything odd. The murderous rampage of notorious Long Island serial killer Rifkin came to an end. He rolled Soto into the Harlem River, near the spot where Yun Lee had been found 14 months earlier. He was arrested in Hempstead, in August 1987, after soliciting sex from an undercover policewoman, but he escaped with a nominal fine. In 2002, New Yorks Supreme Court rejected Rifkins appeal of his convictions for the murder of nine women. The site he chose was an illegal dump, 200 feet off Rockaway Boulevard, within sight of JFK International Airport. The couple was so happy with their son that they repeated the procedure, with a daughter, three years later. Instead, he concocted an elaborate fantasy affair, frustrated beyond endurance when she failed to reciprocate his secret passion. 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. "You know, I first learned he was accused of being a serial killer while I was on the Long Island Expressway," he recalled. (Photo by Neil Schneider/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). So if a body was found in The Bronx, detectives in Brooklyn might not hear about that for weeks, days, even months sometimes never. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. They wound up at a cheap motel, DeLuca first balking at sex and demanding more dope, then rushing through the act, complaining all the while. Her body was later found in an oil drum in Coney Island Creek, according to ThoughtCo. What is the current air quality in Salem Oregon? 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.