Tragedy plus time equals comedy, so its been said. "They would suspect a serial killer was on the loose and his car would have easily been spotted by cameras.". Rifkin Still, it would take years for authorities to formally identify her, as "Susie" wasn't her real name. Michael Ahearn, then the chief of the Suffolk district attorneys Homicide Bureau, recalled how Rifkin continually corrected him during cross-examination. In addition to Rifkin, the episode discusses the phenomenon of serial killers in one of Jerry Seinfelds stand-up routines. 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.". 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. Rifkin went back to school in spring of 1992, taking uncredited classes at SUNY Farmingdale. Things seemed to go downhill from there. Joel Rifkin Death Fact Check Joel is alive and kicking and is currently 64 years old. In 2010, Rifkin was interviewed by ABC's Martin Bashir as part of the Nightline Prime mini-series, Secrets of Your Mind. Joel Rifkin 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. Rambo: Last Blood is currently in theaters. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. As before, Joel cut most of his classes, focused for the most part on repairing his truck, renting video porn and trolling for prey. Hes not the murderer, she reassures. Rifkins selection process was erratic, sparing most of the hookers he patronized on a near nightly basis, prompting him to kill others on a whim. Rifkin was eventually sentenced to 203 years in prison for his horrific string of murders. Well, 17 girls thought that, and now theyre dead.. Joel Rifkin They had destroyed themselves through their lifestyle. ", First published on March 27, 2013 / 3:17 PM. Just keep the music down., For more on Rifkin, watch Oxygens upcoming special Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer, airing on Saturday, April 10 at 7/6c on Oxygen. From 1989 to 1993, a serial killer stalked New York City. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He dismembered the corpse as before, placing the head, arms and legs in buckets weighted with concrete; the torso filled a milk crate by itself. Birthday: January 20, 1959 How Old - Age: 64 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. When the troopers used their siren, he appeared oblivious; likewise when Ruane got on the loudspeaker and ordered him to stop. In 1988 Rifkin enrolled in a two-year horticulture-study program at the State College of Technology in Farmingdale, New York. They talked about trial strategy and how to present his case. O.J. Oxygens Serial Killer Week brings viewers inside the minds of the most notorious criminals of all time. He will be eligible for parole in 2197. 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. Rifkin was AWOL from his part-time job at an East Meadow liquor store, looking for trouble. Joel Rifkin will celebrate 65rd birthday on a Saturday 20th of January 2024. "Three were dismembered. He said he disposed of the bodies in threes. They enjoy helping others and are good companions until someone close crosses them, then look out! Mary Ellen DeLuca: DeLuca, 22, lost her life on Sept. 1, 1991 after she allegedly complained about having sex with Rifkin after he had bought her cocaine, according to ThoughtCo. "Joel was very calm about it," Mladinich continued. Troopers detected an odor from the back of the truck. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. When she was dead, he considered raping her corpse in conscious emulation of serial killer Ted Bundy, but the prospect repulsed him. 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. Simpson. "Oh! 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. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. Credit: Randee Daddona. "He said he wanted to feel some remorse or feel some humanity towards them. "You know, I first learned he was accused of being a serial killer while I was on the Long Island Expressway," he recalled. she suggested, inspired by O.J. He gave names when he knew them, dates, where he picked them up and, crucially, where he had dumped the bodies. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! I thought of him as a loner, she subsequently told reporters. 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. ", 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. Relieved of his little anxiety attack, Joel moved Bresciani into the cluttered garage, leaving her body in a wheelbarrow. He picked her up in the city, strangled her after sex at his mothers house and dismembered her corpse in the bathtub. We were out every night, her 16-year-old sister Jessy Olmedo said at the time. He was born on January 20, 1959, the son of unwed college students who were not prepared to start a family. He found Iris Sanchez, a 25-year-old crack addict, working First Avenue on Mothers Day weekend. June 29, 1993. The argument over whose killings were better reportedly ended when Ferguson punched Rifkin in the mouth. They also sought to suppress his initial admission of Brescianis murder, made at the time of his arrest, while claiming that police had lacked sufficient probable cause for a legal search of Rifkins truck. Sotos grim fight for life gave Rifkin pause. 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. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Rifkin was dispassionate, referring to the murders as events or incidents, listing his victims by number. 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. Mary Catherine Williams was number 13, Joels omission of her name confusing police and some reporters into citing Williams as an 18th victim. 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. "Where I am right now today, I know this is the best placefor me," he says. 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. She followed Mary Holloman, sometime that winter, dismembered remains consigned to the last of Rifkins oil drums. I was completely numb. The odor from the truck was immediately overwhelming, Corcoran said, and troopers peeked in the back to see what was under a tarp. Determined not to bungle the disposal this time, Rifkin went out to purchase cement and a large mortar pan. He is now the district executive for the federal courts in the Eastern District of New York. Click to reveal 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. A pair of womens panties lay on the floor, near a stockpile of rope and tarp. 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. 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. Scattering the remains throughout New York also made it less likely for authorities to notice a pattern. Joel Rifkin is a serial killer who went on a string of murders in New York in the 1990s. Serial Killer Joel Rifkin He didnt speed up, either, but he kept on driving. Tune in on Oxygen April 10 to April 18. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. Rifkin was arrested for soliciting a prostitute on August 22, 1987 in Hempstead, Long Island. In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, where Joel would spend most of his remaining years. Market data provided by Factset. Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. A high-speed chase ended in Mineola, where he crashed into a utility pole which was located directly in front of the courthouse in which he would eventually stand trial. This is a savings of over $100! Joel Rifkin 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. On February 20, 1989, Joel Rifkin perpetrated his first homicide by killing Heidi Balch in her home in East Meadow. All of our Serial Killer books are massive, 8.5" x 11" perfect bound editions. It is also packed with unusual trivia, exclusive interviews and much more. Maryann Holloman, age 39, was retrieved from Coney Island Creek in her oil drum on July 9, two days before passers-by found the skeletal remains of Lorraine Orvieto nearby. 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. Two floaters in as many days suggested a serial killer at large, but New York police had their hands full with 2,000 murders a year in those days, and junkie prostitutes were never high priority. Mary Ann Holloman: Authorities believe that 39-year-old Holloman was killed on January 2, 1992. There was another oil drum victim, Joel insists, although he doesnt know her name and cant recall exactly when he dropped her body in the Harlem River. She appeared to have been dead for several days. Success breeds repetition. During his trial, Rifkin was represented by Mineola-based attorney John Lawrence. 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. Its like my own little nightmare scenarios, he said. She was found on October 1, nude except for a brassiere, without ID. As the hearing dragged on, Rifkins lawyers alienated Judge Wexner by Soshnick repeatedly arriving late for court and unprepared and Lawrence missing whole days. Rifkin launched into great detail about each of the 17 women he killed, even drawing maps of where the bodies were. "There were mini clusters, little sets of three," Rifkin said. Fred Klein,the major offense prosecutor on call, drove to the scene. He said he told Rifkin, This is someone who is not trying to work with you and help you. 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. We have to be more aware when we see people who have been exposed to so much meanness, so much emotional brutality, physical brutality.