is joel rifkin still alive

Rifkin painstakingly covered up his crimes. Rifkin drove her to the same parking lot where he had taken Yun Lee and strangled her during fellatio. The whole city is talking about this monster Joel Rifkin, and I am dating Joel Rifkin, laments Elaine, whose coworkers have gotten wind of the creepy coincidence. I had sex with her, and then I killed her. Instead of keeping him away from prostitutes, the incident made him more devious. The rest would be revealed to her on television, hours later, when detectives laid the outline of their case before the media. Its part of Serial Killer Week, a nine-day event on Oxygen diving into the most fearsome and fascinating criminals of all time. What actor has been killed the most in movies? 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. 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. 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. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). 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. 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. 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. It didnt fully come home to me what was happening until later., Things went from bad to worse at East Meadow High School. During his trial, Rifkin was represented by Mineola-based attorney John Lawrence. 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. Joel dismembered her body into the East River. Rambos escape made him look bad and so he had to eliminate that insult to his own overblown ego. He wasn't driving erratically or doing anything odd. The obsession with murder had consumed his life and he began using the rented job site as a way station for corpses in transit. (It was still there, waiting for detectives, at the time of Joels arrest.) She was found by a fisherman on July 11, 1992, two months before her family filed a missing persons report. "Certain things are very hard to stop," Rifkin said. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. State and local detectives found Balch's aunt in New York, who identified her picture this month. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Faced with pistols now, the solemn driver gave his license up and stepped out of the car. She hailed from Metairie, Louisiana, and had been drawn to New York by dreams of acting or dancing. 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. Garden of Graves. the New York Daily News reported at the time. Rifkin's prison life In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. O.J.! The habit was expensive and she tricked to keep herself supplied. Winded from the battle, Rifkin claimed her bra and panties, earrings, ID cards and drug syringe as trophies for his cache. He admitted dumping two womens bodies in Suffolk County, but troopers continued to question him, Corcoran said. The Joel Rifkin reference certainly grounds Seinfeld 's episode in its own time, but its the idea that O.J. Out of the 17 women Rifkin said he murdered, two have yet to be identified. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family. In Rifkins cluttered garage, detectives followed their noses to a reeking wheelbarrow, extracting three ounces of human blood. Joel Rifkin Death Fact Check Joel is alive and kicking and is currently 64 years old. Neighbors recalled strange odors emanating from Rifkins garage, but they had assumed he stored insecticides there, for use in his garden and landscaping business. As per our current Database, Joel Rifkin is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). 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. At 39, Mary Ann Holloman was his oldest victim, an addict who sewed personalized G-strings for strippers when she wasnt working the streets. Tiffany Bresciani: Rifkins final victim, Tiffany Bresciani, 22, hadmoved to New York from her home in Louisiana to pursue her dream of becoming an actress or singer. That one was easy.' 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. With 25-year-old Iris Sanchez, strangled in April 1992, he simply drove to JFK Airport and left her body in a vacant lot, beneath a mattress. This guy seems like the real deal.". "I don't know. The next to die, Lauren Marquez, was a 28-year-old addict and prostitute, hooked on drugs before she left her native Tennessee for New York City. Briefly distracted by a man who passed the car walking a dog, he almost let Marquez escape. He didn't wet the bed or torture animals or start fires. Rifkin acknowledged that his violent mental images were a little more intense than regular at that time. 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. Every issue of Serial Killer Magazine, every Ultimate Collection, trainscript, FBI file and more! He is now in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, near the Canadian border. On May 25, 1992, he strangled crack addict Anna Lopez, dumping her corpse in some woods off Interstate 84, in Brewster. 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. He said he had demanded an attorney 20 times. Afraid to drag the corpse out in broad daylight, he drew inspiration from Hitchcocks Frenzy and went out to purchase a cheap steamer trunk, squeezing DeLuca inside it. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. He kept the pills, along with Orvietos jewelry and ID, as souvenirs of the kill. With this information, they were able to identify even more of his victims, the New York Times reported. He took really terrific photos and had an attractive artistic side. Is The New York Review the same as the New York Review of Books? A cemetery posted a personal ad for a goose whose mate died. But his eventual capture was a total accident as the serial killer wasn't even on police's radar. 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. Joel Rifkin is a serial killer who went on a string of murders in New York in the 1990s. Rifkin!" Rifkins first victim of 1993 was Leah Evens, a 28-year-old who lived with her mother in Brooklyn. ", 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. 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. A telephone call from police told 71-year-old Jeanne Rifkin that her son had been detained after a traffic accident. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. 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. By the time Rifkin was done taking guilty pleas throughout the area, he had been sentenced to 203 1/3 years to life in prison. Some were left abandoned in fields. Click to reveal There was no emotion whatsoever. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images). 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. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he did it.. She appeared to have been dead for several days. The killing game was over, but the quest for justice had only begun. Every issue of Serial of Serial Killer Magazine we sell. So if a body was found in The Bronx, detectives in Brooklyn might not hear about that for weeks, days, even months sometimes never. 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. Joel Rifkin was an unemployed New York landscaper living a dark double life as a prolific serial killer claiming the lives of 17 women, a staggering total. (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. Hopewell Police Chief George Meyer tells The Times of Trenton that New York authorities have no interest in prosecuting the case because Rifkin is already behind bars. 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. I was breathing heavily. All rights reserved. Rifkin started his own landscaping business in April 1991, renting space at a local nursery to store his equipment. "Some people viewed him as an oddball. As the hearing dragged on, Rifkins lawyers alienated Judge Wexner by Soshnick repeatedly arriving late for court and unprepared and Lawrence missing whole days. Right?, Oh, he was kind of quiet. I love these neighbors, he continues. And she had fake nails and those were ripped off when she fought him.. 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. In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. "She did not come home this Christmas, so we knew something was wrong.". Doubling back from there, he returned to Manhattan, pitching the arms and torso into the East River. WebWhen a letter arrives from the army, telling Rory that Dawson is missing in action and presumed dead, her world is shattered. Police finally caught up to Rifkin in June 1993, when state troopers spotted his pickup truck without license plates on the Southern State Parkway. He was confined to his cell at the Attica Correctional Facility for 23 hours a day. Joel would not strike again for 15 weeks, and when he did, he would take better care to hide his tracks. 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. What it gave me was that he liked to be in control. Very few people start out life thinking, 'Oh gee, my goal in life is to wind up in Attica. In fact, quite the opposite. Jane Doe #2: A second unidentified woman was killed some time during 1991. A peek inside the tarp revealed a womans decomposing body. June 27, 1993. She was found on October 1, nude except for a brassiere, without ID. This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. The couple adopted another child, a daughter, three years later. The Rifkins also adopted a daughter, Jan, in 1962. Lorraine Orvieto: Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. The chase covered about 20 miles through Nassau before Rifkin, a landscaper living with his mother and sister in East Meadow,hit a utility pole on Old Country Road in Mineola. Family: He was living with his mother and sister at the time of his arrest. 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. "When I heard his name on the radio, I pulled over. To have the normal picket fence and three kids and a dog and a cat and get on with life. He struggled with confidence and lacked natural athletic ability, a trait that frustrated his father endlessly, according to "Rifkin on Rifkin.". Market data provided by Factset. clothing, jewelry, drivers licenses, library cards, and credit cards belonging to approximately 10 women. He placed her body into a 55-gallon oil drum and dumped it into the East River. He was only caught because of a small mistake, and he would have kept killing, he admits. Michael Ahearn, then the chief of the Suffolk district attorneys Homicide Bureau, recalled how Rifkin continually corrected him during cross-examination. The suppression hearing convened before Judge Ira Wexner on November 8, 1993, Soshnick and Lawrence picking up where Sale left off in the effort to quash Rifkins confession. Compatible with Rabbit or Goat. Joel Rifkin telephone. The crowd stops cheering and squirm, while Elaine does damage control. We are now looking for artists, writers and interviewers to take part in the world famous Serial Killer Magazine. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. Joel Rifkin murdered17 women, making him New York's deadliest serial killer. He spent more than four years in solitary confinement before being transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County. Sale waived application for bond, knowing it was hopeless, but won a two-week postponement of formal arraignment. Mary Ann Holloman: Authorities believe that 39-year-old Holloman was killed on January 2, 1992. Despite his confessions and the overwhelming evidence against him, Rifkin pled not guilty at his murder trial. I saw him as artistically inclined. "Rifkin on Rifkin: Private Confessions of a Serial Killer,". In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. (Oxygen). Whats in a name? Tragedy plus time equals comedy, so its been said. 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. Sometimes he would take his victims back to East Meadow, to the house where he lived with his sister and elderly mother. Dave Insurgent, a member of the 1980s punk band Reagan Youth), and his final victim. One drivers license belonged to Mary DeLuca, found dead in Cornwall, New York, in October 1991. Years of pent-up anger and humiliation craved release. Sheriff Teasle hated Rambo because he represented a threat to his own power base. "But I was still an active police officer at the time. He was vague on dates, different reports placing the crime 14 months after Susies murder, or late in 1990. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. Fending off pleas from her sister and husband to move on with her life, not to mention a marriage proposal from a determined suitor, Rory holds fast to what she knows in her heartDawson is still alive. How far is Las Vegas from the California coast? Soto also had a past record for prostitution, but her family insisted she had been getting her life together before she was killed. It is chock full of artwork, rare documents, FBI files and in depth articles regarding serial murder. I thought of him as a loner, she subsequently told reporters. 202.3.109.12 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. Of course, many of the victims had concerned loved ones who were desperately looking for them after they vanished however, many of the bodies weren't recovered until after his capture, so police weren't making a connection in the cases. Now, hes claiming that he once didnt believe he could kill. 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. or redistributed. Hes not evil. Joel Rifkin is now serving 203 years to life in the Clinton, N.Y. correctional facility. Rifkin was ultimately sentenced to 203 years in prison, where he remains to this day. 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. 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. Why do people try to quit smoking for their entire lives?" Violet ONeill, a 21-year-old prostitute, was the first victim Rifkin had taken home to East Meadow in nearly a year. Before the trial, Lawrence said, Rifkin established a better rapport with the prosecution psychiatrist, serial killer expert Eliot Park Dietz, than he did with his own mental health expert, forensic psychologist Barbara Kirwin of Huntington. It was a life far removed from her affluent Long Island home where shed been a high school cheerleader. Lawrence said preparing for hearings and the trial with Rifkin was bizarre. Poor hygiene, chronic absenteeism and general ineptitude blocked the road to advancement. He rolled Soto into the Harlem River, near the spot where Yun Lee had been found 14 months earlier. 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. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. The special revealed that while his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. The Terminator could easily take out John Wick and he wouldnt even see it coming. Instead, he concocted an elaborate fantasy affair, frustrated beyond endurance when she failed to reciprocate his secret passion. In 1965, the family settled in East Meadow, New York, where Rifkin would spend most of his remaining years. 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. The murder, detectives gathered, was not his first. He concealed this arrest from his family. They are continuously looking for dynamic, speed and competition, always being the first in everything - from work to social gatherings. He was charged with killing his ex-wife and her friend. Growing up, he struggled with confidence and lacked a natural athletic ability, which frustrated his father. That left him absolutely devastated, in his mothers words, but there were other compensations. Iris Sanchez: Sanchez, 25, was reportedly killed on Mothers Day weekend in 1992. ", "If I didnt kill them, they would have died anyhow. 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 was missing one earring, later found in Rifkins bedroom stash. Determined not to bungle the disposal this time, Rifkin went out to purchase cement and a large mortar pan. "Three were dismembered. They opened the truck and found Bresciani. He was born on January 20, 1959, the son of unwed college students who were not prepared to start a family. Credit: Randee Daddona. He will be eligible for parole in 2197. Before the day was done, Rifkin, now 59, had written out a detailed description of how he had murdered 17 women who were working as prostitutes. Before Rifkin left for college, hedrove to New York City and picked up a sex workerfor the first time. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz. 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. (Glass Entertainment Group). The odor from the truck was immediately overwhelming, Corcoran said, and troopers peeked in the back to see what was under a tarp. Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. "Oh! On the early morning hours ofJune 28, 1993, three days after he had killed Bresciani, Rifkin stashed her body in his car's trunk and headed down the Southern State Parkway to dispose of her, the New York Daily News reported at the time. In the documentary, readers will learn how Rifkin was a meek, mild-mannered child. He never relishedtalking about these horrible crimes. Real-life romance eluded Rifkin, for the most part. "He said he wanted to feel some remorse or feel some humanity towards them. Another time, Rifkin made it as far as a local pizza parlor with his date, but the same bullies chased them out, pursuing the couple on foot until Joel and the girl found refuge in a public library. Would. A failure in athletics, Rifkin joined the yearbook staff, and promptly had his camera stolen. A panel of seven men and five women was seated nine days later, with opening arguments begun on April 20. "Joel was a bit of an eccentric," said Mladinich. Jenny Soto was the last victim of 1992, a 23-year-old addict whose many trips to detox never turned her life around. 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. 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. In 2010, Rifkin was interviewed by ABC's Martin Bashir as part of the Nightline Prime mini-series, Secrets of Your Mind. 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. Joel Rifkin, New York's most prolific serial killer, is the subject of a new true-crime documentary on Oxygen. There was none of that. (Photo by Rick Maiman/Sygma via Getty Images), (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Archive Photos/Getty Images). In June of that year, he murdered Bresciani, a 22-year-old who left Louisiana for Los Angeles before arriving inNew York. I was completely numb. I just struggled to come to grips that this same person was a serial killer capable of such barbarism. The other parts went into garbage bags and then into his mothers car. Homicide detectives began interrogating Rifkin at 8:25 a.m. on June 28, 1993. Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. He picked Sanchez up in broad daylight, driving her to a Manhattan housing project down by where Macys has the fireworks. After strangling Sanchez during sex, he drove her corpse across the Brooklyn Bridge, seeking a drop-off point. 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. I remember I wrote about a boxing match for one of our assignments as journalism students and he photographed the event. 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. My daughter was a very beautiful girl, Victoria ONeill said. 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. It did change me personally, he said. 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. We are happy to say that the Serial Killer Trading Cards are back! ", GARY HEIDNIKS ATTORNEY TALKS INSANE HOUSE OF HORRORS KILLER IN DOC: THERE WAS A METHOD TO HIS MADNESS', Jenny Soto's family. Rifkin refused, strangling her when she started to cry. Throughout his trial and incarceration, Rifkin still could not explain one thing: why. New York: Berkley Books, 1994. In 2002, New Yorks Supreme Court rejected Rifkins appeal of his convictions for the murder of nine women. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Archive Photos/Getty Images). 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. Actually, he later said, I thought I liked her.. The remains were never found. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. Revenge, jealousy usually theres some human connection [in a murder]. 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. "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. 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! assessed at 128, but struggled academically in school due to severe dyslexia. It didn't help matters that he was constantly seeking his father's approval, too. Mladinich said he and Rifkin, now 62, wrote to each other regularly until they saw each other again in the fall of 1999. 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. I couldn't function in the real world then. After sex, he strangled her to death. According to astrologers, the presence of Aries always marks the beginning of something energetic and turbulent. Rifkin transferred to the state university at Brockport, a Rochester suburb, in fall 1978. Copyright 2023 Newsday. The special also features interviews with Rifkins childhood friends, investigators on the case, as well as those closest to his victims. Some were dismembered, others were not. In many ways, it was almost like a tsunami.. From the motel, he drove upstate to Orange County and left DeLucas body at a rest stop outside Cornwall, near West Point.

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