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. Aside from books and magazines (no more than 10 per isolation cell), Rifkin had lawsuits to amuse himself. He was born on January 20, 1959, the son of unwed college students who were not prepared to start a family. Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a. . They cite physical evidence and Rifkin's statements in linking Balch's killing to him. They also found a blood-stained wheelbarrow and chainsaw at the residence. Joel Rifkin telephone. The crowd stops cheering and squirm, while Elaine does damage control. We are happy to say that the Serial Killer Trading Cards are back! The oil drum was a new kink with Rifkin, used at least four times by his count. At about nine the next morning, Rifkin recalled completely bugging out, beating Blackbird with a heavy table leg before he strangled her. The only thing that makes me feel a little better is to think that perhaps she didnt die in pain.. He drove to the Hudson River, dropping her into the water near a cement plant. He found Iris Sanchez, a 25-year-old crack addict, working First Avenue on Mothers Day weekend. An anonymous caller reported Hollomans floating remains to police on July 9, 1992, two days before Orvietos corpse was found. Three were in oil drums. Rifkin drove her to the same parking lot where he had taken Yun Lee and strangled her during fellatio. The drivers license identified him as 34-year-old Joel David Rifkin, residing on Garden Street in East Meadow, Long Island. Theyre never disturbed by the sounds of murdering, just stereo. "Joel was very calm about it," Mladinich continued. 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. With no money, Rifkin attempted to hold down a job, but that also became another unsuccessful moment in his life. Evens had been the daughter of a civil court judge and had once attended Sarah Lawrence College. Tune in on Oxygen April 10 to April 18. O.J.! Neighbors had noted a foul odor emanating from the Rifkin garage, where corpses were occasionally stored before disposal, but the stench was attributed to fertilizer and insecticide Joel used on his landscaping job. 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. "Joel never expressed any remorse whatsoever to me," said Mladinich. Next to him is his attorney, John Lawrence of Mineola. [2] Early life [ edit] Rifkin's birth parents were both young college students and his biological father was an Army veteran. Oxygens Serial Killer Week brings viewers inside the minds of the most notorious criminals of all time. 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.". This is someone whos trying to show you to be a sadistic killer., Joel Rifkin listens to the guilty verdict against him in Nassau County Court in Mineola on May 9, 1994,in the killingof Tiffany Bresciani. Joel would not strike again for 15 weeks, and when he did, he would take better care to hide his tracks. Still, it would take years for authorities to formally identify her, as "Susie" wasn't her real name. Is there less than 10? they asked Rifkin, Corcoran said. 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. At least 10 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed last month, doctor says, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Defense lawyers in Idaho killings case want gag order kept, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son. They could see part of a hand and the head of Rifkins finalvictim. Confidential (1997) and The Sum of All Fears (2002). They called him The Turtle, mimicking his slouched posture and slow footsteps, seldom missing a chance to make him the butt of cruel jokes. MADHATTERDESIGN@GMAIL.COM, Like old school VHS Covers? The 23-year-oldwas wearing only a T-shirt. If you are interested in joining our team, contact us at This 90 card set features the artwork of 15 noted true crime artists and will come with a numbered, signed certificate of authenticity for each set. Rambos escape made him look bad and so he had to eliminate that insult to his own overblown ego. Abandoned by the father of her two children, Evens found solace in drugs and worked the streets to keep herself well. Rifkin found her tricking on February 27, 1993, stopping for sex in an abandoned parking lot. June 27, 1993. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. State and local detectives found Balch's aunt in New York, who identified her picture this month. Before Rifkin left for college, hedrove to New York City and picked up a sex workerfor the first time. 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. He told investigators he dismembered her body, put it into various buckets filled with concrete, and dropped the buckets into the East River and Brooklyn canal. "Oh! Sheriff Teasle hated Rambo because he represented a threat to his own power base. Rifkin was transferred at once to the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. ", JOHN WALSHS SON CALLAHAN EXPLAINS HOW HIS BROTHER ADAM'S MURDER MADE HIM DETERMINED TO CATCH BAD GUYS, Jenny Soto, a victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin. (Photo by Andrew Savulich/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images). Your IP: He took really terrific photos and had an attractive artistic side. The appointment was an honor, and it had an unexpected bonus. Her slaying capped his own frenzied acceleration period and left him with embarrassing wounds to explain. Jenny Soto's family. 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. Eugene Corcoran, shown onJune 18, was one of the lead investigators in the Joel Rifkin case. Tragedy plus time equals comedy, so its been said. 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.". "There were mini clusters, little sets of three," Rifkin said. Leah Evans: 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. At this time he became increasingly obsessed with violence, murder, and prostitution. both were veterans, but Teasle was ruler of his own little fiefdom and wanted to keep it. 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. They drove to a point near the Manhattan Bridge, Rifkin clutching at her throat without the usual preliminaries. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2a73bfae92a8aa ", First published on March 27, 2013 / 3:17 PM. Family: He was living with his mother and sister at the time of his arrest. 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. During his trial, Rifkin was represented by Mineola-based attorney John Lawrence. 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. 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. Upon waking, he dragged Susie down to the basement, draped her body across the washer and dryer, then used that makeshift operating table to dismember her corpse with an X-acto knife. 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. Simpson wouldnt be associated with murder that truly makes it one of the worst aged jokes in sitcom history. "Three were dismembered. Growing up, he struggled with confidence and lacked a natural athletic ability, which frustrated his father. "But I was still an active police officer at the time. ", 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. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family. A woman whose severed head was found on a New Jersey golf course more than 20 years ago has been identified, and police say the trail leads to a notorious serial killer. Failing that, he sought to have the various murder charges consolidated in one Nassau County trial, hoping a hometown jury would be more inclined to find Rifkin not guilty by reason of insanity. They never kill the neighbor. Rifkin was sentenced to 203 years to life in prison and he is not eligible for parole until 2197. When they signaled for him to pull over, Rifkin kept driving. Throughout the 1980s, Rifkin worked a series of odd jobs around Long Island, seldom staying long at any. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he did it.. A forensic anthropologist was hired to reconstruct the victims face, but Rifkin confessed before the model was finished. "We were trying to catch up from the previous 20 years. 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. Rifkin said. He rolled Soto into the Harlem River, near the spot where Yun Lee had been found 14 months earlier. Poor hygiene, chronic absenteeism and general ineptitude blocked the road to advancement. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). But his eventual capture was a total accident as the serial killer wasn't even on police's radar. The severed head was found in 1989 in Hopewell, a town north of Trenton. According to the outlet, Rifkin admitted to the other slayings during questioning. 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). 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. He killed mostly prostitutes and drug addicts; he was convicted of nine murders, although he is believed to have killed many more. Within weeks, Rifkin faced murder charges not only in Nassau but in the numerous other counties where he had dumped other victims. 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. The argument over whose killings were better reportedly ended when Ferguson punched Rifkin in the mouth. She would not be found until June 1993, when Rifkin drew detectives a map. Five months later, Seinfeld mined his crimes for material. 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. They had destroyed themselves through their lifestyle. When its Joel Rifkin, the name of a notorious New York serial killer whose brutal four-year murder spree ended when he was caught in June 1993, it was grim grist for an episode of the hit NBC sitcom Seinfeld that premiered just five months after his arrest. I think its a wake-up call that there could be lots of Joel Rifkin'swalking around.". She had been the mother of two children. Following a traffic stop that led to a car chase by police, authorities noticed a rank odor coming from Rifkins car. When she fell asleep, he clubbed her with the same table leg he had used on Julie Blackbird, then finished the job by manual strangulation. So if a body was found in The Bronx, detectives in Brooklyn might not hear about that for weeks, days, even months sometimes never. In February 1987, Rifkin's adoptive father committed suicide to end the pain of cancer, thereby increasing Rifkins depression. Something about Joel Rifkin set him apart, an undefined quality that made him an immediate outsider, natural prey to all manner of bullies. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. Determined not to bungle the disposal this time, Rifkin went out to purchase cement and a large mortar pan. She was found on September 23--eight days before DeLuca--floating past Randalls Island, at the Harlem Rivers mouth. Her mother told the newspaper in 1993 that her daughter had been a happy and outspoken child, who later struggled with drug abuse and began to work as a prostitute. After graduating from high school, Rifkin, who was particularly interested in horticulture and photojournalism, made several attempts at community college and attended the State University of New York at Brockport, where he worked for a time as a photographer on the school's newspaper The Stylus. Joel dismembered her body into the East River. Some were in water. While he was portrayed as a more heroic character in the film, the novel portrays him as a ruthless, psychotic murderer and unlike the movie counterpart, this version of Rambo slaughters innocent people. Thirty minutes later, Sale and Rifkin appeared before Judge John Kingston, entering a preliminary plea of not guilty on the Bresciani murder. I was breathing heavily. They enjoy helping others and are good companions until someone close crosses them, then look out! WebJoel Rifkin was born in in January 20, 1959. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). Rifkin was dispassionate, referring to the murders as events or incidents, listing his victims by number. 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. Copyright 2023 Newsday. He kind of leaned back and said, One or 100, whats the difference? Corcoran said. Wiles Stabile. Joels poor grades embarrassed his father, a member of the East Meadow School Board. After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. Long Island psychiatrist Barbara Kirwin deemed Rifkins psychological test results the most pathological she had seen in 20 years of practice. Joel Rifkin - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Two other victims remain unidentified to this day. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. He dismembered their bodies and disposed theirremains in the New York area. Rifkins first two victims have never been found or identified. In 2002, New Yorks Supreme Court rejected Rifkins appeal of his convictions for the murder of nine women. Joel Rifkin Death Fact Check Joel is alive and kicking and is currently 64 years old. WebPrison officials decided in 1996 that Rifkin was so notorious that his presence in the general prison population could be disruptive. 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. Many of the victims were never even reported missing, and so police were unaware of the scope of the killing spree. "She did not come home this Christmas, so we knew something was wrong.". Their mistake made Rifkin laugh, explaining that the clumsy cops had counted Williams twice. 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. He has been married to Iva Rifkin since August 28, 1966. There were times he would come up with things about the afterlife, or an energy flow he detected leaving his victims, Lawrence said. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Joel couldnt wait to play the deadly game again. 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. Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com. "Some people viewed him as an oddball. But other times, Lawrence said his client made him uncomfortable. From 1989 to 1993, a serial killer stalked New York City. You dont even use a name, its just initials. After wrestling her body into a plastic trash bag, Rifkin cleaned up the blood and signs of combat in his living room, then lay down and slept for several hours as if nothing had happened. I remember I wrote about a boxing match for one of our assignments as journalism students and he photographed the event. A chainsaw found in the garage was stained with blood and bits of human flesh. O.J. These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. After the pair spent the night, once again at his mothers home, Rifkin beat her with a table leg and strangled her to death, according to Biography. After exchanging letters, the former cop, who served the NYPD from 1983 until 2003 when he retired with the rank of Detective Second Grade, decided to visit Rifkin at Attica Correctional Facility. In 2000, a state appellate court determined that prison officials had not violated Rifkin's constitutional rights by housing him in isolation. "Water is harder to investigate than land because it washes everything," he said. He is now the district executive for the federal courts in the Eastern District of New York. Doubling back from there, he returned to Manhattan, pitching the arms and torso into the East River. Market data provided by Factset. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Jenny Soto: Jenny Soto'sbody later washed up along the rocks of the Harlem River in November of 1992. Weary of the pain by February 1987, he took a massive dose of barbiturates and died after four days in a coma. I just lost control, he said later. Joel Rifkin, New York's most prolific serial killer, is the subject of a new true-crime documentary on Oxygen. According to Rifkins complaint, the reports prompted a series of inmate assaults that he suffered in January and February 1996, leading to his confinement in a solitary cell for personal safety. Rifkin's downfall came about simply because of a "25 cent mistake," as he told the New York Daily News. 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. In fact, quite the opposite. Fred Klein, shown in his office at Hofstra Universityon June 13, was the lead Nassau County prosecutor in the Joel Rifkincase. . Thats why he volunteered to have brain scans whenever they became available and he was willing to talk to mental health professionals. Several months later, the football star was charged with murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Police finally caught up to Rifkin in June 1993, when state troopers spotted his pickup truck without license plates on the Southern State Parkway. One girl duped him twice, using the same ruse both times to flee with his cash before sex. Rifkin was booked at Hempstead, where homicide detectives launched a marathon interrogation. 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. 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. The murders spanned four years, and all the victims were described as prostitutes by Rifkin, though surviving relatives of several vocally dispute his claim. 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). Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Crack addict Mary Ellen DeLuca, a 22-year-old Long Island native, was last seen alive at 11:00 p.m. on September 1, 1991, when she left a group of friends to earn the price of her next fix. Rifkin could not recall the name of number six, murdered a few days shy of Christmas 1991. Despite his confessions and the overwhelming evidence against him, Rifkin pled not guilty at his murder trial. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz. But Susie has never been identified. According to Joel Rifkin, it was a '25-cent mistake' that finally led to his capture. Judge Robert Hanophy, passing sentence in the Sanchez case, told spectators: It is not in my power to give Mr. Rifkin the sentence he deserves. 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. Fred Klein,the major offense prosecutor on call, drove to the scene. Rifkin was ultimately sentenced to 203 years in prison, where he remains to this day. 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. That left him absolutely devastated, in his mothers words, but there were other compensations. (Photo by Neil Schneider/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). "They would suspect a serial killer was on the loose and his car would have easily been spotted by cameras.". 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. 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. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Pig are extremely nice, good-mannered and tasteful. Still, Rifkin liked to vary his technique from time to time. She was found hours later by firefighters on a training exercise, but this time Rifkin reported, It didnt even faze me.. Curiously, though, the driver of the pickup did not stop. He is an actor, known for Alias (2001), L.A. The murder, detectives gathered, was not his first. In 2010, Rifkin was interviewed by ABC's Martin Bashir as part of the Nightline Prime mini-series, Secrets of Your Mind. 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. 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. Every issue of Serial Killer Magazine, every Ultimate Collection, trainscript, FBI file and more! 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. Hes not the murderer, she reassures. She had pieces of skin under her fingernails, her sister Margarita Gonzales told The Associated Press in 1993. Three months later, he killed Leah Evens and left her in rural Northampton, where her skeleton was found on Mothers Day. She was actually a woman named Heidi Balch, who had used various identities throughout the years. A telephone call from police told 71-year-old Jeanne Rifkin that her son had been detained after a traffic accident. With Joel Rifkin, Julian Attaway, Robert Mladinich, Sean Ruane. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. WebJoel Rifkin murdered 17 women, making him New York's deadliest serial killer. 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. 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. At age 33, Anna Lopez had three children by three different fathers, but she worked the streets primarily to feed her own cocaine addiction. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. It also includes the best true crime artwork from around the world. The wild chase was on. Instead, he picked up a souvenir howitzer shell and beat her furiously. These are more like giant, professionally produced graphic novels. Later, he recalled the act as very automatic. 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. Is there more than one? He then dismembered her body, leaving her head at a New Jersey golf course, where it was quickly found, according to the AP. 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 would be eligible for parole only in 2197, at the age of 238. On December 14, 2001, Rifkin lost his latest appeal of his conviction. At the time, she was pursuing her dreams of becoming a singer and actress. Officers staked out the house in East Meadow, where Rifkin lived with his sister and elderly mother. Her mother, Victoria ONeill, told the newspaper she had last seen her daughter on July 16, 1992. 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. "I don't know. 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. These are not the kind of flimsy magazines or tiny paperback novels that you are accustomed to. Police just noticed him because his vehicle was missing a license plate. Lees ex-husband identified the body, sparing her from an unmarked grave. Despite his history of morbid fantasy, Rifkin would later claim he had to plan the murder of his first victim, in March 1989.