Joel Rifkin

Last updated
Joel Rifkin
JRifkin.jpg
Rifkin after his arrest
Born
Joel David Rifkin

(1959-01-20) January 20, 1959 (age 65)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Other namesJoel the Ripper
Criminal penalty203 years to life imprisonment
Details
Victims9–17
Span of crimes
1989–1993
CountryUnited States
State(s)New York
Date apprehended
June 28, 1993
Imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility [1]

Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) is an American serial killer, who was sentenced to 203 years in prison for the murders of nine women between 1989 and 1993, though it is believed he killed as many as 17 people. [2]

Contents

Early life

Rifkin's birth parents were both young college students and his biological father was an Army veteran. On February 14, 1959, when he was three weeks old, Rifkin was adopted by an upper-middle class couple living on Long Island. [3]

Rifkin performed poorly in school due to learning disabilities, and was unpopular with classmates. [4] He graduated from East Meadow High School in 1977, then attended classes at Nassau Community College, the State University of New York at Brockport, and the State University of New York at Farmingdale, but left before earning a degree. After leaving college, Rifkin became self-employed as a landscaper. [5]

On February 20, 1987, his father, Bernard, committed suicide, overdosing after having suffered from prostate cancer for several months. [6]

On August 22, 1987, Rifkin was arrested during a sex worker sting in Hempstead, New York, after offering an undercover female police officer money for sex. [7]

Murders

Rifkin committed his first murder on February 20, 1989, killing Heidi Balch in his home in East Meadow. He then dismembered her body, removing her teeth and fingertips, putting her head in a paint can which he left in the woods on a golf course in Hopewell, New Jersey, disposing of her legs farther north, and dumping her remaining torso and arms into the East River around New York City. On March 5, 1989, Balch's severed head was discovered on the seventh hole of the golf course. [8] On April 8, 1989, Balch's legs were found in Pequonnock Creek near Jefferson Township, New Jersey. [9] Her remains were not identified until 2013. [10]

It is assumed that Rifkin killed 16 more women during the next four years. [2] He was implicated in Balch's murder after his arrest in 1993. [11] Investigators determined in 2013 that Balch and the woman he described as his first victim were the same person. [12]

Rifkin picked up Tiffany Bresciani, a prostitute who was working on Allen Street in Manhattan, on June 24, 1993. Tiffany was with her pimp and boyfriend, punk rock musician Dave Rubinstein. Rifkin told Rubinstein that she was going to be returning in 20 minutes. After Tiffany failed to return, Rubinstein called the police with a description of the 1984 Mazda pickup truck that Rifkin drove. [13] [5] [14] Partially as a result of her death, Dave Rubinstein committed suicide by overdose less than two weeks later. [15]

Arrest and trial

On June 28, 1993, at 3:15 am, state troopers patrolling Long Island's Southern State Parkway noticed a 1984 Mazda B2000 pickup truck without a license plate. After indicating for the driver to pull over, he failed to stop and led police on a 20 - 25 minute chase, ending after he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a light pole. [16] The driver was identified as Joel David Rifkin and after searching the vehicle, the troopers found the body of Tiffany Bresciani wrapped in a tarpaulin. [13] [17] [18]

He was found guilty of nine counts of second-degree murder in 1994, and sentenced to 203 years up to life in prison. [19]

Prison life

Prison officials decided in 1996 that Rifkin was so notorious that his presence in the general prison population could be disruptive. He was confined to his cell at the Attica Correctional Facility for 23 hours per day. He spent more than four years in solitary confinement, then was transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County, New York. Rifkin sued, arguing that his solitary imprisonment was unconstitutional. In 2000, a state appellate court determined that prison officials had not violated his constitutional rights by housing him in isolation. Corrections officials said that Rifkin was imprisoned with more than 200 other inmates at Clinton who were not allowed into the general prison population. [1]

It was initially speculated that Rifkin could be responsible for the Gilgo Beach serial killings; however, Rifkin denied any involvement with the case, and the timeline of discovery did not match when Rifkin was active. [20] In 2023, Rex Heuermann, an architect from Massapequa Park, was arrested and charged with the murder of several women found on Gilgo Beach.

Known victims

NamesNotes
Heidi "Suzie" Balch, 25Remains found in 1989 in Hopewell Twp., New Jersey and the East River. Identified in March 2013. [21]
Julie BlackbirdRemains never found
Barbara Jacobs, 31Remains found on July 14, 1991, in the Hudson River. [22]
Yun Lee, 31Remains found on September 23, 1991, in the East River off Randalls Island. [23]
Mary Ellen DeLuca, 22Remains found on October 1, 1991, in Cornwall, New York. [23] [24] Identified on July 4, 1993. [24]
"Number 6"Never identified, remains never recovered
"Number 9"Never identified. Found May 13, 1992 in a 55-gallon steel drum floating in Newtown Creek in Brooklyn. [23] [5] [25]
Anna Lopez, 33Remains found on May 25, 1992, in Patterson, New York. [23]
Violet O'Neill, 21Remains found in July 1992 in the Harlem River at 123rd Street, the East River at 23rd Street, and near Governors Island. Identified in September 1993. [26]
Maryann Hollomon, 39Remains found on July 9, 1992, in Coney Island Creek. [5] [6] [27]
Lorraine Orvieto, 28Remains found on July 11, 1992, in Coney Island Creek, Brooklyn, New York. [28] Identified on July 4, 1993. [24]
Jenny Soto, 23Remains found on November 17, 1992, on the shores of Harlem River in the South Bronx. [29]
Mary Catherine Williams, 31Remains found on December 21, 1992, in Yorktown, New York. [27] [30] Identified on July 6, 1993. [31]
Leah Evens, 28Remains found on May 9, 1993, in Northampton, Suffolk County, New York. [23]
Iris Sanchez, 25Remains found on June 29, 1993, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York. [23] [32]
Lauren Marquez, 28Remains found on June 29, 1993, in the Long Island Central Pine Barrens in Suffolk County, New York. [33] Identified on August 21, 1993. [34]
Tiffany Bresciani, 22Body found on June 28, 1993, on the floor of Rifkin's pickup truck in Manhattan, New York.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Dahmer</span> American serial killer (1960–1994)

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered seventeen males between 1978 and 1991. Many of his later murders involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serial killer</span> Murderer of multiple people

A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Ridgway</span> American serial killer (born 1949)

Gary Leon Ridgway is an American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He was initially convicted of 48 separate murders committed between the early 1980s and late 1990s. As part of his plea bargain, another conviction was added, bringing the total number of convictions to 49, making him the second most prolific serial killer in United States history according to confirmed murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attica Correctional Facility</span> Maximum-security state prison in New York

Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security campus New York State prison in the town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. It was constructed in the 1930s in response to earlier riots within the New York state prisons.

The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the New South Wales town of Berrima. Five of the victims were foreign backpackers and two were Australians from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed to the murders for which he was convicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Turner</span> American serial killer (born 1966)

Chester Dewayne Turner is an American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and murdering fourteen women and an unborn baby in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Choon-jae</span> South Korean serial killer (born 1963)

Lee Chun-jae is a South Korean serial killer known for committing the Hwaseong serial murders. Between 1986 and 1994, Lee murdered fifteen women and girls in addition to committing numerous sexual assaults, predominantly in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and the surrounding areas. The murders, which remained unsolved for thirty years, are considered to be the most infamous in modern South Korean history and were the inspiration for the 2003 film Memories of Murder.

William MacDonald was an English serial killer responsible for the deaths of five people in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales between 1961 and 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Rubinstein</span> American singer

David Rubinstein, also known as Dave Insurgent, was an American singer and co-founder of the New York–based hardcore punk band Reagan Youth. Rubenstein founded the band with guitarist Paul Bakija when both were in Forest Hills High School in Forest Hills, Queens. The band played the punk clubs of Manhattan while the members were still in high school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Gilyard</span> Convicted American serial killer

Lorenzo Jerome Gilyard, Jr., known as the Kansas City Strangler, is an American serial killer. A former trash-company supervisor, Gilyard is believed to have raped and murdered at least 13 women and girls from 1977 to 1993. He was convicted of six counts of murder on March 16, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Wright (serial killer)</span> British serial killer

Steven Gerald James Wright is an English serial killer, also known as the Suffolk Strangler. He is serving a whole-life term in prison for the murder of five women who worked in Ipswich, Suffolk. The killings took place during the final months of 2006 and Wright was found guilty in February 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Alcala</span> American serial killer (1943–2021)

Rodney James Alcala was an American serial killer and sex offender who was sentenced to death in California for five murders committed between 1977 and 1979, receiving an additional sentence of 25 years to life after pleading guilty to two further homicides committed in New York State in 1971 and 1977. While he has been conclusively linked to eight murders, Alcala's true number of victims remains unknown and could be much higher – authorities believe the actual number is as high as 130.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilgo Beach serial killings</span> American serial killer case

The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of killings between 1996 and 2011 in which the remains of 11 people were found in Gilgo Beach, located on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, United States. Most of the known victims were sex workers who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer.

Parabon NanoLabs, Inc. is a company based in Reston, Virginia, that develops nanopharmaceuticals and provides DNA phenotyping services for law enforcement organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Little</span> American serial killer (1940–2020)

Samuel Little was an American serial killer who confessed to murdering 93 people, nearly all women, between 1970 and 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) has confirmed Little's involvement in at least 60 of the 93 confessed murders, the largest number of confirmed victims for any serial killer in United States history.

Dr. No is the nickname given to a suspected American serial killer thought to be responsible for the murders of at least nine women and girls in Ohio, between 1981 and 1990. As victims, Dr. No primarily chose prostitutes working in parking lots and truck stops located alongside Interstate 71. There are suspicions that he committed three similar killings in New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania, between 1986 and 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalil Wheeler-Weaver</span> American serial killer

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver is an American serial killer.

References

  1. 1 2 "Joel Rifkin". Biography.com . 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  2. 1 2 Eftimiades, Maria (1993-12-06). "The Quiet Man". People . Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  3. ↑ "The Drifter, Joel Rifkin". Archived from the original on 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  4. ↑ Schechter, Harold (2003). The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballantine Books. p.  163. ISBN   0-345-46566-0.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Russell Kasindorf, Jeanie (1993-08-09). "The Bad Seed". New York Magazine . Vol. 26, no. 31. pp. 42–3.
  6. 1 2 Eftimiades, Maria (February 11, 2014). Garden of Graves: The Shocking True Story of Long Island Serial Killer Joel Rifkin. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 281. ISBN   9781466863125 . Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  7. ↑ "N.Y. police are led to two bodies 10 other cases may be involved". Baltimore Sun. baltimoresun.com. June 30, 1993. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ Zdan, Alex (March 26, 2013). "Woman whose severed head was found on Hopewell golf course in 1989 is identified" . Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Severed head found in New Jersey in '89 ID'd, linked to serial killer". foxnews.com. Fox News. March 27, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Heidi Balch Identified: Severed Head Found On Golf Course Was Serial Killer Joel Rifkin's First Victim". Huffington Post . 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  11. ↑ "Accused Serial Killer on L.I. Called a Suspect in 1989 Slaying of a Woman" . New York Times. March 24, 1994. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Joel Rifkin's first victim ID'd from severed head, was Heidi Balch, cops say". Newsday . 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  13. 1 2 Smith, Andrew (2018-06-27). "25 years after Joel Rifkin's arrest, key players look back at the case". Newsday . Archived from the original on 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  14. ↑ Simmonds, Jeremy. "Dave Insurgent". The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches, p. 301, Chicago Review Press, 2008, accessed 2011-08-21 ISBN   1-55652-754-3
  15. ↑ Stewart, Alison (April 11, 2013). "After unspeakable tragedies, Reagan Youth is trying again". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Joel Rifkin Arrest". New York State Police. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Simmonds, Jeremy. "Dave Insurgent". The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches, p. 301, Chicago Review Press, 2008, accessed August 21, 2011 ISBN   1-55652-754-3
  18. ↑ Kasindorf, Jeanie Russell. "The Bad Seed", New York Magazine, pp. 38–40, August 9, 1993
  19. ↑ Baker, Al; Fernandez, Manny (April 22, 2011). "Bright, Careful and Sadistic: Profiling Long Island's Mystery Serial Killer". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Long Island Bones Aren't Joel Rifkin's Victims, Rifkin Says". 15 April 2011.
  21. ↑ Newcomb, Alyssa (March 27, 2013). "How Police Identified Severed Head After 24-Year Mystery". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  22. ↑ "In Serial-Killer Inquiry, Doubts Arise on Prostitute Link". New York Times. July 3, 1993. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marks, Peter (July 1, 1993). "Three States Investigating Tale of Killing". The New York Times . Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  24. 1 2 3 Rabinovitz, Jonathan (July 4, 1993). "3 More Victims of Serial Killer Are Identified". The New York Times . Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  25. ↑ Mueller, Christian (April 12, 2021). "Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP8295". National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  26. ↑ Marks, Peter (September 3, 1993). "Police Identify 13th Body As Victim of L.I. Killer". The New York Times . Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  27. 1 2 "State Police Link Possible 18th Victim to Suspect in Slayings". New York Times. July 8, 1993. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  28. ↑ {{cite web |title=Thousands of Missing-Persons Cases |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/nyregion/thousands-of-missing-persons-cases.html |website=New York Times |date=July 25, 1993|access-date=October 31, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108094134/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/nyregion/thousands-of-missing-persons-cases.html |archive-date=January 8, 2010}}
  29. ↑ McLarin, Kimberly J. (July 3, 1993). "One Name on a Roll Call of Death". The New York Times . Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  30. ↑ "18TH VICTIM TIED TO SUSPECT IN SERIAL KILLINGS, POLICE SAY". sun-sentinel. Sun Sentinel. July 7, 1993. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  31. ↑ Faison, Seth (July 7, 1993). "14th Body Is Linked to Suspect in Serial Killings, Police Say". The New York Times . Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  32. ↑ McQuiston, John (November 14, 1993). "Reporter's Notebook; The Sad, Angry Vigils at Rifkin's Court Hearings". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Rifkin Pleads Not Guilty In Deaths of Two Women". The New York Times . October 1, 1993. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Police Identify Body Linked to Joel Rifkin". The New York Times . August 21, 1993. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.