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Joel Rifkin

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Joel Rifkin
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 atClinton 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]

Early life

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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 prostitution sting in Hempstead, New York, after offering an undercover female police officer money for sex.[7]

Murders

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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 synonymous.[12]

Rifkin picked up prostitute Tiffany Bresciani on Allen Street in Manhattan, on June 24, 1993 with her pimp and boyfriend, punk rock musician Dave Rubinstein who told Rubinstein that she was going to be returning in 20 minutes. After Bresciani 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

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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

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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

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Names Notes
Heidi "Suzie" Balch, 25 Remains found in 1989 in Hopewell Twp., New Jersey and the East River. Identified in March 2013.[21]
Julie Blackbird Remains never found
Barbara Jacobs, 31 Remains found on July 14, 1991, in the Hudson River.[22]
Yun Lee, 31 Remains found on September 23, 1991, in the East River off Randalls Island.[23]
Mary Ellen DeLuca, 22 Remains 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, 33 Remains found on May 25, 1992, in Patterson, New York.[23]
Violet O'Neill, 21 Remains 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, 39 Remains found on July 9, 1992, in Coney Island Creek.[5][6][27]
Lorraine Orvieto, 28 Remains found on July 11, 1992, in Coney Island Creek, Brooklyn, New York.[28] Identified on July 4, 1993.[24]
Jenny Soto, 23 Remains found on November 17, 1992, on the shores of Harlem River in the South Bronx.[29]
Mary Catherine Williams, 31 Remains found on December 21, 1992, in Yorktown, New York.[27][30] Identified on July 6, 1993.[31]
Leah Evens, 28 Remains found on May 9, 1993, in Northampton, Suffolk County, New York.[23]
Iris Sanchez, 25 Remains found on June 29, 1993, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York.[23][32]
Lauren Marquez, 28 Remains 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, 22 Body found on June 28, 1993, on the floor of Rifkin's pickup truck in Manhattan, New York.
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A 1993 episode of Seinfeld, "The Masseuse", features a character named Joel Rifkin as the boyfriend of Elaine Benes. She begs him to change his name because of the association with a serial killer.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Joel Rifkin". Biography.com. 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-31.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d Russell Kasindorf, Jeanie (1993-08-09). "The Bad Seed". New York Magazine. Vol. 26, no. 31. pp. 42–3.
  6. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f Marks, Peter (July 1, 1993). "Three States Investigating Tale of Killing". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  24. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "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.
  35. ^ Writer, Taylor McCloud Staff (2022-10-27). "Resurfaced "Seinfeld" bit involving "O.J." name suggestion stuns internet". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-08-17.
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  • Adoption:Uncharted Waters by David Kirschner, PhD includes three chapters detailing his psychological interviews with Rifkin prior to and during the trial.
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