DNA tests confirmed her identity. Rifkin told authorities he placed her body into a mattress and put it at an illegal dump site near the JFK Airport, according to ThoughtCo. He had picked up a sex workernamed Susie, according to a 2013The Associated Pressarticle. With Rifkins detailed confession, investigators got to work. Her body was never recovered. 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. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa. In an exclusive 2011 interview with CBS-2's Mary Calvi, Rifkin talked about his killing spree. As per our current Database, Joel Rifkin is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). Credit: Randee Daddona. Simpson. Arraigned for the Bresciani homicide on July 15, 1993, Rifkin repeated his plea of not guilty. It also left Rifkin with a new problem. 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. He was still so tense when he got out of his car that he said he sprained his back. I just struggled to come to grips that this same person was a serial killer capable of such barbarism. "He was very matter of fact about it. He was vague on dates, different reports placing the crime 14 months after Susies murder, or late in 1990. Every issue of Serial Killer Magazine, every Ultimate Collection, trainscript, FBI file and more! As his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. We used him, to be blunt about it, one of them recalled, years later. These girls think, I cant be touched, Rifkin explained. There, Rifkin testified himself in a pretrial hearing to contest that his confession was voluntary. He had no explanation for the wild flight to avoid a minor traffic ticket, but the cause of Rifkins panic was revealed a moment later. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson. The appointment was an honor, and it had an unexpected bonus. After sex, he strangled her to death. As much as I say I wanted to stop, there probably wouldve been others, he admitted. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Three were in oil drums. For the first time in his life, he made straight As for two consecutive semesters, rewarded by selection for an internship at the prestigious Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, New York. If theres a serial killer loose in your neighborhood, it seems like the safest thing is to be the neighbor, he says. 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. On December 14, 2001, Rifkin lost his latest appeal of his conviction. Yun Lee: Authorities believe Lee, 31, was strangled to death on September 23, 1991, Thought Co. reports. In the documentary, readers will learn how Rifkin was a meek, mild-mannered child. 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. Thats why he volunteered to have brain scans whenever they became available and he was willing to talk to mental health professionals. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! It was finally too much. Joel dismembered her body into the East River. Except for his grades, Joel was the stereotypical nerd, in glasses and high-water pants with white socks. Credit: Jessica Rotkiewicz. "When I heard his name on the radio, I pulled over. He was only caught because of a small mistake, and he would have kept killing, he admits. He was easy to make fun of.. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Rifkin found her on Jamaica Avenue in Queens and drove her around New York until sunrise, shelling out $150 for drugs at various stops. She had been the mother of two children. Is Joel Rifkin Still Alive Or Dead? Lorraine Orvieto: Orvieto, 28, disappeared in Dec. 1991. 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. 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. That left him absolutely devastated, in his mothers words, but there were other compensations. Weary of the pain by February 1987, he took a massive dose of barbiturates and died after four days in a coma. Is there less than 10? they asked Rifkin, Corcoran said. 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. Strangled in Joels pickup after sex, she proved the toughest one to kill, he said, breaking all 10 fingernails as she clawed Rifkins face and neck. In his mind, the grim task was reduced to biology class. To foil identification, Rifkin severed Susies fingertips and pulled her teeth with pliers, then jammed her severed head into an old paint can. He killed mostly prostitutes and drug addicts; he was convicted of nine murders, although he is believed to have killed many more. Rifkin had been bludgeoning or strangling women for five years, dismembering some of them. At about nine the next morning, Rifkin recalled completely bugging out, beating Blackbird with a heavy table leg before he strangled her. "And a lot of them are dangerous people. Sotos grim fight for life gave Rifkin pause. About to leave, he was confronted by patrolmen who accused him of illegal dumping, but Joel persuaded them he was collecting junk instead. We were out every night, her 16-year-old sister Jessy Olmedo said at the time. Authorities say 25-year-old Heidi Balch likely was the first victim of Joel Rifkin, who is in prison in New York after admitting he killed 17 women in the early 1990s. Rambo would go on to receive extensive survival and combat training, later becoming a Green Beret in September of 1969. "You know, I first learned he was accused of being a serial killer while I was on the Long Island Expressway," he recalled. Her body was discovered in Cornwall in October 1991, a month after she had been reported missing by her family. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2a73bfae92a8aa For the key players in the case, contact with Rifkin was life altering. (In fact, the latter name is spelled Aholah.) Rifkin called his plan a way of paying back a debt, I guess, and while the idea drew praise from some quarters --including prosecutor Fred Klein-- most objected to Rifkins inclusion of a Motivation Room where residents would be scared straight with photos of hookers murdered on the job. I had sex with her, then things went bad and I strangled her. On February 20, 1989, Joel Rifkin perpetrated his first homicide by killing Heidi Balch in her home in East Meadow. 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. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Elaine told her new beau he should change his name. Joel waited more than a year to claim his second victim. I was breathing heavily. He concealed this arrest from his family. Still, Rifkin liked to vary his technique from time to time. Something about Joel Rifkin set him apart, an undefined quality that made him an immediate outsider, natural prey to all manner of bullies. 2 men found drugged after leaving NYC gay bars were killed, medical examiner says. He never relishedtalking about these horrible crimes. Infamous New York mass murderer Joel Rifkin was caught in June 1993. O.J. (Photo by Neil Schneider/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). Rifkin was bullied throughout his school years, an experience that left him feeling angry and isolated. Joel delivered a eulogy at his fathers funeral, moving the mourners to tears, and his depression deepened. After sex, he reportedly bludgeoned her with a Howtizer artillery shell and strangled her to death. Rifkin picked her up at about 11 p.m. on November 16, near the Williamsburg Bridge in lower Manhattan. "Three were dismembered. 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. They cite physical evidence and Rifkin's statements in linking Balch's killing to him. Five months later, Seinfeld mined his crimes for material. Rifkin responded to the news by firing Soshnick on the spot, leaving Lawrence, a lawyer with no criminal experience, to wage the battle alone. Joel couldnt wait to play the deadly game again. Now, hes claiming that he once didnt believe he could kill. Orval was killed by John Rambo after he went into the mountains with his bloodhounds, which he went to use to hunt Rambo down. He was subtly obnoxious, like his presence annoyed you. Rifkin joined the track team, in an effort to fit in, and was rewarded with the nickname lard ass. Teammates hid his clothes and shoved his head into a toilet bowl. Though Rambo didnt kill anyone in 1982s First Blood, he was basically a psychopath by the end of the James Cameron-scripted sequel; Stallone directed 2008s Rambo with an understanding that the formula works best when distilled to its gun-blazing essence. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Jury selection for Rifkins first trial, before Wexner, began on April 11, 1994. Elaines boyfriend had resisted her earlier suggestion to change his name, but now hes ready to make a switch. the New York Daily News reported at the time. Joel Rifkin, meanwhile, killed 17 people a staggering amount of victims that makes him New Yorks most prolific serial killer. Fred Klein,the major offense prosecutor on call, drove to the scene. 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. "Oh! In March 1989, Rifkin, who admitted he had often fantasized about strangling women during sex, turned his disturbing ideas into reality. 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.". Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! They were so decomposed that no signs of violence were visible, and medical examiners had mistakenly concluded that some had died of drug overdoses, he said. We are now looking for artists, writers and interviewers to take part in the world famous Serial Killer Magazine. As he strangled her, Rifkin recalled, She did nothing, just accepted it. He remembered her murder as one of the weird ones.. And Rifkin told WCBS-TV in 2011 that his victim count would have likely been much higher if he hadnt been arrested in 1993. Simpson wouldnt be associated with murder that truly makes it one of the worst aged jokes in sitcom history. When she was dead, he considered raping her corpse in conscious emulation of serial killer Ted Bundy, but the prospect repulsed him. His rage and self-loathing only grew, according to the special. Joel Rifkin is currently serving a life sentence. I think its a wake-up call that there could be lots of Joel Rifkin'swalking around.". 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. "And he kept saying things like, 'I killed that one. In the trunk was the decaying body of his last victim. , After the Giant game, he says, I realized that this this problem isn't going away.. Then, as if in a fugue state, he spent the next three days working on his pickup, ignoring the summer heat and pervasive reek of decomposing flesh. Serial killer Joel Rifkin led cops to the skeleton of one victim at the outskirts of New York City's Kennedy International Airport. While 2008s Rambo had John end his wandering, Last Blood sends him back out into the world. Rifkin was sentenced to 203 years to life in prison and he is not eligible for parole until 2197. She wasnt what they said she was, Gonzales said. In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. He was living with his mother and sister at the time of his arrest. Doubling back from there, he returned to Manhattan, pitching the arms and torso into the East River. Dave Insurgent, a member of the 1980s punk band Reagan Youth), and his final victim. He didnt speed up, either, but he kept on driving. Rifkin dumped her body in the Suffolk County pine barrens, where she lay undiscovered until his arrest. The experience soon explodedinto a full-on addiction, as he blew through all his money picking up hundreds of sex workers. There was no emotion whatsoever. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! The Orvieto family sued him first, on a civil count for Lorraines wrongful death, and Rifkin responded with a snide handwritten brief, branding his victim an AIDS carrier who may be responsible for the eventual deaths of numerous individuals, crediting her relatives for shared responsibility in what might have been. Next, in November 1997, it was Rifkins turn to sue prison officials and the New York Daily News for branding him HIV-positive. Rifkin picked her up on Allen Street and drove her to the New York Posts parking lot, where he strangled her at 5:30 a.m. From there, he drove back to East Meadow, stopping at stores along the way for rope and tarp, while Bresciani lay sprawled in the backseat of his mothers car.