She woke up fighting for her life, kicking the gear-shift hard enough to snap it off before Joel smothered her. The coroner blamed her death on a drug overdose, and Jacobs was buried in Potters Field cemetery, unidentified until Rifkin confessed her murder two years later. Anna Lopez: Lopezs nude body was found May 25, 1992 in a wooded area off Interstate 84 in Putnam County, according to The New York Times. WebJoel 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 he is believed to have killed up to 17 victims in all. "You think of people as things.". Rifkin launched into great detail about each of the 17 women he killed, even drawing maps of where the bodies were. His mother chose that month to travel out of state, leaving Joel alone in the East Meadow house. "He was very matter of fact about it. ", "Even when we first spoke at the correctional facility, it was like we had been friends the previous 20 years," he shared. 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. Family members of his victims either could not be reached or declined to comment. It also includes the best true crime artwork from around the world. Serial killer Joel Rifkin led cops to the skeleton of one victim at the outskirts of New York City's Kennedy International Airport. Instead, he picked up a souvenir howitzer shell and beat her furiously. Rifkin, a former landscaper, was stopped by police on a routine traffic stop when a Long Island officer noticed his front license plate was missing, CBS New York reports. It is chock full of artwork, rare documents, FBI files and in depth articles regarding serial murder. Police finally caught up to Rifkin in June 1993, when state troopers spotted his pickup truck without license plates on the Southern State Parkway. 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 he is believed to have killed up to 17 victims in all. 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. Type of Villain John James Rambo is the main protagonist of the 1972 novel First Blood and its 1982 film adaptation. They trade suggestions for a possible new name, and of course, they cant come close to agreeing. The confession and the evidence collected from Rifkins bedroom left him boxed in as his first trial approached in Nassau. WebRifkin was found guilty of nine murders in 1994 and sentenced to 203 years to life. Confronting them, she was first told that Joel had been detained after a traffic accident, then that he was jailed for a crime which the officers refused to describe. Five months later, Seinfeld mined his crimes for material. Rifkin!" His guide enabled police all over the metropolitan area to find bodies they didnt know existed or to explain how and why bodies had been found earlier. His fantasies about strangling women became more frequent. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. Why do people try to quit smoking for their entire lives?" The only thing that makes me feel a little better is to think that perhaps she didnt die in pain.. 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. Rifkin said. Mary Catherine Williams, 10 years older than ONeill, had been a high school homecoming queen and college cheerleader in her native North Carolina. He is now in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, near the Canadian border. (Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives /(c) NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images). (Robert Mladinich). He wasn't driving erratically or doing anything odd. I couldnt put two nickels together, Rifkin recalled of those years, and most of what he did earn went to prostitutes. The experience quickly led toan addiction. Rifkin was arrested for soliciting a prostitute on August 22, 1987 in Hempstead, Long Island. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Police searched his mothers home and discovered a room full of evidence driver's licenses of victims, their underwear, their jewelry and other trophies Rifkin had kept. Cruising Manhattans East Village for hookers one night, at about 10 p.m., he selected a young woman remembered only as Susie. She was a hard-core drug addict, demanding several stops to purchase crack before they drove back to Long Island. Sotos grim fight for life gave Rifkin pause. Arraigned for the Bresciani homicide on July 15, 1993, Rifkin repeated his plea of not guilty. At some point in the litany, Rifkin asked DeLuca if she wanted to die, and she allegedly said yes. But Susie has never been identified. "But I was still an active police officer at the time. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The other parts went into garbage bags and then into his mothers car. He then dismembered Susies body and her remains were scattered throughout New Jersey. They enjoy helping others and are good companions until someone close crosses them, then look out! ", First published on March 27, 2013 / 3:17 PM. Barbara Jacobs was the next to die, a 31-year-old addict with arrests on her record for auto theft and prostitution. 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. Michael Ahearn, then the chief of the Suffolk district attorneys Homicide Bureau, recalled how Rifkin continually corrected him during cross-examination. alaw enforcement source told The New York Daily News at the time. His reign of terror came to an end on June 28, 1993 after he was pulled overfor a routine traffic stop by New York State Police, who discovered the decomposingbody of 22-year-old Tiffany Bresciani in the back of his pickup truck. Known as Joel the Ripper, he murdered and dismembered at least nine women in New York. Rifkin arrived at Attica state prison in February 1996, sporting a black eye from his first assault by fellow inmates while confined on Rikers Island. He has been married to Iva Rifkin since August 28, 1966. With Joels confession in hand, police descended on Jeanne Rifkins home, scouring the premises for evidence. He spent more than four years in solitary confinement before being transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County. 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. 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. When they signaled for him to pull over, Rifkin kept driving. Every issue of Serial of Serial Killer Magazine we sell. WebJoel Rifkin is now serving 203 years to life in the Clinton, N.Y. correctional facility. The special revealed that while his mother was out of town, he brought her back home. New York State's most prolific serial killer might not have been discovered on a hot summer night 25 years ago if the license plate on his pickup truck had not fallen off, authorities say. Three months later, he killed Leah Evens and left her in rural Northampton, where her skeleton was found on Mothers Day. Rifkin had apparently forgotten the date of his fathers death and told police he murdered Barbara Jacobs in August 1991, although her body had been found in July. She was found on October 1, nude except for a brassiere, without ID. He wanted to know why he lacked that empathy and humanity. 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. It's like my own little nightmare scenarios.". 2 Cant Beat: The Terminator (Terminator Franchise) This one is pretty simple. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Evens had been the daughter of a civil court judge and had once attended Sarah Lawrence College. Rifkin specifically chose women who wouldnt immediately draw attention if they went missing. Jurors agreed with Dietz, deliberating briefly on May 9 before they convicted Rifkin of murder and reckless endangerment (for leading police on the wild car chase). Despite his history of morbid fantasy, Rifkin would later claim he had to plan the murder of his first victim, in March 1989. With Joel Rifkin, Julian Attaway, Robert Mladinich, Sean Ruane. Every issue of Serial Killer Magazine, every Ultimate Collection, trainscript, FBI file and more! The rest would be revealed to her on television, hours later, when detectives laid the outline of their case before the media. Within weeks, Rifkin faced murder charges not only in Nassau but in the numerous other counties where he had dumped other victims. "And he kept saying things like, 'I killed that one. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Credit: Randee Daddona. That may explain his failure to perform as Lee went to work. A peek inside the tarp revealed a womans decomposing body. 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. Hikers found her on May 9 after they spied a withered hand protruding from the ground. Other times he killed them in his car. He also pleaded guilty to two murders in neighboring Suffolk County. Sometimes he would take his victims back to East Meadow, to the house where he lived with his sister and elderly mother. Rifkin could not recall the name of number six, murdered a few days shy of Christmas 1991. A formal suppression hearing was scheduled for November, but Rifkin had other plans. They had destroyed themselves through their lifestyle. 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. 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 admitted dumping two womens bodies in Suffolk County, but troopers continued to question him, Corcoran said. Later, he recalled the act as very automatic.