Joel Rifkin

Joel Rifkin's birth parents were both young college students, his biological father an army veteran. On February 14, 1959, when he was three weeks old, Rifkin was adopted by an upper-middle class Long Island couple.[2] His adoptive father Bernard Rifkin was of Russian Jewish descent and his adoptive mother, Jeanne (Granelles) of Spanish descent converted to Judaism when she married.[3]

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

On February 20, 1987, his father Bernard died by suicide, overdosing after suffering 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]

Rifkin committed his first murder in 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 then 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] A blood test just a few weeks later revealed the presence of HIV. Balch's remains were not identified until 2013.[10]

Over the next four years, it is presumed Rifkin killed 16 more women.[1] After his arrest in 1993, he was implicated in Balch's murder.[11] In 2013, investigators determined that Balch and the woman he described as his first victim were the same person.[12]

On June 24, 1993, Rifkin picked up Tiffany Bresciani, a sex worker who was working on Allen Street in Manhattan. Tiffany was with her boyfriend, punk rock musician Dave Rubinstein at the time and told Rubinstein that she would return in 20 minutes. After she failed to return, Rubinstein called the police with a description of the 1984 Mazda pickup truck driven by Rifkin.[13][5][14]

On June 28, 1993, two troopers with the New York State Police were patrolling Long Island's Southern State Parkway when they noticed the pickup truck. A low speed (topped out at 35 MPH) chase ensued, which turned into a high speed chase (up to 90 MPH) that ended when Rifkin crashed into a utility pole in Mineola, New York, directly in front of the courthouse where he later stood trial. Troopers arrested Rifkin and after detecting a foul odor stemming from the back of the truck, found Bresciani's decaying body under a tarp.[13][15][16]

During his trial, Rifkin was represented by attorney John Lawrence. He was found guilty of nine counts of second-degree murder in 1994, and sentenced to 203 years up to life in prison.[17]

In early 1994, it was reported that Rifkin had engaged in a jailhouse scuffle with mass murderer Colin Ferguson. The brawl began when Ferguson asked Rifkin to be quiet while the former was using a prison phone. The Daily News reported the fight escalated after Ferguson told Rifkin "I killed six devils and you only killed women," to which Rifkin responded "Yeah, but I had more victims." Ferguson then punched Rifkin.[18]

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.[19] 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. His lawsuit sought $50,000 for each of his 1,540 days in solitary confinement (totaling $77 million). Corrections officials say that Rifkin is imprisoned with more than 200 other inmates at Clinton who are not allowed into the general prison population.[19]

• The 2018 independent film Joel was based on Rifkin's life and crimes.[32]
• In the Seinfeld episode "The Masseuse," Elaine's boyfriend is named Joel Rifkin and references to the serial killer are made throughout the episode. At a New York Giants game they are attending, the crowd's reaction to her boyfriend's name when it is announced over the loudspeaker prompts her boyfriend to agree to Elaine's suggestion to change his name.
• The Howard Stern Show producer Gary Dell'Abate briefly worked with Rifkin at a Record World location in New York.[33]
• Mentioned in list of serial killers in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode “Tortured”.
• The song "Nasty by Nature" by the group The New York Ska Jazz-Ensemble was written about Joel Rifkin. The band's founder, Fred Reiter (aka Rocksteady Freddie) grew up next door to Joel Rifkin.

• List of serial killers in the United States
• List of serial killers by number of victims

• Adoption:Uncharted Waters by David Kirschner, PhD includes three chapters detailing his psychological interviews with Rifkin prior to and during the trial.