Serial Killer Joel Rifkin
Take a listen to this week's podcast episode where we go back to the early 1990s and meet Joel Rifkin, New York's most prolific serial killer. Between 1989 and 1993, Joel Rifkin terrorized New York and killed at least 17 women, dismembering and disposing of their bodies throughout New York City, New York State and New Jersey.
Joel Rifkin's Family home in East Meadow, Long Island. His sister Jan & his mother Jeanne.
Joel Rifkin's Victims were all prostitutes and most were addicted to drugs. Unfortunately, his targeted victims are the reason why it took so long to catch him. In the 90s, NYC was slammed with over 2,000 murders a year and to police, another dead prostitute wasn't high on their list of priorities so they never investigated the bodies that turned up. So many of his victims were buried in unmarked graves until his confession and every body that turned up during his killing years was a cold case until he confessed. Rifkin's forensic countermeasures like dismemberment, removal of fingertips and teeth of some of his victims, and decomposition, made it difficult for authorities to identify his victims' bodies.
Search teams and command posts after Joel's arrest and confessions - police working to find missing remains of his victims and match previously found bodies with his confession and closing cold cases.
Rifkin's Car, his garage and media clippings
Howitzer Artillery Shell example & X-Acto knife example
Arrest, Trials & Jailed
Sources
Seinfeld Video Clip:
Chris Cuomo Interview, 25 years later
