Joel Rifkin

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Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959 in East Meadow , Long Island , New York ) is an American serial killer who was found to have murdered nine prostitutes . He is urgently suspected of another eight cases. Rifkin often looked for his victims in Brooklyn and Manhattan , but himself lived in the suburb of East Meadow on Long Island.

Early life

Born to young, unmarried parents, he was adopted by Ben and Jeanne Rifkin when he was three weeks old . Three years later, the couple also adopted a girl. In 1965 the family moved to East Meadow, New York. As a shy and awkward child, he was often teased and performed poorly at school. After graduating from high school , Rifkin, who was particularly interested in horticulture and journalism , continued his education at Community College (a kind of evening school) and eventually earned a degree in political science from the State University of New York at Brockport . He took a variety of odd jobs and spent a large portion of his meager income working on prostitutes.

In February 1987, Rifkin's adoptive father committed suicide to end his cancer-related pain, which exacerbated Rifkin's depression . At this time he became increasingly interested in violence, murder and prostitution. Rifkin was arrested on August 22, 1987 in Hempstead, Long Island for inciting prostitution, but managed to hide it from his family.

Rifkin committed his first murder in 1989. He killed a prostitute, dismembered her body, and dumped her in the East River . He killed 16 other prostitutes over the next four years. Sometimes he would take his victims to the house in East Meadow where he lived with his sister and mother, and sometimes he would kill them in his car. His last victim was Tiffany Bresciani, girlfriend of David Rubinstein, singer in the punk band Reagan Youth .

Rifkin was checked by the police for a missing rear license plate on June 27, 1993 while he was on his way to clean up the already decaying remains of Bresciani. He was found guilty of nine cases in 1994 and sentenced to 203 years in prison . The suspended sentence cannot be suspended before 2197, making it de facto a life sentence.

Detention

1996 was decided after violent clashes between Rifkin and fellow inmates him in solitary confinement to install. For over four years he was only allowed to leave his cell in the Attica Correctional Facility for one hour a day. He was then transferred to the Clinton Correctional Facility maximum security in Dannemora . In 2000, a court ruled that Rifkin's rights had not been violated by his solitary confinement. Law enforcement officials say Rifkin is sitting in Clinton with over 200 other inmates who are unsuitable for regular detention.

Others

Rifkin said the film Frenzy inspired him to strangle his victims.

Rifkin was referred to as "Joel the Ripper" because of his crimes by the press, following Jack the Ripper .

In the Seinfeld episode " The Masseuse ", Elaine Benes meets a man who happens to be called Joel Rifkin, which occasionally leads to complications. Inspired by a sports magazine, she suggested that he change his first name to "OJ". At the time the episode aired, OJ Simpson had not yet been charged with murder.

The Frankfurt death metal group Epicedium addressed Joel Rifkin (along with other serial killers) on their 2012 concept album Anthropogenic in the song Chainsaw Ripper .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Quiet Man: People.com
  2. Biography.com: Joel Rifkin. Retrieved April 2, 2016 .