Born in United States · Nationality American — Crime / mafias / terrorism / criminal cases
Documented profile covering 20 controversies, including “Cold cases involving unidentified victims remain active” and “DNA identification of Heidi Balch, first victim described in his confessions”.
Profile No. 2486 · Updated on 13 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
2026
In 2026, investigators from the New York State Police and a documentary production devoted to the case continued working on unidentified victims associated with Rifkin's confessions.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
March 2013
Cooperation between New Jersey police and New York investigators enabled the head found in 1989 to be identified through DNA as that of Heidi Balch. Details of the disposal of the body matched Rifkin's account of his first victim.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
Case · 4 documented stages
3 December 2001
The appellate court held that certain statements made at the scene of the arrest should have been excluded, but found that the error had not been decisive in light of the other evidence. It upheld the subsequent confessions made after Miranda warnings and affirmed the conviction.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
April–9 May 1994
At his first murder trial, Rifkin raised a defence based on mental illness. The jury rejected it and found him guilty of the second-degree murder of Tiffany Bresciani and reckless endangerment.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
8 June 1994
The court sentenced Rifkin to 25 years to life for Bresciani's murder and added a sentence for reckless endangerment arising from the police pursuit.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
24–28 June 1993
After murdering Tiffany Bresciani, Rifkin drove around with her body in his pick-up truck. On 28 June, state police officers attempted to stop him because his vehicle had no rear number plate; he fled at high speed before crashing, and the body was discovered in the vehicle.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
Case · 5 documented stages
3 December 2001
The appellate courts also upheld the judgments arising from his pleas in Kings and Queens Counties, rejecting the argument that the Nassau ruling on his statements had improperly compelled him to plead guilty elsewhere.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1994–1995
Rifkin abandoned his substantive defence in the two Suffolk County cases and pleaded guilty to the murders of Evans and Marquez, receiving further lengthy sentences.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
September 1994
A Suffolk County judge ruled that Rifkin's written confessions were admissible for the trial concerning Leah Evans and Lauren Marquez.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1992–1993
Towards the end of the series, several victims were found in different parts of New York State, including Leah Evans, Jenny Soto and Lauren Marquez; Mary Catherine Williams was linked to Rifkin following the discovery of belongings associated with her.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
30 September 1993
Suffolk County prosecutors indicted Rifkin for the murders of Leah Evans and Lauren Marquez, deliberately keeping these cases separate from the Nassau County proceedings.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
Case · 3 documented stages
1995–1996
Rifkin also pleaded guilty in cases in Kings and Queens Counties involving other victims. Subsequent appellate decisions confirmed the existence of these pleas and rejected his argument that they had been induced by a suppression ruling in Nassau County.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1994–1996
Following the succession of verdicts and pleas, Rifkin was convicted of nine murders and accumulated a total sentence commonly described as 203 years to life.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1992
The 1992 series notably included Mary Ann Holloman, Iris Sanchez, Violet O'Neill and Anna Lopez. Several of these killings were subsequently included in the prosecutions and guilty pleas involving Rifkin.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1991–1993
Among the 17 victims claimed by Rifkin, some cases remained unidentified or involved bodies that had not been recovered. In 2026, a cold-case investigation was continuing, notably concerning two unidentified victims.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
June–July 1993
After his arrest, Rifkin admitted sixteen other murders of women in addition to Bresciani. The 'Rifkin Task Force' launched an investigation covering numerous jurisdictions and located or identified the remains of many victims.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
1991
Rifkin included Barbara Jacobs, Mary Ellen DeLuca and Yun Lee among the women he claimed to have killed during the 1991 phase of his series.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
vers 1990
Rifkin stated that he had killed Julie Blackbird approximately one year after Heidi Balch, again at the family home. Her body has never been recovered.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
February–March 1989
After his arrest, Rifkin described an initial murder of a woman he called 'Susie', who had been killed and then dismembered. In 2013, police used DNA to identify remains recovered in 1989 as those of Heidi Balch and considered that the details matched Rifkin's account.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
22 August 1987
Rifkin was arrested in Hempstead after offering money to an undercover female police officer during an anti-prostitution operation.
Last verified: 15 September 2026
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