Manhattan Jane Doe, also known as Victim 6, was a woman who was killed by serial killer Joel Rifkin in late December of 1991. She is the only victim whose remains have not been recovered.
Case[]
After his capture in 1993, Rifkin confessed that his sixth victim was picked up on West 46th Street in Manhattan around Christmas of 1991. During oral sex, he strangled her, and he described the incident as very quick. He then disposed of her body, in a 55-gallon oil drum from a recycling plant he used to work at in Westbury, into the East River in South Bronx.
Although the remains have not been located, a partial DNA profile was obtained from a pair of earrings kept as a “trophy,” which were similar to what Rifkin described her wearing.
Rifkin's victims were usually white females with drug addictions and involved in sex work. Rifkin is now serving 203 years to life in prison for the murders of nine of his victims in the Clinton Correctional Facility. This victim and another, whose remains have been recovered, remain unidentified.
A previously unidentified victim, Heidi Balch, was identified in 2013. Prior to this, Mary Williams remained a Jane Doe for seven months after her December 1992 discovery.
Media[]
- The case was discussed in the 2023 two-part series Cold Case Files: The Rifkin Murders.
Sources[]
- Joel Rifkin on Wikipedia
- ThoughtCo.
- Murderpedia article on Joel Rifkin
- Cold Case Files: The Rifkin Murders