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The Rifkin Murders Part 4

Cold Case Files

Tue Feb 17 2026

Summary

Cold Case Files: The Rifkin Murders Part 4

Air Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Marisa Pinson

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the ongoing investigation into several of serial killer Joel Rifkin’s unidentified victims, focusing on two major storylines:

The identification of Rifkin’s first victim, who remained nameless for decades.
The persistent search for the remains and identities of additional victims ("Victim #6" and "Victim #9") using modern forensic technology and painstaking investigative work.

Through interviews with detectives, forensic experts, family members, and those who have corresponded with Rifkin, the episode captures the heartbreak, determination, and slow-burning hope that are hallmarks of cold case investigation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Identification of Rifkin’s First Victim: Heidi Balch

Initial Discovery & Long Search
- In 1989, police in New York discovered the dismembered remains of Rifkin’s first victim. Her head was found in New Jersey, her legs elsewhere—a challenging start (01:28).
- Lieutenant Bruce Carnall recalls his decades-long effort to uncover her identity:
  
  “She’s someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, and some relative out there that may not have never known what happened to her… Don’t let it go. Don’t give up.” (02:23-02:47)
Passing of the Torch & New Leads
- In 2013, Lt. William Springer reopens the case, employing modern technology and new databases (03:00-06:15).
- He scoured New York City arrest records, focusing on women arrested for prostitution matching Rifkin’s description. The name "Susan Spencer" stands out, with 30 arrests and a timeline aligning with the timing of the murder. A mugshot reveals a distinctive scar and mole—crucial identifiers.
- Persistence in running aliases and cross-referencing leads to a missing persons report for "Heidi Balch," reported by her aunt. DNA comparison with her parents confirms the match.
  
  “She went by Susie for the longest time. At that point, we were 99% sure we had it. Now you have to prove it forensically.” (08:58)
Validation & Impact
- After 24 years, the victim is finally identified as Heidi Balch (10:01).
  
  “To identify something 24 years after it happened is pretty remarkable. For me, this is the greatest accomplishment of my career.” —Lt. William Springer (10:14)

2. Challenges of Investigating Other Unidentified Victims (Victims #6 and #9)

Rifkin’s Reluctance
- TV producer Peter Rice, who has communicated extensively with Rifkin, notes his hesitance to fully confirm victim identities, offering only a “probably.”
  
  “He wants to get close, but he’s reluctant to go all the way. And without a body and without DNA, it’s very difficult for police to conclusively say…” (10:39)
The Search for Victim #6
- Major Crimes Investigator Tiffany Attai picks up the hunt using DNA and genealogy, tirelessly seeking leads despite setbacks (06:15, 11:32).
- The focus turns to Starlight Park in the Bronx. Investigators believe Rifkin dumped Victim #6, potentially Denise Griffin, in a barrel in this area based on his descriptions and old maps (14:41-18:24).
- Historian Steven De Villo helps them narrow down possible dump sites by linking historical features with Rifkin’s recollections.
- A major operation is launched: the NY State Police Dive Team conducts sonar and diver searches for the barrel (20:30-24:05).
Search Outcome
- Multiple promising sonar hits turn out to be logs or debris. As daylight wanes, hope fades.
  
  “Could have been buried under all this debris and silt for the last 30 years. Could have stayed on the surface and gone out to the ocean by now.” —Investigator, reflecting on possible scenarios (28:44)
- The dive search ends without finding the barrel or remains, but police affirm their commitment:
  
  “I know I’m gonna be able to sleep better. And the thing, too, that I was thinking about, of the four back, all three were floating. And for some reason, this one was never found. So either it never occurred or it made its way out and it was never discovered in time.” —Investigator Attai (29:25)

3. The Role of Forensic Technology and Genetic Genealogy

DNA testing is central to identifying remains and confirming missing persons’ identities—a theme repeated throughout as both a source of hope and frustration due to limitations (e.g., insufficient DNA from a snake bracelet for Victim #9; partial DNA from earrings for Victim #6) (25:25, 31:00).
Investigators are beginning to use advanced genetic genealogy, and continuously seek family members willing to provide DNA to tie down uncertainties.

4. The Human Impact

Family Voices
- Moving interviews with family members of victims like Judith Veloz and Marilyn Mera highlight their enduring pain and hope.
  
  “I will never stop looking for my mother.” —Tanya Papajianikis, Marilyn Mera’s daughter (33:23) “I do believe answers are out there. I just wish someone would come forward and say what it is.” —Sue Ona, Judith Veloz’s sister (33:11)
- Investigators align with families’ longing for closure, underscoring their mission:
  
  “You can never bring a victim back… But it is our duty in law enforcement to give answers to crimes. Your job as an investigator is to have that person’s voice to tell their story…” —Investigator Attai (33:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Persistence:

“Don’t let it go. Don’t give up.” —Lt. Bruce Carnall to his detectives (02:47)
On Getting Closure:

“For me, this is the greatest accomplishment of my career. It was not only rewarding for myself, but I’m glad I could bring closure to the family.” —Lt. William Springer (10:14)
On Rifkin’s Reluctance:

“He knew the police knew it was her, but he didn’t go all the way to say that this is my first victim. He just said probably…” —Peter Rice (10:36)
On Investigative Frustration and Hope:

“Everybody wants to see the pretty. Not every case is pretty. Sometimes you think you’re going to get an answer and you don’t.” —Investigator Attai (30:10)
On Unfinished Business:

“Like I said, I don’t think this is the end. I think it’s just the beginning.” —Peter Rice (29:57)

Timeline of Important Segments

01:25: Confirmation that Joel Rifkin is linked to multiple murders.
02:23-03:00: Det. Carnall describes the initial investigation and his deep frustration at not solving the victim’s identity.
03:09-06:15: Springer’s renewed investigation using old arrest and missing persons records.
06:15-10:14: Forensic reconstruction, DNA comparison, and the ultimate identification of Heidi Balch.
14:41-18:24: Exploration and rationale behind the chosen search area for Victim #6.
20:30-24:05: Dive team’s operation and false alarms in the search for the barrel.
28:44: Discussion of possible outcomes and the enduring mystery—has the evidence washed away or remained hidden?
31:00: Explanation of ongoing efforts using DNA from victim possessions and the need for potential familial matches.
32:54-33:46: Family testimonies and investigators’ renewed commitments to giving these victims a voice and finding closure.

Conclusion

Despite advanced technology and decades of effort, the search for Rifkin’s remaining unidentified victims continues. The episode underscores both the challenges and rewards of cold case work—a calling marked by persistence, empathy, and faith that every story deserves an ending, and every victim deserves a name.

If you have information about victims #6, #9, Judith Veloz, or Marilyn Mera, contact NY State Police: 631-756-3300.

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Transcript

A (0:00)

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B (1:25)

Confessed mass murderer Joel Rifkin.

A (1:28)

In 1989, serial killer Joel Rifkin murdered the first of his 17 victims. It took police over two decades to solve the mystery of her identity. Lieutenant Bruce Carnall responded to the initial call that led to the discovery of the victim's remains.

C (1:47)

When Joel Rifkin was arrested and confessed to a number of murders, that's when I contacted New York State Police, and as soon as I spoke to the investigators, the first thing they said to me was, I think we have your man. Rifkin said the first girl he had killed was a prostitute that he picked up in New York in 89. Took her back to his mother's house, beat her across the head with an artillery shield and drug her down to the basement and dismembered her. Then he admitted dumping the legs and dumping the head in New Jersey. It fit the information that we had on this case. At that point, we had identified who actually did the murder, but we needed to identify her. She's someone's daughter, someone's sister, and some relative out there that may not have never known what happened to her. And so I felt that was my responsibility to find out who she was. I continued to work on this case up to the time I retired in 2005, but we were never able to identify her. I became angry that I didn't solve it, and I remember telling my detectives, don't let it go. Don't give up.

A (3:00)

Keep working it in 2013, Lt. William Springer of the Hopewell Township Police Department took up the case.

B (3:09)

Bruce was getting close to retirement. When I was a very young officer, he was very influential. I remember one thing he always taught was never give up on a case, no matter how minor or how big it is. I didn't start really looking into the case until 2013. I was newly promoted to acting lieutenant at the time. And I was wondering, now, with newer technology, newer approaches, better DNA analysis, was there a way to possibly solve this case? This is one of the primary boxes of evidence in the case. This is one of the first boxes I looked at. Contains various information from the crime scene and some of the initial reports and supplemental reports completed by Detective Bruce Carnell. We had the actual crime scene photographs, and then there was a rubber rendition that was made of what the victim would have looked like. But I didn't really have much information other than they knew she was the first victim of Joel Rifkin. They knew she was a prostitute from New York City. And Rifkin referred to the first victim, Susie. It led me to reading the book from the Mouth of a Monster by Robert Mladnich about this, and I began to gain more of an interest. It was very specific that Joel said that he picked her up between 1st and 2nd Avenue and 10th and 11th in New York City, which would be the Lower east side of Manhattan. So after reading the book and realizing that Susie was picked up somewhere in the Lower east side and determining it was the 9th Precinct, it went to the 9th Precinct to sit down with the detectives to review case files from the 1988, 1989 area to see if we can find any prostitutes that were arrested around that time that may have matched the description of our Susie. And one of the detectives was diligent, and he kept plugging our parameters in with eye colors and height and weight and hair color. And he gave us A list of 19 names that were possible matches to our victim. But we didn't have pictures. All we had was raw data. I actually thought when we left that day that it was a waste of time, but it turned out not to be a waste of time on the list. There was one that jumped out to me, and that name was Susan Spencer. We knew that Joel Rifkin referred to the first victim as Susie. The date of birth that was listed fell right into the date range of a possible date of birth or possible age of the victim. The eye color matched, the hair color matched. So I pulled out a rap sheet, and I took a look at it, it did not have a picture. But what was very telling about this rap sheet was that Susan Spencer had been arrested nearly 30 times, with her last arrest being February of 1989. And that case was never adjudicated, she never came to court, and the head was found March of 89.

B (6:51)

When I started looking into the case, I was the first victim of Joel Rifkin. Some of my colleagues didn't think there was any chance I was going to identify her. But after I pulled Susan Spencer's rap sheet and I took a look at it, I knew that I was onto something. But the criminal history just tells us how many arrests she had. It doesn't give specifics. So we crafted a letter to the NYPD and requested as much documentation as we could from them. Arrest reports, fingerprint cards, pictures that were taken. We only received a couple of reports, but we received one booking photograph from 1986, which turned out to be extremely helpful in this case. Susan Spencer had a very distinct scar through a right eyebrow, which you can clearly see in the arrest photograph. And she had the mole on her left side of her chin area, cheek area. It became very evident that the photograph that we had was a possible match to the victim from 1989. But we had all of these alias names. We just needed to figure out what her real name was. The goal was that we're gonna run all of the alias names and date of births on this rap sheet and see if we can find a missing persons report. And I'll never forget this, it was a Monday, and I was here late at the apartment teaching CPR to the patrol officers. And someone from the missing persons unit said, ah, you know, I'm staying late tonight, I'll run the names for you. And he called me at like 8 o' clock at night, and he's like, I found a missing persons report out of New York. And I think it's Our girl. There was a missing persons report for Heidi Balch, and it matched our criminal history for Susan Spencer. And I was fairly certain at this point that if someone reported a Heidi Balch missing, it was probably her real name. And a few hours later, on the Upper west side of Manhattan, knocking on the door of the aunt who had originally reported her missing. We sat in her apartment and we talked for a little bit. She said Heidi ran away when she was very young. At 16 years old, she had come to New York to try to pursue an acting and modeling career. And they always thought that something bad happened because they did know that she had started using drugs fairly heavily. I had the picture and I said, can you tell me if you know this girl? And I showed her the picture and she said, yes, that's my niece, that's Heidi. And right then and there, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I said, ironically, when she got arrested here, she used the name Susan Spencer. She grabbed my arm like a little old lady would, and she just goes. She went by Susie for the longest time. At that point, we were 99% sure we had it. Now you have to prove it forensically. Heidi's parents were still alive. I got mom and Dad's DNA and they did a comparison between the DNA and the head that was found here in Opal Township. The day we actually got the DNA results. It was just one of those moments.

A (12:11)

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A (25:53)

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