{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","title":"Joel Rifkin: What the Psychologist Discovered","description":"Joel Rifkin confessed to the murders of 17 women in just three years—leaving their remains scattered across Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey.\n\nAnd for years, no one was looking for him.\n\nIn this episode, we examine the case through the lens of N. G. Berrill—one of the first psychologists to evaluate Rifkin after his arrest. Drawing on interviews, court records, and police reports, this is a reconstruction of how Rifkin operated in plain sight—and what allowed him to continue.\n\nFrom his early life in suburban Long Island, to the environments he exploited, to the moment a routine traffic stop ended it all, this episode breaks down the pattern behind the crimes.\n\nBecause this isn’t just the story of one offender.\n\nIt’s a case that exposes something larger—how vulnerable populations are overlooked, how investigations fail to connect, and how, in the 1980s and 90s, the rise of “serial killer” culture may have given offenders like Rifkin a framework to follow.\n\n***\n\nThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKED\n\nIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday\n\nIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.\n\nRead it here:\nhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7\n\nFor those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.\n\nJoin here:\nhttps://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast\n\nFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:\n\t•\tYouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@Unmarked_Podcast/videos)\n\t•\tTikTok: @unmarkedpodcast (http://tiktok.com/@unmarkedpodcast)\n\t•\tPatreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast (https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast)\n\nUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.","author_name":"UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast","author_url":"https://audioboom.com/channels/5167828-unmarked-a-true-crime-podcast","provider_name":"Audioboom","provider_url":"https://audioboom.com","width":480,"height":95,"thumbnail_url":"https://audioboom.com/i/43625541/600x600/c","thumbnail_width":600,"thumbnail_height":600,"html":""}