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There are over 100,000 cold cases in America.

Only 1% are ever solved.

This is one of those rare stories.

Thank you. is one of those rare stories. Police in New York have now linked the deaths of 12 women to the confessed mass murderer, Joel Rifkin.

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 Carnal responded to the initial call that led to the discovery of the victim's remains.

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 to all my detectives, don't let it go, don't give up, keep working it.

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