Joel was born in 1959 and immediately placed for adoption. But a loving family took him in, later adopting a daughter to expand the family. He grew up in New York state and was a slow kid. Called Joel the Turtle by his peers, bullied throughout his school years. When he graduated, he tried and failed college, preferring sex workers to class. Jobs didn't prove much better. That was until his father died. After that he finished school, but never grew out of wanting to be with sex workers. But after idolizing serial murders for too long, he decided to join them. That was until a body in his truck gave him away as a killer, his propensity to talk that he was indeed a serial killer. 

Sources:

Rosewood, Jack. Lo, Rebecca. Joel Rifkin The horrifying and true story of Joel the Ripper. 2018

https://www.biography.com/crime/joel-rifkin

https://troopers.ny.gov/joel-rifkin-arrest

https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/joel-rifkin-childhood

https://www.nbc.com/long-island-serial-killer-joel-rifkin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6iQHUJEHaU