Do you think Jackson consciously orchestrated this permanent martyr persona to evade accountability, or did his own deep trauma distort his reality to the point where he genuinely believed he was always the ultimate victim?
On July 5, 1985, 16-year-old Whitney Bennett returned to her family residence in Sierra Madre, California, shortly before 1:00 a.m. and went to sleep in her bedroom (Los Angeles Times, 1989). While she was asleep, serial killer Richard Ramirez entered the home through an unlocked window and repeatedly struck her in the head with a tire iron, causing severe trauma that rendered her unconscious (Medium, 2024). Ramirez then attempted to suffocate Bennett using a severed telephone cord, but he halted his assault and fled after electrical sparks emitted from the cord, which he interpreted as a spiritual sign (Medium, 2024). Bennett subsequently regained consciousness, discovered her room had been ransacked of jewelry, and alerted her parents (Los Angeles Times, 1989).
The physical evidence left at the crime scene proved vital to the subsequent criminal investigation. Law enforcement recovered the discarded tire iron and documented a distinct bloody footprint left by Ramirez on Bennett's bed comforter (Blurred Bylines, 2021; Medium, 2024). This specific footprint was later matched to subsequent crime scenes, establishing a forensic link that ultimately aided in Ramirez's identification and arrest (Medium, 2024). Although Bennett required extensive emergency hospitalization, cosmetic surgery, and nearly 500 stitches to treat her head lacerations, she fully recovered from her physical injuries (Blurred Bylines, 2021). Furthermore, her emotional courtroom testimony in the Los Angeles Superior Court served as a cornerstone of the prosecution's capital murder case against Ramirez (Business Insider, 2018; FindLaw, 2006).
TL;DR: On July 5, 1985, 16-year-old Whitney Bennett survived an attack by serial killer Richard Ramirez ("The Night Stalker") in her Sierra Madre home. Despite severe injuries that required nearly 500 stitches, she recovered, provided crucial courtroom testimony, and left behind forensic evidence (a bloody footprint) that helped convict him.
Whitney Salerno (née Bennett) is now married to Mike Salerno, son of the lead Los Angeles Sheriff’s Detective, Frank Salerno, and is a mother.
On July 5, 1985, 16-year-old Whitney Bennett returned to her family residence in Sierra Madre, California, shortly before 1:00 a.m. and went to sleep in her bedroom (Los Angeles Times, 1989). While she was asleep, serial killer Richard Ramirez entered the home through an unlocked window and repeatedly struck her in the head with a tire iron, causing severe trauma that rendered her unconscious (Medium, 2024). Ramirez then attempted to suffocate Bennett using a severed telephone cord, but he halted his assault and fled after electrical sparks emitted from the cord, which he interpreted as a spiritual sign (Medium, 2024). Bennett subsequently regained consciousness, discovered her room had been ransacked of jewelry, and alerted her parents (Los Angeles Times, 1989).
The physical evidence left at the crime scene proved vital to the subsequent criminal investigation. Law enforcement recovered the discarded tire iron and documented a distinct bloody footprint left by Ramirez on Bennett's bed comforter (Blurred Bylines, 2021; Medium, 2024). This specific footprint was later matched to subsequent crime scenes, establishing a forensic link that ultimately aided in Ramirez's identification and arrest (Medium, 2024). Although Bennett required extensive emergency hospitalization, cosmetic surgery, and nearly 500 stitches to treat her head lacerations, she fully recovered from her physical injuries (Blurred Bylines, 2021). Furthermore, her emotional courtroom testimony in the Los Angeles Superior Court served as a cornerstone of the prosecution's capital murder case against Ramirez (Business Insider, 2018; FindLaw, 2006).
TL;DR: On July 5, 1985, 16-year-old Whitney Bennett survived an attack by serial killer Richard Ramirez ("The Night Stalker") in her Sierra Madre home. Despite severe injuries that required nearly 500 stitches, she recovered, provided crucial courtroom testimony, and left behind forensic evidence (a bloody footprint) that helped convict him.
Whitney Salerno (née Bennett) is now married to Mike Salerno, son of the lead Los Angeles Sheriff’s Detective, Frank Salerno, and is a mother.
Julia Elizabeth “Julie” Blackbird was born on March 29, 1961, in Houston, Harris County, Texas (Find a Grave, 1990; Oxygen Digital, 2021). Originally from Texas, she relocated to New York to pursue career opportunities before being identified by law enforcement as the second victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin (Find a Grave, 1990; Oxygen Digital, 2021). According to offender confessions documented by criminologists, Rifkin encountered Blackbird in Lower Manhattan during the mid-to-late months of 1990, approximately 16 months following his initial homicide (Ligon et al., 2005).
Rifkin transported Blackbird to his family residence in East Meadow, New York, where he subsequently committed the homicide using blunt force trauma followed by asphyxiation (A&E Television Networks, 2023; Ligon et al., 2005). Following the murder, the perpetrator dismembered Blackbird's remains in his basement, encapsulated the segments in concrete within distinct containers, and submersed them across several New York City waterways (Ligon et al., 2005).
Because her remains were never recovered, her family eventually placed a cenotaph marker at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston, Texas, to serve as her permanent memorial site near her birthplace (Find a Grave, 1990).
Tiffany Cheryl Bresciani was born in Metairie, Louisiana, and relocated to New York City as a young adult to pursue a career in performing arts (Oxygen Media, 2021). Described as an aspiring actress and singer, Bresciani’s ambitions were severely derailed by a severe heroin addiction (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Oxygen Media, 2021). To fund her dependency, she engaged in exotic dancing and street-level sex work (Far Out Magazine, 2024). At the time of her death, she was living in Manhattan and was in a relationship with David Rubinstein, the vocalist for the prominent 1980s hardcore punk band Reagan Youth (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Wikipedia, 2026).
Bresciani’s profile aligns closely with the concept of "less-dead" victims—a term coined by criminologists to describe marginalized individuals whose disappearances historically receive minimal police attention due to their involvement in illegal drug use or sex work (Oxygen Media, 2021). Despite her precarious lifestyle, Bresciani actively sought help for her addiction; records indicate she attended a methadone clinic shortly before her death in an attempt to recover (Oxygen Media, 2021). Her reliance on street-level solicitation, however, ultimately placed her directly in the path of a lethal predator (Oxygen Media, 2021).
In the early morning hours of June 24, 1993, Bresciani was soliciting clients on Allen Street in lower Manhattan while Rubinstein, her boyfriend, waited nearby (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Wikipedia, 2026). Bresciani accepted a ride from Joel Rifkin, who was driving a 1984 Mazda pickup truck, promising Rubinstein she would return within 20 minutes (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Wikipedia, 2026). When she failed to return, Rubinstein contacted the New York City Police Department to report her missing, providing a description of Rifkin’s vehicle (Wikipedia, 2026). Rifkin drove Bresciani to a parking lot in Manhattan where he strangled her to death (Oxygen Media, 2021; Wikipedia, 2026). Following the homicide, Rifkin transported Bresciani's body back to his family home in East Meadow, Long Island, leaving her remains concealed beneath a tarp in the bed of his pickup truck parked at the residence for several days (A&E Television Networks, 2023; Colin Wilson, 2007).
On June 28, 1993, New York State Troopers spotted Rifkin driving his pickup truck on the Southern State Parkway without a rear license plate (Colin Wilson, 2007; New York State Police, n.d.). When troopers attempted a traffic stop, Rifkin fled, initiating a 25-minute high-speed pursuit through Nassau County (New York State Police, n.d.; The New York Times, 1994b). The chase concluded when Rifkin lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole directly in front of the courthouse in Mineola, New York (New York State Police, n.d.). Upon approaching the vehicle, law enforcement officers detected a severe odor of decomposition, and a subsequent search of the truck bed revealed Bresciani's body wrapped under the blue tarp (Colin Wilson, 2007; New York State Police, n.d.).
Following his arrest, Rifkin immediately confessed to Bresciani's murder and subsequently detailed 16 other homicides spanning a four-year period (New York State Police, n.d.; Oxygen Media, 2021). The legal strategy for the defense focused heavily on mental health; during his first trial in Nassau County, which focused exclusively on the murder of Bresciani, defense attorney John Lawrence entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity (The New York Times, 1994a, 1994b). Expert witness Dr. Barbara Kirwin testified that Rifkin suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was unable to comprehend the wrongfulness of his actions (NPR, 1997; The New York Times, 1994b). Conversely, Assistant District Attorney Fred Klein argued that Rifkin operated with extreme deliberation and malice, presenting evidence of academic competence and cognitive awareness, noting that Rifkin carefully selected vulnerable targets and destroyed identifying evidence (The New York Times, 1994a, 1994b).
On May 9, 1994, the jury rejected the insanity defense, deliberating for only two hours before finding Rifkin guilty of second-degree murder and reckless endangerment (The Washington Post, 1994). On June 9, 1994, Nassau County Judge Ira Wexner sentenced Rifkin to the maximum allowable penalty of 25 years to life for the murder, plus an additional consecutive sentence for reckless endangerment (The New York Times, 1994b). Judge Wexner publicly condemned the killer, describing the act as "brutal, insensitive and horrific" and noting Rifkin's total lack of remorse (The New York Times, 1994b). Rifkin was later convicted of eight additional counts of second-degree murder in neighboring counties, culminating in a total sentence of 203 years to life in prison (Wikipedia, 2026).
The murder of Tiffany Bresciani triggered severe trauma that extended far beyond her immediate family, setting off a devastating chain reaction for those closest to her (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Wikipedia, 2026). Her boyfriend, David Rubinstein, was profoundly traumatized by her abduction and death (Wikipedia, 2026). Just days after Bresciani's body was discovered, Rubinstein suffered a second immense tragedy when his father accidentally struck and killed his mother with a vehicle (Wikipedia, 2026). Overwhelmed by the compounding grief of losing both his girlfriend and his mother within a one-week span, and struggling with his own severe substance dependency, Rubinstein committed suicide via a drug overdose on July 3, 1993 (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Wikipedia, 2026).
Furthermore, the public and judicial processing of the case shed light on the systemic failures surrounding the protection of sex workers (Oxygen Media, 2021). During the trial, family members of other victims united, asserting that their deceased loved ones "were not throwaways" (The New York Times, 1994b). Bresciani’s death accidentally served as the catalyst that exposed Rifkin’s horrific killing spree, ultimately bringing closure to multiple families who had spent years wondering about their missing relatives (Oxygen Media, 2021; The New York Times, 1994b).
The intersection of Tiffany Cheryl Bresciani’s life and Joel Rifkin's predatory patterns serves as a stark case study in victim vulnerability (Oxygen Media, 2021). Bresciani was not merely a statistic or an incidental capture at a traffic stop; she was a young woman whose life was cut short due to a combination of severe substance dependency and an encounter with a calculated serial killer (Far Out Magazine, 2024; Oxygen Media, 2021). While Rifkin's arrest put an end to his lethal activities, the case highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms, reducing marginalization, and improving protective measures for vulnerable populations frequently targeted by violent predators (Oxygen Media, 2021).
TL;DR: Tiffany Cheryl Bresciani, an aspiring 22-year-old artist struggling with addiction, became the 17th and final victim of serial killer Joel Rifkin in June 1993. Her body was discovered in the back of his truck following a high-speed police chase sparked by a missing license plate. Her murder exposed Rifkin's spree and led to his 203-years-to-life sentence, but it also triggered further tragedy, including the grief-fueled suicide of her boyfriend, Reagan Youth vocalist David Rubinstein.
The homicide investigation of Cornelia Michel Crilley remained unresolved for 41 years, concluding definitively in December 2012 when Rodney Alcala entered a formal guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder in New York County Supreme Court. (Associated Press, 2012; The New York Times, 2012).
Photo of Charlotte Lamb's headstone, courtesy of her nephew, Mark Lamb.
In 1966, the Scott Paper Company introduced paper dresses.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
Directed by Russ Meyer.
One of my treasures from this lovely band! 🧡💛
Captured by photographer André Grassart.
The Invisible Woman (1940)
Boss of Bullion City (1940)
Lucky Devils (1941)
That Night in Rio (1941)
Raiders of the Desert (1941)
Moonlight in Hawaii (1941)
South of Tahiti (1941)
Bombay Clipper (1942)
The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)
Arabian Nights (1942) - Her first Technicolor hit
White Savage (1943)
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944)
Cobra Woman (1944)
Follow the Boys (1944)
Gypsy Wildcat (1944)
Bowery to Broadway (1944)
Sudan (1945)
Tangier (1946)
The Exile (1947)
Pirates of Monterey (1947)
Siren of Atlantis (1948)
Wicked City (1949)
Portrait of an Assassin (1949)
The Thief of Venice (1950)
Love and Blood / Shadows Over Naples (1951)
Revenge of the Pirates (1951)
Seeing this firsthand from Citizen. I was near the blaze near Irving Square Park that was spreading to the adjacent buildings. Had to walk elsewhere to get fresh air.
By modern standards, it’s a 'WTF' moment; however, the older, pre-Boomer crowd I’m surrounded by still regards it as nothing.
Elvis was weird as fuck.
From “The Yoga Session” by Storm Thorgerson.
Shot at Wetherby Mansions.