Serial killer Joel Rifkin's former home in East Meadow sells for $670,000

The home where serial killer Joel Rifkin once lived with his family has sold to a new owner.

The closing took place Wednesday, with a sale price of $670,000.

The expanded Cape, which has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, was first listed in April for $825,000. The asking price was reduced to $799,999 the following month, and then came down to $780,000 in June.

Vincent Aiosa was 24 when his father, James Aiosa, purchased the East Meadow home in 2011 for $322,000.

"His home in Merrick was too small," he remembered. "They wanted to upgrade and get a bigger house."

James Aiosa died last year, so Vincent assisted in selling the property. He said his father wasn't scared by the home's dark past, but rather saw it as a new start for his family.

"To him, it was a house," said Aiosa, now 39, who works as a mortgage loan officer with Nationwide. "It was in a great location, and the size was what he wanted."

When they moved in, the family would notice people driving by and slowing down to look at their home, he said. On one occasion, Aiosa's father got a letter in the mail referring to what took place there, he added.

Decades earlier, Rifkin lived in the home with his mother and sister. He murdered some of his victims, who were female sex workers, there between 1989 and 1993, he told authorities. Rifkin has been serving a life sentence since 1995.

Aiosa lived in the house for just a few years, ultimately moving to Wantagh. His father, stepmother, two step-siblings and brother shared the home. It saw some changes through the years: Fresh siding, upgraded kitchen and bathrooms and a new room added in the basement. Other details have remained the same, serving as snapshots of the home's construction in 1951.

Aiosa's father was always the life of the party, often inviting neighbors and friends to the house. There are several families with children on the block, and on a recent fall day, the streets were quiet, with some homes displaying handmade Halloween decorations.

The neighborhood welcomed the family when they moved in, Aiosa said: "It was such a breath of fresh air for them."

The home will continue to be revitalized in its next chapter, said listing broker Marc Kaplan, of Pinpoint Realty: The new buyers plan to renovate.

When the home started to receive media attention when it was first listed, Kaplan found himself having conversations about the home's past with prospective buyers. Still, there were "quite a few offers," and the home went into contract twice before finally closing, said Angela Cernuto, a licensed real estate agent for Pinpoint Realty.

"It was a lot of work, a lot of busy weekends here and a lot of questions," she said.

Looking back, the time Aiosa cherishes the most were spent together with his 5-year-old twins and his father in this home.

"Having all those memories, that's what really sticks with me," he said.