A severed head discovered in 1989 on a New Jersey golf course, has finally been identified by police, authorities said Wednesday.

The victim formerly linked to notorious Long Island serial killer Joel Rifkin, has been identified as Heidi Balch, murdered and dismembered at age 25 in New York, according to New Jersey police.

Authorities suspected a link between the head and Rifkin who was arrested by New Jersey State Police for a missing license plate in 1993. After inspecting his car, officers discovered a women's dead body in the back of his pickup.

Balch was believed to be the serial killer's first victim. However it took police nearly 25 years to identify her with the help of DNA.

Rifkin described after his arrest where he had disposed of the women's head and legs. During questioning he told investigators that he knew the victim was a prostitute named "Susie."

Rifkin has been convicted of nine murders and believed to be responsible for at least 17 deaths, most of them prostitutes. He was sentenced to more than 200 years in prison.

State Police Det. Sgt. Stephen Urbanski has said, "It's very rare that you have a story like this. The first thing is to ID the body, and then you move on with the investigation, you look at acquaintances and things like that. In this one, the answers were there all along, we just had to put them together," according to WFLX.

Balch was listed as missing person in 2001 by her aunt.

Police said the DNA samples from the missing prostitute's parents have confirmed the identity of the head.