Joseph L. Taborsky was born on March 23, 1924, in Hartford, Connecticut.

Joseph Taborsky first became involved in a murder when he killed Louis Wolfson on March 23, 1950, which was also his 26th birthday. Wolfson, a liquor store owner in West Hartford, was shot in the face during a robbery.

After serving less than three years for this crime, Taborsky was released when the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1955. His brother Albert, who had testified against him, was found to be insane. Since there were no other witnesses, Taborsky could not be retried.

After his release, Taborsky teamed up with another felon, Arthur "Meatball" Culombe. Together, they committed a series of murders known as the "Mad Dog Killings." On December 15, 1956, they shot and killed Edward Kurpewski and Daniel Janowski, both shot in the back of the head. Samuel Cohn was killed shortly after on December 26, 1956, shot in the chest.

Taborsky and Culombe continued their crime spree into January 1957. On January 5, they murdered Bernard "Buster" Speyer and Ruth Speyer, both shot in the head. A few weeks later, on January 26, John M. Rosenthal was also shot in the chest.

The police eventually caught Taborsky on February 23, 1957. He was sentenced to death again on June 27, 1957, making him the only person to be sentenced to death row twice in Connecticut for different crimes. He was executed in the electric chair on May 17, 1960, at the age of 36. Before his execution, he confessed to the murder of Louis Wolfson.