MD MD - Rey Rivera, 32, suicide or foul play, Baltimore, 16 May 2006

[annthenerd]

Hi! I'm completely new to the site, but after watching the Unsolved Mysteries episode and reading some about the case, I thought I'd see if I could contribute anything to the discussion.

I think it could be worth talking more about the inconsistencies between the tv show and the accounts from Stansberry and another friend, from the article @fred&edna shared above (linking again for convenience:- Rey Rivera’s friend, former Baltimore employer pushes back on Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries'):
- Regarding the supposed "gag order" on Stansberry's employees: "He said only that employees were told to refer media inquiries to a spokesperson. He said he personally spoke with a detective on June 23, 2006, which was after Baier was reassigned and when another detective, Marvin Sydnor, had the case."
- Regarding the call that came from the Agora Publishing switchboard, the article notes that "Agora, a global publishing company headquartered in Baltimore, has several subsidiary companies, including Stanberry’s" and that Rey was also doing work with other Agora subsidiaries at the time-- he had changed from full-time to contract work with Stanberry 6 months earlier.
- Stanberry and another childhood friend reported that Rey was behaving strangely, that they were concerned about his mental state, and even that his wife shared their concerns.
- author Mikita Brottman was interviewed "for hours" for the show, but her interviews were not included; she contradicted the statement in the show that the hotel roof was hard to access.
The reason I find the omissions worrisome is because of another case covered on Netflix, that of Don Lewis on Tiger King. I recently listened to a more in-depth investigation by Paul Holes and Billy Jensen on their podcast (episode link here), and was shocked at how much the show manipulated and omitted in order to create the narrative they wanted. I'm not saying that's what's happening here, and I'm certainly not saying that I'd rule out any theories based on this. However, it does make me want to look for outside confirmation for some of the assertions from the show.

- Were there other worrying signs about Rey's mental state? Had he exhibited symptoms earlier in life, perhaps that were unacknowledged/overlooked (this definitely isn't uncommon)?
- How much was Rey involved with the case under SEC investigation? Even from the show, I got the impression that he wasn't at all.
- as for the glasses and phone not being broken-- this does seem unusual on the surface, but would someone with forensics (or physics) expertise be able to confirm? Is there a scenario where this could happen? I've seen too many examples where real life flies in the face of what we laypeople would expect.
- I know they said the injuries to his legs weren't consistent with a fall, but is there any information as to what they are consistent with? Did the ME conclude they definitely didn't come from a fall, or were they just inconclusive?

The thing that really sticks out to me is the missing money clip. Could there have been a robbery or something totally unconnected to the reason he went out there? Why would all his other personal items end up on that roof together, but the money clip is just gone?

 

[mysteryman50]

I've been watching the Rivera episode on UM again and I have another theory altogether: I think that hole must have already been there and Rivera was placed underneath it. There is no way a 6'5", 260-pound man went vertically through a hole in a roof. Unless he had his hands and legs bound, he would have been flailing and would never have landed so neatly. It's just impossible given the laws of physics and gravity. Which means there must be another explanation and that is: he was held somewhere in that hotel and tortured, beaten, etc., and then dumped, or dropped through the already-existing hole, while he was still alive, and thus the blood splatter, which, if you see in the pic, isn't all that drastic, not for someone who's just fallen through a hole traveling at what? 30 mph? (I don't know the speed at which a body of his mass falls. But certainly someone has done his homework and figured this out.) The man was somehow subdued, tortured for whatever info they wanted out of him, kept somewhere, perhaps, and then finally gotten rid of. It's the only sensible theory left that makes any sense. And I'm sure his friend, Porter, had something to do with it.

OR: Rivera was dragged onto the parking garage roof, where he left his glasses and cell phone perhaps without anyone noticing and then dumped through the hole. OR: he managed to get away, fell onto the garage roof, losing his cell phone and his glasses in the process, and then slipped down the hole in the hopes of getting away but then died. Perhaps a fall could have broken his already-wounded legs? I dunno. It's all very fishy but what I do know is, the guy couldn't have committed suicide like the police say he did even if he'd wanted to, not like that. No way in heck. He was beaten and left for dead and there's someone in that hotel who knows something.

Also: there would have been BLOOD at the impact site from the guy splatting against the roof and then scraping his body as he went through all that metal! C'mon! How could these investigators not understand that, at least?

 

[AutumnFalls]

I've just finished watching this episode and I'm unconvinced about suicide as well. While, I think it's very unlikely that his body could be thrown off one of the buildings and land feet first like that, it's equally unlikely that he fell in a way to create that hole. I guess in theory since he was a swimmer, he could have been used to jumping with his arms at his sides out of habit, but that seems dubious. I think most people, even suicidal people, would have a moment where they flailed in panic when jumping. It's just instinct.

I do have to say that the gag order doesn't strike me as that odd on the surface. Many companies would do the same. They probably have skeletons in their closets that they don't want aired, or maybe they just don't want people running at the mouth. This makes more sense considering the trouble the company had with its image in the past.

That being said, that very trouble could be what happened to Rivera. It seems entirely possible that he saw/heard or uncovered something he shouldn't and was killed for that. It's a very strange case.

I also have to wonder if one of those chairs could have caused the hole. That would lend more weight to his body being dumped there and his stuff thrown or placed on the roof. Do we know how easy it was to access the roof of the parking garage?

BtheSleuth had an interesting theory a couple pages ago about Rivera's friend Porter being the suicidal one and Rivera being up there to talk him down. I think that could hold merit.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I just finished watching this episode.

My theory is his body was placed below the hole and his items tossed up on the roof.

Wouldn’t there be massive evidence of him having gone through the roof? Clothing, skin, blood along the hole? Were his clothes torn like he’d gone through the roof?

So much speculation on whether he could achieve enough speed to launch himself off the roof to land where he did. Honestly that’s just not logical. I could buy suicide, but has there ever been a suicide where someone took a running head start to launch themselves at such an impressive distance from the building they jumped from, as well as I’m assuming doing a flip so they could land feet first crashing through a building?

Strongly leaning towards murder because it’s a simpler solution than him jumping from the hote and right before crashing through the roof he drops his sunglasses, phone and shoes.

 

[Shamrock1]

Bumping for Rey.

 

[Springrain]

I watched his Unsolved Mysterious episode today, and what a bizarre and horribly sad story. No doubt in my mind he was murdered - the question, for me, is how. I am sure someone involved with his work, if not Porter himself, did it. I believe he was planning to go to LE to turn in info he knew about illegal activities being done by the business, and they killed him to stop him. I just don't get the physics of any of it, at all...

I need to do more research, but I wonder if he was struck by a car (as another user suggested), they grabbed his body, placed it, and staged the suicide scene with the hole and his belongings. With my tinfoil hat on I do wonder if it's possible the note taped to the back of the computer was meant to be a sort of coded message to his wife, trying to warn her of what happened to him and tell her to be careful, but it just didn't make any sense because it was bizarre and she couldn't decode it? Just a thought.

He and his wife should be getting ready to celebrate the holidays with their kids and family. It's horrible how his life ended, no matter if you think it was suicide or murder.

 

[PrincessMocha]

Bump!

 

[Balthazar]

I noticed from the show was that after Rey was found someone called the police twice trying to get access to Rey's computer. The show made it sound like the police didn't know who called (twice), and I wondered, why didn't they tell the person to come on down and they could access the computer?

 

[PotterHead]

Just an update on the case, on the podcast "The Prosecutors" they covered this case and received a letter from the lawyers of the company Rey contracted for. It contained information that is apparently known to police that was withheld from the UM episode to boost up their "mystery".

So here is what is known: Rey was displaying increasing paranoia. While he was a bit older than the age where schizophrenia first appears, the age of onset is apparently later for hispanic males, so that fits. The note he left behind on the computer was written the same day he died. We know this because Alison found the bit of paper cut off from it in the rubbish bin. FBI analysis of the note confirm schizophrenic pattern of speech/writing.

The letter that the Prosecutors received states that Alison and Rey had visited the Belvedere on several occasions and had gone up to the roof to watch the sunset. The police are apparently aware of this but it wasn't mentioned in the episode.

So Rey knew how to get up there. The last thing he did before leaving the house was to check the time of sunset for that day. He also took a penny he didn't usually carry on him, that Alison had given him and told him that whenever he carried it, she'd be with him.

It's not hard to conclude the Rey was experiencing mental health distress and knew where to go, and wanted Alison to be with him.

Also, the call he received before he left was very likely from the company he worked for with bad news because the piece of work he was doing for them (video production of a recent conference they had) was very overdue and he had not completed it.

 

[Frannie]

Someone finally said it, the Belvedere was no longer a hotel but a condo building, big difference.

it seems that Rae was no longer working for his childhood friend, so with no job, money was probably short and that certainly can push anyone over the edge. (No pun intended). The friend staying at his house said the only thing she overheard of the phone conversation was Oh! at the end and then he ran out of the house.

That newsletter company was under serious investigation for fraud and possibly he had inside information, that can make big loosers do really bad things.

Quite a bit of a very different point of view from the program on the Baltimore Sun. Rey Rivera’s friend, former Baltimore employer pushes back on Netflix’s ‘Unsolved Mysteries' worth a read.

 

[Jenga50]

I also wanted to add that I think a 6-5", 250 lb man jumping or falling from 14 stories up and crashing through a ceiling would have made a very loud bang, almost like an explosion, on impact. How would no one have heard this?

I've only just rewatched this case. I manage commercial property, and 100% agree - there is no way nobody heard, (in a building whether it is a hotel or a condo full of people around - clients and staff) him fall through that metal roof if that indeed happened. IMO he never fell through the metal roof from high up at all. Why is there no impact which i agree would have been larger than a neat hole with blood splatter, etc... And how could noone spot a 6"5" person making their way through the hotel at all or around its perimeters. If he wanted to commit suicide by falling off a roof, why would he fall onto another roof that could break his fall and cause his survival albeit in extreme injury and pain. Why not just fall onto a road below. The autopsy cannot be ignored, in terms of his injuries not matching with the action of falling with great impact. So I believe indeed there was foul play and IMO whoever is involved - someone who helped decide where to place his body knows (or used a person who knows) the Belvedere Hotel inner workings and unused rooms very well including all of its hidden and closed off rooms and knew that he wouldn't be found in the conference room for some time, to buy someone else a bit of time too. Its far too coincidental that he was found in an abandoned room. Absolutely foul play. If it was suicide (as a prolific writer !!!!!!) why would he not leave a note to his wife and family who it appears he had wonderful relationships with. Nothing was found to indicate he was having relationship problems with them. IMO I believe the notes he taped at the back of his computer were just experimental writings as he was already known for that or inspiring lines he heard or read and don't connect to much except maybe an interest in the Freemasons as has been discussed but unrelated to his career or death. He was a writer as well as a prolific note taker - there is not way he would not have left a suicide note. IMO this is not suicide.

 

[Jenga50]

Hi! A woman who lived at the Belvedere at the time, named Mikita, noted in her journal that night a loud crash that rattled her windows around 10 PM. This was also heard and felt by her boyfriend who was there at the time as well. She wrote an entire book on this case.

What’s maddening is the investigators didn’t thoroughly question residents. They just walked in and asked whoever they saw, instead of going door to door.

That's interesting - too bad she didn't alert security or maintenance at the time or did she ? Was there a duty manager or other manager employed or on at the time ? Where were they ?

 

[lunoismycat]

I could probably do the calculations but seriously doubt the force of impact of his suicide jump would have created a hole that went straight through a roof. Its concrete and steel and designed to withstand more than a force of a human body despite falling from height. We would need to know the make up of the roof structure to do a true representation of the situation. AND then NO ONE heard this massive thud because it was an unused area????

What do you all think of the note? I am not sure I think it needs to be decoded or sends a message.

I think the hinkiest thing of all is that he was called and ended up at the Belvedere DEAD. That smells rotten and when no one is allowed to talk about it. That is even more smelly!

Hey! I know I'm really late to this but I think that honestly the note is the main puzzle peice of the story. I know he was an eccentric guy and a storyteller and that may as well be what this was. I have no idea how he got to that roof but if you really go through and look at the note I think he took his life. I think he believed in a part of something bigger and whether that has to do with the free masonry or not that note has so many clues, so many things that just scream cryptic about it, I don't think its just ideas for some script.

I'm attaching a deep dive I found on Reddit where they tried to decode the letter. It's not mine and if anyone can find out who wrote it to give credit that would be really great. I thought they made some good points and while I don't believe in everything they say, it does make you think.

Rey Rivera Note (Public)

DO NOT CONTACT ANYONE NAMED IN THIS NOTE. Don’t email or try to message on social media. Leave these people alone or I will be forced to remove important information in this note! (Last names have been removed intentionally) Rey Rivera Note with References Preface I have tried to recreate this ...

docs.google.com

 

[bykerladi]

Before anyone goes too far down the rabbit hole, Freemasons are NOT as secretive as you think. Their entire handbook can be found in the library. Its on the web. Anyone who knows a mason will tell you that they can't even agree on what to have for dinner let alone conquer the world. They're a scapegoat for a lot of conspiracy theories that just aren't true. I personally think there are a LOT of things about Rey's death that lead me to believe it wasn't suicide. But the masons are not the cause. I still say the former friend has knowledge that he isn't telling.

 

[lunoismycat]

Before anyone goes too far down the rabbit hole, Freemasons are NOT as secretive as you think. Their entire handbook can be found in the library. Its on the web. Anyone who knows a mason will tell you that they can't even agree on what to have for dinner let alone conquer the world. They're a scapegoat for a lot of conspiracy theories that just aren't true. I personally think there are a LOT of things about Rey's death that lead me to believe it wasn't suicide. But the masons are not the cause. I still say the former friend has knowledge that he isn't telling.

I agree. I don't think that's it's Freemasons that are "playing the game" but maybe it's something similar or inspired by them. And the friend is also a big factor too. I might just be crazy but maybe he's apart of whatever the organization in the note is saying. I also will admit I get a little conspiratorial so I might be looking into the note a little too much I do think its really odd and in my opinion I think it is a piece of the case that police are overlooking.

 

[thebedbug]

Just to play devil’s advocate and advance a theory in favor of suicide that would explain at least some of my points of curiosity listed above... what do you all think of this theory?

Rey somehow (maybe even through no fault of his own) got mixed up in some shady or even illegal dealings at work.

Imagine a scenario where Porter, Rey, and several others at that office were in the scandal up to their necks. What if Rey got a call that night from one of those people that said something like “we’re in big trouble, the SEC knows all about us”, or “we’re about to lose everything”, or “I think we’re all going to prison”, or better yet “get down here fast, our little plan is falling apart and we need to take action”. That would explain Rey exclaiming “oh!” and running out of the house.

Maybe Rey’s next stop wasn’t the hotel, but instead his office. There, he meets with others involved in the illegal activity. He gets bad news there or doesn’t like the direction things are headed. Maybe he leaves there with the distinct impression he’s headed for financial ruin, loss of job, and/or prison time. His life is transformed in an instant from one of hopefulness and cheer to utter despair. He sees the hotel as he’s walking back to his car and just snaps, deciding that he’s going to end it all to avoid the upcoming judgment and consequences for his actions.

When he jumps, his flip-flops, phone, and glasses all come off mid-air and land on the roof near his point of entry.

When he’s missing, his friend Porter is legitimately worried about him and offers the reward. But once his body is discovered and it’s said he jumped, his company circles the wagons because they don’t want anything about their scandal leaking. Maybe somehow they got lucky and it all blew over without repercussions.

What do you think? Plausible, or too far-fetched?

I still lean heavily toward murder because the above scenario doesn’t explain Rey’s fear of heights, the injuries to his shins, or the mysterious break-ins at his house.

"fear of heights" : over-emphasized and perhaps not all that relevant when it comes to suicide. if you took a sample of people that have jumped to their deaths, I bet many might've said they weren't fond of heights... I think that applies to most people.

"injuries to shins" : i'm not an examiner, but I'd expect there could be massive traumatic injuries to all parts a body if it came crashing through a roof from some height. i've not heard how it has been explained that these shin injuries aren't consistent with hitting the roof in a certain way.

"break-ins" : i mean... it's baltimore. crime happens. if my alarm goes off, i'm certainly showing up with, at least, a baseball bat.

i don't want to discount the impressions of the family and certainly wouldn't claim this case is anything but peculiar, but we haven't really seen any pattern to suggest a homicide... just a lot of random "maybe this is odd" things, but I'm not sure any of them have been proven or have been fit together.

* I don't think there is any chance the body was staged. That sounds ridiculous and the moment I saw people on Netflix taking that seriously, I immediately started to question their credibility.