If we are going with the facts, RH has only been charged with 3 of the murders. While they are looking at him for the others, that doesn’t mean that they will link them to him. Everyone is theorizing and while you are firmly in the camp for it being 1, I am not convinced. There are several arguments for it being 2 that also fit.
This discussion has caused me to explore the possibility that RH is responsible for only the 4. Because of his age - 43 in 2007 when MBB was killed - I have been convinced he had many more kills before and afterward. But what if he did not and she was the first?
MBB was restrained with BELTS and wrapped in plastic. BELTS - one monogrammed. One with a hair caught in the buckle.
Why would an experienced killer not be prepared for resistance from the victim and have implements ready?
Maybe he had not even planned the murder, but things took a turn and he grabbed and scrambled for just anything in reach to tie her down?
Now, I don't understand anyone leaving the belts once she was past resistance, but perhaps he wasn't thinking as well as usual. So, he found plastic, wrapped her and loaded her into the vehicle. Imagine driving around with a body in the vehicle and no plans with what to do. No telling how long it took for him to decide on a good place.
Don't you think he sweated out the next couple of years, waiting for the body to be discovered?
However, in 2009, two years later as the anniversary for MBB rolled around, his family was planning a long visit to Iceland and he had a plan. It was almost the exact anniversary of the killing of MBB when Barthelemy vanished and the taunting phone calls began. I wonder if having the exact anniversary available contributed to the events. According to the Bail Application, her phone was used after she vanished and while RH's family was away, then not used while he joined his family in Iceland, but again used the day after he returned to the States. Barthelemy was the first restrained with tape and hidden in camo burlap to blend with the dumping ground. So location pre-planned.
The next year, RH's family planned a June trip and he planned to indulge his hobby, a few days earlier, but still close enough. Again tape and camo burlap.
In early September, same year, was the incident with Costello, and the wife was in New Jersey Aug. 28-Sept. 5, 2010. Again tape and camo burlap. So prepared.
Then Shannan Gilbert happened in December and his crimes were discovered. Has he managed to just sit tight and hope all these years since, feeling compelled to occasionally discuss the case? Were there only 4 for him and a late starting age of 43, OR did he begin killing as a much younger man with his victims better hidden? If so, why?