I’m not as educated with this case as other folks (feel free to correct any inaccuracies) but wouldn’t it be possible that RH didn’t necessarily stop, he just changed his "dumping area" or quite possibly his "disposal methods"? Forgive me if my choice of words are in poor taste. I know that’s a horrible thing to ponder & likely zero evidence pointing to it at this point but it shouldn’t be an unreasonable idea. 2010 is around the time his preferred area for disposal was under quite a bit more scrutiny. A change may have been mandatory if he wished to keep doing his evil deeds. Utter speculation.
JMO & thinking out loud.
The cases RH admitted to show what I consider the evolution of his method. Like you, I'm not nearly as informed as so many here who have followed the case closely. So, my thinking is prob. quite different.
I suspect the "at home" and basement torture and killing developed as he aged and his own taste for "more" evolved. The bodies wrapped in duck-hunting camo burlap were the ones he was actually caught on. Perhaps he did take a break after their discovery. Then, when nothing happened, he would have likely picked back up. Since he was aging and his methods changing, I'm wondering just where because I think the killings of his youth were quite different from the last ones.
I may be the only one here who thinks that earlier victims may have been taken on the duck hunting boat and placed in very remote areas. I still think that's a possibility, given Sandra Castilla. I doubt they were killed on the boat, but given a "date" experience of successful architect showing off his boat and luring them into remote locations. Am I remembering correctly that he invited some women he worked with or knew to go shooting and/or hunting with him?
As he aged and read -- say Dr. Holmes and others -- he wanted to experiment and set up the basement area.
Personally, I very much doubt the full extent of RH will ever be known .
Unless somewhere in all his documentation, he kept complete records. Or
unless, his massive ego leads him to detail everything he remembers in order to awe people with his superiority in the field. Even then, I doubt we'll ever get it all.
eta: I have just recalled from the Bounty Towel story a few posts upthread, he did keep a square of that towel in his desk drawer after all this time. From 2010 to 2023. So, who knows what else the State has on him?