. Im not going to comment on how easy or hard it is to fool the Baltimore Police Department. Do NOT access SecureDrop on your home network. There are several hints hidden in their social media pages. And yet theres nothing in the file about pinging his cell phone. REY RIVERA, SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE? Will We Ever Know What Happened to Rey Rivera? "Wed love for someone to come forward and tell us what that phone call was about. It did not look like a hole made from an impact of 260 pounds from 13 floors up, which is 400 feet. According to Claudias account, as Brottman laid out in her book, Rivera seemed preoccupied with an assignment. And it doesnt have clear cut answers. Taya Graham: So Jayne, I know youve been reviewing the notes that you made on the case. Then, there was an obscure note uncovered from Riveras computer. The first episode of new Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries centres around the 2006 death of 32-year-old newlywed Rey Rivera, who was found dead at a hotel in Baltimore, Marlyand. Stephen Janis: But they never picked it up. He wasnt wandering around Baltimore. We never accept cash from the corporations we're trying to fight and we never hide our content behind restrictive pay walls. Correct. << /Length 5 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode >> The Real News Network Jayne Miller: Correct. Sitting in the parking lot of the church, after the service, sat a green colored Sedan with four passengers inside: a man, a woman, and two younger children. And they started to notice an odor in the building on the 19th. Do NOT access SecureDrop using your employers hardware. Regularly monitoring our publications social media or website can potentially flag you as a source. But Rey didnt have any business entanglements to speak of. Perhaps the most nefarious theory is that Rivera was killed by an investor who blamed him for significant monetary loss. 0 coins. 4. Rey was said to have received a mysterious phone call on the day of his death Credit: Netflix. Scott Ritter: Don't believe the hype. A file contains valuable metadata about its source when it was created and downloaded, what machine was involved, the machines owner, etc. Jayne Miller: So if you want to end interest in something as an investigator or whatever, then if you start to put the specter of suicide on something, youre going to lose media attention, and youll lose the public attention, too. And in the investigative file there are notes where the parking garage manager, whatever, said that the video from their cameras would be available on June 7th of that year. Stephen Janis: So the first thing to know is that theres two schools of thought And Jaynes going to talk about, actually, because weve looked at the investigative files But just to lay out so theres a framework for people. Riveras bizarre case will be re-examined in an episode of the rebooted Unsolved Mysteries series on Netflix in July 2020. The first episode of Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries is about the suspicious death of 32-year-old Rey Rivera in 2006. And that seemed to be the last thing that was noted in the file. This is so strange. An additional theory is that Rivera may have jumped from a ledge several floors below the roof, but it would have been difficult for Rivera to access the ledge from the privately owned condominiums and offices that had windows onto the ledge. One time we actually went looking, because they said there were tunnels underneath Mount Vernon that they could have brought Rey in, and we found that wasnt true, we checked that out and it wasnt true. That the detectives have written based on their interviews with people relevant to the investigation. However, Rey's entrance point in the roof reminded me of the little tin roof the 9/11 jumpers were hitting, the holes were surprisingly small too. According to Stansberry, this allegation is impossible because "Every person in our company who had worked with Rey was on the Eastern Shore at the time that call was made, having a corporate retreat". We dont know for sure. We can call this a suicide because theres a hole in the roof and his body was right below it and . They were alive before they hit, but then again, they must have been going 100+ mph and couldn't flail anymore? And youre right, that is exactly what that could be, because theres nothing to refute it specifically. The 37-year-old actress was due to put out her ninth studio album . Jayne Miller: Well, its always struck me as unusual that the cell phone was intact. However, if Stansberry was indeed covering something up, no one knows exactly what it was. This was a very different kind of case. At the time of his disappearance, Rivera was a 32-year-old finance writer for The Oxford Club as a video contractor. When you make your first submission, you will receive a unique codename. And its the kind of story that generates everybodys own theory of what happened. Beck died Tuesday, Jan. 10, following a short bout with bacterial meningitis. So what do we know right now? The helicopter theory to me seems so far out there. What would be a possible motive for wanting to rule this as suicide, closing out the case so fast? Explore . The body of Rey Rivera, who had been missing for just a little over a week, was found in an abandoned meeting room in the Belvedere Hotel. The couple had moved to the city from Los Angeles and had lived in Baltimore for a little over two years. As Netflix releases a new season of 'Unsolved Mysteries,' Jayne Miller, Taya Graham, and Stephen Janis break down the latest evidence in the mysterious death of Rey Rivera. About a week after the 32-year-old aspiring screenwriter vanished, his body was found inside an abandoned conference room at Baltimores historic Belvedere Hotel. In 2006 things were going pretty well for 32-year-old Rey Rivera. The vertical fall of approximately 177 feet (building height 188 ft[11] = 57 meters) would have taken approximately 3.3 seconds. Use SecureDrop, an anonymity tool for journalists and whistleblowers. So does that mean he was called to meet somebody? Report abuse. That is, through high tech forensics, moral resolve, or simply the near mythic competence of American law enforcement, killers are ultimately sent to jail. And once that happens, the whole story will be there. This could help indicate whether he was placed there or actually went through the hole. And this is a person who analyzed accident scenes and just said she thought it was much more like he got hit by a car. From Men's Health. One Unsolved Mysteries viewer may have cracked a major clue in the case of Rey Rivera. Mikita Brottman/An Unexplained DeathRay Riveras missing person poster offered a $5,000 reward for any tips on his whereabouts. And, really, I think, wanted to be a filmmaker director, an active blogger, and a very curious mind, I think I would describe him. If he went to Fells Point or he went somewhere that would give you some clues, if he went straight to the Belvedere, that would give you clues. Use your codename to sign back in to our source page, check for responses from our journalists, and upload additional materials. Stephen Janis: And Go ahead, Im sorry. This is now about a week or two after his body was found. Stephen Janis: Now I want to talk about something that frustrates me about that file, because theres certain things that the police couldve done. A post shared by Unsolved Mysteries (@officialunsolvedmysteries). "When Allison [Rivera's wife] went to the police station to pick up Reys computer, the detective mentioned someone had called a couple of times and asked to pick up the computers and was very interested in the status of the computers. Discussing further, they learned she hadn't seen the autopsy report. They staged a killing and staged a suicide and made it convincing enough to fool the Baltimore Police Department. Visit our organizations unique SecureDrop URL at http://isomzhlu2hqz2ll6t3c7mt67j3mvad2omzptk6cnc2ce2fzdabjjmnid.onion/. Im not saying theres anything untoward, but where are the statements? Answer: Police say that Rey Rivera died by suicide, but his family has their doubts. And it could be an amazing red herring. Ray Riveras missing person poster offered a $5,000 reward for any tips on his whereabouts. Send us physical mail. 4. No tool can absolutely guarantee your security or anonymity. So if, in fact, he came off the 13th floor of the building, which is the roof, and this is technically the second floor, thats a steep Its quite a distance. We dealt with this. Instead, use public wifi networks and devices you control. Jayne Miller: Well, the parking garage is literally attached to the building, the Belvedere building. Jayne Miller: Youre right. I think that, for example, there was somebody that worked in the building that told me that Rey went missing, I think, on the 16th of May. So those are the two frameworks which weve been looking at with the case. Stephen Janis: And to Tayas point, which is a great point and a great question, if someone did kill him this way, they are good at what they do. I'm late to the convo but.. Signals servers will store only your phone number and the time you were last active, and messages can be set to automatically erase themselves from your phone and ours after a certain period of time. Totally agree. You can use a separate computer youve designated specifically to handle the submission process. Ron DeSantis oversaw torture in Guantnamo as a military lawyer, 'Free speech' is whatever the rich say it is, Call of Duty is a government psyop: These documents prove it, Polarizing and isolating Americans is good business for media monopolies, Dennis Kucinich: How the war machine took over the Democratic Party, Maryland medical examiner who testified at Derek Chauvin trial to be audited for rulings in 100 police-custody deaths, Body cam shows Baltimore county police arresting citizen watchdog at gunpoint, Cops arrest Kentucky man in traffic stop on drug charges for traces found on dollar bill, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. So thats another notch on the wall in terms of thinking about this case not being a matter of a fall or someone being in the hotel, but someone getting into that room some other way. And, Taya, I think thats a great question, because that takes some planning and some thinking, its not just a random thing like, lets dump his body in the You could easily have dumped his body in the harbor somewhere. Netflix Unsolved Mysteries Mystery on the Rooftop, https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a32944829/who-was-rey-rivera-unsolved-mysteries/, https://allthatsinteresting.com/rey-rivera-death. Taya Graham: Jayne, could you describe a little bit about how the parking garage connects to the concourse where Rey was found? Stephen Janis: And as you point out, he was an employee of Agora, which is one of the largest employers in Mount Vernon with 2000 employees, I think . But to the point, yes, they have a body underneath a hole in the roof, and that roof is below the top roof of a 13-story building. that it picked up along the way? This is info that wasn't covered in the episodebut, considering what was covered in the episode, it's an intriguing additional detail that does seem to support the assertion that something strange happened to Rivera. Stephen Janis: I would totally agree with that. But really no one at Agora would ever give me a comment on the record or anything official. All the show tunes! Once you are connected to a public network at a cafe or library, download and install the desktop version of Tor Browser. Her research has been published in the book Rey Rivera, Suicide or Homicide?. Why were his glasses and cell phone not damaged, if he jumped. Stephen Janis: And because youll see, Jayne and I have both reviewed homicide files, and youll see there can be points where nothing happens, but then three weeks later you say, we received a call or something. Content warning: reference to suicide, violence, death. Content warning: reference to suicide, violence, death. Wherever youre listening to Land of the Unsolved, whether its on Anchor or Apple with iTunes, please make sure to leave a comment below to let us know what you think happened to Rey Rivera. [13], Rivera's eyeglasses and phone were found relatively intact on the lower roof near the hole. Despite the strange details of his case, the police and some amateur sleuths remain unmoved from the investigations conclusion that Rey Rivera committed suicide. Stephen Janis: Yeah. Stephen Janis: Thats on the second or third floor. You could come in from off of Charles Street, which weve done, and it is relatively accessible. Jayne Miller: Body was found, it was just like And theres something that is, I have asked about this and I have yet to receive an answer, and that is that the parking garage adjacent to the Belvedere apparently had video surveillance, and the detectives inquired about it. Mercedes logo is a circle with lines through. Shortly before his death, Rivera was also reading books related to masonry, such as The Builders. You can use our SecureDrop installation to anonymously submit documents to The Real News, and our journalists can use SecureDrop to securely communicate with anonymous contacts. Porter still put up 1k during his disappearance, and then ran a gag order on all his employees ONCE the body came up at the hotel. Public Health Reports 3,217 New Positive Cases and 63 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Since Saturday. All this has led to speculation about what really happened to Rey Rivera, a question we will try to answer today, because luckily Im joined by my co-host Stephen Janis and Jayne Miller, who reported on the case when it occurred and also appeared in the Netflix episode, which examined the evidence and brought national attention to it. His reluctance could simply be a matter of protecting his business from bad publicity. He had friends that were looking out for him. Rivera wrote reports about companies whose stocks were believed to be set to rebound in price, but many did not. Place to discuss ALL about the Rey Rivera case! A select few journalists within our organization will have access to SecureDrop submissions. [17] Police would soon step back from their investigation into the case after ruling Rivera's death as a probable suicide.[18]. However, the coroners autopsy stated his cause of death was undetermined. Meanwhile, his wife and family suspected foul play. He lived a comfortable life with his longtime partner and newly-wedded wife, Allison. Ever since the episode aired on Netflix, amateur detectives have been . Jayne Miller: Well, if he jumped, then they would suggest that he was trying to take his own life. [10][c] After several days of searching for clues on Rivera's whereabouts, his wife's parents found his car located in a parking lot off of Saint Paul Street in Mount Vernon near his workplace. Join us for part Two of Four (episodes released weekly) 32 year old writer Rey Rivera and his wife Allison moved to Baltimore from sunny California after his dreams of screenwriting didn't come to fruition. Stephen Janis: That we know off. His body was found in an empty conference room of Baltimore's Hotel Belvedere a week later. Were these signs of psychological stress, or did Rivera believe that someone was truly after him? She told police that Rivera was unusually anxious when their home alarm had gone off and that an encounter with an unknown man at the park left her husband visibly distraught. ", WATCH 'UNSOLVED MYSTERIES' ON NETFLIX (opens in new tab), Will We Ever Know What Happened to Rey Rivera? Stephen Janis: We dont know where he went between leaving that And I think from the notes you have, you can surmise he died pretty quickly. James S. 5.0 out of 5 stars Expert forensic explanations of new evidence in Unsolved Mystery case. Jayne Miller: And it just always struck me as it just didnt seem to add up to And then they have the injuries that are described in the autopsy, which have been noted significantly because theres a leg injury that just doesnt seem to make a whole lot of I think weve had a forensic person look at that. [5] Although the event was ruled a probable suicide by the Baltimore Police Department, the circumstances of Rivera's death are mysterious and disputed. Do NOT access SecureDrop on your employers network. You can scrub metadata from some files prior to submission using the Metadata Anonymization Toolkit featured in Tails. So it definitely got a lot of eyeballs. Im your host, Taya Graham, This is Land of the Unsolved. Jayne Miller: The other thing I think thats interesting is, here we are now in 2022, the Netflix episode, which got global attention, no question, July of 2020, probably because it was also the pandemic, a lot of people were watching streaming at that time. Stephen Janis: Anyone who watches crime dramas could reasonably conclude that when someone is murdered, barring bizarre and extenuating circumstances, the case is solved. NY 10036. The police concluded Rey killed himself and shut down the investigation, but his family said it was simply impossible that Rey killed himself. The Real News Network But it was originally a hotel and it had retail spaces on its ground floor and on its first floor. Its also accessible from the parking garage, which is attached to the building, and thats also significant. After Miryam reviewed the autopsy report, Taya and Stephan interviewed her again, and she presented a compelling new perspective. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. I completely agree. I think its true that the significance of the questions about this have to do with, weve heard from no one who could put him in the building that night, that evening that he went missing, or at any time, until his body was found in the room. Stephen Janis: Yeah. All the nudity of porn, but with the plot and storylines of mainstream film. The Feds determined it wasnt a suicide note. His first feature film, The Friendliest Town was distributed by Gravitas Ventures and won an award of distinction from The Impact Doc Film Festival, and a humanitarian award from The Indie Film Fest. Stephen Janis: And we are investigative reporters who live in Baltimore City. He is the co-host and creator of The Police Accountability Report on The Real News Network, which has received more than 10,000,000 views on YouTube. Taya Graham: So looking in from the outside to this case, we see the hole in the roof. Your online behavior can be extremely revealing. Wouldn't a body have some bits of wood or plaster, etc. His office was across from the Belvedere. Jayne Miller: And really, really abruptly. And its also the kind of case that could be difficult to solve because he had perhaps a lot of connections in his life and his business associations, his associations personally, et cetera, in something like this that you really have to run out. There doesnt seem to be any indication that he had a threat against him, someone who was trying to do him harm. But definitely he had ties in the community. . Rey was a filmmaker and filmmakers investigate the sunrise/sunset for shooting scenesRey may have been getting more film shots didn't he rent a studio to put his project together? Were not Because theres not even anything from getting a random phone call or anything. If you're unfamiliar, the episode details the mysterious disappearance and death of aspiring screenwriter Rey Rivera. One of the most enduring episodes of Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries is the story of Rey Rivera.A loving husband and . Rockefeller Audio 2022. Jayne Miller: 400, something like that. Katherines a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestylefrom Clueless to Everlane to news about Lizzo. On May 16, 2006, Rivera received an urgent phone call and rushed out of the house. Stephen Janis: Which contrasts very much with what you mentioned, the parking garage. I think that speaks to your Not your theory, but your thought about how incomplete the file is that someone just said, whatever we found the body, thats the main thing. Jayne Miller: I think we got to also set the scene here. Until now, Rey Rivera's death has been a mystery, but it is undoubtedly a mystery that can be solved. Stephen Janis: We know his car went there, we know his body ended up there. Take great care to think about what your online behavior might reveal, and consider using Tor Browser to mitigate such monitoring. Theory one: "Rivera's death was linked to David Fincher's The Game". If you write it down, be sure to destroy the copy as soon as youve committed it to memory. Theories around the Netflix Unsolved Mysteries case", "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Belvedere Hotel", "What happened to Rey Rivera a in Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries? There's a lot that's strange about this story, includinga mysterious note he wrote (opens in new tab)the day he died that seemed to point to Freemasonry;theories have abounded (opens in new tab)about what may have happened to him. The Baltimore Police suspect that Rey probably committed suicide but the circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death are disputed. If you write it down, be sure to destroy the copy as soon as youve committed it to memory. Why would a police department want to close that investigation so quickly? Seems like you had that in mind and much of what you shared was interpreted through that perspective. The note was addressed to brothers and sisters and referred to a well-played game. It also named famous people who had died, including Christopher Reeve and Stanley Kubrick, as well as ordinary people who Rivera knew in real life. Read more. Previous page. A copy of the autopsy report obtained by Investigative Voice also shows that the medical examiner who examined Rivera's body had doubts. Solidarity, not charity! So I wanted to know, in this investigation, there are a lot of details that just dont seem to add up. And today we are going to be discussing a case that made national headlines several years ago after it became the subject of Netflixs reboot of Unsolved Mysteries. Google ImagesBurroughs High School in Burbank, California, where Rey Rivera was a popular aquatics coach. Not knowing why the person we loved is not coming back is the worst of torments. The true crime series Unsolved Mysteries originally aired from 1987 to 2010, and was revived by Netflix. Or do you have another theory? 231 Holliday St. But it was never determined who that person was or what the phone call was aboutand whatever transpired, it could offer important clues about what happened to him. Why was he in a hurry to get there? Thats the even bigger question is it would seem that he was not the victim of a random crime because of the circumstances that we know of, his location, where his body was found, et cetera. Police soon discovered Rivera's partially decomposed body inside the conference room under the roof's hole.[2]. The Real News journalists Taya Graham and Stephen Janis have previously covered Riveras death, asking why his injuries were more consistent with being struck by a car instead of falling from a rooftop, as the discovery of his body suggested, Taya and Stephen return with Jayne Miller to break down the latest evidence in Rey Riveras death. Rivera's coworkers went to the top of a parking structure near where the car was discovered, and noticed a hole in the roof of the south wing of the Belvedere Hotel. Someone falling after jumping feet first would be flailing and have fractures of arms and both legs, etc. Jayne Miller: Yeah, I would agree. Stephen Janis: You could just walk in there. That hole has definitely taken any attention off other ways that this could have happened in other , Jayne Miller: Well, because what the hole does is that it provides an answer, or a possible answer. He was the longtime friend of Rey Rivera, whose mysterious 2006 . In May 2006, Rey Rivera disappeared from his Baltimore home after receiving a mysterious phone call. Jayne Miller: Yeah, there you go. Allison was very troubled.". For days family and friends searched frantically for him, but to no avail. After theUnsolvedepisode came out, even more information has surfaced about Rivera's death. When Rey Rivera's death first made headlines in 2006, it originally seemed like a suicide. Oh, he came off the side of the building, because he went through the roof.