The Rey Rivera Case Has a New and Unsettling Update

It's...unsettling.

unsolved mysteries rey rivera
(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)

Content warning: reference to suicide, violence, death. One of the most enduring episodes of Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries is the story of Rey Rivera. A loving husband and aspiring writer, he was suddenly called away from his Baltimore home and disappeared—later found dead in a conference room of one of the city's hotels. His death was ruled a suicide, but investigators, as well as Rivera's family, make clear in the episode that the unusual features of the case call that into question. There's a lot that's strange about this story, including a mysterious note he wrote the day he died that seemed to point to Freemasonry; theories have abounded about what may have happened to him. After the Unsolved episode came out, even more information has surfaced about Rivera's death. So what do we know right now? 

A mysterious person attempted to determine the status of Rey Rivera's computers.

Speaking on the You Can't Make This Up podcast and reported by Cosmo UKUnsolved Mysteries creator Terry Dunn Meurer divulged that an unidentified someone was very interested in Rivera's computers once they had been taken by the police...and even tried to pick them up (!). 

"When Allison [Rivera's wife] went to the police station to pick up Rey’s 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. Allison was very troubled."

This is info that wasn't covered in the episode—but, 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. He was reportedly terrified in the days leading up to his death, according to his wife, but wouldn't confide in her about what was bothering him. Allison said that their security system was tripped twice in those few weeks, but no one was found breaking and entering into the house. Was there information in Rivera's computer that was important?

Rivera also received a mysterious phone call the day he died.

The emergency phone call that made Rivera dash off suddenly that day (never to be seen by his family again) was traced to his workplace. But it was never determined who that person was or what the phone call was about—and whatever transpired, it could offer important clues about what happened to him.

"One of the most baffling parts of this case is someone made that phone call to Rey and they’ve never come forward," Dunn said on the podcast. "We’d love for someone to come forward and tell us what that phone call was about."

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Netflix)

Rey Rivera & Wife Allison

(Image credit: Courtersy of Netflix)
Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.