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Body at the Belvedere
In May of 2006 a body was discovered inside a conference room at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. The body belonged to Rey Omar Rivera, a 32-year-old finance writer.
This case was featured on Volume 1 of Netflix's revamp of Unsolved Mysteries. If you have seen the episode or are familiar with the case, do read on. If not, I urge you to read some of the case details from the unsolved site or watch the episode:
One question I am stuck on after learning about this case is: Was his baseball bat ever recovered?
My theory on this case centers around the thought that Rey Rivera's baseball bat was present at the crime scene. His wife described an instance on the day before he disappeared where their house alarms went off and he ran out with a baseball bat. This tells me that he would use the baseball bat as a self defense weapon. With that out of that way, let's launch into the theory...
How?
In no way is this the truth, this is just my theory on the series of events that led to Rey Rivera's demise that answers a lot of unanswered questions:
- Rey receives phone call at 6:30pm directing him to meet at the parking lot the car was later found in and rushes out of the house
- Fearing his safety, he rushes back into the house to retrieve his bat before driving away in his car, leaving the note attached to his computer as well
- Rey arrives at the lot and gets out of his car with bat in hand
- As he stands in the lot he is struck by a car on his right side, fracturing his right tibia and fibula
- While he is down his bat is used to break his ribs, puncturing his lungs
- He is then hit in the back of the head with the bat, likely fatally injuring him
- Rey's personal belongings, such as glasses and phone, are taken from his vehicle by the killer(s)
- Rey is loaded into a vehicle in the lot, and driven to the parking garage, top level
- The killer(s) attempt to stage his death as a suicide at the hotel
- The body is dropped from the height of 20 ft from the parking garage to the roof of the conference room
- The killer(s) jump/climb down as well
- The killers stage Rey's glasses and phone on the roof
- The metal bat is used to crush in a human sized hole in the ceiling
- Rey is pushed through the hole, causing lacerations on the way through
- If the attack did not kill him, Rey would die of his wounds or dehydration in the conference room
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Who?
Based on his final resting location, injuries, and other variables, this clearly feels like foul play. I do not believe in any way that Rey jumped from the hotel's mansard roof. With that in mind, there must be someone out there who wanted him hurt or gone. I honestly haven't looked too much into who could have done this. I am most interested in How something happened, as that usually leads to more discoveries on who was involved. His work in financial advice seems complicated and could likely be involved as the last call he received before going missing was from inside his place of work. Whoever called him probably has information on what happened to him. To this day, his close friend Porter Stansberry as well as his place of work, Stansberry Research have refused to provide any further information they might know.
For this case, I truly struggle on completing a full profile of the perpetrator, as it feels like there were multiple people involved, and they are shrouded in complete mystery.
What?
The murder weapons are complex, as there were potentially multiple tools and tactics used to injure and kill Rey Rivera. Among his injuries were lacerations, broken ribs, punctured lungs, leg contusions, a broken shin, and more. These injuries can be explained with a fall from a great height at first glance, but with a closer look at the autopsy there are some inconsistencies. His injuries are more consistent with being hit by a car. So potentially there is a car involved, as well as something to strike him with to cause head wounds. I presume the weapon used to strike him would be his own baseball bat, brought for self defense.
When?
May 16, 2006 - Rey receives a phone call at 6:30pm, then promptly leaves the house. He briefly reenters the home before leaving for good. He never arrives home again.
May 22, 2006 - After days of searching for traces of Rey, his car is discovered abandoned in a parking lot near the Belvedere Hotel. The car has been ticketed, and was recorded as being there since the day he went missing.
May 24, 2006 - Three of Rey's coworkers discover some of Rey's belongings on the lower roof of the Belvedere Hotel. A concierge opens the door to the old old racquetball club, and immediately finds Rey's body, accompanied by the smell of bodily decay. Date Uncertain - A strange note is found attached to the back of Rey's computer in his home office.
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(for a full length timeline of events I again recommend the Netflix special: https://unsolved.com/gallery/mystery-on-the-rooftop/)
Where?
This entire case takes place in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Some notable locations are Rey's home, his place of work at Stansberry Research, and his final resting place, the Belvedere Hotel.
Based on maps, the Belvedere Hotel is located within one minute of Stansberry Research, about a block away. Rey was discovered in an unused part of this hotel.
Another location I find notable is the nearby body of water, the Patapsco River.
Why would it be relevant that there is a large body of water near his final resting site and his place of work?
Based on his cautious actions surrounding his disappearance, Rey was likely being threatened by someone leading up to his disappearance. I believe they might have been threatening to drown him if he didn't comply to what they wanted. This would provide an explanation for why he placed his note inside of a plastic bag; in case he was drowned, the note would remain intact. As he was leaving his house for the final time, he probably realized that the note would just be taken off his body if discovered, so he left it at home in a rush to make sure it was seen.
Why?
His wife noted Rey acted strange and even scared around other people and phone calls leading up to his disappearance, so there is a good chance someone was threatening him or his family. The only motive I can think of is that Rey knew something that he shouldn't and somebody wanted to keep him quiet.
In conclusion, I believe Rey Rivera was murdered, and he and his family deserve justice.
At first glance, this case didn't seem too complex, but diving deep into who could have done it proved to be mysterious and full of cover ups.
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