Latest / Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast / The Impossible Death of Rey Rivera

Transcript

The Impossible Death of Rey Rivera · Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: He was an aspiring filmmaker, eagerly planning to move to
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Hollywood with his wife to pursue his dreams. Then, one
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: ordinary evening in Baltimore, he received a mysterious phone call
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: and vanished without a trace, leaven behind a home that
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: suggested he might be right back. However, days later, his
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: body was found, kicking off one of the most baffling
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: unsolved mysteries of our time. This is the story of
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: the impossible death of Ray Rivera.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: and Grim.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: A true crime podcast.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: The following podcast and.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Material intended more.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Mature audience listener discretion.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: He's advised, welcome back.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: That's what you got. Welcome back.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Ben was just pointing at me to start this off,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: and I don't what do I don't even have anything
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: to say.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: I threw it over to Nicole without any prompts, and
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: she's like, well, I was.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Gonna say Happy Friday, but we say that a lot,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: so I just like, welcome back.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Hey, whatever works, right. Honestly, I do have to say
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: it can be difficult at times to like have a
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: little intro going in the show, not like the intro
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: that I read out or anything, but like the little
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: chatty moments at times, like do we have something to
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: chat about? Should we just dive into the case. I
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: know some of you want us to just dive in,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: but some of us want the chat.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: Well. I think sometimes the chat is nice in the
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: sense that it like it gets you to know us
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: a little better, which I feel like is important.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Well, honestly, that's kind of the point of our show,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: not just to deliver true crime. We're hosts of the show.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: We want you to feel like, hey, you're sitting down
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: chilling with us, so we get to chat with you guys.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: At the beginning of the episodes, it gets relaxing, Like
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: you say, gets to know us sort of thing.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: I'm about to literally we're going to record this and
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: then I'm like leave it on.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: A road trip yep. So yep, Yeah.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: I feel like my brain is kind of in two
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: places right now here and there.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: And one of the conversations we had this morning, it's
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: a very important conversation when you're going on a road
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: trip along this section of road, extremely important that you
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: discuss it.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Aha, how much syrup do you want me to get?
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Yes? How much maple syrup are you bringing home? So
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: there is a little town called seventy Mile. It's driving
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: south through British Columbia, and they get a little food stand,
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: a little store, sugar shack called a sugar shack, and
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: there's this guy who moved over from Quebec and he
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: brought with them some like real poutine, some real good
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: like Canadian meals, and in my opinion, it's the best
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: place in British Columbia to get poutine. And of course
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: he also has like real syrup and stuff like that.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: So it's it's whenever we go on a road trip,
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: we always stop by and get some stuff from them.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Mm hmm. And last time, apparently I bought too many,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: and you're like, what the frigger's supposed to do with
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: all this? But we're out, so okay, clearly I did
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: not buy too many.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Well, because we started having more pancakes and waffles and
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: such to go through the syrup. And now we've gone
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: through it, so that's to be expected.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's staying good. I'm not sure if I'm going
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: to stop on my way down or my way up,
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: but at one point I will.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Why not both get a poutine both ways. Right, yeah, anyways,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: let's get into this case. Have you heard of this one,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: the impossible death of Ray Rivera.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: I don't think so.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: No, So this one, it's a lot of speculation. That's
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: most of what's going on in this case is hearsay,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: theories and opinions throwing it out there right now, that like,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: the facts in this case pretty minimal, but it's a
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: very interesting one to dive into and it gets your
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: mind thinking. It is, of course a mystery because hey,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: it's the impossible death of Ray Rivera, right, so it's
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: an unsolved case. So get your thinking caps on because
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: you can need it for this one.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm ready.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: So starting off, I want you to imagine a young man,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: he's driven with a quiet ambition, whose path seems set
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: for the bright lights of Hollywood. Eventually. That is Ray
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Rivera now. He was born on June tenth, nineteen seventy three,
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: in the vibrant city of Madrid, Spain, and Ray carried
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: a creative spark from a very early age. His passion
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: for storytelling eventually led him across the Atlantic to the
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: University of the Pacific, where he graduated in nineteen ninety
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: five with a degree in communications, specifically honing his skills
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: in creative arts and filmmaking. Now, after college, his life
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: took an interesting turn. In September of two thousand and four, Ray,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: along with his wife Allison, packed up their lives and
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: moved to Baltimore. Now the reason for the big move
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: there was a job offer from an old high school buddy.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: The guy's name was Porter Stansbury. Porter's going to be
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: throughout the story, so remember that name. Now. Porter brought
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Ray into the fold at Stansbury Research, where Ray began
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: contributing to a newsletter called the Rebound Report. He was
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: offering insights on turnaround stocks and that sort of stuff.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: So while financial or finance might seem like a bit
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: of a departure from the film aspirations, he had Ray's
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: innate creativity, sharp mind in writing ability. It proved to
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: be a very valuable asset for this position, not just
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: at the research facility, Stansbury Research, but also for its
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: larger parent company, A Gora, which was a powerhouse in
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: financial research and advice. So with his ability in this position,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: it was like an amazing fit. Now, despite his apparent
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: competence in the world of financial writing. Ray, deep down
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: he was far from content doing this work. The truth was,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: his heart wasn't in it. The intricate world of stocks
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: and market reports felt miles away from the vibrant stories
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and characters he dreamed of bringing to life on a
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: screen creative writing, right, mm hmm, Yeah, that.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: There's quite a difference there. Hey.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's assessing numbers, projecting different things and he's just
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: writing reports. That's way different than creating a world, a
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: character and bringing him to life and a story. Yeah,
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: you know, beginning, middle, and end. With this financial there's
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: no beginning, no end, and it's just what happened today,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: what's going on today. Tomorrow might like look like this,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: but today it's like that. Oh my god, Like dang,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I couldn't do that. That would drive me nuts.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I feel like there's certain there's certain
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: people that are like number people. Oh and then and
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: they honestly thrive and just love that, right, they get
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: excited about following that kind of thing.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: All the power to them. I'm just saying it ain't
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: for me.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's obviously not quite for him either.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, the growing tension between his day job and
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: his true passion eventually led to a significant decision. By
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: two thousand and five, Ray had decided to step away
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: from his role at Stansbury Research. But Ray wasn't one
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: to simply idle buy With financial writing behind him, he
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: plunged back into that creative and athletic interest that he
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: had on the side too. He took on coaching positions,
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: guiding the water polo team at John Hopkins University, and
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: just doing what he could to get back into the
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: groove of what he used to be doing. More importantly,
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: his artistic soul. He dedicated himself to a new screenplay,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: pouring his energy into crafting his own narratives, writing that
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: story what he wanted to do. He even started a
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: small production company, working on projects for various businesses connected
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: to the Agora Network, that parent company. Right, he was
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: staying loosely within there the sphere of his previous employer,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: but on his own terms a bit more this time,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: by the sounds of it, almost like a bit more
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: of a contractor even, I guess yeah. Now, Ray and
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Allison shared a vision for their future, one that wasn't
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: rooted in Baltimore's financial district, where they currently were their
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: hearts were set on the West Coast, specifically Los Angeles,
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: where Ray could fully immerse himself in the filmmaking world,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: the one that he so deeply desired and.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Loved, good old La Hey.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the big lights, right mm hmm. Now, to make
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: this dream a reality, they'd already taken a few concrete
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: steps in that direction. For example, in the spring of
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: two thousand and six, they made a significant trip over
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: to La not just for a visit, but to firm
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: up some of their plans for their new chapter, you know,
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: scouting out living places or workplaces, all these sort of things.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: And upon their return, they wasted no time listing their
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: Baltimore home for sale, ready to fully commit to these aspirations.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Out in La Dang. Good for them, because that would
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: not be easy.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: One hundred percent would not be. So props to them
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: for going forward to Yeah Dive. Everything seemed to be
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: falling into place their shared dream of life dedicated to cinema.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: It was within reach, and as of May sixteenth, two
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: thousand and six, dawned it felt like just another Tuesday,
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: a seemingly ordinary day in the life of a couple
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: who was on the cusp of you know a major
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: exciting change in their life. Little did they know it
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: would actually be anything but ordinary on this day. So
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: May sixteenth, two thousand and six began as most Tuesdays
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: would for many couples. Ray's wife, Allison, had an early start,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: heading out for a business trip to Richmond, Virginia. Ray
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: meanwhile settled into their Baltimore home, ready for a hard
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: day of work. He was deep into an editing project
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: for an Agora's filiates, a task that suited his creative
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: you know, inclinations quite well. He even had plans to
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: continue his work that coming weekend, having already booked an
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: editing suite, suggesting a clear schedule and no inkling of
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: an unplanned departure, let's say now. Throughout the day, Ray
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: was busy with various phone calls managing his project and
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: personal affairs, but one call in particular stands out. At
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: around four pm, Ray made contact with representative from the Freemasons.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: He mentioned that the call was quote possibly related to
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: a script idea end quote, which wasn't entirely surprising giving
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: his pursuit now. The person on the other end of
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: that line later described Ray's demeanor as laid back and friendly,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: yet noted that he seemed a bit pressed for time.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: As evening approached. At around six thirty pm, Allison's coworker, Claudia,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: arrived at the Rivera home, planning to stay the night
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: while Allison was away. It was some time between Claudia's
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: arrival at six thirty pm and seven PM that the
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: atmosphere in the quiet house abruptly shifted. Ray was on
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: another phone call, and Claudia, present in the house, overheard
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: his stunned reaction when he said a sudden, sharp, oh shit,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: the on the call now without another word. Ray quickly
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: grabbed a few essentials, his key, cell phones, some cash
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: around twenty bucks, and a credit card, and then rushed
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: out of the door, jumping into Allison's black Mitsubishi Montero.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: But he briefly returned, stepping back inside for only a
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: moment before darting out once again. He left the lights on,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: his computer was running. There was even a bag of
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: chips some sparkling water sitting on the counter, all signs
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: that he intended to be right back. However, Ray Rivera
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: never returned home.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: Oh man, okay, I just have to say something. There
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: was like a shift in your voice because I was like,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: forgot for a minute, I was listening to like a
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: true crime podcast because I was like, Yeah, they're gonna
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: move to LA, It's gonna be so great. And then
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: your like voice kind of shifted and I was like, oh, yeah,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: oh yeah, that's probably not gonna happen.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: You're getting too amped up, hey.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: I was. I was like cheering them on, and then ohnfor.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Actually, the stories we generally tell are not the best
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: stories in that regard. They're not feel good stories. I mean,
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: some of them are like survival stories and stuff. What
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: they end up accomplishing and like going on and surviving
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: from those are pretty feel good they.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Are, but they still went through shit.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: They go through hell, And in this case, I'll just
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: continue telling the story. That's all I'm going to say.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Okay, I amn't confused why the coworker was there though,
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: a little bit. What do you mean so Allison was
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: out of town, so her coworker comes and stays at
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: the house.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, she was basically house sitting because because Ray was
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: working and busy too.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: Oh okay, I see, I see.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, why do you have some thoughts about nefarious things
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: between them?
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Well? No, not necessarily. I was just I just was
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: confused there. I guess. Okay, it was something else going on,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: I guess, but yeah, clearly not so well.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: We do briefly touch on that near the end of
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: the episode, so okay, don't worry now. The morning of
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: May seventeenth, in the year two thousand and six, brought
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: with it a cold wave of dread. Allison's coworker, Claudia,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: woke up to the Riviera home being very quiet, and
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: then she realized Ray still wasn't back. The lights were on,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: the computer was still humming, just as he had left it.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: Then a phone call to Allison actually confirmed the shared concern.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: Ray wasn't answering his phone, and his hurried departure that
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: evening before was now looming over what had happened. A
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: lot of anxiety tightened in Alison's stomach. Her business trip
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: immediately became secondary. She cut it short race back to Baltimore,
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: her mind reeling with unanswered questions. Upon her return, Alison
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: found the house exactly as Ray had left it. This
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: wasn't a man who'd planned to be away for very long.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: As I mentioned, you know, the chips, the sparkling water,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: They were there, his laptop running, his invisil ligne, the
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: teeth thing right yeah, and toothbrush they were still sitting there.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: These were items no one leaves behind if they're heading
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: out for an extended period. It seems so sudden and unexpected. So,
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: with a growing sense of panic, Allison officially filed a
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: missing person's report for Ray on May seventeenth, hoping the
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: police could shed some light on this baffling disappearance and
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: where he went.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: That's the next day, right correct.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: Yea yeah. Now, as the search began, Allison couldn't shake
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: a disturbing feeling Ray hadn't quite been himself in the
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: weeks leading up to the day he went missing May sixteenth.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: She noticed a shift, a new layer of stress, and
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: almost a protective tension about him. He repeatedly expressed the
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: need to quote protect her, though he never really elaborated
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: from what. One unsettling incident particularly stood out. While jogging,
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: Ray had encountered an unknown man who seemingly watched him.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: Ray's reaction was immediate and defensive, physically turning his body
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: to shield Alison from the stranger's view. The sense of
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: unease was compounded by tube bizarre incidents right before Ray
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: vanished as well. Both on May fifteenth, and as well
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: the same day May sixteenth, at around one am, their
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: home alarm system had inexplicitly gone off. Each time. Ray's
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: response was one of genuine fear. He'd grab a baseball bat,
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: his eyes scanning for an intruder. On another occasion, he
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: even suspected their living room window had been tampered with
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: despite the alarm. The police, you know, after checking, had
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: dismissed these incidents, attributing them to common causes like animals
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: setting off motion detectors or something like that.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so he's like really on edge.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: She is. So the idea that Ray also might have
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: simply walked away it fell completely alien to Alison and
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: his family as well. He had so much to live for,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: so many plans bubbling just beneath the surface. In fact,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: he and Alison even had a definitive trip booked to
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: go to New Mexico in the coming weeks. They were
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: actively pursuing their move to La. Their house was for sale,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: he was working on his screenplay. These weren't actions of
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: someone planning to leave, to run away, to end it,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: you know, it just doesn't make sense. They were the
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: actions of someone eagerly anticipating a future something. Adding another
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: layer to Ray's recent behavior change was the sudden and
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: unexpected death of his close co worker and friend, Tom Hickling,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: who passed away in a car accident in Africa. Now
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: Tom's death had deeply affected Ray. Allison observed his profound grief,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: and she noted that Ray seemed to harbor almost hinted
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: that suspicions regarding the circumstances of Tom's death. He never
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: really elaborated at these suspicions, keeping his thoughts to himself,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: but the unresolved questions surrounding his friend's death seemed to
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: weigh heavy on him in Ray's final weeks before he disappeared.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: But as days turned into a week with no signs
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: of Ray, the focus search it broadened. It's rather than
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: just saying, okay, we need to find out where he went,
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: looking at the home, the possibilities, they started looking out
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: and going from there, and eventually the spotlight fell on
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: a grand, imposing building in Baltimore's Mount Vernon hood, one
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: called the Belvidere Hotel, was built in nineteen oh three.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: This architectural Marvel was a Baltimore landmark and eleven story,
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: one hundred and eighty eight foot tall structure with a
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: distinctive French French style roof. While its upper floors had
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: been converted into a residential type units, its lower levels
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: still housed public areas. It was a place of historical elegance,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: to put it lightly now. It was on May twenty third,
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: two thousand and six, almost exactly a week after Ray's disappearance,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: that a crucial lead emerged. Allison's black Mitsubishi Montero, the
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: vehicle Ray had last seen been driving and leaving the
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: house in, was found. It sat on a surface parking
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: lot directly next to the Belvidere Hotel. A parking ticket
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: stuck to the windshield indicated it's been sitting there undisturbed
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: for about the last six days. While finding the car
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: offered a glimmer of hope, its presence there only deep
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: in the mystery rather than solving it. Why was the
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: there and where was Ray? The answer began to reveal
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: itself through an unsettling detail, a pervasive and strong smell
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: that began emanating from the Belvidere Hotel for several days.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: It was particularly noticeable this smell specifically around an unused
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: conference room on the second floor, and the following day,
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: on May twenty fourth, two thousand and six, at around
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: one thirty pm, a maintenance worker named Gary was sent
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: to investigate the persistent odor. What he found in the
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: rarely access conference room was horrifying. The smell led him
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: to a gruesome sight, and at the very same time
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: that this was happening, Ray's co workers Mark, Stephen and George,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: who been relentlessly searching for him, were also in the vicinity.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: George had a hunch to check the parking garage next
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: to the Belvidere from its upper levels. They peered down
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: and spotted a small narrow hole punched through the roof
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: of the hotels second floor extension, and then an even
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: more chilling sight. Scattered around the edges of that hole,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: it appeared to be some not debris, but items, and
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: upon closer inspection there were some of Ray's personal belongings,
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: his flip flop, cell phone, keys, and eyeglasses. Even the
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: connection clicked and they immediately called Detective James Mingle, who
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: was already handling Ray's missing person's case. The police. They
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: quickly arrived, entering the previously locked conference room, and there
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: they found Ray Riviia's body, confirming Gary's simultaneous and horrific
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: discovery behind that locked conference room.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: What the shit, okay, I was like, what is this smell?
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Is it like a bad smell? Or so clearly was
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: a bad smell.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: It was the smell of decay.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, okay, awesome.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: Now Ray's body lay in the center of that infrequently
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: used conference room, a space that was mostly empty. The
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: room itself was accessible from both Charles str and the
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: adjacent parking garage, offering multiple pathways into the building. The
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: roof he's presumably fallen through was made of durable gravel
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: and tar, a tough material. What immediately struck investigators was
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: the lack of any nearby structures on the main building
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: that could have easily facilitated a straightforward jump or fall
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: onto the specific lower roof. The initial idea despite this, though,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: was that he had jumped from the main roof of
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: the Belvidere Hotel, which would mean a fall from fourteen
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: stories up, which would explain the horrific injuries that were
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: found on him. However, as investigators delve deeper, into this theory,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: it quickly crumbled under the weight of basic logic in physics.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: The Belvidere's main roof line was incredibly high, and the
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: second story roof where Ray landed was set set back significantly.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: For Ray to jump from the main roof and land
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: in that specific spot, he would have had to not
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: only drop roughly one hundred in seventy seven feet vertically,
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: but also propel himself a staggering forty three feet horizontally.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Holy shit.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: Experts calculated this would have required a significant athletic feet
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: a sprint of about ten miles per hour from the
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: only available fifteen feet run up space.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: So not possible.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: Basically not possible. Or if it is possible, you're gonna
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: have to be like a fucking Olympic athlete to pull
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: it off if you're lucky.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Okay, So holy shit. They're thinking he like jumped and
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: then hit the second floor roof and like fell through
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: the roof.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: And ended up inside the second floor conference room.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: Correct, holy shit? Okay, Okay, I mean, I feel like
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: I roofs would be stronger than that, but I have
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: no idea. I guess it's quite.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: A fall, that's I mean, This is called the impossible
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: death for a reason because things like that are thrown
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: into this scenario. How did he actually break through a
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: fucking roof like that?
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: So now this scenario though, with him making this run
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: up and this like forty three distant foot distance, like
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: this whole thing, it became almost lappable when you consider
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: two details. Ray Riviera was he was known to have
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: significant fear of heights, and he was last seen wearing
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: and was found with flip flops flipflops. Attempting such a daring,
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: precise jump in flip flops with the fear of heights
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: seems utterly impossible.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: It does now.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: The official autopsy, performed by medical examiner doctor Melissa Brassel,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: confirmed that Ray had suffered extensive and severe injuries, including
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: fracture to his skull, ribs, legs, along with cuts and bruising.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: While these injuries were consistent with a fall, what wasn't
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: consistent began to raise serious red flags. Crucially, Ray showed
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: a complete lack of defensive wounds, no scratches, scrapes, or
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: bruises on his hands or arms that would indicate he
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: tried to break his fall or brace himself which you
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: would definitely find someone from falling. I mean, you have instincts, reflexes,
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: and someone who's terrified of heights, they're going to be
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: shielding them their face or they're bracing themselves for impact,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: even if they're looking to you know, self delete, it's
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: just instinct.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you'd still most likely do that, So.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: No defensive wounds in that regard. Furthermore, there was surprisingly
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: minimal damage to his spine, which is highly unusual for
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: a fall of such magnitude. Medical illustrator Marie dune Heemer Duneheimer,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: dwen Hemer. I don't know. I really cannot pronounce this one.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Sometimes if I do that bad on a name, I
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: will pause, we will stop, and I'll try and get
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: the name right. There is no m getting this name right. Okay,
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: it is a German name. I believe d a U
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: E n h E I m E R duen Hemer
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: dwen Heimer.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: The last one you just said sounded kind of right, okay.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Marie Dwenheimer. That's what I'm gonna go with. But I'm
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: not going to go back and rerecord this because I'm
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: still going to butcher regardless. Anyways. Medical illustrator Marie Duennheimer,
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: who later received the case, pointed out the minimal damage
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: to his feet, which contradicted the feast feet first impact,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: and noted that his injuries were largely concentrated to his
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: left side, instead creating an asymmetrical pattern, unlike typical falls
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: people who jump. It's again instinctual to jump feet first,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: even if you're killing yourself, so you have. He didn't
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: brace himself, even if he's horizontal. He didn't jump feet first,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: which is instinctual. He just kind of impacted. Forensic biomechanics
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: expert Miriam Moya also observed that one of Ray's flip flops,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: one of the straps, was broken with scuff mark, suggesting
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: a struggle or trauma which could have occurred before he landed. Ultimately,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: despite the extensive injuries, doctor Brassel officially listed Ray's cause
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: of death as quote undetermined.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Humm wow, Okay, that seems everything you're just saying right
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: now is so odd. I'm hoping you have more to say,
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: because I'm like, what the shit.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: As I mentioned at the very beginning of this, this
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: is a unsolved case. It's a mystery, and most of
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: what we talk about is pretty much pure speculation.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: Okay, poor Alison, I'm just going to throw that out
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: there too. No, kid, that would be this this whole thing. Well,
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: first of all, her her husband is dead, and then
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: also all this weird shit. You know, you would have
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: no idea what happened or what's going on.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: Now, one other tidbit I want to throw in here,
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: kind of adding to that medical mystery. During the autopsy,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: they did discover potato chips traces in Ray's stomach, which
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: suggested like he had that bag next his computer.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Right, and he was snacking away at home he was.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: So what this means is he likely didn't die long
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: after leaving home.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: Oh okay, that makes sense.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it's not like, oh, this was two days.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: It's like most likely. I mean, he could have eaten
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: potato chips later too, but it's most likely he left
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: home and this incident, whatever it was, occurred, happened shortly
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: thereafter Z.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Clearly that conference room never actually gets used.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so this actually is a direct contradiction to a
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: common belief that he fell much later at around ten pm.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: And we talk about that ten pm time later on.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: So this potato chip could potentially debunk that time. Now,
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: The condition and placement of ray'sed personal items at the
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: scene were equally baffling. As I mentioned, on the roof
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: and around him were some of personal items that were found.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: His eyeglasses were found near the whole which his eyeglasses
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: were nearly untouched, without a single crack or a bend
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: in them. His cell phone, also recovered nearby, was completely undamaged,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: no shattered screen, no dnse nothing. The idea that these
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: fragile items could survive a fourteen story plunge and be
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: found so neatly, basically almost.
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: Placed there makes no sense.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it defies any sort of belief of a great
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: impact basically now. His flip flops did show some scratches
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: in one broken strap, they were largely still intact and
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: bore unusual drag marks. Most perplexing of all was the
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: inexplicable absence of his cherished antique money clip, which was
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: a wedding gift from Allison, one that he had always carried.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Even though his credit card and driver's license were found
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: with him, the money clip was gone, and to top
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: it off, Ray was found in different clothing than he
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: had last been wearing when he left the house. He
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: was last seen wearing a black jacket and those flip flops,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: but now he's wearing a yellow shirt and long green pants,
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: different attire, still the flip flops, but now Perhaps the
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: most critical detail was the inexplicable fact that the rooftop
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: surveillance cameras were mysteriously disconnected on May sixteenth to Ti
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: thousand and six, the very day that Ray had vanished.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: Of course they were.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, despite being fully operational the day before and the day.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: After yep, of course, of course.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: So this meant there was absolutely no footage of Ray
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: entering or leaving the hotel or anything happening on the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: roof beyond the cameras. The hotel itself it had some
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: known security weaknesses. The elevator to the roof was often unlocked,
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: the fire door alarms and even bartenders often sometimes left
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: roof access to the doors propped open and for smoking
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: brakes things like that, like the alarm's not going off,
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: they propped the door open. You know, it's people get
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: in where they probably shouldn't go. So there's a lot
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: of issues with the hotel in that regard. Compounding these
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: issues was the questionable initial handling of the crime scene
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: by police. Few photographs were reportedly taken, Officers were seen
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: allegedly tossing items, and even police cadets were allowed to
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: walk through the crime scene, potentially contaminating crucial evidence. After
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: Ray's body was removed, the conference room was left unsecured
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: and accessible, raising further concerns about the integrity of the scene.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: Ah, that's maddening.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: It is. These lapses, whether intentional or accidental, only added
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: layers of unanswered questions to an already basically impossible puzzle. So,
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: despite the mounting contradictions, police officials, particularly Police Commissioner Fred Bielfeld,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: were quick to dismiss any notion of foul play, stating
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: they had not found a single trace of any information
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: to suggest that there was criminal activity. The initial favored
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: theory leaned heavily towards Ray's death being an intentional act
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: quote unquote on his part. Whether it was a suicide
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: or the result of a potential severe mental breakdown is unknown.
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: I don't know that that's hard to buy. Really. I agree,
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: he had so much like to look forward to and
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: coming up and stuff, right, Yeah, I mean, I guess
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: it could have been overwhelming, but I don't know.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Well, the FBI. They did weigh in speculating that Ray
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: might have suffered from like an undiagnosed schizophrenia or bipolar
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: disorder and influenced by a cryptic note that he left behind.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: This theory was put into play. And yes, that's right,
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: there was a note that he left behind. I haven't
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: really mentioned it yet because it's it's really odd and
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: no one really knows what to make of it. So
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: this weird note can support that theory of you know,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: schizophrenia bipolar disorder. So this note is described as being
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: a multiple page note taped to his computer. The contents
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: of the note were a bunch of unusual and rambling
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: compilations of names, movies, and Masonic mottos and is still
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: a highly debated piece of evidence in this case. So
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: something like this had the FBI and also actually behavioral
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: experts joining in on the line of thinking that you know,
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: undiagnosed schizophrenia or bipolar disorder could be at play, suggesting,
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: you know, Ray's recent paranoia and withdrawal could come a
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: point of or point towards, something like a psychotic break
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: occurring and causing him to do this. Sure, he might
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: have had a lot to look forward to a lot
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: to live for a lot going for him, but all
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: that kind of doesn't really matter if you have this
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: sort of break.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: Mm hmm, that's true. Well, couldn't the note just be
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: like sometimes people write their passwords or stuff like that
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: in kind of hidden code, right, I mean, I guess,
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: Or maybe he was just having fun, or it was
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: just like I don't know, movies he wanted to watch
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: and he's a smart dude and he was just doing
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: it creatively, or I don't know.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's possible. It's possible. But along the same
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: line of this psychotic break thing, some people have floated
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: the idea of like a Truman Show delusion, where you know,
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: Ray might have believed that his life was a staged
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: reality much like of course the Truman Show, but also
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: of the movie The Game, and that he was attempting
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: to replicate a scene for like some victorious revelation or
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: something like. I don't really understand that one myself, but
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: to be fair, I don't think I've seen the movie
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: The Game, only the Truman Show. So however, many, especially
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: those closest to Ray, strongly pushed back against the idea
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: of a suicide or a psychotic break. But whatever anyone believed,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: it didn't take long for the sole detective on the
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: case who openly suspected foul play to be reassigned. Oh
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: why Yeah, it was a move that fueled a lot
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: more speculation as well.
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: Damn Now.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: Alison Ray's wife was unyielding in her conviction, saying that
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: he was not a quitter. This doesn't add up. She
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: argued that as a writer, Ray would have left a clear,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: coherent explanation if he intended to end his life like
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: a letter like that, he would have actually written a
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: proper letter explaining it if that's what he intended to do.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: Beyond Allison's gut feeling, there was all complete absence of
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: any history of mental illness and raised life. And then
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: there were all the physical impossibilities and contradictions that had
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: already emerged, you know, the jump itself defying physics, the
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: autopsy revealing things that simply didn't align with a straightforward fall,
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: and his fragile belongings were found suspiciously intact. These points
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: collectively argued a powerful story against the narrative that the
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: police initially concluded. Another less discussed theory, let's say suggest
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: a bit more of a tragic accident. What if Ray
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: was fatally struck by falling debris or building material from
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: the belvedere itself, It wasn't entirely far fetched for an
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: old building. Author Makita Broughton, a resident of the Belvidere
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: whose apartment overlooked the very rooftop where Ray landed, recalled
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: hearing a loud crash at around ten pm on May sixteenth,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: initially dismissing it as typical city noise. And that's that
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: ten pm estimation where I said the chips in the
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: stomach may suggest otherwise, being that time, the chips in.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: His stomach would suggest that it should have happened.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: Earlier, correct, because digestion wise, yea, yeah, just to clarify,
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: but I mean that's not to say he might not
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: have had chips in the car or grab some snacks.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: You know.
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: He could have had chips elsewhere too.
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah. It was like shit, I left my chips at
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: home and bought some more.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Possibly now. Evidence supporting this theory included the discovery
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: of an old banquet chair dangling off the edge of
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: the roof, raising questions about structural instability or its use
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: of access. Additionally, a missing piece of corner decoration from
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: the building's exterior was noted in the episode of Unsolved
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: Mysteries that covered the story, And there was indeed plaster
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: everywhere in the conference room where Ray's body was found.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: But I also mean, if someone's busting through a roof
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: like that, of course there's going to be plaster and
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: chunks found it. But the core question remained, however, if
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: even there is debris that fell, why was Ray in
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: that particular seemingly random spot on this roof. Why was
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: he there? There were no confirmed sightings of him in
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: the hotel bar, no clear reason of him taking a
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: shortcut or smoking in that specific area. Nothing. Investigative journalist
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: Stephen Janis famously stated, quote he had to come from
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: somewhere else unquote, fueling theories that Ray might have just
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: fallen from a helicopter. Now, this premise suggested a darker
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: scenario where Ray might have uncovered incriminating information and was
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: somehow potentially murdered or you know, in a bad negotiation
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: situation or threat, was then dropped from a elevated height. However,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: detective Michael Bayer quickly dismissed this sighting airspace issues in
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: downtown Baltimore and arguing that the harbor would have been
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: a more logical location for you know, body disposal than
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: dropping it into the city from the sky. Curiously, the
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: Belvedere employee named Gary shiverstradicted this, claiming helicopters frequently flew
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: over the area. Ray's brother, Angel even took it upon
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: himself to investigate air traffic control records and private helicopter rentals,
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: but found no concrete evidence to support this high flying theory.
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: Keep it still, that would make no sense if his
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: phone and glasses and stuff weren't destroyed, you know, even
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: he was thrown from a freaking helicopter.
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: Well not even destroyed a crack, a scuff, Like, there's
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: none of that. Sure, maybe you can argue that he's
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: got a really good phone case and you know what,
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: it could survive a fall from like ten plus stories,
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: maybe even like the fourteen they believe if he jumped
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: from the top. Yeah, sure you can argue that your
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: phone might survive it. But there would be a significant
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: scuff on that case at the very least, and there
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: was none of that.
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: Hmm. Yeah, this case is just mind blow boggling. Really,
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: it really is. Because I'm just sitting here. It's hard
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: to comprehend. I'm trying my Braine come up with what happened,
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: but yeah, it just makes no sense.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now it's no surprise though, that Ray's note filled
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: with references to Freemasonry and famous historical figures and actors
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: and blah blah blah blah. It quickly ignited speculation about
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: the secret society possibility. It was a fact that Ray
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: had developed an intense interest in Freemasonry, devouring books like
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: The Builders The Freemasons for Dummies, and he had even
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: visited a local lodge on the very day he vanished
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: the notes, cryptic Masonic motto quote whom virtue unites, death
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: cannot separate, and also a bizarre reference to quote my
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: primary residence in Argentina end quote. This of course led
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: some to theorize a deeper, possibly more sinister connection, But
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: no matter what you believe, the inconsistencies in the case
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: overwhelmingly pointed away from suicide and potentially towards foul play.
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: So ultimately this led to two primary versions of murder theory,
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: both suggesting Ray's death was a stage scene designed to
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: look like a fall. The very first proposed that Ray's
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: killer met him at his car, perhaps lured him away,
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: murdered him elsewhere, and then transported his body to the Belvedere.
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: They then created the distinctive hole in the roof, likely
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: at around ten PM, placed his body in the conference
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: room below, and meticulously removed whatever object they used to
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: punch through the roof. The intentionally disabled rooftop camera on
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: May sixteenth served as a crucial evidence piece for this theory,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: suggesting a premeditation or potentially a professional hit by individuals
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: who knew the hotel's layout and security weaknesses.
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: See if that makes sense to me.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: The second version focused on the adjacent parking garage. This
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: theory suggests Ray went to the rooftop or sorry, the
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: top of that parking garage, not the rooftop, so he's
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: at the top of the garage to meet someone there,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: he was struck by a car, which launched him over
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: the low three point five foot garage barrier and through
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: the Belvidere's second floor roof below. Physics calculations actually supported
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: this possibility, as a body launched at just thirty miles
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: per hour at a twenty degree angle could travel approximately
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: thirty eight feet, easily clearing the barrier and impacting the
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: roof where Ray landed about thirty feet from the garage wall.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: Energy calculations further show that a two hundred and sixty
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: pound body falling thirty feet generates about ten kilodeles of energy,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: which is more than enough to cause the significant damage
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: Ray sustained. The garages layout allowed a vehicle to gain
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: speed and stomp quickly. What investigators notably didn't do was
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: check local autobody shops for cars with recent hood damage,
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: a potential oversight if this theory held any weight, and
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: I think it honestly does hold some weight.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: Shit, yeah right now, I'm like, okay, I guess that
• 39:58
  Speaker 2: kind of makes sense too. Yeah, that's wild. Mm hmm. Huh.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: So there was even unverified speculation, though without credible evidence,
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: that porter stansbury raised high school friend who had gotten
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: himself had gotten his friend that financial writing job, might
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: have acquired a new vehicle right around this time. Again,
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: that's very speculation, but huh. The important takeaway from both
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: of these murder theories that is that it does show
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: how the scene could have been carefully manipulated to disguise
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: the true nature of Ray's death if someone wanted to
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: do so so.
• 40:36
  Speaker 2: If it was the vehicle, you mean that someone.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: Either way, both murder theories show that this could be
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: a cover up. Yeah, both of these are a possibility.
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: If someone wanted to make it look like an accident
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: look like a death, they could have easily have done so.
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: And you don't think that him getting hit by the
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: car would have been an accident?
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: No, not like that? Okay, no, because it would have
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: been going thirty miles an hour in a parking garage
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: and specifically strike this guy.
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: True. True, What if someone wasn't paying attention just like boom,
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: I feel like it could potentially be an accident and
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: then they covered it up.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: I think if that's the case, the car would have
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: gone over the rail too. This person would have had
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: to be going that fast, struck him and known to
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: have to stop. If the other person wasn't paying attention,
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: they wouldn't have had the reflexes they stop in time
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: and potentially gone over as well.
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: Fine, Okay, human suck, this was intentional.
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: Now, at the very heart of the mystery from the
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: moment Ray vanished was the pivotal phone call, you know,
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: the one where he said, oh shit before heading out
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: the door. In the frantic hours that followed Ray's disappearance,
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: investigators moved swiftly to trace the origin of that pivotal
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: last phone call. The number Ray was speaking to when
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: he exclaimed oh shit was quickly identified. It belonged to
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: the Agora Switchboard, the central phone system for the very
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: company where Ray and Port of Stansbury had worked. This
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: was a critical piece of information, yet it quickly became
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: a source of immense frustration because despite the immedia effort
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: to identify who made the call, the precise individual or
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: specific office remained untraceable. All they know is that it
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: came from the Agora switchboard. Shit, okay, basically swallowed by
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: the vast complex network of the various businesses and everything.
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: Lots of places are like that anyone can phone and
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: it only kind of shows one number on the caller
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: display and stuff. Yeah.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: Now, Porter raised old friend and former boss claimed his
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: company was on a retreat at the time, offering no
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: further clarity, and the police, for reasons that remain unclear,
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: failed to conduct a thorough examination of that actual Agora
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: switchboard records. They just basically stopped and said, Okay, I
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: guess we lost it. It could have been a crucial
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: piece of evidence if they had actually pinpointed the exact
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: extension or original line. Yeah, but it seems like again
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: speculation that they didn't really dive into actually try and
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: find it. It was like, oh, dead end, all right.
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: So this missed opportunity left a gaping hole at the
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: very beginning of Ray's disappearance, with the identity of this
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: last caller still shrouded in mystery. It was just a
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: big old question mark. Now back to Porter, though his
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: reaction to Ray's death only intensified scrutiny. He quickly hired
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: a lawyer, and it was widely reported he had gag
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: issued orders. So he had gag orders forbidding his employees
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: from speaking to the police or cooperating with the investigation,
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: a claim that he has since denied. However, so whether
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: it is true or not, I'm unsure.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: This is the Porter dude, right, yeah, correct.
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: So this immediate distancing, combined with a Gora's own checkered pass,
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: fueled speculation because you see, just a year before Ray
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: joined Gora had faced significant legal trouble, including a sec
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: violations which SEC stands for the United Securities and Exchange Commissions,
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: which ultimately resulted in a one point five million dollar
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: fine for disseminating false or misleading information. So, given this history,
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: theory began to circulate. What if Ray, through his work
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: or his own investigations, had uncovered sensitive financial information on
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: the company, perhaps involving insider trading or market manipulation, and
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: planned to expose it. So the atmosphere surrounding Agora grew
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: even more tense as the investigation lingered. Jane Miller, a
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: reporter for WBALTV, became deeply involved, connecting with Jennifer Ray's
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: closest sorry, Jennifer Ray's closest friend. Now. Jennifer issued a
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: chilling warning to Jane, this reporter, advising her to proceed
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: with extreme caution and hinting at quote serious consequences if
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: the investigation into Ray's death continued. She explicitly stated, quote,
• 44:52
  Speaker 1: the people who killed Ray will stop at nothing.
• 44:55
  Speaker 2: Oh okay, that's scary now.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: This was amplified by an in incident when a local
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: reporter who was also looking into the case reportedly had
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: his house burned down, an incident later ruled an accident,
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: but one that caused the reporter to immediately distance himself
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: from the story and raise a lot of red flags
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: for a lot of people. H Porter Stansbury and his
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: firm continued their aggressive stance, even sending the cease and
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: Assist letter to Netflix regarding the Unsolved Mystery case, betraying
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: this despite the show undergoing rigorous fact checking.
• 45:29
  Speaker 2: Still hmm, okay, okay, I am very I am like
• 45:35
  Speaker 2: ninety nine percent sure that he did not harm himself.
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: I am kind of with you on that, yeah. Now.
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: Gori's lawyers also sent an angry email to Jane Miller,
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: accusing her of making deplorable connections, demonstrating their fierce protectiveness
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: over their reputation.
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: Perhaps one of the most intriguing and unnerving details surrounding
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: Agrea's involvement came to light through the Unsolved Mysteries producer
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: Terry Dunn m er Mueller. No, there's no l mew
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: or er mr er. That's literally me e u r
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: e r merr Okay. She revealed that someone had mysteriously
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: called the Baltimore Police station a couple times after rais death,
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: not to offer information, though, but to specifically ask to
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: pick up raise computer, and they showed a lot of
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: interest in their status of this computer and the investigation.
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so this.
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: Persistent and unusual interest and raised, you know, digital devices
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: electronics immediately raised crucial questions. One vital clues known only
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: to a potential killer might have been hidden on those computers.
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: The identity of the caller might actually still remain unknown.
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: But it's still just okay, what were they after? Now,
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: there's still one bit of this story, one perspective that
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: I haven't touched on just yet. And that's kind of
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: what you were alluding to at the very beginning. The
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: friend that a person who largely in the was largely
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: sitting in the background, Claudia, Allison's coworker, who arrived at
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: the home just before Ray went out the door. She
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: was kind of like quasi house sitting against Now, Claudia
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: holds a unique and significant position of being the last
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: known person to see Ray alive. However, much of what
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: we know about her interactions with Ray that evening comes
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: second hand, primarily from Allison's retelling of Claudia's accounts. This
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: led some to perceive an unusualness of the situation, particularly
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: the detail that Allison had left Ray alone with a
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: female colleague of friend, right, a point that, despite Allison's
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: later suspicions about the case itself, rarely seemed to be
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: really deeply explored. Now. Adding to the questions about Claudia
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: was her swift exit see she departed for New York
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: the very next day after Ray's body was found. For
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: many following the case, Claudia's perspective has been largely unscrutinized,
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: and her absence from later documentaries or deep dive investigations
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: or anything has only served to reinforce people questioning her
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: as a link somehow or some way. Now years have
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: passed since Ray Rivera has vanished and was found dead
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: in that conference room, but his death officially remains a
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: chillingly open case, the cause of death still listed as undetermined.
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: Despite the initial police theories, the evidence against a straightforward
• 48:24
  Speaker 1: SUVI suicide. It's overwhelming. The sheer physics of such a
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: jump made it practically impossible for anyone to achieve, let
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: alone someone with raised fear of heights and footwear at
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: the time. The autopsy, rather than providing clarity, only added
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: more questions, revealing injuries inconsistent with a typical fall and
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: a surprising lack of reflexive defensive wounds. The undamaged state
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: of the personal items found at the scene, combined with
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: the severity of his injuries, it seemed to devi logic.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: And the unsettling security failures at the Belvedere, coupled with
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: rays escalating paranoia in his final weeks, painted a picture
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: far more complicated than a simple tragic end. Beyond the
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: physical evidence, a persistent shadow of Agora looms large. Who
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: made that untraceable call from their switchboard? What if anything,
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: did Race stumble upon in the world of financial information
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: that could have led to such a drastic outcome, you know,
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: a potential murder? What was the real motive if murder
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: was indeed the cause? And who was the mysterious caller
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: who desperately was interested in Ray's computer after his death?
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: These questions just simply remain unanswered. Ray's story is a
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: true crime enigma, a puzzle with too many missing pieces
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: and too many that simply just don't fit. Despite the
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: extensive investigation, the theories, the public fascination, the truth about
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: what happened on May sixteenth, two thousand and six continues
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: to elude all of us. Sadly, it's an interesting end
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: for Ray, tragic yet ironic. Almost the aspiring filmmaker poised
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: for a new chapter in Hollywood instead became the central
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: figure of a real life mystery far more complex than
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: any script he likely could have ever written. And that's
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: the impossible death of Ray Riviera.
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: Hmm. This one gets me because I feel like this
• 50:21
  Speaker 2: one should be solved.
• 50:23
  Speaker 1: I agree. I do want to before you go any further, sorry,
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: I just want to make a clarification. Ray Rivera. I
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: started saying his name at the beginning, right, and I
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: started saying Rivie Era as we were, so, okay, it's Rivera.
• 50:35
  Speaker 2: I just feel like it should be solved and that
• 50:38
  Speaker 2: there could be potential like cover ups or something. I
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: am glad that his on like his death certificate, it
• 50:47
  Speaker 2: doesn't say because I was thinking this was going to
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: end where it was just deemed suicide and like that
• 50:52
  Speaker 2: was it. So I am glad that the death certificate
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: doesn't say that.
• 50:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah. No, it's it's basically just a big old question
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: mark across the tire board.
• 51:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, but it does seem like there was enough evidence
• 51:05
  Speaker 2: and stuff there what evidence that it could have been solved.
• 51:10
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I just like, like the body, you know,
• 51:15
  Speaker 2: where it happened. I guess, yeah, there the fact that
• 51:17
  Speaker 2: there was no cameras, but like the phone call coming
• 51:21
  Speaker 2: where the phone call was coming from.
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: Like, it seems like there's some loose ends that weren't
• 51:25
  Speaker 1: properly investigated. I agree with you, But as far as evidence,
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: I don't think there is any. Well, yeah, those loose
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: ends could have led to evidence for sure.
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: Okay, not evidence, but yeah, there just seems like I
• 51:35
  Speaker 2: don't know. This one bugs me that it's not solved.
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: Well, like I said, this entire case, basically everything I
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: said is pretty much entirely pure speculation.
• 51:44
  Speaker 2: Hmmm. Shit for a friggin murder like that to happen,
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: and just you know, no one is held accountable. Yeah huh.
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: And then yeah, I can't imagine how Alison just like
• 51:57
  Speaker 2: goes forward because it seems pretty have it pretty clear.
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: That something happened someone, someone did something to him.
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: I agree, And no one is having to pay the present. Yeah.
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: So anyways, Nichole's got to hit the road in her
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: road trip. So thank you for being here. We appreciate you.
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: Links in the description of this show go check it out,
• 52:19
  Speaker 1: give us a review. We appreciate it because those reviews
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: go a long way. As an indie podcast, produced, hosted research,
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: all of it by our little lonesome in our little
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: tiny home. Things like that really help up get our
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: name out and gets to new listeners to view. Does
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: new people who want to, you know, share this story
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: as well and learn and be here chatting with us
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: about nothing at the beginning of the show, just like you.
• 52:43
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, okay, that was quite the ending. Thank
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: you for listening, and yeah, we'll chat with you next week.
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll chat about nothing every time.
• 52:51
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I'm just ending.
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: This all right, go for it. You got it.
• 52:56
  Speaker 2: Day Wicked