The first episode of Netflix's reboot of Unsolved Mysteries revolves around the mysterious death of Rey Rivera, who took over in May 2006. After getting the call and rushing out of the home, he appeared to fall from the roof of Baltimore's Belvedere Hotel. There were some less than plausible elements in his death, including the fact that his phone and glasses were somehow intact, and while trying to piece together what happened, Rivera's family discovered a puzzling note taped to the back of his computer. note. Internet sleuths have since proposed multiple theories about Rivera's notes and how they were connected.
According to WBAL-TV, the letter was printed in very small font (viewers can see it for themselves in the Google Drive evidence shared by Netflix). In the episode, Rivera's wife, Allison, said she knew her husband wrote the note the day he disappeared "because there were scraps in the trash."
The exact wording of the letter was difficult to read due to the small font size, so Reddit user Zestyclose_Run850 transcribed the text in full. As expected, the results are mysterious. Former police commander Mel Blizzard told WBAL that Rivera's notes "seem to be a weird kind of conscious writing," adding that he may have been "writing to someone in some type of code something”.
Here's what Reddit users are speculating.
1.It is related to Freemasonry
Rivera had been interested in Freemasonry before his disappearance, reading several books on the subject and even meeting a member, WBAL-TV reported. Some of the wording in his note appears to be a reference to Freemasonry - most notably his opening line, "Virtue unites, death shall not separate." He also lists a number of shows, movies and books that, and a long list of family members and celebrities he would like to make him "five years younger."
Therefore, Redditor GoldenR16180 speculated that Rivera may have written the note because Freemasons are not supposed to share their organization's secrets. The user speculated that his audience was "Freemasons, and the quotes, movies, and names are all tributes to the secret traditions of Freemasonry." They even offered an explanation for the blank check found in the letter, speculating it was Rivera's initiation fee.
2. This is a speech
Reddit user samyfearless had a similar theory, speculating that Rivera was writing a speech (though not necessarily one directed at the Freemasons). "The writing is stylized, makes more sense, and appears clearer when spoken," they wrote in part. "The beginning is dramatic, like a speech. The ending is also dramatic and seems to elicit applause from the audience."
3. Rivera is acting in the movie "The Game"
One of the films Rivera mentioned in his notes was David Fincher's "The Game," about a banker named Nicholas Van Outen (Michael Douglas) who plays He joins a well-planned plan and ultimately jumps off the roof of a building. Reddit user zumalightblue speculated that Rivera was acting in the film, but Unsolved Mysteries co-creator Terry Dunn Meurer shot down the idea in an interview with Entertainment Weekly . Morell explained that she discussed the theory with Rivera's wife, Allison, who spent a lot of time analyzing the note, but she couldn't find a deeper connection. "Rey loved a lot of different types of movies. He was a guy who was interested in everything," Morel said . "If that was all he had left, or if it was the only random thing he wrote, then people would be more suspicious."
4. Rivera suffered from mental illness
Given the tortuous nature of Rivera's notes, some viewers speculated that he suffered from mental illness. Fans of Unsolved Mysteries have speculated that Rivera suffered from something called a "Truman Show delusion," which Psychology Today explains is when people believe they are in a TV show-like scenario. Others speculated that Rivera committed suicide after suffering a mental breakdown. However, police told WBAL-TV that Rivera had no history of mental illness and Rivera's wife did not believe it was a suicide.
"[Alison] believed that if he was going to [suicide], he would leave a note for [her] and the family explaining why and what happened," Morrell told Nerdist. "It's rare that someone who commits suicide leaves a note, or people don't see it coming... She also said, 'Because Rey is a writer, he leaves a beautiful note.'"
5. Rivera’s comments in the code
Reddit user quartzlizard speculated that the entire note was actually written to spell out the world "HELP", while others have floated the idea that it was written in a code like Gematria. However, Vrontasaurus is not convinced, writing in a Google document that there are too many meanings when you plug the phrase into an online Gematria decoder such as gematrix.org. "I'm not saying Rey *didn't* encode all or part of the annotation in Gematria, but I think that's an unproductive avenue to explore without further information," the user wrote in part.
6. This is the beginning of the script
Rivera was an aspiring screenwriter, and some viewers have speculated that his notes were actually the beginning of the script — something called a tone or mood scroll. Morel told Nerdist that Allison also believed that might be the case, and that her late husband was doing research for the script.
7. This is just a note
Maybe this mysterious paper had nothing to do with Rivera's death at all and was just his innocuous ramblings. Reddit user e6r6i6c believes it's a password list, while Lostscribe007 speculates it's "just a loose collection of notes and nothing more... Rey had no idea he was going to die the night he or I were killed" I'm sure if he were to stay Include detailed information on your next note so it won't seem mysterious and confusing. "
Ultimately, Meurer decided it wasn't worth speculating. "Alison knew Rae and knew that note better than anyone, and she said to me, 'I know where every part of that note came from. What I didn't understand was why they were all in this letter form. Put it together,'" she told Nerdist. "So if Allison can't figure it out and the FBI can't figure it out, I'm not even going to hazard a guess."
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. You can also call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or your local suicide crisis center .
