I am watching as I write, but it seems to me that an important question that could have been answered was not. I'm sure there is a formula (speed, weight and distance between launch and impact) that would determine if Ray could have jumped to his death and landed where he did. Any physics majors out there?
22 Reviews
Great episode
rustanL3 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I really enjoyed watching this episode. I am still wondering why they did not discuss details of the incoming phone call that he received. His cell phone was apparently intact. And the phone company would have his call logs.
A Perfect Reboot
mrrobot7872 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Watch this episode!!! As good as the original, low bias, and rich with facts.
This episode is the most intriguing one so far in the new series, I have seen all except episode 6. It is difficult to say what makes this episode so good, but it feels like an episode from the original. I think the love story between the deceased and the wife makes it so much more believable that the official story is not what happened. The lead detective also carries that opinion, which differs from some of the later episodes. As the episode progressed I went from believing that it was a suicide with someone who hid their pain well to believing that some powerful individuals had something to hide.
This episode is the most intriguing one so far in the new series, I have seen all except episode 6. It is difficult to say what makes this episode so good, but it feels like an episode from the original. I think the love story between the deceased and the wife makes it so much more believable that the official story is not what happened. The lead detective also carries that opinion, which differs from some of the later episodes. As the episode progressed I went from believing that it was a suicide with someone who hid their pain well to believing that some powerful individuals had something to hide.
Very sad episode
emmabmurphy4 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was really sad. Some have said there was no mystery to it but I don't agree. What was the call about? How did he end up making that hole in the roof so far out from the ledge? Why were his phone and glasses still intact? Then what was that note about?
Unsolved Mysteries is back.
cruise013 July 2020
Interesting
goldo-356196 July 2020
ONLY GOES TOE DEEP
csutphin9430 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I liked this pilot a lot. An interesting case, great on camera interviews, sincere home footage. The major problem I have is how little this show goes into the case itself. There are numerous details that could have been provided to viewers to add to the story, build upon the evidence, and perhaps lead to progressive theories. Rey was terrified of heights - seems like a very important detail... Why is no real effort made to nail down employees of Stansberry? This case should be expanded upon via a miniseries. This case has to at least be a 2 hour feature. Overall good production; the detail and research is underwhelming.
Intriguing mystery
Calicodreamin5 July 2020
Suicide Or Murder?
sundayatdusk-9785912 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
How Rey Rivera died was indeed a mystery. Nevertheless, this episode obviously was very tilted in the direction that his death was murder and not suicide. One, his wife said no one rushes out the door to go kill himself. Maybe not or maybe so. The phone call he received suggested he may have met up with someone, and that someone may have given him news that resulted in him killing himself. Or that he drove around a while after the call, thinking of what he should do about bad news he received in the call, and then decided there was nothing to do but die.
Two, the police detective who thought it was highly unlikely he could have jumped so far across an area to land where he landed on a lower roof, may not have been taking into account the superpowers of adrenalin. If he was going to jump, adrenalin must have been pumping through his body at full speed. Some individuals have singlehandedly lifted up a car off of someone underneath it when their adrenalin was pumping so fast. Could it also make a man leap much farther than he normally would have been able to leap?
Three, his wife was sure that note taped behind the PC was not a suicide note, but it was an odd note that seemed to want to record all the movies and such in his life that were most important to him. Was it written to verify his life had meaning? Or to convince him that life was still meaningful to go on living? He was obviously a writer who failed to make a living at the type of writing he did. Why did he tape the note in back of the PC, too, unless he wanted to make certain it could be found by someone other than himself?
His relationship with his best friend whom he worked for also should have been more closely examined. Both what type of business was being conducted in the firm, and what type of friendship he truly had with his friend. Maybe this long-term friendship was more than just a casual friendship, and that would cause devastation in his new marriage if discovered. Or maybe the business he was doing with his friend was going to cause him to be sued, and he and his wife might lose everything. The fact his best friend would not speak of Rey Rivera's death is a good sign he was somehow involved in it, regardless if it was suicide or murder.
If it was suicide, hopefully anyone watching this episode who is contemplating suicide, will see what devastation suicide causes to family members. Here was a man who was incredibly loved and missed by his wife and family. If it was murder, hopefully one day the case will be solved and the killer or killers will be exposed. It may be only one person knows what happened, however, and he will take what he knows to his grave.
Two, the police detective who thought it was highly unlikely he could have jumped so far across an area to land where he landed on a lower roof, may not have been taking into account the superpowers of adrenalin. If he was going to jump, adrenalin must have been pumping through his body at full speed. Some individuals have singlehandedly lifted up a car off of someone underneath it when their adrenalin was pumping so fast. Could it also make a man leap much farther than he normally would have been able to leap?
Three, his wife was sure that note taped behind the PC was not a suicide note, but it was an odd note that seemed to want to record all the movies and such in his life that were most important to him. Was it written to verify his life had meaning? Or to convince him that life was still meaningful to go on living? He was obviously a writer who failed to make a living at the type of writing he did. Why did he tape the note in back of the PC, too, unless he wanted to make certain it could be found by someone other than himself?
His relationship with his best friend whom he worked for also should have been more closely examined. Both what type of business was being conducted in the firm, and what type of friendship he truly had with his friend. Maybe this long-term friendship was more than just a casual friendship, and that would cause devastation in his new marriage if discovered. Or maybe the business he was doing with his friend was going to cause him to be sued, and he and his wife might lose everything. The fact his best friend would not speak of Rey Rivera's death is a good sign he was somehow involved in it, regardless if it was suicide or murder.
If it was suicide, hopefully anyone watching this episode who is contemplating suicide, will see what devastation suicide causes to family members. Here was a man who was incredibly loved and missed by his wife and family. If it was murder, hopefully one day the case will be solved and the killer or killers will be exposed. It may be only one person knows what happened, however, and he will take what he knows to his grave.
Theory
ammmy-1388512 March 2023
I have a feeling, there is someone in Rey office who tried to help him by telling him to run away from someone and hide. Not sure what information Rey has but its something big and thats what was bothering him. Those alarm could be break ins attempts to his house. That note might have key to some documents or something which is what Rey was hidding. He might have ran off to the nearby hotel to hide himself. The time of phone call and ticket in parking lot could give us time between when he actually parked in hotel. Also time of death could conclude if he died on same day he went missing or he rented a room in the hotel and stayed. Was the rooftop open for 8 days? If it was not open then theory conclude he rented a room and when someone who tried to kill him.he might have tried to go out of the window to hide and slipped and fell hence the broken flip flop. Now why the phone is not broken or glasses? Did someone did a sloppy job in the hotel to save hotel reputation? Check the entry details for the people who stayed in that hotel from day of missing to body found day and call everyone in list, if someone name or number doesn't match that could be Reys alias which he was using. There is someone in hotel or killer tried to coverup by placing the Mobile and glasses unscratched near by body and closed the door. That was sloppy job. Also cctv is disconnected means they don't want to know who else was their in the room. So check all the room which was covered by shutdown camera angle.
6
Edvis-199727 February 2021
In order to create a mystery...
sendcherylemail1 October 2020
In order to make this first episode a mystery, the producers left out important information. The note that Alison found taped to the back of Rey's desk sounded like it was written by someone who was suffering from a serious mental condition, so I did some investigating of my own and it appears that there is a possibility he was psychologically compromised at the time of his death. According to his friends, Rey Rivera had been behaving and speaking oddly in the days before his death. I'm not saying that his friends were right and his wife was wrong, but leaving out this information-and it was indeed information the producers had access to as they conducted in-depth interviews with Mikita Brottman, who wrote a book on the tragedy of Rey Rivera-was a calculated measure to manipulate the audience. Leaving out the possible connection between what happened that night and Rey Rivera's mental health may have heightened the mystery but it also compromised the show's integrity. That said, I found the story telling and style of this updated version of Unsolved Mysteries compelling and interesting; however, I feel viewers should watch this series with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Suicide or Murder?
Pequod883 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Suicide or murder?
A compelling mystery with plenty of unanswered questions. The nearly impossible trajectory and unlikely hole in the roof make suicide an extreme long shot. Was the hole made with a sledgehammer rather than a body? A running start on the hotel roof (in flip flops!) would be highly unlikely to get one to the location of the hole. No motive for suicide was suggested. The possibility of mental difficulties is alluded to with the odd note found on the back of the computer.
The most suspicious elements all point to the company/employer, who was fined over a million dollars by the SEC for fraud. Why would a financial company hire Rey to write (co-author) the newsletters? He had no expertise in stocks. The "rebound review" had his name on it, so anyone defrauded could have blamed Rey for the bad advice. Who set off the home alarm on two different evenings? Why were they there?
The call that led Rey to rush from home the night he vanished came from the workplace. Stansberry likely made this call. Was Rey the fall guy for the company's shady newsletter? Did a powerful, wealthy investor take revenge for bad financial advice? Stansberry would not speak with the police or the documentary crew.
Detective Baier smelled a rat. He offered specific information and informed insights. While the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death (murder or suicide?), the case was closed as likely suicide, and he was reassigned. Pity. The particulars of the company's financial shenanigans were never investigated. The "old friend" refused to speak about the matter.
While defamation must be avoided and lawyers would need to review the edited episode for legal exposure, this compelling "Mystery on the Rooftop" leaves a ton of questions for viewers to consider. Allison (Rey's widow) is a credible voice whose frustration rings true. She had a lot of time to consider the facts surrounding Rey's death. That she still sees suicide as all but impossible is telling. The mystery is unlikely to ever be solved, even by someone with a book to sell.
A compelling mystery with plenty of unanswered questions. The nearly impossible trajectory and unlikely hole in the roof make suicide an extreme long shot. Was the hole made with a sledgehammer rather than a body? A running start on the hotel roof (in flip flops!) would be highly unlikely to get one to the location of the hole. No motive for suicide was suggested. The possibility of mental difficulties is alluded to with the odd note found on the back of the computer.
The most suspicious elements all point to the company/employer, who was fined over a million dollars by the SEC for fraud. Why would a financial company hire Rey to write (co-author) the newsletters? He had no expertise in stocks. The "rebound review" had his name on it, so anyone defrauded could have blamed Rey for the bad advice. Who set off the home alarm on two different evenings? Why were they there?
The call that led Rey to rush from home the night he vanished came from the workplace. Stansberry likely made this call. Was Rey the fall guy for the company's shady newsletter? Did a powerful, wealthy investor take revenge for bad financial advice? Stansberry would not speak with the police or the documentary crew.
Detective Baier smelled a rat. He offered specific information and informed insights. While the medical examiner could not determine the cause of death (murder or suicide?), the case was closed as likely suicide, and he was reassigned. Pity. The particulars of the company's financial shenanigans were never investigated. The "old friend" refused to speak about the matter.
While defamation must be avoided and lawyers would need to review the edited episode for legal exposure, this compelling "Mystery on the Rooftop" leaves a ton of questions for viewers to consider. Allison (Rey's widow) is a credible voice whose frustration rings true. She had a lot of time to consider the facts surrounding Rey's death. That she still sees suicide as all but impossible is telling. The mystery is unlikely to ever be solved, even by someone with a book to sell.
10 minutes of material stretched out to 52 min
micke_laine9 July 2020
The documentary ain't good.
They are missing or leaving out important facts.
There must have been a lot more information in this case.
Did the hole have any blood or clothes from Rey?
Overall this documentary feels sloppy.
Like they had 10 minutes of material and stretched it out to 52 minutes.
Less investigation and more emotional drama
rogershawkeye16 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Just finished watching this episode and didn't really like it to be honest. There was more emotional drama and less investigation.
When Rey's family located the car, why didn't they immediately call the police? They called the police when that hole was spotted! The car was found in the area close to the building where Rey worked so how come the police did not find it first? Didn't they search the area where he worked after he went missing? How come the wife was the one the search the house and found the note when the police was supposed to do that? It seemed to me that the wife was doing more investigation than the police. Is the company where Rey worked so powerful that even after finding out that the call came from the company building, the police wasn't allowed to talk to anyone from the company? About at the end of the episode the wife reveals that Rey was worried about something 2 weeks before his death. Such an important information she didn't tell before.
The episode was more focused on the personal feelings and emotions than the police investigation.
When Rey's family located the car, why didn't they immediately call the police? They called the police when that hole was spotted! The car was found in the area close to the building where Rey worked so how come the police did not find it first? Didn't they search the area where he worked after he went missing? How come the wife was the one the search the house and found the note when the police was supposed to do that? It seemed to me that the wife was doing more investigation than the police. Is the company where Rey worked so powerful that even after finding out that the call came from the company building, the police wasn't allowed to talk to anyone from the company? About at the end of the episode the wife reveals that Rey was worried about something 2 weeks before his death. Such an important information she didn't tell before.
The episode was more focused on the personal feelings and emotions than the police investigation.
Hello!!!
chevellesss-6311612 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Someone should send the police a copy of Mulholland Falls. That's what happened to this guy. He was clearly dumped from a helicopter or small plane and than had his car and items moved over to the hotel. I don't know maybe he was an Olympic long jumper that could cover the 40' distance from the edge of the hotel Roof to the hole in the roof where he landed below.
Forensic Files is MUCH MUCH Better
linyili-769066 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Having watched 200+ episodes of forensic files, this is almost unwatchable, here is why:
1. Never rely too much on the family, except for hard evidences. People, especially people commit crimes/suicide, usually have many things unknown to all family members. And families have too many interests related. They spent half of the time interviewing 2 family members, which are practically a waste of time.
2. Maybe I have missed but I don't think so. They didn't even mention the calls the victim made/received on the day of death, which is very critical for obvious reasons.
3. This is quite clear a suicide to me. There's no way anyone could throw him to the rooftop from a place high enough to make the hole. However, he could have jumped from the hotel. Because the fall is so high, there will be more time before he will hit the roof, so the distance is reachable. As for the intact glasses and cell phone, if he landed on his back, holding his cell phone, both the glasses and cell phone would have bounced when he hit the rooftop and remian intact. It doesn't happen very often but it's quite plausible to me. At the very minimal, they should have discussed how long it takes to fall from the hotel to the roof, and how fast he has to travel to hit the rooftop, and if the speed is possible.
Abandoned the series.
1. Never rely too much on the family, except for hard evidences. People, especially people commit crimes/suicide, usually have many things unknown to all family members. And families have too many interests related. They spent half of the time interviewing 2 family members, which are practically a waste of time.
2. Maybe I have missed but I don't think so. They didn't even mention the calls the victim made/received on the day of death, which is very critical for obvious reasons.
3. This is quite clear a suicide to me. There's no way anyone could throw him to the rooftop from a place high enough to make the hole. However, he could have jumped from the hotel. Because the fall is so high, there will be more time before he will hit the roof, so the distance is reachable. As for the intact glasses and cell phone, if he landed on his back, holding his cell phone, both the glasses and cell phone would have bounced when he hit the rooftop and remian intact. It doesn't happen very often but it's quite plausible to me. At the very minimal, they should have discussed how long it takes to fall from the hotel to the roof, and how fast he has to travel to hit the rooftop, and if the speed is possible.
Abandoned the series.
Mystery on the Rooftop.
bombersflyup17 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Goes on about a lot before mentioning the fraudulent financial advice and someone trying to get into the house nights before, along with the best friend not talking and Rey ready to defend himself in fear. That's where it starts and ends. As for entertainment, it's not creepy and mysterious like the old show, here anyway. Much of the episode's family talking, with little investigation.
Reaching hard for mystery...
ShaanChaudhry2 July 2020
For a first episode to launch the new Unsolved Mysteries I felt this episode was weak. They took a seemingly straightforward yet unfortunate tragedy and basically force mystery on it to make it more dramatic and complex than it actually is. Don't get me wrong I feel for the family involved because in situations like this it's hard for family to accept sometimes. But when you look at it objectively it's pretty clear what happened. They reach hard to throw things in the mix to raise questions and as a family member I probably would too, as a viewer though it's pretty clear cut. Again, just my two cents.
Something Undetermined
theforager2 July 2020
Its a real tragic and sad story about a young guy found dead. But there was no clue how it actually happened. The documentary covers all what has happened. But it does not make it mysterious rather than something without any conclusion as no information is available.
Boring
DzorzK27 February 2023
This story could have been told in five minutes or less.
Can't believe they made this the first episode of the remake.
True crime is entertainment, which means you need to have som skill as a director of the documentary tv-series.
In the original show, they had multiple cases in each episode. I think this would have been a good idea here as well. They just chose to drag it out for obvious reasons.
Some might say I'm being insensitive to the ones affected by this case, but I'm not the one who put it on Netflix. It's very slow paced and there are tons of details that are totally useless for the viewer.
The first quarter of it is just describing the victim. The next quarter is describing the circumstances of the supposed suicide. On and on and on we get interview subjects coming to the conclusion: "This could not have been a suicide". OK WE GET IT! On with the narrative....
I'm done. The second episode was exactly the same, couldn't watch the whole thing.
Can't believe they made this the first episode of the remake.
True crime is entertainment, which means you need to have som skill as a director of the documentary tv-series.
In the original show, they had multiple cases in each episode. I think this would have been a good idea here as well. They just chose to drag it out for obvious reasons.
Some might say I'm being insensitive to the ones affected by this case, but I'm not the one who put it on Netflix. It's very slow paced and there are tons of details that are totally useless for the viewer.
The first quarter of it is just describing the victim. The next quarter is describing the circumstances of the supposed suicide. On and on and on we get interview subjects coming to the conclusion: "This could not have been a suicide". OK WE GET IT! On with the narrative....
I'm done. The second episode was exactly the same, couldn't watch the whole thing.
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