In the autumn of 1975, a shadow fell over the quiet borough of Haworth, New Jersey, with the disappearance of 26-year-old Susan Reynes. On October 6th, the young woman vanished from the presumed safety of her own home, leaving behind a community gripped by a sudden and unnerving fear. For three weeks, her whereabouts remained a mystery, a period of agonizing uncertainty for her loved ones and a source of growing unease for local residents.
The grim reality of her fate was uncovered in late October when her remains were discovered in a wooded area in Rockland County, New York, just across the state line. An autopsy would later confirm that Susan Reynes had been strangled.
The investigation into her death soon unearthed a sinister connection to another local tragedy. Just eight days after Reynes's disappearance, 22-year-old Susan Reeve of nearby Demarest also went missing. The discovery of both women's bodies around the same time and in similar locations pointed to the chilling possibility of a serial predator. Law enforcement's attention eventually turned to Robert Reldan, a man from Tenafly with a prior conviction for rape. Reldan was initially arrested on an attempted burglary charge on October 31, 1975.
As detectives delved deeper into Reldan's activities, the pieces of a horrifying puzzle began to fall into place. He was linked not only to the murders of Susan Reynes and Susan Reeve but also to a string of other violent crimes against young women in the northern New Jersey area. In 1979, Robert Reldan was convicted for the murders of both Susan Reynes and Susan Reeve and was sentenced to life in prison. The community was left to grapple with the brutal acts of a man who would come to be known as the 'Susan Strangler,' a name that served as a grim reminder of the lives he had stolen.
