Robert Reldan

Serial Killer

Robert Reldan: The Bergen County Strangler

Background and Early Criminal Behavior

Robert Reldan was an American murderer, serial rapist and suspected serial killer whose crimes created fear throughout Bergen County, New Jersey, during the 1970s. Born Robert Nadler on June 2, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, he moved with his family to Fort Lee, New Jersey, when he was approximately eleven years old. He was later known by his stepfather's surname, Reldan. Intelligent, articulate and outwardly personable, he developed a reputation for appearing friendly and trustworthy. This ability to make others feel comfortable reportedly led to his nickname, "The Charmer." Behind that carefully maintained image, however, was a long pattern of burglary, sexual violence, manipulation and murder. Reldan's violence against women began years before the murders for which he was ultimately convicted. As a young man, he entered homes and attacked women, sometimes selecting residences after observing the occupants or learning their routines. In one early attack, he entered the bedroom of a teenage girl during the night and sexually assaulted her. Additional women later described similar encounters in which Reldan used surprise, threats and physical force to overpower them. During the 1960s, Reldan was convicted of violent sexual offenses and sent to prison. He was eventually transferred to a treatment institution for offenders considered to have compulsive sexual behavior. Despite the danger demonstrated by his previous crimes, he was released in the early 1970s. His freedom placed him back in the same suburban region where he knew the roads, residential neighborhoods and wooded areas well. Within a short time, women in northern New Jersey began disappearing under circumstances that investigators would later connect to him.

The 1975 "Susan" Murders

Reldan was convicted of murdering two young women in October 1975: Susan Heynes and Susan Reeve. Both lived in Bergen County, both disappeared close to their homes, and both were found nude in isolated areas of neighboring Rockland County, New York. Each woman had been strangled with a ligature made from pantyhose. The similarities were so striking that the crimes became known as the "Susan murders" or "Susan strangulations."

• Susan Johnstone Heynes, age 26 October 6, 1975 Haworth, New Jersey: Heynes, whose surname was sometimes misspelled as Reynes in later accounts, disappeared from her Haworth home on October 6, 1975. Investigators concluded that she was abducted and killed shortly after she vanished. Her nude body was discovered on October 27, 1975, partially concealed beneath broken tree branches in a wooded section of Valley Cottage in Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York. The medical examiner determined that she had been murdered by ligature strangulation.
• Susan Reeve, age 22 October 14, 1975 Demarest, New Jersey: Reeve disappeared on the evening of October 14, 1975, while walking near her parents' home in Demarest. A witness saw her beside a man near a station wagon and sensed that something was wrong. Her nude body was found on October 28, 1975, partially concealed by vegetation in Tallman Mountain State Park in Rockland County, New York. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled with pantyhose.

The two women disappeared only eight days apart. Their bodies were abandoned approximately thirteen miles from one another, suggesting that the killer was familiar with both Bergen County and the less populated areas across the New York state line. The method of concealment was also similar. Broken branches, reeds and other natural materials had been placed over the victims, but the bodies were not deeply buried. Investigators believed the offender wanted to delay discovery without performing the more time-consuming work of digging graves. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Mary Pryor Age: (17), Date of Death: 1974-08

The Charmer: The True Story of Robert Reldan--Rapist