50 Years Later: The Bergen County Murder That SHATTERED a Town’s Innocence—Remembering Susan Reeve
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
DEMAREST, NJ | October 16, 2025 – Fifty years ago this week, the abduction and murder of 22-year-old Susan Reeve shattered the peace of the quiet suburban town of Demarest, Bergen County. On October 14, longtime residents gathered solemnly at the Demarest Gazebo to mark the anniversary of the tragedy and remember the young woman whose death forever changed the community.
The emotional memorial service, organized by former Demarest Ambulance Squad Captain Owen T. Clarke, served as a powerful reminder of a crime that rocked not only Demarest but all of North Jersey.
A Community Lost Its “Spirit”
Susan Reeve disappeared from her home on October 14, 1975. Her body was tragically discovered two weeks later in a New York state park. The discovery revealed she had been raped and strangled.
Clarke, who was active in the community during the time of the crime, recalled the overnight transformation of the once-sleepy borough. “The whole town was on edge. It was just a chaotic time,” he told reporters, describing the presence of helicopters and the FBI going door-to-door. He added that the people of Demarest ultimately “lost their spirit” after the murder.
The memorial attendees, including several of Reeve’s high school classmates, shared poignant memories before a somber procession led an antique fire truck to the site where Reeve is believed to have been abducted. A white cross and flowers were placed there in her memory.
The Serial Killer: Robert Reldan
The man responsible for the terror was Robert Reldan, who was convicted of the murders of both Susan Reeve and another Bergen County woman, Susan Heynes, whose body was found the day before Reeve’s.
In 1979, the judge who sentenced Reldan delivered a powerful condemnation of his “abject evil,” noting Reldan’s “outrageous record” and “especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner” of the murders. Reldan was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains today, having been repeatedly denied parole.
A Call for Vigilance and Protection
The memorial was the result of nine months of careful planning by Owen Clarke, who used a Demarest Facebook group to reach out to former residents. Clarke read a prayer at the service that transcended remembrance, urging parents to redouble their efforts to look out for and protect their children from predators.
Reflecting on his own experience raising a daughter the same age as Reeve at the time, Clarke stressed, “I didn’t want to make her paranoid, but I wanted to protect her. We’ve got to protect our young people.”
The enduring memory of Susan Reeve serves as a permanent, solemn lesson on the importance of community vigilance and safety in a world where innocence can be shattered overnight.
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I lived a few towns away at the time and don’t remember this story. Glad RR is still in jail.
He is not still in jail, but no longer poses a threat, having died in prison just over a year ago.
Besides the two young women he was convicted of murdering, six more are suspected.
https://www.factualamerica.com/serial-cuts/robert-reldans-bergen-county-burial-strangler-dies-in-prison
https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/reldan-robert.htm
The young women he was convicted of murdering lived in Haworth and Demarest. Towns where the other murdered young women lived or their bodies were found included “a wooded area near Montvale,” Manalapan Township, Salem County, Wilmington, Del., and Rockland County, NY. Reldan lived in Tenafly and graduated from high school in Fort Lee in 1958.
https://www.ranker.com/list/robert-reldan-facts/brad-klipfel
Excerpt from a book about him:
https://crimemagazine.com/charmer-true-story-robert-reldan-%E2%80%93-rapist-murderer-and-millionaire-%E2%80%93-and-women-who-fell-victim-his-a
Reldan is alive. At age 85 he had a parole hearing this year. Was denied. However, prior parole denials are in the Appellate Courts right now.