AN UNSOLVED MURDER IN MADERA: Part 6 

MADERA - Since the death of Glenn Reitz, rumors have spread like wildfire. Such is human nature when a man dies in such a way. While the evidence indicates that the murderer was a transient, some folks believe that Reitz's murderer still lives in Madera. The investigation into a transient killer and the moving of Reitz's car to Louisiana is nothing more than a massive cover-up to protect a local man or men responsible for the death of the teacher.

The local theory is broken down into two camps. Reitz was involved with a local married man and wanted him to leave his wife. Two, Reitz was part of a group of men that, in secret, led a gay lifestyle and shared the company of men from gay bars in the area or hitchhikers coming through the area.

The first theory is simple. It is believed by some that Reitz was involved with a local man who was gay but married to a woman and had kids. On the night of his murder, Reitz threatened to 'out' the married man, and that man killed Reitz to keep his silence. To draw the suspicion away from Madera, the married man drove Reitz's car out of state and hid it in the gravel pit in Louisiana.

The problem with this theory is the composite drawing. The man in the drawing was said to be in his early twenties, and witnesses say he was traveling alone and used Reitz's credit cards. Why would someone who just committed a murder draw attention to himself by using the victim's credit cards multiple times?

If there is any truth to a local killer theory, it must have involved multiple people, at least two. There were reports from neighbors that sometime around midnight on the night Reitz was killed, a second car was parked behind Reitz's Toyota in his driveway.

According to the police reports, Reitz was killed sometime between midnight and 3 am on March 19, 1985, based on the state of rigor mortis when the body was found at 10 am that morning.

Reitz was not only brutally murdered with a hatchet or machete, but his head and torso were also covered up with a bath towel. Why would someone cover up the victim unless they knew them?

The second theory is that, like Reitz, many Madera men from all walks of life also shared a secret life. These men were rumored to include doctors, attorneys, teachers, farmers, business owners, and even future politicians. Most of these men were supposedly married and had children. These men would meet at different houses around the valley to share sexual relations. They were rumored to bring in young men found at adult video and bookstores or gay bars throughout the valley. Some say they would invite hitchhikers they picked up and pay them for an evening of services, with a few of the members of this group joining in on the activities and others just watching.

In talking to a few old-timers about this theory, specific names came up, which caused me to say, "Hell no". But after looking at the relationships between these people over the last twenty-eight years, ties can be seen, especially when you look at the disclosure statements by many locally elected officials.

The problems with this theory are the same as the first. Except that this theory has added possible explanations. For example, couldn't the group have paid one of their hitchhiker friends to drive the car to Louisiana? Couldn't that person have used the victim's credit cards in Arizona and Texas before ditching the plates and the car?

When I asked why the hitchhiker hasn't spoken up in all this time? It was speculated that someone in the group either killed him or that he may have died of AIDS at some point in the last twenty-eight years.

Can either of these theories be proven? At this point, no.  Should either of them be given much credence at all? It's difficult to say at this point, partly because of the resistance I have encountered while researching this case.  For example, when I contacted former Madera Police Captain Andrew Moore, who was in charge of the investigation, to ask some questions about the files, his Oregon phone number was changed a week later. In my sixteen years of reporting, I've been shut down by lots of people. Never has anyone had to change a phone number to avoid my questions.

Even with all that, I still doubt the local killer theories for one simple reason: people, especially a group of people, can't typically keep a secret that long. Someone would have come out (so to speak) in all this time. I would like to think that guilt would weigh on someone's mind, and at least someone from the group would try to get the story out there. But my cynical side tells me how unlikely it is that in twenty-eight years, there was no bitter ex-wife or boyfriend associated with the group who was willing to tell what they knew.

As for the people keeping the theories alive? Heck, I still believe the CIA had something to do with the killing of President Kennedy in Dallas. We all love conspiracy theories. Sometimes, they are just plain 'more exciting' and entertaining than the truth.