Offender Record · OFF-2026-153
Robert Reldan (photo from the Radford University biography)
Robert R. Reldan
Also known as Robert Nadler, The Charmer, Bergen County Strangler
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1940
Custody
Deceased
States
NJ, NY, FL
Custody
Deceased at New Jersey State Prison
Custody record at the facility
Died September 23, 2024 in New Jersey State Prison after nearly 45 years of incarceration.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Where a record says named by police, no charge was ever filed: the record rests on a law enforcement agency's public identification of the deceased person, cited below. Not guilty by reason of insanity means the court found the act proven but the person not criminally responsible. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Robert Reldan was convicted of the 1967 rape of a woman in Teaneck, New Jersey, and the 1975 murders of Susan Heynes and Susan Reeve in Bergen County, New Jersey. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 years consecutive. Reldan was also convicted of conspiracy to murder his aunt in 1978. He died in New Jersey State Prison on September 23, 2024, at age 84.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Feb 25, 1962, Fort Lee, New Jersey
Robbery and assault with attempt to rape
Bergen County, New Jersey · Bergen County Court · Arrested 1963 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Hung jury at first trial; indicted Fall 1963
During a home invasion/robbery, Reldan sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl, restraining her and striking her with an iron rod. The first trial resulted in a hung jury in December 1963.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert; The Charmer: The True Story of Robert Reldan
Offense date Apr 27, 1967, Teaneck, New Jersey
Rape
Bergen County, New Jersey · Bergen County Court · Docket Bergen County grand jury indictment June 2, 1967 · Arrested Apr 29, 1967 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Indeterminate term not to exceed 30 years at State Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Rahway, New Jersey
Reldan posed as a dry cleaner's employee and gained entry to victim's home, then sexually assaulted her. First trial ended in mistrial with hung jury July 17, 1967; retrial conviction September 25, 1967 after three days of testimony.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert; State v. Reldan
Offense date Mar 16, 1971, New Jersey
Assault with intent to rob (attempted robbery)
Bergen County, New Jersey · Arrested Mar 16, 1971 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 5 to 7 years, to be served concurrent with B.C. rape conviction
Reldan held a woman at knifepoint in her vehicle. Initially pleaded not guilty but accepted plea bargain and pleaded guilty October 18, 1971. Judge John E. Bachman accepted the plea February 14, 1972.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert
Offense date Oct 06, 1975, Haworth, New Jersey (abduction); Rockland County, New York (body recovery)
Second degree murder
Bergen County, New Jersey · Bergen County Court · Docket Indicted January 1977 for felony murders · Arrested Oct 31, 1975 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 30 years (later affirmed on retrial June 23, 1989)
Susan Heynes, 26, disappeared from Haworth, NJ on October 6, 1975. Her body was found October 27, 1975, in Rockland County, NY, strangled. Reldan was convicted October 17, 1979 after a mistrial in June 1979. Conviction was reversed on appeal but upheld on retrial in March 1986.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert; STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ROBERT RELDAN; Robert Reldan: Bergen County Strangler Dies in Prison
Offense date Oct 14, 1975, Demarest, New Jersey (abduction); Tallman State Park, New York (body recovery)
First degree murder
Bergen County, New Jersey · Bergen County Court · Docket Indicted January 1977 for felony murders · Arrested Oct 31, 1975 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life imprisonment, consecutive to other sentences (affirmed on retrial June 23, 1989)
Susan Reeve, 22, was abducted October 14, 1975, from near a bus stop in Demarest, NJ after being approached by a man in a maroon station wagon. Body found October 28, 1975, in Tallman State Park, strangled and raped. Convicted October 17, 1979. Conviction initially reversed but upheld on retrial in March 1986.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert; STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ROBERT RELDAN; Robert Reldan: Bergen County Strangler Dies in Prison
Offense date Dec 1976, Trenton State Prison, New Jersey
Conspiracy to commit murder; Advocate homicidal death
Bergen County, New Jersey · Bergen County Court · Docket Indicted April 21, 1977 on 5 counts · Arrested Mar 30, 1977 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Concurrent 20-25 years on each of five counts, consecutive to sentences then being served
While imprisoned at Rahway State Prison in December 1976, Reldan requested another inmate and an undercover police officer (posing as hit man) to rob and murder his wealthy aunt and her male companion. Convicted April 26, 1978. Resentenced June 23, 1989 to 30 years on one count and consecutive life sentence on the other.
SourcesROBERT RELDAN v. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD; Radford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
2
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
6
Victims suspected
Active years
1967–1975
Stated motive
Sexual, Power or control
Range from home
interstate
Education
high school
Marital history
Married
Children
0
Died
2024-09-23 · natural
Agencies
Law enforcement, prosecutors and corrections agencies the records show dealing with this person. An investigator working a case with a possible connection can start here.
Bergen County Sheriff's Office · NJ
Provided resources and photo records used to identify and investigate Reldan
New Jersey Department of Corrections · NJ
Operated facilities housing Reldan; handled disciplinary infractions and parole board matters
New Jersey State Parole Board · NJ
Agency case A-2404-23 (2023 appeal)
Reviewed parole eligibility and established future eligibility terms; recent 2025 appeals on parole decisions
New Jersey State Prison (formerly Trenton State Prison) · NJ
Primary custodial facility where Reldan was held from 1977 onward; held in Special Needs Unit
Bergen County Prosecutor's Office · NJ
Agency case S-63-77 (primary murder case)
Investigated murders of Susan Reeve and Susan Heynes; conducted investigation of conspiracy case
Federal Bureau of Investigation · US
Assisted Bergen County detectives in investigating possible role in two homicides; examined forensic evidence
Closter Police Department · NJ
Agency case 1975-10-31 arrest
Arrested Reldan on attempted burglary charge; conducted initial investigations
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
FL
Miami Beach, Florida
approx. 1962 – Nov 1962 · Traveled from New Jersey; arrested for impersonating police officer
NJ
Fort Lee, New Jersey
approx. 1951 – 1966 · Family home; also arrested here
Closter, New Jersey
approx. Sep 15, 1966 – 1970 · Parents' residence after parole from Great Meadows
Teaneck Township, New Jersey
Apr 1967 – Apr 1967 · Location of rape incident (victim's residence)
Rahway, New Jersey
Oct 18, 1967 – Oct 20, 1970 · State Diagnostic & Treatment Center · Sex offender treatment facility; sexual predator evaluation
Tenafly, New Jersey
1975 – Oct 31, 1975 · Residence when arrested for attempted burglary
Rahway, New Jersey
Oct 31, 1975 – Sep 23, 2024 · Held on charges then sentenced for multiple crimes; later housed at East Jersey State Prison and other state facilities
NY
Brooklyn, New York
1940 – 1951 · Birth residence
Great River, New York
Mar 24, 1959 – Jan 1962 · Served sentence for robberies; early parole
Known Vehicles
Vehicles and approximate dates of ownership or use, as reported in the cited records. A photo next to a vehicle is the vehicle itself as published.
1975Red Opel station wagon / maroon station wagon
approx. 1975 – Oct 31, 1975
Used in abductions of Susan Reeve and Susan Heynes; observed by toll plaza attendant and identified by police chief
Timeline
Jun 02, 1940
Robert Nadler born in Brooklyn, New York.
1951
Family moves from New York to Fort Lee, New Jersey when Reldan is 11 years old.
Jan 11, 1957
At age 17, Reldan grabs a woman by the throat and steals her purse outside an apartment in New York.
Mar 27, 1957
Reldan pleads guilty before Judge Joseph Schurman of Manhattan's General Sessions Court and is classified as a juvenile delinquent and placed on indefinite probation.
Oct 1957
Reldan commits a series of residential burglaries, arrested October 9-12.
Jul 17, 1958
Reldan is arrested in Closter, New Jersey for stealing five cars at age 18.
Aug 01, 1958
Reldan is taken to a New Jersey state hospital for observation; psychiatrists diagnose him with sociopathic personality disturbance.
Jan 15, 1959
Reldan is found guilty of auto theft and sentenced to indefinite probation.
Mar 24, 1959
Due to auto theft parole violation, Reldan is sentenced to three years at Great Meadows Reformatory in New York.
Jan 1962
Reldan is released from Great Meadows on parole.
Feb 25, 1962
During a home invasion/robbery in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Reldan sexually assaults a 14-year-old girl.
Nov 30, 1962
Reldan is arrested in Miami Beach for impersonating a police officer; receives 90-day suspended sentence.
Jul 27, 1963
Reldan is arrested by Closter police for carrying a concealed weapon.
Aug 1963
Reldan is arrested by North Arlington police for assault and breaking and entering.
Dec 02, 1963
Reldan's first criminal trial begins in Bergen County Court for assault with attempt to rape of a 14-year-old girl, breaking and entering, and theft; trial results in hung jury.
1964
Reldan reaches plea agreement for New York robberies and New Jersey charges; sentenced to five years in prison.
Sep 15, 1966
Reldan is paroled and goes to live with his parents in Closter, New Jersey.
Apr 27, 1967
Reldan gains entry to a home in Teaneck, New Jersey by posing as a dry cleaner and rapes the adult female resident.
Apr 29, 1967
Closter police question Reldan regarding an unspecified police matter; victim B.C. identifies him as her attacker and he is arrested and accused of rape.
Jun 02, 1967
Bergen County grand jury indicts Reldan for rape of B.C.
Jul 13, 1967
Reldan's rape trial begins.
Jul 17, 1967
First rape trial results in hung jury; mistrial is declared.
Sep 25, 1967
Retrial for rape charge begins and lasts three days, resulting in Reldan's conviction.
Oct 18, 1967
Reldan is sentenced to an indeterminate term not to exceed 30 years at the State Diagnostic & Treatment Center in Rahway, New Jersey for treatment of his repetitive, compulsive pattern of sexual behavior.
Oct 20, 1970
Reldan is paroled after serving just over three years.
Mar 16, 1971
Reldan holds a woman at knifepoint in her vehicle and attempts robbery; is apprehended shortly thereafter.
Mar 23, 1971
Reldan's parole is revoked and he is returned to Rahway prison.
Oct 18, 1971
Reldan appears in court for assault of B.M., initially pleads not guilty but accepts plea bargain and pleads guilty.
Feb 14, 1972
Judge John E. Bachman accepts proposed plea bargain for B.M. assault; Reldan receives 5 to 7 years, concurrent with B.C. rape conviction.
May 30, 1975
Reldan is paroled four years after the B.M. assault.
Jun 17, 1975
Robert marries his fiancée, Judy Rosenberg, and they move to an apartment in Tenafly, New Jersey.
Oct 06, 1975
Susan Heynes, 26, vanishes from her home in Haworth, New Jersey.
Oct 14, 1975
Susan Reeve, 22, is abducted near a bus stop in Demarest, New Jersey; a man in a maroon station wagon is reported to have followed her.
Oct 17, 1975
Interstate toll plaza attendant Eileen Dalton tentatively identifies Robert Reldan as the male driver she observed.
Oct 27, 1975
Body of Susan Heynes is found in Rockland County, New York; she had been strangled.
Oct 28, 1975
Body of Susan Reeve is found in Tallman State Park in New York; she had been strangled and raped.
Oct 31, 1975
Reldan is arrested in Closter, New Jersey for attempted burglary; police issue warrant for his arrest and search warrant for his car.
Nov 13, 1975
Officers search Reldan's apartment and wife's car; jewelry is not found, but a California driver's license with Robert's picture and false name, blank birth certificates, and address book are seized.
Jan 02, 1976
Evidence found in Reldan's car links him to Heynes and Reeve disappearances, including hair samples and scent recognition by trained dogs.
Jun 1976
Reldan is sentenced to 2-3 years at Rahway State Prison for home burglaries.
Dec 1976
While imprisoned, Reldan opens up about his involvement in Heynes and Reeves murders to fellow inmates Cliff and Allison Williams; also tries to get them involved in robbery and murder of his aunt.
Jan 20, 1977
Reldan is indicted by a grand jury for the felony murders of Heynes and Reeves.
Mar 08, 1977
Undercover police officer Nick Gallo (posing as Frank Parisi) meets with Reldan to discuss murder-for-hire conspiracy.
Mar 30, 1977
Reldan is served with an arrest warrant for conspiracy to murder his aunt and her companion.
Apr 21, 1977
Reldan is indicted on 5 counts: 2 counts of advocating death of aunt, 2 counts of advocating death of her companion, and 1 count of conspiracy to kill his aunt Lillian Booth.
Apr 26, 1978
Reldan is found guilty on all five conspiracy counts and sentenced to concurrent 20-25 years on each count, consecutive to sentences then being served.
May 24, 1979
Trial begins for the murders of Susan Reeves and Susan Heynes.
Jun 19, 1979
Susan Reeves and Susan Heynes murder trial is declared a mistrial.
Sep 19, 1979
Retrial for Susan Reeves and Susan Heynes murders begins.
Oct 15, 1979
During his murder trial, Reldan escapes from Bergen County police custody by using a smuggled key to unlock handcuffs, spraying Officer Joseph Vuocolo with tear gas, carjacking an automobile, and robbing the driver of her purse and other items; he is recaptured later that day.
Oct 17, 1979
Reldan is found guilty of second degree murder of Susan Heynes and first degree murder of Susan Reeve.
Apr 08, 1980
Reldan is indicted for his escape and crimes committed during escape.
Dec 04, 1980
Reldan is convicted of escape, possession of implement of escape, aggravated assault on police officer, robbery, and theft; sentenced to aggregate 22 years consecutive to sentences then being served.
Sep 28, 1983
Reldan is convicted of conspiracy to commit escape, criminal attempt to commit escape, possession of prohibited weapon, and related offenses.
Mar 13, 1986
On retrial, Reldan is again found guilty of both murders (Susan Heynes and Susan Reeve) after his initial conviction was reversed on appeal.
Jun 23, 1989
Following reversal of 1980-1981 sentences, Reldan is resentenced to 30 years on one murder count and consecutive life sentence on the other murder count.
Jul 08, 2008
Reldan becomes eligible for parole after serving approximately 30 years.
Sep 23, 2024
Robert Reldan dies in New Jersey State Prison at age 84 after serving nearly 45 years of his life sentence.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Find a Grave ·
Mary Ann Pryor - Find a Grave Memorial“Reldan cannot be implicated because he was in prison at the time of the murders.”
News report · Crime Solvers Central ·
Robert Reldan, Serial Killer New Jersey“Robert Reldan, also known as the Bergen County Strangler, was a notorious serial killer who terrorized New Jersey communities in the 1970s. Born in 1940, Reldan grew up in New York before moving to Fort Lee, New Jersey, at age 11.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Robert Reldan“Between August 1974 and November 1975, residents of northern New Jersey were alarmed by a series of random, brutal homicides that claimed the lives of eight young women, perpetrated by a man who liked to pick his victims off in pairs.”
News report · Ranker ·
Serial Killer Robert Reldan Became A Multi-Millionaire Behind Bars“Reldan went on trial for the murders of Susan Heynes and Susan Reeve in 1979.”
News report · The Ridgewood Blog ·
Bergen County Remembers: Demarest Marks 50th Anniversary“Robert Reldan, who was convicted of the murders of both Susan Reeve and another Bergen County woman, Susan Heynes, was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains today, having been repeatedly denied parole.”
Court record · New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division ·
ROBERT RELDAN v. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD“Robert Reldan is an eighty-four-year-old State inmate who is serving a life sentence with a consecutive 30-year custodial term for two murders he committed in 1975.”
News report · Factual America ·
Robert Reldan: Bergen County Strangler Dies in Prison“Robert Reldan, infamously known as the Bergen County Strangler, died in prison on September 23, 2024, at the age of 84.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Reldan, Robert“Biographical timeline documenting Reldan's arrests, convictions, and crimes from 1957 to 1980”
News report · Crime Magazine ·
The Charmer: The True Story of Robert Reldan“Dade County authorities allowed Reldan to plea bargain the impersonating-an-officer charge, and Reldan was allowed to plead guilty to one elevator robbery and the Bronx robbery, and he was sentenced to two, five-year terms.”
Court record · New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division ·
ROBERT RELDAN v. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD“Reldan was sentenced on June 23, 1989, to thirty years in prison on one count and to a consecutive life sentence on the other count for the murders of Susan Reeve and Susan Heynes.”
Court record · New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division ·
STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ROBERT RELDAN“Reldan was convicted of second degree murder on count one and first degree murder on count two, sentenced to life imprisonment for the first degree murder and a consecutive 30-year term for the second degree murder.”
Court record · New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division ·
State v. Reldan“Defendant had been convicted of a rape of one B.C. which occurred April 27, 1967 and of attempted robbery of B.M. on March 16, 1971.”
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