Reinaldo Javier Rivera was born on September 13, 1963, in Madrid, Spain. He grew up in a family that included a doctor. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Puerto Rico. This change was a big part of his early life.

At the age of 19, Rivera joined the United States Navy. He served in different locations, including Orlando, Florida, and San Diego, California. After his time in the Navy, Rivera moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff from December 1986 until March 1991. During this time, he also attended the University of South Carolina. He earned a degree in office administration.

Rivera lived in several places as an adult. He resided in Graniteville, Columbia, and Fayetteville in North Carolina before finally settling in North Augusta. On February 14, 1993, he married Tammy Lisa Bonnette, and together they had two children.

By 1998, Rivera found a job as a tire inspector at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Aiken, South Carolina.

On July 17, 1999, 17-year-old Melissa Faye Dingess went missing in Graniteville, South Carolina. During the search efforts, witnesses saw a girl matching her description with an older man on two occasions. In one instance, she was seen entering a tan vehicle, and later, a bright red four-door car. On October 13, 2000, her skeletal remains were discovered in the woods near Harlem, Georgia, after Reinaldo Javier Rivera directed police to the burial site.

On December 4, 1999, 17-year-old Tiffaney Shereese Wilson disappeared while shopping at a grocery store in North Augusta, South Carolina. Her car was found abandoned in the parking lot, and witnesses reported seeing her get into a mid-1980s white car. Three days later, her baby daughter was found in the car at a welcome center in Georgia. On December 30, hunters found Wilson's body in a wooded area near Graniteville. Her hands were tied, and she had been raped and stabbed in the back, all while her daughter was still in the car.

On June 19, 2000, 18-year-old Tabitha Leigh Bosdell disappeared after being dropped off at a Huddle House in Augusta, Georgia. She was planning to apply for a job. In October 2000, skeletal remains identified as hers were discovered.

The final murder was of 21-year-old Marnie Marie Glista, a soldier at Fort Eisenhower. She was attacked in her home on September 5, 2000, and although she survived the initial attack, she died from her injuries five days later.

On October 10, 2000, Rivera attacked 18-year-old Chrisilee Barton in a Huddle House parking lot. He pretended to be an escort service owner and invited himself to her home. There, he raped and stabbed her with a kitchen knife. Barton survived and helped police find Rivera in a motel, where he attempted suicide.

Rivera was charged with the murders of Wilson, Bosdell, and Glista, as well as the attempted murder of Barton. He was convicted only for Glista's murder and the assault on Barton. During his trial, he claimed to be mentally ill and warned that he would kill again if released. Rivera was sentenced to death for killing Glista and is currently on death row at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison.