Bryan Rein was a handsome, 31-year-old veterinarian who set up an animal clinic in the small town of Geraldine, Montana. Strange things started to happen – a brick thrown in a window, someone calling and hanging up – but Rein wasn’t bothered by it. But as Keith Morrison of Dateline NBC suggests, “maybe he should have been.” On July 14, 1996, Rein was found shot dead in his mobile home. His own .357 magnum was found laying on the floor near his left hand. Police on the scene assumed it was a suicide but the autopsy revealed there had been a struggle. Two shots went off, a third went into Rein’s chest.
At the time of Rein’s death, Rein was dating Ann Wishman. Wishman’s ex-boyfriend Thomas Jaraczeski was arrested in 1998 on charges of murdering Rein, but the charges were dropped due to weak evidence. In May 2014, Jaraczeski was re-arrested. Nearly 20 years later, in September 2015, Jaraczeski was found not guilty. Prosecutors argued that Jaraczeski was the only one with a motive to kill Rein but the defense pointed out that there was no physical evidence to place Jaraczeski at the scene. Whoever killed Rein remains free. Dateline NBC airs Fridays at 9pm on NBC.
