NOTE: Our True Crime Tuesday series will highlight the stories of serial killers and other criminals, with potentially triggering and offensive detail discussed. Proceed with caution.
Whether you listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, enjoy movies, or like to sit down with a good book, there are millions upon millions of people across the globe who can't help but get engrossed in true crime. There's something fascinating about the world that the majority of us would never dare step foot in, in our real lives, but when allowed the safety of investigating from our sofas, then we're all in.
For the past three weeks, we've delved into some of the most fascinating true crime cases we could find, and this week is no different.
Welcome back to True Crime Tuesday.
An introduction to the case
David Parker Ray was a man who would eventually be known as The Toy Box Killer. The American suspected serial killer and known torturer of women was accused of killing several people by those who had served as his accomplice, whilst the police would come to suspect him of the murder of as many as 60 people from Arizona and New Mexico.
Whilst living in New Mexico, Ray sound-proofed a truck trailer which he would call his "Toy Box", equipping it with items including whips, chains, pulleys, clamps, straps, surgical blades, leg spreader bars, and saws, all of which would be used as means of torture against his victims.
Despite the suspicions, no bodies of Ray's victims were ever found. Whilst he was convicted of kidnapping and torture in 2001 and received a lengthy sentence, he was never convicted of murder due to a lack of evidence.
Ray would escape true justice, when he died of a heart attack around a year after his convictions in two cases. He passed away at the Lea County Correctional Facility in Hobbs, New Mexico, on May 28, 2002, aged 62.
A little history on David Parker Ray
Born in Belen, New Mexico on November 6, 1939, David Parker Ray would grow up in the house of his disciplinarian grandfather from the age of 10, following the split of his mother and father, alongside his younger sister Peggy. The pair would be met with physical discipline if they did not follow his strict standards and set of rules in and outside of the home.
Ray and his sister would be visited by their father, who was renowned for being a violent alcoholic, and who would supply his son with sadomasochistic pornography.
Whilst at school, Ray would find it hard to slot in and find friends. Often bullied by classmates, he would spend a lot of time alone, drinking alcohol and experimenting with drugs. Here, a fascination with sadomasochism was born.
Following his education at high school, Ray went to work as an auto mechanic before joining the Army, also working as a mechanic in the forces. He would later receive an honourable discharge from the ranks.
The survivor who escaped David Parker Ray's clutches
On March 22, 1999, a 22-year-old woman escaped from the 'Toy Box' covered in blood, completely nude, and with a metal choker collar padlocked around her neck. Desperate to find help before she was taken back to where would surely be her place of death, she stumbled across a mobile home with the door open. Inside, she found help from the owner, with the police arriving and listening to the women - Cynthia Vigil's - story of kidnap, torture, and escape.
Vigil explained that she had been kidnapped by a man and woman and held as a sex slave for a total of three days. She revealed that as well as being raped repeatedly, she was tortured with whips and medical instruments, as well as being electrocuted. The bruises and wounds on her body confirmed her story.
Vigil admitted that she had been working as a prostitute in Albuquerque, which is where she met her eventual captors. She was offered $20 for sexual services, which she accepted before entering an RV. Inside, a man and woman tied and gagged her, before placing a metal collar around her neck. They then drove for over an hour before stopping, dragging Cynthia inside a trailer, and chaining her to a bed post. An audio tape was turned on with a description of what she could expect to happen to her whilst she was there.
Certain that she would eventually be killed, Vigil managed to escape her captor when he left the trailer and his keys in reach. Attempting to call the authorities, she was disturbed by her female captor, but managed to grab an ice pick and stab her in the neck. She then ran from the trailer and eventually led the police to Ray and his girlfriend Cindy Lea Hendy, who were apprehended.
Other survivors who weren't murdered
After the press ran with Vigil's story, another victim came forward. Angelica Montano told police that she had been kidnapped, tortured and raped by Ray and his girlfriend for three days, before being drugged and left by a highway out in the desert. Authorities found her, but her complaint against the couple was never followed up. Upon their arrest, she decided to go back to the police, and was finally listened to.
Kelly Garrett, who was identified using a video tape found inside the 'Toy Box', was tracked to Colorado, and had married just a few days before being held captive by Ray and his daughter, Jesse Ray. She was drugged by Jesse, who took her to a bar and spiked her beer, before hitting her on the head. She was also subjected to torture and rape for three days, before being drugged and left on the side of the road.
Cindy Hendy's co-operation with police
After realising the wealth of evidence against her, Cindy Hendy turned quickly on her boyfriend in a plea deal that included a reduction in her sentencing. She said that Ray had admitted to murdering 14 people, as well as giving locations of where he said bodies had been dumped. She'd then name Ray's daughter Jesse Ray, as well as Dennis Roy Yancy as accomplices, before claiming the two had taken part in the murder of Dennis' ex-girlfriend, Marie Parker, when she was just 22.
The plea bargain meant that Hendy was sentenced to 36 years as agreed.
The sentencing of others
Dennis Roy Yancy would receive two 15-year sentences for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and second-degree murder. He served 11 years before being released, but returned to custody until 2021 following a parole violation.
Jesse Ray was handed a nine-year prison sentence after being found guilty of kidnapping women for sexual torture, six years of which could be served whilst on parole.
The decision was made to try David Parker Ray separately for each of the three survivors who had come forward. A plea deal saw him sentenced to 224 years, but he would die on May 28, 2002 on the way to an interrogation by state police.
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