David Parker Ray - Investigation

Investigation

On March 22, 1999, a living victim, Cynthia Vigil, escaped after being kidnapped and enduring torture in a three-day ordeal. To escape, she waited until Ray went to work and then managed to get the keys to the lock of her chains that Ray's accomplice, Cindy Hendy, left on a table nearby while she was in another room on the phone. After Vigil got the keys, Hendy noticed Vigil's attempt at escaping and a fight ensued. During the struggle, Hendy broke a lamp on the victim's head, but Vigil managed to unlock her chains and stab Hendy in the neck with an icepick she found on the floor, and escaped. Vigil ran away naked, wearing only an iron slave collar and padlocked chains. After Vigil's escape, Ray and Hendy were apprehended by the police. Ray was arrested the day his last victim escaped.

After the publicity surrounding the arrest, another victim, Angelica Montano, came forward. She told a similar story and said that she had reported the incident to police, but that there had been no follow-up.

Ray had a video of another victim, Kelly Garrett. This video dated back to about 1993. Garrett was ultimately found in Colorado.

Two other accomplices were uncovered by the investigation: Ray's daughter, Glenda Jean "Jesse" Ray; and Dennis Yancy.

Yancy admitted to strangling a former girlfriend, Marie Parker, after she had been kidnapped and tortured by Ray. He was eventually convicted of second degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and received two 15-year terms.

Since that murder, Ray has allegedly admitted to having had an accomplice named Billy Bowers, a previous business partner whom Ray also murdered.

The FBI sent 100 agents to examine Ray's property and surroundings, but no identifiable human remains turned up on his property.

To prevent women from reporting the crimes, he drugged them with agents to induce amnesia. He taped himself telling one woman that the drugs were "sodium pentothal and phenobarbitol". The woman remained uncertain that her recollections of the abuse were anything but nightmares until contacted by the FBI. After questioning, she came to remember her mistreatment in increasing detail.