David Parker Ray and his Toy Box of Torture

Bad choices and money problems; we’ve all been there, so we can empathize with Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo when she ran into the same predicament. She felt she had no choice but to turn to prostitution, which she did in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One night, working the streets, David Parker Ray rolled up next to her. Thinking he was just another client, she wasn’t concerned when he got out of the car. That is until he told her he was an undercover police officer.

Visibly upset, Cynthia stood by while he told her that she was under arrest for solicitation, and placed her in handcuffs. But that’s when things took a turn. The “officer” grabbed her, and shoved her into the car. She knew in her gut that something wasn’t right. Police didn’t behave that way. When they arrived in Elephant Butte just a few hours later, she knew her fears had become a reality.

He showed Cynthia a huge truck trailer. Then he led her inside where there were whips, chains, pulleys, straps, clamps, spreader bars, surgical blades, and even some saws. He sat her down and forced her to watch a 20-minute video that informed her of what he planned to do next. She was strapped to his gynecologist-style table, and she could see a mirror mounted right above her. David especially liked it when his victims could see all that he was doing to them.

For the next three days, he, and a female accomplice tortured Cynthia. But they weren’t there all day, every day. He would leave and go to work. While his female accomplice was in another room, distracted by the phone call she was on, Cynthia was able to grab the keys to her shackles, mistakenly left in arms reach. She unlocked herself, and just as she was free from her restraints, the woman came back. She broke a lamp over Cynthia’s head, but she was a fighter, and got her hands on an icepick; she stabbed her captor in the neck.

The woman fell to the floor, passed out. Cynthia took this as her que to escape. She ran, naked, wearing only her iron slave collar and padlocked chains. When she finally reached a nearby house, the owner took her in immediately and comforted her. Once she was calm, the homeowner called the police.

Cynthia had her strength back in no time, and when the police arrived, she led them to the trailer where she had been held captive. The police arrested David, and his female accomplice.

The man was none other than the Toy Box Killer. His accomplice just happened to be his girlfriend, Cindy Hendy, and this hadn’t been their first rodeo. Although they initially told investigators that they had kidnapped Cynthia in an attempt to help her get rid of a heroin addiction. However, when the officers looked inside the Trailer, dubbed the “Toy Box” they found not only torture devices and sex toys, but also the fake police badge Dennis Parker Ray had used to abduct Cynthia in Albuquerque.

They also found evidence of her struggle with Cindy Hendy. Police arrested them both and charged them with 12 different criminal charges, including kidnapping and aggravated assault.

Once in custody, everything began to unravel. In exchange for a plea deal, Cindy turned on David almost immediately. She confessed to investigators that David Parker Ray had told her about 14 murders that he had committed, and where some of the bodies had been dumped. She spoke of the different ways that he would torture his victims, including putting them into wooden contraptions that bent them over and immobilized them while he had his dogs rape them – sometimes having friends come over to take part.

Cindy gave up the names of other accomplices, which included David’s daughter, Glenda “Jesse” Ray, and Dennis Roy Yancy. According to Cindy, Jesse and Dennis had participated in the murder of Dennis’ former girlfriend, 22 year old, Marie Parker.

As the investigation continued, evidence of more victims emerged. A past victim, Angelica Montano, came forward, telling the authorities about how she was abducted by Ray a little over a month before Cynthia Vigil; she had reported her kidnapping, but for some reason, the police didn’t investigate it.

Police also found photos and video of another victim in the trailer and animal bones buried in the nearby ground. The victim in the video turned out to be survivor, Kelli Garrett.

Police were able to track down Kelli in Colorado. She testified that she had gotten into a fight with her husband and decided to go out and play pool with friends. On July 24, 1996, Jesse Ray, who just happened to be friends with Kelli, took her to the Blu-Water Saloon in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico where she drugged the beer Kelli was drinking.

Kelli managed to make it to the parking lot when Jesse hit her from behind, knocking her unconscious. David Parker Ray took her to his trailer and attached a dog collar and leash to her. She awoke , but over the course of the next two days, she blacked out multiple times. When David noticed she was still breathing, despite the drugs and torture, he slashed her throat open.

Thinking she was dead, he dumped her on the side of the road near Caballo. When she came to, she didn’t remember what had really happened. She was treated for her injuries at a local clinic, but neither her husband, nor police, believed her story, that she awoke in the middle of nowhere, no memory after she left the bar. Her husband believed she had been cheating on him the night she was attacked and promptly filed for divorce. That’s when Kelli relocated to Colorado.

Despite testimony from Cindy, and accounts of the survivors, the FBI was unable to prove that David Parker Ray had killed anyone. Thus he was only tried in the cases of the survivors, in three separate trials; 1 for Cynthia Vigil, 1 for Angelica Montano, and 1 for Kelli Garrett.

The trial for Cynthia Vigil led to a mistrial, followed by a retrial and conviction on all 12 counts for which he was accused. The trial for Angelica Montano was never brought forward, as Angelica died from a drug overdose, taking her testimony to the grave. Finally, in the case of Kelli Garrett, David agreed to a plea bargain, under the terms that he would be sentenced to 224 years in prison, in exchange for his daughter, Jesse, receiving a reduced sentence.

Cindy Hendy was tried as an accomplice, and received a sentence of 36 years. After serving 18 of those years, Cindy was eligible for parole. She just has to submit a plan for where she will live, once she is released, and she will be out, within 2 years. As of today, no further information is available regarding her release.

Glenda “Jesse” Ray was tried on charges of kidnapping, and received a 2.5 year prison sentence, with an additional 5 years to be served on probation.

Finally, Dennis Roy Yancy was convicted with the strangulation and murder of Marie Parker. He received two 15 year sentences, and was released in 2010  after serving only 11 years. Dennis couldn’t stay out of trouble and after only 3 months, he violated parole, resulting in his return to custody until 2021.

David Parker Ray never got to serve his sentence. On May 28, 2002, just as he was about to be transferred to prison, he suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 62.

With David Parker Ray dead, the investigation into potential murder victims became a dead end; no bodies were found, no possible victims were identified and no old suspicious deaths related to Ray were ever officially linked to him. In November of 2002, the Toy Box was opened to the public with the hope that it would lead to more surviving victims coming forward. In October of 2011, the FBI performed a search of McRae Canyon near Elephant Butte Lake looking for potential victims but found none.