The hunt for answers in David Parker Ray's crimes (Part 3/3) | Forensic Files

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in the early months of 1996 20 year-old and naval servicemen Patrick Murphy entered a bar in Truth or Consequences
where he met 23 year old Kelly Van Cleave the pair hit it off immediately and within weeks of meeting they decided
that either not but wedded bliss was fleeting without a place of their own the newlyweds moved in with Patrick's
parents Janet and Steve by their two-week anniversary in July their marriage was already showing signs
of trouble the couple were known to argue often as Patrick was concerned that intimacy wasn't developing as
quickly as I'd liked at 9:00 a.m. on July 25 Kelly left the house to go for a walk and cool off after another nights
been arguing with her husband before she left Kelly told her mother-in-law Janet that
she was going to spend some time with friends that evening Kelly went to the Bluewater saloon in Elephant Butte where
she socialized with various friends including Dennis Roy Yancy and Jesse Ray Kelly failed to return home that night
the following morning Kelly's husband Patrick received a call from a female friend who informed him that she had
seen Kelly at the blue water saloon Patrick's friend said Kelly had been in the company of other men and was acting
in a way that she perceived is flirtatious she could often no other information about where Kelly had gone
or who she left the bar with concerned for Kelly's welfare Patrick called the police to report his wife is missing
as Patrick detailed the circumstances leading up to Kelly's disappearance including the fight that occurred
between them the night prior the police didn't seem too concerned they assumed Kelly would return home once the tension
from the couple's fight had blown over being a small town with a close-knit community police knew Kelly and told
Patrick they keep an eye out for around town concern to the Kelly might be hanging around with the bad crowd
Patrick drove around town searching for her he checked all of Kelly's usual haunts including the homes of some of
her friends and when he didn't find her there he extended the search to houses of Kelly's acquaintances he made a quick
stop by five one three baths road as he knew Kelly occasionally hung out with Jesse ray even though the two weren't
particularly close as Patrick pulled into the driveway an unknown man who appeared to be in his
20s approached and told Patrick that neither Jessie nor Kelly were at the house although Jessie's motorcycle was in the
driveway Patrick took the man's word and left as Patrick continued searching for
his wife he became increasingly irritated he was convinced his new bride was out partying with friends instead of
wanting to work on their marriage when Kelly still hadn't returned home by the second night Patrick told his parents he
couldn't handle this kind of behavior and decided he was going to file for divorce his parents supported their
son's decision wholeheartedly Jenica the impression her daughter-in-law was untrustworthy and
she didn't like seeing her son put through all this unnecessary stress on the third morning of Kelly's
disappearance Patrick was outside helping his parents in the garden when a state's parked
vehicle pulled up to Patrick's surprise Kelly emerged from the truck disheveled dirty and a barefoot Kelly's hair was a
mess and her clothes were in disarray [Music] Patrick was shocked by Kelly's out-of-character appearance as she was
known for taking pride in the way she looked he also noticed she wasn't wearing her wedding ring
Kelly was dazed and confused her eyes were having trouble focusing and she was babbling incoherently to
herself although Kelly wasn't a big drinker her appearance and behavior suggest that she
had a wild few nights and to look like she was nursing a hangover when Patrick asked where Kelly had been she told him
she couldn't remember she moved to the front porch where she took a seat and attempted to gather her thoughts but she
couldn't pace any memories together and had absolutely no recollection of what she had done since she left the house
three days prior she knew she went out with friends to the blue water saloon on the first night but everything after
that was completely blank the state parks employee who dropped Kelly home emerged from the truck
the older man had turned wrinkled skin well-groomed slicked back hair and a thick bushy mustache he explained that
he found Kelly wandering around disorientated out near Elephant Butte Lake he pulled over and offered Kelly a ride
home stopping off at a gas station on the way to buy her a drink as she showed signs of dehydration
having had enough Patrick confronted Kelly and told her he wanted a divorce when Kelly asked to go inside to collect
her things Patrick refused to let her in until she agreed to sign the divorce papers after
being kicked out of her home and with no other means of transport the state parks
employee offered Kelly a lift to wherever she wanted to go downtrodden she climbed back into the truck asking
to be dropped off at a friend's house two days later Kelly returned to Patrick's parents house to collect her
things she maintained her story that she couldn't remember a single thing that had happened to her during the three
days she was missing but given that Patrick's friend had informed him that Kelly was seen flirting with other men
at the blue water saloon Patrick suspected Kelly was lying to him Patrick had made up his mind he wanted a divorce
reluctantly Kelly signed the divorce papers nearly three years later in 1999 janet
murphy hadn't stayed in contact with kelly but as she watched a news report covering the David Parker ray case she
was immediately reminded of her former daughter-in-law when she saw the accused her heart sank to her stomach it was the
state parks employee with the tanned wrinkled skin and thick bushy mustache who dropped Kelly home after her
three-day disappearance in 1996 janet quickly contacted the FBI believing David Parker ray may have been involved
wanting to look into Janet's claims investigators asked whether her former daughter-in-law had any distinguishing
physical characteristics janet said oh yes kelly had a unique tribal design tattoo of a swan on her right leg as
that the David Parker ray case was unprecedented and investigators were overwhelmed with incoming information
Janet's initial report languished in the stacks of files that had been collected
by authorities since the arrest of ray and Cindy Hendy it was brought back to their attention after media circulated
images of the swan tattoo that had been pulled from a video cassette tape found on Ray's property investigators soon
received a phone call from another woman who had seen the news reports and recognized the Swan tattoo the caller
said the tattoo belonged to her friend Kelly Van Cleve [Music] [Music] the FBO I attract Kelly Van Cleave to
her current home in Colorado where she had been living since 1998 they presented her with a file containing a
photo of the Swan ty do they had extracted from the video tape found in David Parker Ray's house when they asked
Kelly if it matched one of her own she became visibly shaken she confirmed that she didn't have a swan tattoo on her
right leg and showed it to the investigators it was an exact match to the restraint woman Ray had filmed
sexually assaulting when asked about her three-day disappearance in 1996 Kelly revealed her memories of that time
were still a blur speaking to investigators Kelly tried her hardest to piece together what she could remember
of that time she recalled that it was a swelteringly hot night on July 25 1996 eager for a distraction from the
argument she had with her husband Kelly spent the day with friends they went bar-hopping in the evening but
Kelly had very little to drink and she wasn't a big drinker the group eventually wound up at the
blue water saloon over the course of the evening Kelly crossed paths with Jesse ray the two
won't close but shared the same circle of friends and hung out on occasion the two women shared a mutual friend Denis
Roy Yancy as the night began to slow down and the bar patrons started petering out Kelly started to feel
intoxicated this confused her as she had only had one drink throughout the Neue many of her friends had already left the
bar and with no car of her own kelly accepted a ride home from Jesse ray Curley climbed on the back of Jesse's
motorcycle at this point Jesse made reference to her own intoxicated state and expressed concern about driving
under such conditions Jesse decided she was going to stay the night at her father's place at 5 1-3 bass road but
assured Kelly she would drop her off at a friend's place along the way as the two women took off down the highway
Kelly secured her arms around her Jesse's waist as she started to feel increasingly dizzy at this point
Kelly's mind became incredibly foggy and she was having trouble keeping her eyes
open the next thing she remembers is driving to hot springs landing and pulling up at
five one three bath road Kelly recognized it as the home belonging to David Parker ray has she
had once tagged along with friends who visited Jesse ray there upon their arrival
Kelly's mind went blank while she had never been able to piece together exactly what happened in July in 1996
from then on Kelly Van Cleave started suffering from nightmares that were so vivid she was certain they emerged from
repressed memories worried that she might sound crazy she hadn't shared this information with
anyone it wasn't until the FBI contacted her regarding the David Parker ray case
that Kelly came to the chilling realization that her nightmares were remnants of real experiences she had
suffered at the hands of Ray these recovered memories were hazy but coupled with the video footage of Kelly found in
the toy box investigators believed Kelly had been inconspicuously sedated during
her abduction and throughout her captivity not just to keep her docile but to impact her ability to recall the
details later on this correlated with evidence of hypnotic drugs found in the toy box and comments made by Angelica
Montaigne who overheard ray consider drugging her until her mind went blank from what kelly could now remember after
Jesse Ray drove them to David Parker Ray's house the two women went inside upon entering Ray's house Kelly sat down
on a couch Jesse left the room for a short wall and upon her return David Parker ray was in tow Kelly couldn't
recall specifically who did what but she remembers one sitting beside her and to
the other holding a four inch long folding knife against her throat Kelly thought they were playing a prank on her
still overcome by dizziness she could barely react as her hands were restrained by handcuffs the joke was
lost when Kelly's face was wrapped in duct tape she was then stripped naked and a metal
collar was firmly secured around her neck Kelly spent the following two and a half
days captive in David Parker ray toy box as evidence suggests that Kelly was kept
sedated during her captivity she was unable to recall specifics of her ordeal she recalled being strapped to something
that resembled a weight bench although her eyes were covered with duct tape she knew David Parker ray was with her
for most of the time in one instance she said he played a gynecologist with her investigators believed this was the
incident ray filmed on the videotape recovered at the crime scene David Parker ray told Kelly that he was part
of what he referred to as a Satan worshipping group who had been watching her for a long time according to Ray
members of the group specifically wanted to kidnap Kelly to use as a sex slave but would now be pissed off at him
because she was quote too tight between the legs for good sex kelly retained to the memory of sitting inside David
Parker ray State Parks work truck two and a half days later fully clothed in the same outfit she'd been wearing when
she left her house Kelly felt groggy and spaced out unsure what was going on ray
was driving the vehicle as if nothing had happened and casually dropped her off at home immediately after these
events Kelly could barely recall anything that happened to her at five one three bass Road she later had a
vague recollection of scene Jesse Ray before she blacked out but when she saw Jessie around town she acted perfectly
normal giving Kelly no reason to suspect anything untoward had happened from Kelly van Cleves harrowing
statements it was clear that David Parker raised partner Cindy Hendy and the long-term friend Denis Roy Yancy
were not the only ones who assisted with his crimes in what was perhaps the most
disturbing discovery his own daughter Jessie Ray was also involved Denis Roy Yancy had implicated Jessie ray as an
active participant in the abduction and murder of Murray Parker but given Yancy had BAC flipped on his
confession he was unreliable he ends his claims against Jessie Ray were now solidified by survivor
Kelly Van Cleave who implicated Jesse ray directly is the person who abducted her on behalf of David Parker ray Jesse
ray no longer lived in Elephant Butte but had recently returned to her father's bus road property after
receiving word of his arrest prior to her return she had spoken to investigators on the phone requesting to
be interviewed in relation to Ray's arrest as the allegations against him were in her opinion getting out of hand
she only agreed to return to town after police assured her she wouldn't be immediately arrested for a pending drug
charge upon her return to Elephant Butte Jesse ray immediately came to her father's defense she adamantly denied
the allegations made against David Parker ray and Cindy Hendy stating that their actions with other
women were consensual and not criminal during these interviews Jesse ray gave investigators no reason to look at her
with suspicion or consider her to be involved with these crimes in any way on April 26 1999 investigators arrived
for 5 1-3 bass Road where they arrested Jesse Ray in relation to the abduction and rape of Kelli Van Cleve
jessie was transported to the Truth or Consequences Police Station where investigators were also eager to
question her for the first time about her involvement in Marie Parker's murder as alleged by co-accused Dennis Roy
Yancy however Jessie refused to say a word until she spoke to her attorney her state-appointed lawyer Billy Blackburn
advised this coin to stay silent Jessie was transported to the Dona Ana County Detention Facility and made her first
court appearance the next day she faced 12 charges relating only to the crimes committed against Kelly Van Cleave one
charge for kidnapping six charges for criminal sexual penetration one charge for criminal sexual contact one charge
for assault with intent to commit a violent felony and three charges for conspiracy if found guilty she faced the
total of 150 years in prison and a one-hundred and forty thousand dollar fine continuing to maintain her
innocence On June 23 1999 Jesse Ray entered a plea of not guilty David Parker ray also had these charges added
bringing his total number of charges up to 37 jesse received the same bail amount as her father and Cindy Hendy set
at 1 million dollars unable to pay she was returned to the Dona Ana County Detention facility to await trial
[Music] after months of investigation Cindy Hendy x' claims that David Parker ray
was a serial killer remained unsubstantiated while investigators continued coming up and be handed in the
search for bodies they started pouring back through old crime reports for anything that could be linked to the
investigation there was one case in particular that sparked the FBI's attention in 1989 ten years before David
Parker raised at rest a local fisherman had found the body of an unknown man floating in Elephant Butte Lake the man
had been shot in the back of the head before being wrapped in a blue tarp weighed down with two boat anchors and
dumped in the lake the body contained no form of identification leading police to
put a bulletin out to all neighboring states in the hopes of identifying the victim a positive identification was
never made and a decade later the men remained unidentified in his final resting place in the truth or
consequences town cemetery his headstone simply read mr. John Doe as investigators from the David Parker
ray case sifted through john doe's case notes a decade later they discovered that when the body was found there was a
key chain in the man's pocket that listed an address in Phoenix Arizona while looking through missing-persons
reports from Arizona around the time the body was discovered they were able to match the clothing to
a man who was reported missing in late September 1988 dental records confirmed to john doe's identity as 41 year old
billy bowers at the time of his disappearance billy lived and worked 420 miles away in
Phoenix where David Parker ray was also living at the time upon further investigation a startling discovery was
made not only would David Parker ray and Billy Bowers living in the same town they were also working in the same car
repair shop David Parker ray wasn't living in Elephant Butte at the time Billy Bell was disappeared but he was
leasing the five one three bus road property which proved ray was familiar with the area at the time during an
earlier interview with police Cindy Hendy had revealed another incriminating story that David Parker ray had bragged
to her about ray told handy that years ago when he was living in Phoenix Arizona a friend asked him to kill a man
over a drug deal gone wrong ray claimed he shot the man in the back of the head before wrapping his body in a tarp and
driving him 420 miles all the way to Elephant Butte where he tied anchors to his body and dumped him in the lake
although Cindy Hendy story matched the case perfectly and authorities were able to provide a direct link between David
Parker ray and Billy Bowers once again they had no concrete evidence to prove the Ray was involved with Billy's murder
if taken to court the allegations could easily be stripped down to coincidence in hearsay
ten years had passed since Billy Bowers body was initially discovered which meant the chance of uncovering solid
evidence was highly unlikely unable to file charges with what they heard investigators continued the search for
any evidence that could tie a David Parker ray to murder FBI profilers analyzed that the
information they had on David Parker ray so far hoping to better understand Ray's
behavioural patterns to assist with the investigation based on his criminal profile and information provided by
Cindy Hendy they were certain ray kept trophies taken from his victims and he had revealed in interviews that Ray took
items of jewelry belonging to his victims these allegations were supported by Kelly Van Cleave whose wedding ring
along with other personal items were missing after her abduction during the initial search of the
bathrobe crime scene hundreds of items of jewelry and clothing had already been seized believed to be items belonging to
other victims of David Parker ray profilers were convinced there could be more evidence of trophy keeping that
could help them identify more victims on April 28th 1999 investigators returned to five one three bath road to conduct a
thorough search for David Parker ray suspected trophies Jesse ray had been living on the
property since her father's arrest concerning investigators that she may have destroyed or concealed evidence
experts provided an extensive list of potential hiding spots including the obvious like cabinets and drawers to the
more obscure such as hollowed out batteries and Bibles knife handles false ceilings and to the insides of eggshells
and tea bags investigators had also received information from David Parker Ray's neighbors that he was often seen
digging around in his yard planting trees before digging them back up and moving them elsewhere based on these
reports an excavator and advanced the ground-penetrating radar were brought to the property for another search of the
yard but other than a few minor fall ins no major breakthroughs were uncovered by
December 1999 nine months had passed since David Parker raised at rest and two the investigation had failed to
uncover any bodies or human remains that could be unequivocally linked to the case so far only Ray's accomplice
Dennis Roy Yancy had been charged with murder based purely on his confession Yancy was scheduled to go to trial for
the first-degree murder of Marie Parker on December 6 1999 he was also charged with kidnapping conspiracy and tampering
with evidence he was facing a potential 46 year prison sentence and a 45 thousand dollar fine as Marie Parker's
body had not been found ENC was now denying the murder he indicated he intended to claim he had
made a false confession and would be pleading not guilty to the murder at trial according to a statement made by Yancy's
wife Christina Yancy feared David Parker ray had photos of him strangling Murray
Parker to death it was the existence of these photographs that may have compelled
Yancey to confess in the first place as he was sure that would be uncovered and prove his involvement but Cindy Hendy
had told investigators that Ray would periodically destroy his photograph collection of his victims which
explained why the alleged photos of Murray's murder had never been found on December 2 just four days before the
trial was scheduled to commence Yancy entered a last-minute plea deal with the prosecution he agreed to plead guilty to
a lesser charge of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in exchange for a 25 year prison sentence
with five years of probation as part of the plea deal any future charges that may arise against him from Murray
Parker's case would also be dismissed the prosecution felt that a second-degree murder charge was their
best bet at securing a conviction as they had no evidence beyond DNC's confession Murray Parker's family were
not informed about this plea deal learning of it for the first time when the media reported at the following day
they were disappointed by the news criticizing the prosecution for their decision Marie's foster sister Julie
Lawrence said quote I can't begin to express to you the absolute devastation I've gone through since we lost her I
loved her very much she had a heart bigger than anybody I've ever known she fed hungry homeless children found
places for them to sleep so they wouldn't freeze to death she frequently put other people ahead of
her own AIDS that's who she was in denier she's gone District Attorney run Lopez defended the
decision to offer Dennis Roy Yancy a plea deal by stating there wasn't a lot they could do without a body
Lopez quote we have one of the pieces of the puzzle figured out now the where the
remains are we may never know the plea deal wasn't the only controversial moment of Marie Parker's case the fact
that Dennis Roy Yancy was the only person ever charged in connection with the crime is also a major point of
contention district attorney Ron Lopez maintained against his confession alone wasn't enough to build a case against
the David Parker ray or Jesse ray Cindy Hendy had also accepted a plea agreement
back in April 1999 but in the months following she tried to renege on the deal from his prison cell David Parker
ray had been writing the love letters to Cindy Hendy causing her to have a change
of heart despite already agreeing to the plea deal and having her original 25 charges reduced to just 5 she now wanted
to have all her previous statements implicating ray retracted plead not guilty and to go to trial
her grounds for reversing the deal whether the terms of the plea had not been properly explained to her in a
January 2000 hearing judge Neil Mertz ruled against Hindi's request for a trial based on the fact that Hendy quote
knowingly and voluntarily entered into the plea deal judge Mertz stated that Hindi's desire to protect her David
Parker ray was not a valid reason to withdraw from the plea agreement on May 11 2007 D was sentenced to 36
years in prison for her crimes committed against Cynthia veal and Angelica Montaigne with 2 out of 3 of David
Parker raised known accomplices behind bars the final one left to face trial was his
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Jessie Ray's lawyer Billy Blackburn put in a request for his clients trial to be
moved outside of Sierra County Blackburn argued that the extensive media attention the case had received but his
client at risk of receiving an unfair trial as there wasn't a potential juror in Sierra Leone capable of reaching an
unbiased verdict Blackburn also put in a request to the Supreme Court for Jesse ray and David Parker ray
to face a joint trial in relation to the charges against them for the Kelly Van Cleave case the Supreme Court passed the
decision on to judge Neil nerds who in September in 1999 ruled against the request meaning the defendants would
each face a separate trial although judge Mertz did agree to Billy Blackburn's request to hold the trial
outside of Sierra Leone both trials would occur within New Mexico with David Parker raised scheduled for March 2000
in tiara and Maria and Jessie raised to occur four months later in Gallup it was
also ruled that David Parker ray would face three separate trials for each of his known survivors Kelli Van Cleve
Angelica Montana and Cynthia veal as opposed to a single trial for all sadly Angelica Montano would never receive
justice as jury selection was about to commence for Kelly van Cleves trial Angelica Montano passed away in an
Albuquerque Hospital from pneumonia and heart failure she was just 28 years old jury selection for Kelly van Cleves
trial proved to be far more complicated at than originally anticipated upon being briefed about the case many
potential jurors excused themselves for work or religious reasons or claimed that were unable to handle the graphic
nature of it others were denied based on the fact that they had already openly decided
David Parker ray was guilty one woman went as far as telling the court quote as far as I'm concerned he's guilty and
should be tortured like he tortured those women and to then be sent to prison to die on her way out from the
courtroom she glanced over at David Parker ray and called him the scum of the earth the jury selection debacle
wasn't the only thing delaying David Parker Ray's trial for his crimes against Kelly Van Cleave ever since his
arrest in March 1999 Ray had been suffering heart problems that required multiple visits to the hospital when his
trial was due to commence in March 2000 David Parker ray was once again hospitalized delaying court proceedings
further the trial for Kelly Van Cleave finally commenced On June 29 2010 Parker Ray's court attire consisted of a
striped western-style shirt black jeans and cowboy boots before proceedings began he appeared laid-back and relaxed
and was seen smiling and joking with his team of lawyers as part of a court ruling no evidence of Ray's other
alleged crimes was allowed to be introduced during Kelly's trial meaning the case relied heavily on a single
piece of evidence the videotape that showed Kelly Van Cleave restrained in the toy box
in his opening statement prosecutor Jung Eun's said quote you'll see him rubbing his
hands over her body the defendant used her as a toy David Parker Ray's defense lawyer
Jeff rein used his opening statement to try and attack kill his character he described Kelly as a party girl one that
lived each day like there was no tomorrow Raine pointed out that her memory about
the incident was hazy and therefore unreliable and that he didn't believe the act on the videotape was evidence of
rape after the opening statements were presented the trial was suddenly interrupted by David Parker ray who
complained of chest pains ray was rushed to hospital but cleared later that evening and the trial resumed the
following day over the course of the next two weeks the jury heard testimonies from Kelly Ben cleave her
ex-husband Patrick Murphy and Kelly's therapist who had diagnosed Kelly with post-traumatic stress disorder David
Parker ray wasn't called to testify in fact the defense didn't call any witnesses instead relying solely on
cross-examining the prosecution witnesses in closing arguments on July 12 prosecutor Jimmy John's emphasized
the strength of the toybox videotape as damning evidence against David Parker ray
although Kelly's face wasn't visible he urged the jury to pay close attention to
the fact that Kelly had the same unique tattoo the same hair and the same build as the woman on the videotape he said
there was no doubt it was Kelly Van Cleave who they had witness to strapped down and assaulted by the accused
the defense focused on Kelly's testimony being based on her unreliable memory and
inability to recall specific details Jeff rein relentlessly attacked Kelly during his closing argument saying quote
if you're telling the truth you don't have to try and remember things why in the world would David Parker ray take
her home to her husband's house in broad daylight we're not suggesting that she wasn't at
David Parker Ray's house but she has an awful selective memory the jurors were just about to leave the courtroom to
begin deliberations when David Parker ray made another scene standing up and grabbing his chest as though in pain he
was rushed to hospital but released soon after as the deliberations continued on
July 13 2010 alerts shocked the court when he announced a mistrial on the grounds that two of the 12 jurors didn't
believe Kelly Van Cleave was telling the truth deciding her story made no sense and was
unconvincing these jurors therefore voted to acquit David Parker ray the other ten jurors disagreed resulting in
a hung jury Jeff rein was thrilled with the result stating it was clear the jury had been
paying close attention to the evidence undeterred the prosecution immediately filed to have the case retried into the
new trial was scheduled for November 27 2000 the second to trawl played out significantly different from the first
jury selection went smoothly this time and there were no further motions from either of the legal teams since the
first trial had ended Jeff rein had quit his job as a defense lawyer and relocated to Alaska leading
to speculation that he wanted to remove himself as far from the David Parker ray
case as possible ray was assigned a new lawyer Lee McMillian after the complications and delays of the first
trial judge neil nerds commented that he was happy things were progressing so smoothly this time on November 29 2002 a
colleague what else could possibly go wrong the next day judge Mertz died suddenly
from a heart attack after Judge Mertzes unexpected death the trial was delayed yet again as a new judge was selected
and brought up to speed with the case the appointment went to Judge Kevin Swayze into the retrial commenced on
April 11 2001 unlike a judge Neil nerds who had been to the prosecution from entering any evidence in relation to
David Parker raise other alleged crimes Judge Kevin Swayze was much more lenient
allowing the majority of evidence to be presented this ruling gave the prosecution far more to work with
allowing them put their existing evidence into context by proving Kelley's abduction and assault was part
of a much bigger more sinister plot of sex slavery and torture working strongly in the defense's favor
judge Mertz had prohibited a shocking piece of evidence from being presented in Kelly Van Cleef's first trial an
audio cassette tape the tape was played to several of ray's victims upon their arrival to five one three bus road
including Cynthia veal and Angelica Montano in the tape Bray used the first-person narration to describe in
explicit disturbing detail what he intended to do to his slave during her time in captivity during the initial
search of David Parker raised bus road property nine different versions of the introductory audio tapes were found each
tapes seemed to be a rehearsal as if ray was trying to work out a completed script that he was happy with most of
the tapes ended with Christian music the tape played to the court was Ray's final
most polished attempt at the beginning of the recording David Parker ray provides a warning quote this audio tape
contains very graphic sexually oriented material for adults only it was designed
and created for entertainment purposes only it was those key words entertainment
purposes only that resulted in the prosecution having difficulty admitting the tape in the first trial the defense
argued the tape was simply a work of fiction nothing more than a fantasy another reason the tape was withheld
from Kelly Van Cleef's first trial was that given her memory loss she was unable to recall whether the tape had
ever been played to her however as many of the details of torture and assault described in the tape match to Kelly's
testimony judge Swayze now permitted it to be played during her second to trial David Parker raised voice cut through
the Silence of the courtroom quote hello there [ __ ] are you comfortable right now I doubt it wrists and ankles chained
gagged probably blindfolded you were disoriented and scared too I would imagine perfectly normal under the
circumstances for a little while at least you need to get your [ __ ] together and listen to this tape it is very
relevant to your situation I'm going to tell you in detail why you have been kidnapped what's going to happen to you
and how long you'll be here I don't know the details of your capture because this
tape is being created July 23 1993 as a general advisory tape for future female captives the information I'm going to
give you is based on my experience dealing with captives over a period of several years if at a future date there
are any major changes in our procedures the tape will be upgraded now you're obviously here against your will totally
helpless don't know where you're at don't know what's going to happen to you you're very scared or very pissed off
I'm sure that you've already tried to get your wrists and ankles loose and to know you can't now you're just waiting
to see what's gonna happen next for around 45 minutes the tape went on to describe in explicit graphic detail
exactly what the captor could expect during their time at David Parker Ray's mercy including extreme acts of torture
rape violence and degradation he spared no detail explaining his different sexual fetishes his formula for drugging
and hypnotizing women to induce memory loss his methods for removing DNA evidence and the precautions he had
taken to ensure no slave could escape his prison he also explained he wouldn't be the only one
abusing the captive he had a female accomplice whom he often referred to as his mistress who would also be joining
them to assist in sexual assault and what he referred to as dungeon games he said he would also be hosting parties
where his captives would be subjected to further assaults by his friends ray spoke of his complete disregard and
disdain for women explaining that he had been sexually assaulting female since he
was a teenager and that he and his female accomplice had been keeping sex slaves for years he said if he killed
every woman he kidnapped there would be bodies strung all over the country under
that wall he didn't enjoy killing the women he captured he had no qualms with slicing the throat of anyone who posed a
threat quote I would really hate to have to dump that pretty little body off in a
canyon somewhere to rot I'm not trying to scare you that's just the way it is be nice keep your mouth shut
learn the rules and survive David Parker ray ended the tape by telling his captive quote have a nice day when the
audio tape finished playing the entire courtroom sat in stunned silence several members of the jury covered their faces
with their hands David Parker ray statistics turning narration had described horrific
events that matched the descriptions of violent sexual abuse and torture given by Rey survivors the fact that the tape
was dated in 1993 three years before the crimes against Kelly Van Cleave only added fuel to speculation that David
Parker ray had been far more prolific and there may be more victims yet to be identified as it was recorded before
David Parker ray met Cindy Hendy it was also unclear who raised female mistress was as he never referred to her by name
none of Ray's alleged friends were named nor has there been any evidence to support the theory that many more people
were involved but the tapes strongly suggested Hendy was not raised only partner-in-crime defense lawyer Lee
macmillian argued that the date was meaningless as the tape could have been recorded much later than 1993 and Ray
may have used the wrong date on purpose to install more fear in his victims by suggesting he had been doing this to
others for a long period of time given that investigators didn't seize the tape until 1999 McMillion asked if the
prosecution could prove without doubt that the tape had been at five one three bus road in 96 when the alleged crimes
against Kelly Van Cleave occurred the prosecution couldn't prove this point but it didn't matter the damage had
already been done it took the jury five hours to find a David Parker ray guilty of all charges for the crimes committed
against Kelly Van Cleave despite the guilty verdict the defense was not budging from its position that Kelly Van
Cleave had consented to everything that happened during her time with David Parker ray
they claimed Kelly was embarrassed at having willingly participated in sadomasochism leading her to claim she
had been drugged and suffered trauma induced memory loss defense away early mcmillian said Ray's
guilty verdict meant anyone who engaged in alternative sexual practices could now be vilified for their Kings quote
from our point of view this entire investigation and process has all the marks of a witch-hunt nobody who engages
in alternative sexual practices is going to be safe David Parker ray sentencing was hold off until he faced a trial for
crimes committed against Cynthia veal and Angelica Montano the expectation was that Ray would
appeal his conviction but what happened next took everyone by surprise like a Dennis Roy Yancy and Cindy Hendy before
him David Parker ray was offered a plea agreement facing a life sentence for the
crimes against Kelly Van Cleave the plea agreement offered ray the option to plead guilty to all remaining charges
for crimes committed against Cynthia veal in exchange for the charges for crimes committed against the
now-deceased Angelica Montano being dismissed to further tempt ray into agreeing to
the deal the prosecution offered to spare his daughter Jessie Ray from trial and to reduce her prison turn ray
accepted the deal as a result Jessie Ray was sentenced to just two and a half he
is in prison for her role in the crimes committed against Kelli Van Cleave with an additional five years probation
as part of Rey's plea deal he was required to provide 100 hours of recorded interviews with profilers from
the FBI's behavioral science unit the interviews hoped to shed light on Rey's patterns and motivations in turn
providing a valuable contribution to the FBI profilers database on August 21 2001
David Parker ray was escorted into a conference room for the first of his court-mandated interviews David Parker
ray began his interview at his childhood where he was raised on his grandparents
ranch along with two abusive ons his aunts would often hold him upside down by the ankles over the Pigpen
threatening to drop him in and feed him to the pigs when he would take a bath they would force his head under the
water allowing him up for air just as he was running out of breath it caused him
to develop a great fear of water a phobia he actively worked to overcome in his adult years as a teenager ray began
reading magazines that featured bondage and sadomasochism some of which were supplied to him by his father this
sparked an interest in the fetish which developed into full-blown fantasies where he dominated women
after being shamed humiliated and psychologically terrorized by his aunts as a child Rey felt the way to regain
his power would be to dominate others Rey had difficulty explaining how his furnaces worked exactly but he referred
to them as cycles from which he would step up and step down when he was in a cycle or stepped up a violent fantasy
dominated his mind so powerfully that he was unable to concentrate on anything else when he stepped down from a cycle
he was able to focus on normal everyday things like work and relationships Rey claimed to have no control over the
Fennessy cycles describing them as waves that would come crashing down on him when he least expected it he once sought
psychological help from the Veterans Administration Center who provided him with reading material on the matter but
it only made things worse in the 1970s he confided in his then wife Glenda Rae Jesse Ray's mother about his affinities
for bondage discipline and restraining women hoping to find release from the fantasies that tormented him he admitted
to Glenda it was the only way he could be truly sexually satisfied glenda didn't take her husband's
revelation well and it led to the end of their marriage ray cut things off with blender for good by moving to a
different city during Ray's interviews he made no mention of anything that happened to during the 1980s instead of
jumping straight to 1994 after the end of another relationship ray settled in Elephant Butte and began working on what
he dubbed the toy box a project that would eventually cost him over $100,000 however ray said he considered the toy
box to be more like a personal museum a space he had created purely for himself when his fantasy stepped up he would
spend a time in the toy box where he would make new audio tapes bright fictional bondage stories and draw
images of restraint women he claimed the toy box was designed to keep his fantasies in check safeguarding him from
crossing the line and to carrying his fantasies out on any real women ray said the toy box worked for a while until he
met a sex worker who went by the name candy faire candy worked as a submissive in a bondage and discipline house and
had a personal interest in the fetish deriving sexual pleasure from pain ray and candy organized some private bondage
sessions and from that moment on David Parker razor life changed candy had a high tolerance for pain and was able to
satisfy all the phrase desires so much so that Ray soon developed an obsession his sessions with candy consumed his
every thought but ice candy couldn't be available whenever ray wanted her his desires were going unfulfilled and
overwhelming him Rey was already in a relationship with Cindy Hendy at this time and he handy
and can be fair would occasionally engage in sexual relations together on some occasions Denis Roy Yancy would
also join in handy then decided she wanted raid to cut ties with candy to which he agreed so the couple had to
come up with new ways of fulfilling raising men's desires cindy Handy's interest in bondage was more of a
voyeuristic fetish so they decided they should hire a sex worker who ray could restrain and dominate while hindi
watched after driving to Albuquerque they chose to approach Cynthia V Hill ray claimed Cynthia agreed to engage in
paid bondage sessions at his house over the weekend but when they arrived at Elephant Butte she became sick from drug
withdrawal which turned him off when he refused to pay her the agreed-upon price
she turned on him and made the accusations but then ray changed his story and tried to put the blame on his
partner Cindy Hendy saying he never wanted to hire a sex worker but Hendy had pressured him into doing it he
firmly denied ever having drugged a woman and denied he ever kept mementos from women he also denied having kept a
records of any women he held captive saying it was impossible to keep a record of something that never happened
on the second day of Ray's FBI interviews special agent Ellen O'Toole who was conducting the interview told
David Parker ray that she wasn't buying his [ __ ] she accused him of lying and said she didn't believe that the toy
box was created as a space for ade to sit by himself when his fantasies consumed him she could tell just by
looking at it that its main purpose was death Rey sat in silence for a moment before
asking to speak to his lawyer li McMillian after talking with his client mcmillian told the FBI that David Parker
ray was terminating interview sessions Rey was returned to his prison cell where he requested his defense team
commenced legal proceedings to try and reverse his play deal Rey claimed he was on medication when he agreed to the plea
bargain and that it impacted his decision-making ability he now wanted the played not guilty to all remaining
charges and to go to trial the judge wasn't buying David Parker Ray's claim that his decision to enter the plea
bargain was made unconsciously a 60-day evaluation conducted prior to his acceptance of the plea concluded he was
of sound mind raised guilty plea was upheld and on September 20 2001 David Parker ray was sentenced to 223 years in
prison for the crimes committed against Cynthia Beal and Kelly Van Cleve Angelica Montano's case had been
dismissed as part of the plea deal at Rey's sentencing the Attorney General for the state of New Mexico stated quote
it's necessary to keep the animal in his cage the animal can't live among us as a
community and state we can't risk him being out on the streets neither David Parker ray nor his
thought at Jesse Ray ever faced a single charge in relation to the murder of Murray Parker likewise despite a strong
circumstantial case David Parker ray was never charged in relation to the murder
of Billy Bowers his former colleague from Arizona whose body was found in Elephant Butte Lake in court
Kelly Van Cleve told David Barker a quote I want you to burn in hell I just wish that you would live long enough to
serve your full sentence then on May 28 2002 just eight months into his 223 year
prison sentence David Parker ray suffered a heart attack and died six months after David Parker Ray's death in
November 2002 water levels in Elephant Butte Lake reduced significantly allowing New Mexico State Police divers
to conduct a more thorough search of the deeper sections of the reservoir no bodies or any significant discoveries
were made in May 2003 state-of-the-art sonar equipment was used to search the lake and that surrounds further this
effort also led to no discoveries in October 2011 the FBI announced that due to environmental changes in a canyon
near Elephant Butte Lake they would be conducting a new large-scale search for human remains
once again they came up empty-handed still convinced that David Parker ray buried up to 40 victims authorities
released the hotline for people to call in with any information they heard in relation to the case one caller reported
spotting some bones on the eastern side of Elephant Butte Lake during a visit to
the area a month prior when investigators searched the area they found a foot long section of a femur as
well as several other smaller leg bones tests determined the bones to be human but as they were extremely weathered
forensic scientists were unable to determine their age to this day the remains have never been identified in
November 2011 the FBI held a press conference in Albuquerque in an attempt to spark some new leads they also sought
to identify a woman whose photo was found at five one three bus road believing she may have been a victim of
David Parker ray two days later the woman from the photo contacted the FBI to identify herself
and to confirm that she had not been a victim despite constantly running into dead
ends the FBI into New Mexico State Police refused to give up the search for David Parker Ray's victims throughout
the ongoing course of the investigation authorities have released the identity of another young woman who they strongly
suspect could have met with foul play at the hands of David Parker ray 22-year old Jill Suzanne Troya was last seen in
Albuquerque on the late evening of September 30 1995 a petite woman of Asian appearance with dark hair and
metal eyeglasses Jill was spotted by several witnesses drinking at the frontier restaurant with Jesse Ray who
according to some reports was her girlfriend at the time according to witness reports Jesse and chill broke
into a loud argument and Jesse stormed out of the restaurant when Jill left a short while later it was the last time
anyone saw her alive Jill was reported missing to the Albuquerque Police Department by her
mother who described her daughter as trusting and naive and two that it was out of character fuel not to be in touch
with her loved ones Jesse ray claims to know nothing about jewel Troyer's disappearance Jessie
taught police she left the frontier restaurant with her father David Parker ray and moved back to Elephant Butte
without jewel during the search of David Parker raised toybox forms were uncovered that described the physical
characteristics of different women authorities suspect the rate used these forms to keep a record of his victims
but they only contained attributes and to no names the description on one form bears striking similarities to jewel
Troyer however since Ray's death investigators have been unable to determine whether
the forms are factual or fantasy in one of Cindy Handy's initial interviews with
police she also claimed that Ray had once brought a small woman of Asian appearance into his toy box before
shooting her in the back of the head and disposing of her body in one of these dumping grounds when investigators
looked into the link between jewel Troyer's disappearance and David Parker ray a witness claimed to have once seen
an unconscious woman lying on the couch at five one three bass Road Jesse Ray was there and referred to the woman as
Jill Jesse and her father claimed the woman had too much to drink and had passed there but the witness recalls
something feeling off about the situation no trace of Jill Troya has ever been found
since she was last seen at the frontier restaurant having a disagreement with Jesse Ray Jill's missing person case
remains the Albuquerque Police Department's only known cold case related directly to David Parker ray
although no bodies have ever been found to this day David Parker ray is suspected of committing upwards of 40
murders the FBI bases these numbers on journals descriptions and suspected of victim telling lists discovered on David
Parker Ray's property and on stories that Ray himself bragged about to others for her role in the crimes against Kelli
Van Cleave Jesse Ray was released from prison after serving her two-and-a-half year sentence the initial five-year
probation that was arranged as part of her father's plea deal was reduced to just one three months after Cindy
Hindi's playbill was finalized a new law was enacted that requires violent offenders to serve at least 85 percent
of their sentence even with good behavior as handy was sentenced under the old law she only has to serve 18
years of her 36 year sentence before being eligible for parole she has already served 219 years meaning
she has been eligible for parole since 2017 after serving just 12 years of his 25
year prison sentence Denis Roy Yancy was released on parole but only three months
after his release he violated his parole conditions and was sent back to prison yes he will be eligible for release
again in 2021 authorities continue to urge anyone with information about David Parker Ray's case to come forward
believing there are many more victims who have never been identified in a bid to increase exposure the FBI has
released photos of all the items of clothing and jewelry recovered in the search of David Parker raised property
the owners of which have never been identified there are hundreds of items Orlov many of which are unique and may
be recognizable the list includes distinctive charms brooches pendants necklaces bracelets rings earrings
watches coins handbags purses underwear shoes jackets and sunglasses some items are personalized including
name badges that read J Watson and W Scott a leather bracelet with the name who endure engraved a medical bracelet
declaring the word epilepsy and a purse containing what appears to be a female's
ponytail a photo gallery of the items can be viewed on the FBI website the link is available in the show notes for
this episode or on the case file website [Music] you

Case 96: The Toy Box (Part 3)

[Part 3 of 3]

The final part of the Toy Box series…

Items and Artifacts in David Parker Ray Case https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/albuquerque/items-david-parker-ray

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Victoria Dieffenbacher Additional editing – Milly Raso and Elsha McGill Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-96-the-toy-box-part-3

Brief Summary

Kelly Van Cleave's abduction by David Parker Ray and the ensuing investigation and trials are detailed in this episode.

Key points

Kelly Van Cleave's Disappearance. A newlywed's mysterious three-day absence leads to shocking revelations.
The Shocking Discovery. Janet Murphy connects her daughter-in-law's past to a notorious serial killer.
Kelly's Recovery of Memories. Years later, Kelly recalls her traumatic experience after being contacted by the FBI.
Jessie Ray's Arrest. The daughter of David Parker Ray is arrested in connection with Kelly's abduction.
The Plea Deal Controversy. Dennis Roy Yancy's plea deal leads to outrage from Marie Parker's family.
Trial Delays and Health Issues. David Parker Ray's health problems cause multiple delays in his trial.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She was nursing a hangover.

6:14WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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