Who Took Our Dad? The Abduction of Ray Wright | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] The Disappearance of Ray Wright was a complete mystery there was no explanation of why
he was gone the first real break is when your Uncle Dean went to your father's house
and found an intruder in the house did it strike you all as okay that seems too coincidental our dad is missing and
here's a guy in his house yeah 100% because it was just it was scary so Ray Wright has been missing since
Friday when he failed to show up for a meeting at work this case was a series of mysteries you have a Am Pm soda cup
just like you would pick up at the gas station the soda cup was the one piece of evidence left by the burglar at the
victim's residence in which we get some key forensic evidence a white man and then that evidence is linked to a car
wreck and as ground units arrived it was like the scene uh out of a [Music] movie inside that van is just a treasure
Trove of evidence a rain jaet covered in blood and a letter I hand delivered you your
revenge now it's time to pay me all that added up to someone's got Ray I knew something bad was happening
to him I felt it it was weeks to months to then years without really knowing right years of
not knowing yeah throughout the case it was clear that many of the Witnesses were afraid to come forward because I'm
terrified of them all of them you guys are going to get me killed like going help you I have to go you're going to
you're going to get me killed 100% of the truth what happened to Ray I don't know what happened to Ray I don't know I
don't know what happened to Ray officers in the family are left with essentially a person that has vanished
off the face of the Earth [Music] [Music] Dean Wright was nervous where's Ray it
was Saturday morning January 13th 2018 in Sacramento California I just wanted to know where Ry is Dean hadn't heard
from his younger brother Ry in two days highly unusual for brothers who spoke every day without fail all of a sudden
middle of January there's just nothing nothing no phone calls no texts no social media posts nothing Ray Wright 55
had Miss work no one had seen or heard from him including his daughters Haley and Kennedy
my sister called me and she was like Hey like have you heard from Dad like no one's heard from him I immediately hung
up and called him and I called and I called and I called straight to voicemail every time so I was getting
increasingly concerned Dean had repeatedly checked his brother's house in Rockland a
Sacramento suburb and the shop Ray rented in Rio Linda for his work as a master Carpenter nothing seemed unusual
except The Silence of ry's absence and you didn't see his truck no his truck was not there you're panicked
at this point right I think the first couple of days was when it really started to get real
and serious I just felt really powerless over the situation and it was really scary it was the worst thing that could
have ever happened Ray's ex-wife Peggy Wright was also a upset I knew right away when he was out of touch that there
was something wrong although they were no longer married Peggy still considered Rey to be
the love of her life was he romantic oh God he was super romantic they married in June
1994 and Ray became an instant dad to stepdaughter Haley then 3 years old he was meant to be a father and he was so
good with her he was always there for me first male role model and he always did
everything to the fullest Along Came Kennedy nearly 3 years later she says her father a loving Hands-On dad would
never just up and disappear he was like a te- ball dad um and he would like take me like
fishing soccer dad swim meets he could do it all yeah he could do it all he was good at
everything but after several good years Peggy says the couple found themselves drifting apart he was so busy working I
was busy parenting and I also worked they divorced in 2001 Ry remarried and divorced again in 2009 I think it was
the end of his second marriage that kind of put him over the edge and that's when
he fell off the wagon at almost 20 years sober Ray Wright a recovering alcoholic
had stayed sober for most of his adult life but when he went missing Peggy worried he was in trouble you think oh
gosh maybe you know he had a set back or something he was sober during your marriage oh yeah it was Ray's relapse
after his second marriage that sparked a downward spiral exploding One Night in November 2011 when Ray got in a car and
drove drunk he slammed headon into a vehicle severely injuring a husband and wife Ray then 49 was convicted of felony
DUI and sentenced to 18 months in jail I think that was Rock Bottom for him yeah rock bottom was getting in this
devastating accident yeah and hurting people in the midst of it Ray immediately stopped drinking rejoined
Alcoholics Anonymous and checked in with his sponsor every day I think the ray after that time was even better than the
ray prior to that time because he wanted to be in the best version of Ray Wright
that he could be just weeks before he went missing this is the last Thanksgiving and Ray spent Thanksgiving
and Christmas with his growing family celebrations that included Ray's first granddaughter Ashton that's Ashton when
she was really small oh I love that proud mom Haley was thrilled for her dad he was super excited he built her a
custom crib he loved being a grandpa and she loved Grandpa Ray Ray was at such a
great spot in his life he had it all and then he disappeared [Music] by Saturday afternoon on January 13th
more than 48 hours had passed without a single sign of Ray Dean Wright went back
to his brother's house yet again knocked on the door then let himself in said hello hello and immediately I smelled
marijuana smoke and that's when I knew this is completely wrong cuz he didn't like
that and I'm getting increasingly tense about it so as I walked forward I saw a cup and that had not been there I took
another step and a half that's when a back door burst open and I guy yelling me get out of here and
I said who are you where's Ray the man took a step toward Dean he says then turned away and ran out the back door I
immediately called 911 Rockland Police arrived Dean shaken filed a missing person's report and
pointed to the soda cup on the kitchen counter explaining that the Intruder must have left it the cup is full of Ice
uh it's full of soda Sacramento County prosecutor Matt Chisum it has a lid and a straw and it's sweating so it's fresh
when did you start to fear the worst Dean then right then it was crushing and you suspected Foul Play
[Music] [Music] yes [Music] Ray Wright much admired and loved by friends and family described as generous
creative and vibrant had seemingly vanished with the snap of a finger no one has any leads as to where he is or
what happened to him it was the frightening home invasion just 2 days after Ry had disappeared
that seemed to coincidental says prosecutor Matt Chisum I think that raised everyone's concern to a different
level as days go by it becomes more suspicious Rockland Police Sergeant Zack Lewis briefly considered raay history of
alcohol abuse but dismissed the possibility of a relapse we checked his bank accounts there was no activity on
his bank his vehicle had disappeared off of license plate readers we couldn't find his vehicle anymore his phone
wasn't working all those things led us to believe that it was more than just him not calling family members back and
drinking rais family immediately organized a search we all met up at a Target parking lot and passed out flyers
and then we just spread out and went in all different directions we were doing everything we could and exhausting
everything that we could do the resounding question for the Wright family echoing at all hours of
the day and night where was Ray vanished Without a Trace he was last seen a week
ago today he was driving a white Ford F2 10 days after his disappearance police discovered Ray's abandoned pickup truck
in a North Highlands apartment complex in this really high crime area the radio and license plates had been stripped for
police finding Ray's vehicle was a break in the case for Haley it was just heart
breaking that was the first real piece of evidence I was like okay we know something bad happened to him Rockland
PD uh seized the car and collaborated with the FBI to have it processed for trace evidence in the back of the truck
brown stains barely visible on black carpet liner were later determined to be human blood that was tested for DNA
against Ray Wright's toothbrushes since we don't have a body and it was a match [Applause]
16 days after Ray's disappearance something happened that would shift the investigation into
overdrive unnown OCC it all began with a harrowing high-speed police chase through
Sacramento it was a very dangerous high-speed chase speeds of up to 100 mph there was a terrible accident at the
end of that Pursuit put your open the door anybody in the car with you this is one of those chases
that you watch on TV and it's like whoo Yes except in this case the guy who was responsible for that is much more
dangerous than we even know the driver pinned inside the vehicle with a broken leg was unable to
[Applause] move California Highway Patrol officers cuffed the driver who appeared appeared
to be intoxicated the man's name Victor gray he had problems with the law before
and police arrested him this time for felony evasion and DUI he's taken to a hospital for
treatment and uh is under guard and is then booked in the Sacramento County Jail it was Gray's expired registration
with current registration sticker tabs that caught the attention of a police officer
like a stolen vehicle is that what they're thinking possibly or somebody stole a registration Tab and just stuck
it on their license weight a DMV record search showed the registration tab actually belonged to a 2016 Ford pickup
truck that had recently been reported missing along with its owner Raymond Wright the registration tab is actually
Ray Wright's registration tag off of his license plate and so that's the first connection that they are able to make
between Victor gray and Ray wri's disappearance and then 3 months after Ray's disappearance another turning
point in the case investigators got a DNA hit off that soda straw in the cup left behind
by the fleeing Intruder who finally had a name and it's one the police already knew Victor gray so now we have two
pieces of evidence linking him to Ray Wright the DNA match placed Victor gray inside Ray's home and at the center of
the expanding investigation turned out things were about to get a lot worse for gray
because his wrecked smoking van was a Smoking Gun here You' got a treasure Trove of evidence where was all of this
found all this was located in the vehicle that uh Victor gray was driving in the van's cluttered cargo area
Rockland PD and FBI investigators unraveled a black plastic tarp inside disturbing evidence deepened the ray rri
mystery the Hat you pull that hat out Ray Wright design it was like a holy moment this is huge for us the yellow
rain jacket that is Ray wri's jacket and what was found on that his DNA U was found on that jacket the glasses glasses
yeah and they're just broke into a bunch of pieces his wallet which it appeared they tried to burn a cell phone that's
clearly been destroyed like somebody took a hammer to it is that what it looked like that's what it looked like
yes we had to run the serial number on the back and it was registered to Ray wri's cell phone carrier we now we're
definitely able to tie Victor gray to Ray righ going missing but police had not found Ray there was still a sliver
of hope it was just really hard being patient it's still a hot investigation there's still uh many details left to
figure out perhaps none more significant than Victor Gray's cell phone it wasn't
just Ray's phone in the van Victor gra was there too the violent Collision ending the police chase sent great cell
phone sliding underneath the van center console the FBI found that and was able to process it for its contents and
inside that cell phone was also a treasure Trove of evidence astonishingly there was a photo of a handwritten
three-page letter prosecutors say from Victor gray to someone named Bob and at this point we don't know who Bob is it
was dated January 27th the same same day as Gray's ill-fated Chase with police and it's
clear that Victor has grievances with Bob and the Grievances stem about not being paid for
delivering the dude to you those are his words the dude yeah I hand delivered you
your revenge now it's time to pay [Music] me [Music] [Applause] let's talk about what was found in that
phone text messages that seem to refer to Ray Wright's possible kidnapping at that point right yes it took months but
investigators eventually dug up a gold mine of evidence from Victor Gray's cell phone there was a text conversation with
a woman who appeared to be working as a lookout for Mr Gray raise out front of the shop texted
the woman California Katie in a series of misspelled texts it was 9:50 a.m. January 11th
2018 yes I'm watching out front for anything tracing California Katie's number found in Gray's cell phone police
identified her as Katie Bernard the text messages with Katy Bernard were invaluable those messages were sent the
very morning Ray Wright went missing last seen at his Workshop they revealed a plan of sorts says pler County
district attorney investigator Ashley englefield Ray W's house probably about 30 or 40 minutes east from here mhm
investigator englefield showed us Ray Wright's former Workshop in Rio Linda and it's close proximity to a neighbor
Katie Bernard she happened to be living in a trailer next to Ray R's cabinet shop so that trailer right there is
where Katie Bernard was staying that morning englefield believes Katie Bernard was watching Ray's Workshop from
just yards away she was in a prime spot to be a source of intelligence for Victor Gray she's looking out that
window and she's looking at the shop so where do we think Victor gray is on that
morning during the course of that text conversation we think Victor is out there on the road and he's waiting for
the text from Katie the one that would tell him when Ray Wright was alone at his shop it came just before 10:00
a.m. just you and him hun a few hours later later Ray Wright would [Music] disappear I right there we'll be right
with you okay okay englefield brought in Katie Bernard for questioning in October
2018 Ray Wright had been missing for nearly 300 days if we don't have reasons for why you did certain things okay and
you lie to us about doing the things we know you did it makes you look like a killer okay are you a killer no Katy
Bernard would grudgingly become a pivotal witness what did Katie Bernard think she was doing this all for she
told us that she was only involved because she thought that Victor gray wanted to steal Raymond wri's truck this
wasn't about Ray's Truck this doesn't start again with Victor grg okay it starts with somebody else you about to
say it who Bob Katie knew the key players including the mysterious Bob named in that letter who's Bob is my ex-boyfriend
what's Bob name Bob Manor Robert Bobby Manor and so what's the story then what's the whole back story Ray and were
in a car accident when Ray Wright drove drunk six years earlier in November 2011 the married couple he struck was
Robert Manor and his wife she nearly died and Manor suffered multiple broken bones that left him with a permanent
limp and lingering pain he was reminded about it on a daily basis from his injuries and he could
never let it go after raised DUI conviction He was ordered to pay more than $275,000 in restitution to Manor and his
wife he had occasionally made payments but not very much police say Robert Manor was not a
man to stiff he was a feared methampetamine dealer in North Sacramento authorities
say who had done time for assault and selling drugs armed with a gun and Witnesses told police that Manor was
enraged and wanted revenge against Ray Wright that gives you a motive right the money and the Revenge
mostly a few months before Ry went missing in a staggering coincidence police belied that Manor
while visiting Katie just happened to see the man who had smashed into him driving drunk years ago the man he
blamed for shattering his life just came over one day and Ray was there Ray Wright was working in his shop
about 30 ft away that might have been the moment englefield says when Manor lit the fuse
igniting his plot for Revenge that had smoldered for years truck is gone yes and Ray been
missing yes Katie told police when she heard the news that Ry was missing she realized this wasn't just about stealing
his truck I'm freaking out why because like it's obvious you know like that what that he's been taken or hurt or
something the cop tell Victor and Bob Katie says Victor gray later told her that morning armed
with a gun he approached Ray Wright and punched him I think he then somehow secured Ray's hands and he was able to
put Ry into his own truck then englefield says Victor gray drove Ray's truck with a bloodied Ray Wright in the
back to Manor's house a few miles away I don't know what they did with Ray afraid
she might be implicated in Ray Wright's disappearance KY told investigators she confronted Robert
Manor she asked him about about whether he killed Ray Wright and he tells her that he
did Manor then grabbed her around the neck choked her and told her never to speak about this
again according to Chism Manor's chilling admission came in just three words he says I got him I got him I got
him we heard that quote from Mr Manor from multiple Witnesses I didn't do anything I'm not
saying you did like Tessa Trimble I'm not involved in I'm not saying that you are in an audio only police interview
Ashley englefield spoke to Tessa a massage therapist who had treated Robert Manor's injuries from the accident she
says they eventually became romantically involved Tessa was very hesitant to speak initially and she was also very
afraid of Bobby you're going to get me killed I have to go I do I get out of here it would take some time but Tessa
began to talk she received a phone call from Bobby and Bobby had told her hey come over to the house we need to talk
according to her what she thought at the time was that they were going to talk about their relationship but when she
saw manner Tessa says there was something else on his mind what did he talk to you about he
told me he took care of whatever something he was trying to take care of for a long time
he didn't give me details he just told me that he took care of he felt good about that when he said that who do you
think he was talking about show about Ray right why would you think he was talking about Ray
right because he had he had a problem with that guy he he mentioned on numerous occasions he wanted to get that
guy it sounded to me like one of the only persons that Bobby could tell about this was Tessa and so he
did Bobby's telling you what he got him is that what he said I got him yeah everyone knew that Manor was
talking about Ray Wright and then the first time they see him after The Disappearance see Manor he says I got
him in March 2021 prosecutors charged Robert Manor and Victor gray with the kidnapping and murder of Ray Wright even
though police had yet to find Ry both men pleaded not guilty Manor facing a life sentence
without parole can you hear me Mr Manor had a very different story to tell I'm innocent you had nothing to do with the
murder of Ray rri nothing to do with it it was still a missing person but we all
assumed it was a homicide did they tell you at any point we beli your brother is dead
yes maybe 3 and 1/2 years in during those agonizing years Ray wri's family one by one eventually came
to the same conclusion [Music] Ry was no longer alive and their grief was compounded by
not having his body to bury that's definitely still a source of pain for us there was no laying him to rest like
he doesn't get the send away that he deserves prosecutor matchism hoped to provide the family A measure of Justice
by convicting Robert Manor and Victor gray approaching trial chism's crucial concern was The credibility of his
Witnesses you've got witnesses who have history of drugs and drug use does that create a complication with the jury yes
all these Witnesses had significant credibility issues including another witness who had
come forward Victor Gray's cellmate Chris Mitchell well I started off talking to
him yeah and I'm real comfortable talking to him in an audio only interview Mitchell says Victor gray told
him about Ray Wright's tortured Final hours in Bob Manor's house what did gray tell you he
delivered dude to Bobby alive though Mitchell claims Victor gray told him there was plastic sheeting laying on
the floor plastic everywhere according to Mitchell gray said Manor had Ray Wright
poisoned he poisoned him Mitchell says gray also told him that Manor had raised body
dismembered cut the body up did he tell you what they did with it no he didn't tell me none of
that Victor was your accomplice in this kidnapping and murder plot there's no connection whatsoever with me and Victor
before the incident Robert Manor spoke to us from the Sacramento County Jail they searched my house they tore the
carpet up they did everything like that there was no DNA found well because you put plastic all over the floor no did
not get he was good at covering his tracks he got other people to do the Dirty Work people like Victor gray says
Chisum we find all the evidence of Ray wri's death it's in Victor Gray's van the cleanup is done and and Victor gray
tells you that on the jail call in a jailhouse visit with his wife after the high-speed chase with police
Victor gray made a powerful admissions as Chism he almost kind of confesses to his wife and brings his wife into the
no clean up the scene whatever I clean up you know what I mean he said I had to clean up the scene as if he was almost
bitter about it such a m but he played me we believe that Victor was supposed to be paid
$10,000 he was pissed off because he didn't get paid by B that's why prosecutors believe Victor gray wrote
the three-page letter found on his cell phone in it he said I'm done waiting and
need a fat package today meaning the money gray believed he was owed he told Bob Manor to take take care of him
because he had hand delivered you your revenge but Manor never paid Chisum says so Victor gray decided to deliver some
revenge of his own so white Chevy unknown occupant he was on his way to Manor's house with all the rayr evidence
still inside the van according to Chisum that's when police tried pulling gray over had Victor gray been paid then
maybe he's not driving across town with this Treasure Trove of evidence in the back of the
van the trial finally began in March 2023 more than 5 years after Raymond Wright went
missing since there was still nobody the case had become a nobody homicide nobody
cases are tough to prove you lose a lot of information by losing the body we developed every single lead possible in
order to prove this case as ch fully expected The credibility of his Witnesses came under Relentless fire the
thrust of the defense was these Witnesses are saying whatever the cops want them to say in order to help
themselves terrified of them they're dangerous people they have guns but Katie Bernard who was granted immunity
and never charged with a crime emerged as a star witness says Chisum for her damaging testimony about Gray's
involvement and Manor's admission and it was something that Manor was trying to keep under wraps even though
that he said it to her uh it was something that she was to take to her grave in court Manor and Gray's defense
teams zeroed in on the prosecution's lack of direct physical evidence against Robert Manor and the absence of a
[Music] body I reminded the jury that it' been 1,000 889 days and no one on the face of this
Earth had seen Ray Wright and this one was magical like he spent hours on that the trial says Peggy left her
Imagining the unimaginable Ray's final moments it's even worse to find out what it must have been like at the end for
him how scared he must have been he knew what was going to happen after an 8-day trial the jury got the
case I remember like squeezing Haley's hand and like thinking I was going to throw up like while we were waiting for
the verdict what do you make of the evidence against Manor and gray see a timeline of
the investigation at 48 [Music] hours.com how long before you got word there's a
verdict the jury was out about 4 hours it was late afternoon on March 17th 2023 the verdict was
in it was the most gut-wrenching day of my life Robert Manor and Victor gray were
found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping by but it didn't bring him back so it was like it was a Bittersweet
Victory it's Unthinkable that someone would do something like that like you can't imagine that your loved one would
be swept off the Earth like that April 28th the day of reckoning for Manor and gray before hearing their sentence they
heard from Ray Wright's family I said my dad will be in heaven like amongst the Angels like where he belongs and you'll
be in prison for life where you belong will never be the same none of us you just can't imagine how it impacts the
Family Manor and gray were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole gray never responded to our request for
an interview but Robert Manor insisted there had been a miscarriage of Justice I did not have anything to do with Ray
wri's disappearance at all Ray wri's body has never been found no where did you bury him I I never buried Ray R I
never I never chopped Ray R up I never had anything to do with Ray R's disappearance or murder nothing he has a
family that deserves answers they want to know why why did you do this I didn't I could not do this and there was
something else Manor wanted to say he claimed it was Victor gray and Katie Bernard who had plotted to set him up by
kidnapping and killing Ray Wright they come up with this and tried to come and ask me for
money gray and Bernard tried to extort Manor for $20,000 he says a claim that was never raised in court Manor was
making it for the first time during our interview what do you make of that argument wow it it that's a Whopper
right there's no proof of of anything like that in Chism argues it makes much more sense that Manor was The Mastermind
you also have this monster motive Revenge let the evidence speak for itself it's not people that gone on
there said the same exact phrase you know I got him I didn't get no money the remnants of Ray Wright's life
these silent Witnesses did speak loud and clear his famous yellow rain coat that
he had had for like 15 years like soaked in blood yeah I think seeing his broken
glasses is what that killed a the deal for me Haley says even her young daughter Ashton was overwhelmed by
losing Grandpa Ray she always thought people were going to go missing I caught her singing in
the dark songs that she would make up about where her Grandpa went I hope we did enough for the family
until we find the body it's still an open missing person's case with The Rock Police
Department at the end of the day do you believe Justice was served yes Justice was
served it gives this family somewhere to to start over consumed by rayed disappearance and
death for years friends and family decided it was time to celebrate his life I'm glad you all are here to share
these times with us Ry was to me my first best emper ever friend on this day June 17th day
1,983 since he went missing Ray Wright's presence filled the room and the hearts
of those who loved him we love you Ray how do you want your dad to be remembered Haley
exactly how he is remembered lovable accountable creative thoughtful I have never met anyone like my dad like I
definitely used this whole event as motivation to do better it's all like a testament to my
dad I hope he's you know at peace freeze the [Music] bird [Music] [Music] a famous therapist murdered I just was
woken up by screaming and now new evidence and clues reveal the chilling truth how creepy is that crazy creepy ha
how dangerous it really is for women 48 hours Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount
[Music] Plus

A family man abruptly vanishes. Police tie his disappearance to a monstrous plot for revenge. "48 Hours" contributor Natalie Morales reports.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Ray Wright's disappearance leads to a murder investigation, revealing a conspiracy involving revenge and ultimately resulting in two convictions.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearance. Ray Wright vanished without a trace, leaving family and friends in turmoil.
The Intruder's Evidence. A soda cup left by an intruder becomes a crucial piece of evidence.
The High-Speed Chase. A dangerous police chase leads to a breakthrough in Ray's case.
Connections to Victor Gray. Evidence links Victor Gray to Ray's disappearance, intensifying the investigation.
A Chilling Admission. Robert Manor's chilling words reveal a dark truth about Ray's fate.
Guilty Verdict. Robert Manor and Victor Gray were found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I don't know what happened to Ray.

A family member expressing their confusion and fear.

2:17WatchFeb 9, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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