'Serial Psyche': From murders to practicing sadomasochism, here's how David Parker Ray became Toy-Box Killer
David Parker Ray had a spark in him that made everyone trust him. With an honest smile on his face, everyone was convinced he was the sweet next-door neighbor they knew. However, things changed on March 22, 1999, when Cynthia Vigil was found by police after she ran naked to a neighbor and spoke about being tortured and raped for three days.
Vigil managed to lead police to the place where she was kept for three days and when they entered the house, it was not something they were prepared to see. Moving from the hallway into the bedroom, they saw many sadomasochistic tools along with some homemade ones that had nails melted into plastic and bent.
From pulleys to chains, the room contained all the pleasure devices that one would normally not see. However, it looked like the room was designed to induce pain rather than pleasure. Vigil revealed she had been tied up in a room and was given a pocket to pee as the torture act continued for three days.
While the police thought the rooms were the worse of what they had seen, they were left speechless when they went to the backyard of Ray and found a truck trailer that was equipped with items of sexual torture. The first thing one saw as they entered the trailer was a gynecological chair that was heavily equipped with devices to inflict pain. The most shocking part of the room was a manual that was stuck on the side of the trailer that guided one about how to deal with a woman who had been abducted.
Ray managed to carry out his acts in silence with the help of the soundproof torture chamber he had created for himself in the trailer. The trailer was more like a toy box for him where he lured his victims and tortured them for days. This gave him the nickname, 'Toy-box Killer'. Ray was very selective when he came to choosing his victims.
He looked out for women who were prostitutes or others who would not be searched for if gone missing. Vigil, 21, who was a prostitute and heroin addict, came across Ray when he posed as a police officer and told her she was under arrest. Ray often posed as an officer to get his victims to come with him.
Another way for him to attract women towards him was by going to the bar and talking to them. With his charming and manipulative ways, Ray always managed to bring back women to his place and then torture them for days. However, there were certain steps he carried out before he began inflicting pains.
Ray would often drug them and blindfold them to place them in his toy room. Once the victim gained consciousness, he would then play a 45 minutes audio clip that would narrate everything that was going to be carried out. That is, he would detail how he would rape them and how the devices would be used. There is no doubt the chilling audiotape would send a shiver down the spines of the victim and take away every ounce of hope they had in them.
It is believed, Ray did so to induce psychological fear in them, which again brought him pleasure. His crimes are believed to have been spanned over a period of 40 years and more than 60 women had been his victims. Over the years, he had other people to help him out with his acts. He managed to convince his daughter, Jessie Ray, to help her father to bring women for his pleasure.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend for some time, Cindy Hendy, also helped him. While Ray was the dungeon master, Hendy was his mistress. Later, another accomplice, Dennis Yancy, was found guilty. It was revealed that Yancy and Ray killed one of the victims and buried the dead body in a remote location. While the police found a map at Ray's place for all the bodies he had buried, they were unable to locate any of them.
While Ray had tried to dismiss Cynthia's case by saying it as consensual sex, the audiotape he had created for the victims worked against him and found him guilty of torturing and killing women. It was almost like he wanted to treat them as his sex slave.
Further investigation into his life revealed Ray had a cruel childhood and an abusive home. Ray was often bullied by his friends for being shy in front of girls and as he grew up, he started taking drugs. He also used to watch sadomasochistic pornography while growing up.
He committed his first act when he was a teenager and bragged about it in his personal diary. It is believed Ray had a split personality where he saw a woman as either good or garbage. The investigation found out that he had once told his victim that he would have spared her the torture had he had known she was a good person.
Ray was finally convicted in 2001 and was sentenced to 224 years in prison. However, eight months into his sentence, Ray passed away due to a heart attack.
'Serial Psyche' airs on Fridays at 8 pm ET on Reelz.