Casefile True Crime - Case 96: The Toy Box (Part 3)

Episode Date: October 5, 2018

[Part 3 of 3] While viewing a video of one of David Parker Ray’s assaults, investigators successfully identify yet another victim. The cases go to trial, but will it be the outcome his survivors and the public are hoping for? __ Items and Artifacts in David Parker Ray Case __ Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Episode researched and written by Victoria Dieffenbacher Additional editing by Milly Raso and Elsha McGill For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-96-the-toy-box-part-3

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In the early months of 1996, 20-year-old naval serviceman 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 to tie the knot. 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 he'd like. At 9am on July 25, Kelly left the house to go for a walk and cool off after another night's 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 socialised 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 Bluewater Saloon. Patrick's friend said Kelly had been in the company of other men and was acting in a way that she perceived as flirtatious. She could often know other information about where Kelly had gone or who she had 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'd keep an eye out for her around town. Concerned that Kelly might be hanging around with a 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 513 Bass 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, a none-know man who appeared to be in his 20s approached and told Patrick that neither Jesse nor Kelly were at the house. Although Jesse'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 behaviour and decided he was going to file for divorce. His parents supported their son's decision wholeheartedly. Janet got 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 park vehicle pulled up. To Patrick's surprise, Kelly emerged from the truck. Dishevelled, dirty, and barefoot, Kelly's hair was a mess and her clothes were in disarray. 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 behaviour suggested she had a wild few nights and looked 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 piece 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 Waters Saloon on the first night, but everything after that was completely blank. The state park's employee who dropped Kelly home emerged from the truck. The older man had tanned, wrinkled skin, well-groomed, slick 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 park's employee offered Kelly a lift to wherever she wanted to go. Down trodden, 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 Waters 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 park's 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 yes. Kelly had a unique tribal-designed tattoo of a swan on her right leg. As 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 Cleave. The FBI tracked 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 tattoo they had extracted from the videotape 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 did have a swan tattoo on her right leg and showed it to the investigators. It was an exact match to the restrained 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 Waters Saloon. Over the course of the evening, Kelly crossed paths with Jesse Ray. The two weren't close, but shared the same circle of friends and hung out on occasion. The two women shared a mutual friend, Dennis 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 night. Many of her friends had already left the bar and with no car of her own, Kelly accepted a ride home from Jesse Ray. Kelly 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 513 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 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 513 Bass Road. Kelly recognized it as the home belonging to David Parker Ray as 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 1996, from then on, Kelly Van Cleave started suffering from nightmares that were so vivid she was certain they emerged from repressed memories. Wary 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 Montagno, 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 while 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 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's toy box.

As evidence suggested, 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 the memory of sitting inside David Parker Ray's state park's work truck two and a half days later, fully clothed in the same outfit she had been wearing when she left her house.

Kelly felt groggy and spaced out, unsure of 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 513 Bass Road. She later had a vague recollection of seeing Jesse Ray before she blacked out, but when she saw Jesse around town, she acted perfectly normal, giving Kelly no reason to suspect anything untoward had happened. From Kelly Van Cleave's harrowing statements, it was clear that David Parker Ray's partner Cindy Hendy and long-term friend Dennis Roy Yancey were not the only ones who assisted with his crimes. In what was perhaps the most disturbing discovery, his own daughter, Jesse Ray, was also involved. Dennis Roy Yancey had implicated Jesse Ray as an active participant in the abduction and murder of Marie Parker, but given Yancey had backfliped on his confession, it was unreliable. Yancey's claims against Jesse Ray were now solidified by survivor Kelly Van Cleave, who implicated Jesse Ray directly as 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 Bass 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 appending 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 his crimes in any way. On April 26, 1999, investigators arrived to 513 Bass Road, where they arrested Jesse Ray in relation to the abduction and rape of Kelly Van Cleave. Jesse 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 Yancey. However, Jesse refused to say a word until she spoke to her attorney. Her state-appointed lawyer Billy Blackburn advised his client to stay silent. Jesse was transported to the Dona Anna 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 a total of 150 years in prison and a $140,000 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 Handy, set at $1 million. Unable to pay, she was returned to the Dona Anna County detention facility to await trial. After months of investigation, Cindy Handy's claims that David Parker Ray was a serial killer remained unsubstantiated.

While investigators continued coming up empty-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, 10 years before David Parker Ray's arrest, 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 man 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. By 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 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 were 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 Bowers disappeared, but he was leasing the 513 Bass Road property, which proved Ray was familiar with the area at the time. During an earlier interview with police, Cindy Handy 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 Handy's 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 that Ray was involved with Billy's murder. If taken to court, the allegations could easily be stripped down to coincidence and hearsay. 10 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 had, investigators continued the search for any evidence that could tie David Parker Ray to murder. FBI profilers analyzed 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 Handy, they were certain Ray kept trophies taken from his victims.

Handy had revealed in interviews that Ray took items of jewellery 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 Bass Road crime scene, hundreds of items of jewellery 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 28, 1999, investigators returned to 513 Bass Road to conduct a thorough search for David Parker Ray's 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 teabags. Investigators had also received information from David Parker Ray's neighbours 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 ground-penetrating radar were brought to the property for another search of the yard. But other than a few minor finds, no major breakthroughs were uncovered. By December 1999, nine months had passed since David Parker Ray's arrest, and 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 Yancey, had been charged with murder. Based purely on his confession, Yancey 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 $45,000 fine. As Marie Parker's body had not been found, Yancey 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 Yancey's wife, Christina, Yancey feared David Parker Ray had photos of him strangling Marie 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 they 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 Marie's murder had never been found. On December 2, just four days before the trial was scheduled to commence, Yancey 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 Marie 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 Yancey's confession.

Marie Parker's family were not informed about this plea deal, learning of it for the first time when the media reported it the following day. They were disappointed by the news, criticising the prosecution for their decision. Marie's foster sister, Julie Lawrence, said, 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 needs. That's who she was. And now she's gone. District Attorney Ron Lopez defended the decision to offer Dennis Roy Yancey 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, but 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 Yancey was the only person ever charged in connection with the crime is also a major point of contention. District Attorney Ron Lopez maintained that Yancey's confession alone wasn't enough to build a case against 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 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 five, she now wanted to have all her previous statements implicating Ray retracted, plead not guilty, and go to trial. Her grounds for reversing the deal were that the terms of the plea had not been properly explained to her.

In a January 2000 hearing, Judge Neil Mertz ruled against Hendy's request for a trial based on the fact that Hendy, quote, knowingly and voluntarily entered into the plea deal. Judge Mertz stated that Hendy's desire to protect David Parker Ray was not a valid reason to withdraw from the plea agreement. On May 11, 2000, Cindy Hendy was sentenced to 36 years in prison for her crimes committed against Cynthia Veal and Angelica Montagno. With two out of three of David Parker Ray's known accomplices behind bars, the final one left to face trial was his daughter, Jesse Ray. Jesse Ray's lawyer Billy Blackburn put in a request for his client's trial to be moved outside of Sierra County. Blackburn argued that the extensive media attention the case had received put his client at risk of receiving an unfair trial, as there wasn't a potential duro in Sierra County 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 Mertz, who in September 1999 ruled against the request, meaning that defendants would each face a separate trial.

Although Judge Mertz did agree to Billy Blackburn's request to hold the trial outside of Sierra County. Both trials would occur within New Mexico, with David Parker Ray's scheduled for March 2000 in Tierra and Maria, and Jesse Ray's 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, Kelly Van Cleave, Angelica Montagno and Cynthia Veal, as opposed to a single trial for all. Sadly, Angelica Montagno would never receive justice. As jury selection was about to commence for Kelly Van Cleave's trial, Angelica Montagno passed away in an Albuquerque hospital from pneumonia and heart failure. She was just 28 years old. Jury selection for Kelly Van Cleave's trial proved to be far more complicated than originally anticipated. Upon being briefed about the case, many potential jurors excused themselves for work or religious reasons, or claimed they 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 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, 2000. David 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, and 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 Jim Yance 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 Reign, used his opening statement to try and attack Kelly's character. Kelly is a party girl, one that lived each day like there was no tomorrow. Reign 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 Ray.

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 Van 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 Jim Yance emphasized the strength of the toy box 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 witnessed 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 Reign 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. It was rushed to hospital, but released soon after as the deliberations continued. On July 13, 2000, Judge Neil Mertz 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 10 jurors disagreed, resulting in a hung jury.

Jeff Reign 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 and the new trial was scheduled for November 27, 2000. The second trial 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 Reign 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 Mertz commented that he was happy things were progressing so smoothly this time.

On November 29, 2000, he said to a colleague, what else could possibly go wrong? The next day, Judge Mertz died suddenly from a heart attack. After Judge Mertz's 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 and the retrial commenced on April 11, 2001. Unlike Judge Neil Mertz, who had banned the prosecution from entering any evidence in relation to David Parker Ray's 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 to put their existing evidence into context by proving Kelly's abduction and assault was part of a much bigger, more sinister plot of sex slavery and torture. Working strongly in the defense's favour, Judge Mertz had prohibited a shocking piece of evidence from being presented in Kelly Van Cleave's first trial, an audio cassette tape.

The tape was played to several of Ray's victims upon their arrival to 513 Bass Road, including Cynthia Veal and Angelica Montaño. In the tape, Ray used 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 Ray's Bass Road property, nine different versions of the introductory audio tapes were found. Each tape 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 Cleave'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 matched Kelly's testimony, Judge Swayze now permitted it to be played during her second trial. David Parker Ray's voice cut through the silence of the courtroom, quote, Hello there, bitch. Are you comfortable right now? I doubt it. Wrists and ankles chained, gagged, probably blunt-folded. 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 shit 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 no, you can't. Now, you're just waiting to see what's going to happen next. For around 45 minutes, the tape went on to describe an 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 females 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, and that while he didn't enjoy killing the women he captured, he had no qualms with slicing the throat of anyone who posed a threat. Quote 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's sadistic, stomach-turning narration had described horrific events that matched the descriptions of violent sexual abuse and torture given by Ray's 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 Handy, it was also unclear who Ray's 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 tape strongly suggested Handy was not Ray's only partner in crime. Defense lawyer Lee McMillian 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 instill 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, McMillian asked if the prosecution could prove without doubt that the tape had been at 513 Bass 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 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 lawyer Lee McMillian said Ray's guilty verdict meant anyone who engaged in alternative sexual practices could now be vilified for their kinks. 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's sentencing was held off until he faced trial for crimes committed against Cynthia Veal and Angelica Montagnier. The expectation was that Ray would appeal his conviction, but what happened next took everyone by surprise. Like a Dennis Roy Yancey and Cindy Handy 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 Montagnier being dismissed.

To further tempt Ray into agreeing to the deal, the prosecution offered to spare his daughter Jesse Ray from trial and to reduce her prison term. Ray accepted the deal. As a result, Jesse Ray was sentenced to just two and a half years in prison for her role in the crimes committed against Kelly Van Cleave, with an additional five years probation. As part of Ray'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 Ray's patterns and motivations, in turn providing a valuable contribution to the FBI Profiler's 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 aunts. His aunts would often hold him upside down by the ankles over the pig pen, 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, Ray felt the way to regain his power would be to dominate others. Ray had difficulty explaining how his fantasies 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.

Ray claimed to have no control over the fantasy 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 Centre, 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 Ray, 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 that 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 Glenda for good by moving to a different city. During Ray's interviews, he made a no mention of anything that happened 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 fantasies stepped up, he would spend time in the toy box where he would make new audio tapes, write fictional bondage stories and draw images of restrained women. He claimed the toy box was designed to keep his fantasies in check, safeguarding him from crossing the line and 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 Fair. 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 organised some private bondage sessions, and from that moment on, David Parker Ray's life changed. Candy had a high tolerance for pain and was able to satisfy all of Ray's desires, so much so that Ray soon developed an obsession. His sessions with Candy consumed his every thought, but as Candy couldn't be available whenever Ray wanted her, his desires were going unfulfilled and overwhelming him. Ray was already in a relationship with Cindy Handy at this time, and he, Handy and Candy Fair would occasionally engage in sexual relations together.

On some occasions, Dennis Roy Yancey would also join in. Handy then decided she wanted Ray to cut ties with Candy, to which he agreed, so the couple had to come up with new ways of fulfilling Ray's immense 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 Handy 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 Handy, saying he never wanted to hire a sex worker, but Handy 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 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 Eleanor Tool, who was conducting the interview, told David Parker Ray that she wasn't buying his bullshit. She accused him of lying and said she didn't believe that the toy box was created as a space for Ray to sit by himself when his fantasies consumed him. She could tell just by looking at it that its main purpose was death. Ray sat in silence for a moment, before asking to speak to his lawyer, Lee McMillian. After talking with his client, McMillian told the FBI that David Parker Ray was terminating the interview sessions. Ray was returned to his prison cell, where he requested his defense team commence legal proceedings to try and reverse his plea deal. Ray claimed he was on medication when he agreed to the plea bargain, and it had impacted his decision making ability.

He now wanted the plea 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. Ray's 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 Beale and Kelly Van Cleave. Angelica Montagno's case had been dismissed as part of the plea deal. At Ray'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 daughter, Jesse Ray, ever faced a single charge in relation to the murder of Marie 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 Cleave told David Parker Ray, 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 deepest 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 it 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 and be handed. Still convinced that David Parker Ray buried up to 40 victims, authorities released a hotline for people to call in with any information they had 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 513 Bass 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 and 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 Troyer 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 Jill 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 that it was out of character for Jill not to be in touch with her loved ones.

Jesse Ray claims to know nothing about Jill Troyer's disappearance. Jesse told police she left the Frontier Restaurant with her father, David Parker Ray, and moved back to Elephant Butte without Jill. During the search of David Parker Ray's toy box, forms were uncovered that described the physical characteristics of different women. Authorities suspect Ray used these forms to keep a record of his victims, but they only contained attributes and no names. The description on one form bears striking similarities to Jill 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 his dumping grounds. When investigators looked into the link between Jill Troyer's disappearance and David Parker Ray, a witness claimed to have once seen an unconscious woman lying on the couch at 513 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 out, but the witness recalls something feeling off about the situation. No trace of Jill Troyer 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 Aberkirche 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 victim tally 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 Kelly 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 Hendy's plea deal was finalized, a new law was enacted that requires violent offenders to serve at least 85% of their sentence, even with good behavior. As Hendy 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 19 years, meaning she has been eligible for parole since 2017.

After serving just 12 years of his 25-year prison sentence, Dennis Roy Yancey was released on parole, but only three months after his release he violated his parole conditions and was sent back to prison. Yancey 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 jewellery recovered in the search of David Parker Ray's property, the owners of which have never been identified. There are hundreds of items all up, 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 Linda 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.

Thank you for watching.