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10 disturbing facts about David Ray, the American serial killer
Described by the FBI as one of the smartest criminals the world has ever known, David Parker Ray stands out in the twisted world of depraved humans who feast on the pain and tears of others. From rape to torture and murder, David Ray has done it all. Before his arrest in 1999, this man would have committed more than 60 murders and his victims would be mainly young women.
David Ray received a long sentence in 2001 after a court found him guilty of torture and kidnapping, but nature had an alternative judgment for him a year later – he died of a heart attack while he was still in prison. His death will do little to help his victims and their families, but one thing is for sure, the world has gotten rid of one less monster. David Ray can’t hurt anymore, he can’t hurt anyone.
Worrying facts about David Ray
A man who has so much blood on his hands is already as monstrous as he can get, however, there are other curious facts about the man worth knowing. They include the underlisted.
1. Her childhood was tough
David Parker Ray had a difficult childhood. Born in November 1939, he was raised by his grandfather and his abusive alcoholic father rarely visited him. As a teenager, Ray was often physically abused by his father, who also supplied him with magazines containing sadomasochistic pornography. These are probably responsible for the worldly fantasies that David Ray grew up with and exercised throughout his life.
2. David Ray’s famous “toy box”
The serial rapist and suspected murderer owned an RV which he turned into a torture chamber in which he committed most of his heinous crimes. This toy box was equipped with an assortment of torture equipment and weapons including whips, chains, clamps, pulleys, leg spreader bars, sex toys, surgical blades, saws, syringes and much more.
David Ray ensured that the motorhome was soundproofed so as not to attract attention and also had his own electricity generator with which he administered electric shocks to his victims.
3. His accomplices
It is given that some serial killers usually work solo, nevertheless, many of them can get help from other depraved minds like their own. David Parker belonged to this latter group, which not only had the wits to engineer the most unimaginable crimes, but also had the personnel to carry out its terror.
Among his known accomplices was his girlfriend, Cindy Hendy and a young man named Dennis Roy Yancy. Cindy Hendy helped Ray lure and lure unsuspecting victims to the toy box. After her arrest, Yancy confessed to strangling a former friend of hers that Ray had kidnapped and tortured.
Cindy Hendy was sentenced to 36 years in prison, while Dennis Yancy received two consecutive 15-year terms.
4. His own daughter was also an accomplice
This shows that the evil could well be an inherited trait. Glenda Jean ‘Jesse’ Ray is the daughter of David Parker and she helped him with most of his evil activities. However, before joining his father to carry out his evil activities, Jesse had warned the authorities against his father’s criminal acts. The allegations were unfounded and therefore did not receive further attention. FBI informant Jesse ends up switching sides. She became her father’s criminal companion and helped him lure the women into her father’s toy box, where their misfortunes began.
5. His targets
In order to protect himself, the infamous sadist and serial rapist usually preyed on a group of women he believed were less likely to be sought by anyone if they disappeared. David Ray also found it much easier to bring these women into his torture chamber.
In addition to this, he also understood that even if these women had the courage to accuse him of any wrongdoing, because of their social status, they were less likely to be believed by the authorities. However, some of his victims did not fit this profile.
6. He Told His Victims
Information is power, they say, but for the notorious adic, rapist and executioner, it was just another tool of torture. Among the many pieces of equipment in her toy box was a homemade gynecologist’s chair with a hanging mirror. With the mirror, his helpless victims were able to see exactly what was happening to them.
He also had a vile pre-recorded audio tape that he played for his victims on the first day. The recording usually contained a graphic description and a detailed explanation of the horror that was about to befall them.
7. The Man had a “normal” life
There is nothing normal about a sadist who has spent his spare time torturing and killing women. However, for the uninformed, David Ray was just a regular guy who had a job like everyone else. Unlike the grim, sinister idle monster you’d imagine himself, Ray had a day job as a mechanic.
He had previously served in the army as a mechanic after which he received an honorable discharge. In fact, his technical skills as a mechanic helped him turn his caravan home into the perfect torture dungeon.
8. David Ray’s Sex Parties
Even though one of his neighbors facilitated his first known victim’s escape and arrest, some of them were aware of his heinous activities. It turns out that David Ray also threw sex parties in his torture trailer. Also present were his equally depraved friends and neighbors who were allowed to have sex with his victims. The sex shows also involved dogs raping the victims much to the perverted delight of David Ray’s guests.
9. He was a very smart man
Many would agree that David Ray had nothing good in him, but one thing is for sure, he was very good at covering his tracks. Despite allegedly committing over 60 murders, Ray was never convicted of murder. In fact, the only evidence linking him to all of these murders was found in his diary after his arrest. In the diaries, he wrote detailed accounts of all the women he allegedly tortured and murdered.
After his arrest in 1999, approximately 100 FBI agents were deployed to search his property and surrounding area. However, no traces of human remains were found. Nearly two decades later, the FBI has failed to link him to any of the murders.
10. How did he meet his Waterloo?
Fortunately, David Ray’s long wave of terror in the city of truth and consequences ended on March 22, 1999. Cynthia Vigil, David Ray’s final victim, was lucky enough to escape from the toy box. Prior to this, Ray had let many of his victims go. Nevertheless, he had made sure that he completely erased them from their memory of the nightmare they had suffered. However, Cynthia Vigil’s escape spelled the end of legendary monster David Parker Ray.
That fateful morning, Ray left for his day at work, leaving Cynthia Vigil in the toy box with his girlfriend Cindy Hendy. Vigil, who had already spent 3 days in the torture chamber, was able to fight Cindy after unlocking the chains on her hands. She then rushed out of the trailer with nothing on her except for the iron dog collar on her neck. She walked to a nearby house where the occupants took her and gave her a dress. They quickly called 911 and the rest, as they say, is history.