David Parker Ray, The Brutal “Toy Box Killer”
David Parker Ray and an illustration of his “toy box” of torture.Getty Images
David Parker Ray got his nickname, the “Toy Box Killer,” because of the soundproof trailer in which he committed his crimes. Though Ray was only convicted for his crimes against three women, it is believed he captured, tortured, and raped over 50 women between the 1950s and 1990s — making his suspected reign of terror one of the longest of all American serial killers.
Like many other U.S. serial killers, Ray had a troubled childhood. Born in 1939 in Belen, New Mexico, he was raised primarily by his grandfather, though he frequently saw his father, who beat him. He was bullied in school and served in the U.S. Army. He also married and divorced four times.
Ray’s killings began sometime in the 1950s. His trailer, the “Toy Box,” contained a gynecologist-type table that he would strap his victims to. There was also a mirror on the ceiling, which forced the victims to see what Ray was doing to them. Scattered about the trailer were his weapons: whips, chains, pulleys, straps, clamps, leg spreader bars, surgical blades, and saws.
YouTubeThe interior of David Parker Ray’s trailer, featuring a “torture chair.”
Chillingly, Ray had accomplices to help him carry out his crimes: his girlfriend Cindy Hendy, his daughter Glenda “Jesse” Ray, and his friend Dennis Roy Yancy. They would all be sentenced to prison after Ray was caught.
Ray met his undoing in March 1999 thanks to a 22-year-old stripper named Cynthia Vigil. Ray lured her into his trailer under false pretenses, and for the next three days, with help from Hendy, Ray tortured and raped Vigil.
But a crucial mistake on Hendy’s part unraveled Ray’s decades-long reign of terror. Hendy accidentally left the key to the restraints on a table near Vigil when she left the room. Vigil made her escape, stabbing Hendy with an ice pick before reaching a neighbor’s house to call for help.
The police quickly descended upon the trailer and arrested Ray and Hendy.
The Toy Box Killer was ultimately sentenced to 224 years in prison for his crimes against three women, all of whom survived his tortures. Police suspected, however, that Ray was responsible for the deaths of as many as 50 women. But remains were never found, making Ray one of several suspected American serial killers never officially convicted of murder.
Ray would never fully serve out his sentence for his crimes. He died in prison of a heart attack in May 2002, just three years into his sentence.
