David Parker Ray November 6, — May 28, , also known as the Toy-Box Killer , [ 2 ] was an American kidnapper , torturer , serial rapist , and suspected serial killer. Ray kidnapped, raped, and tortured an unknown number of women over many decades at his home in Elephant Butte, New Mexico , occasionally assisted by accomplices including his daughter Glenda Jean Ray and partner Cindy Hendy.
Ray was suspected by authorities and accused by accomplices of murdering up to 60 of his victims; however, no bodies or definitive evidence have ever been uncovered linking him to any murders. Ray used soundproofing methods on a semi-trailer , which he called his "Toy Box", and equipped it with items used for sexual torture. He would kidnap about four or five women a year, holding each of them captive for around two to three months.
During this period he would sexually abuse his victims and often torture them with surgical instruments, sometimes inviting his friends, wife, or even his male dog to rape the victim. After keeping them in captivity for a couple months, Ray would then drug the victim with barbiturates in an attempt to erase their memories before abandoning them by the side of a road. Ray was arrested in March after one of his victims escaped, and was convicted of kidnapping and torture in He received a lengthy sentence but was never tried for murder due to lack of evidence.
He died of a heart attack on May 28, , shortly before a planned police interrogation. During his childhood, Ray and his younger sister, Peggie Pearl Ray March 18, — December 13, , lived with his mother's disciplinarian parents, Russell and Dolly Parker, on a small ranch due to their poor financial condition.
Ray's sexual fantasies of raping, torturing, and even murdering women developed during his teenage years. As a result, Ray and his sister became estranged. Based on statements made by Ray, he is believed to have begun assaulting women as an adolescent.
