The Toy Box Killer
David Parker Ray was an American kidnapper, torturer, rapist and suspected serial killer. Although no bodies were discovered he is suspected of murdering as many as 60 women.
Ray was thought to have kidnapped his victims either from bars or when they tried to hitch hike, they were then knocked unconscious and forced into a soundproofed truck trailer he called his ‘toy box.’ The trailer was filled with sexual torture implements. Ray tortured and presumably killed his victims using a variety of methods and sometimes with the help of accomplices, he mounted a mirror into the ceiling above the table he strapped his victims to and would invite over friends to rape the women or force them to have sexual intercourse with his pet dogs. One of the most chilling aspects of the case was the audio tape recording of his voice detailing the torture victims could expect to be subject to, this was played for his victims as they awoke.
Ray posed as a police officer and approached Cynthia Vigil in a parking lot before forcing her into his trailer and taking her back to his home. After three days of torture and imprisonment Vigil escaped when Ray was at work, she stabbed his then girlfriend with an ice pick and fled down the road, naked except for chains and a slave collar. Her escape led officials to the trailer and led to Ray being arrested. After his arrest another victim came forward claiming she had reported the incident to the police previously with no follow up. Another victim was identified from video tapes made by Ray. Two of Ray’s accomplices were found- Ray’s daughter Jesse and Dennis Yancy who admitted to the murder of his former girlfriend following her torture at Ray’s hands.
To prevent women from reporting the crimes, Ray drugged them to induce amnesia. He made a recording of himself telling one woman how he was going to drug her.
On 28th May 2002 Ray was taken in for questioning, he died of a heart attack before the interrogation took place.
