1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: There was a nine one ball that came in indicating 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: that there was a woman running with no clothes on 3 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: and had a chain wrapped around her nick. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 2: It was a nine to one one call that made 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 2: the New Mexico State Police think they were listening to 6 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 2: some kind of prank. 7 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: The victim had been kidnapped and tortured for several days. 8 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: They found what essentially was a torture chamber with a 9 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: placard on it that indicated Satan's Den. 10 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 3: You know right away everything that happened in there was awful. 11 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: It was just got awful, and surprisingly it all happened 12 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,959 Speaker 2: in the tiny tourist town of Elephant Butte, New Mexico. 13 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 3: This is something we never would have expected. 14 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 2: It was something they never would have suspected because it 15 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 2: went from a case about sexual assault to something even darker. 16 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 4: The FBI has estimated is responsible for between forty five 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 4: and sixty hors arms. 18 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 5: It would be the most sick and twisted chase that 19 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 5: any of us would be involved in. 20 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 2: My name is Sloaneglass and this is American Homicide, a 21 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: show where we take you across the country to investigate 22 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 2: some of America's deadliest crimes. We'll explore how these murders 23 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 2: are shaped by their unique landscapes, and in turn, how 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 2: these tragedies have shaped the fabric of these American communities forever. Today, 25 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 2: We're an Elephant but New Mexico for Part one of 26 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 2: The Toy Box Killer. A note for our listeners. This 27 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 2: episode includes detailed accounts of sexual violence and contain subject 28 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 2: matter which may not be suitable for all audiences. Discretion 29 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 2: is advised. From the towering peaks of the Rocky Mountains 30 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 2: to the wide open desert, New Mexico is a combination 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 2: of natural beauty and man made wonders. Ironically for a 32 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 2: state known for its wide open desert landscape. One of 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 2: New Mexico's top tourist destinations is a lake located in 34 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 2: Elephant Butte. 35 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 5: Elephant Butte is a state park and there is this 36 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 5: man made lake that's about twenty three miles long. 37 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 2: Darren White worked for New Mexico's Department of Public Safety. 38 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 5: Well, New Mexico is the desert, and it does get hot, 39 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 5: and so people like to cool off, and there's not 40 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 5: many places to do that, and Elephant Butte is one 41 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 5: of them. 42 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 2: Known as the Diamond in the Desert. The crown jewel 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: of Elephant Butte is Elefantpute Dam. That huge man made 44 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 2: lake is a result of the dam's construction in the 45 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 2: early nineteen hundreds. Locals one joke that the rock formation 46 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 2: in the area resembled an elephant lying down, which led 47 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 2: to the name Elephant Butte. 48 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 3: It's the playground for New Mexico in the summer. 49 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 2: Every year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the sleepy 50 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 2: town of Elephant Butte transforms into one of the state's 51 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 2: biggest tourist attractions. 52 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 5: This tiny little town, maybe a few thousand people, grows 53 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 5: to over one hundred thousand people that come down every 54 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 5: year to use the lake, to fish, to camp. 55 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 2: But outside of tours season, the area is fairly desolate. 56 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 2: The thousand or so full time residents are mainly for tyres. 57 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 5: They love the area, they love the lake year round, 58 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 5: but many of them will tell you too that they 59 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 5: just want to be left to themselves and enjoy their 60 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 5: quiet little piece of the state. 61 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 2: The state park is part of the city of Elephant Butte, 62 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 2: a tiny desert community with one stoplight. It didn't even 63 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 2: become an incorporated city until nineteen ninety eight. Part of 64 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: that it was considered part of the neighboring community of 65 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 2: Truth or Consequences. Strange name for a town, truth or Consequences. 66 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 2: It conjures up images of the Old West and lawlessness, 67 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 2: but that wasn't the case. They came by the name 68 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 2: in a very whimsical way. The town got its name 69 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 2: from a popular radio game show in the nineteen fifties 70 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 2: called You Guessed It, Truth or Consequences. They had a contest. 71 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 2: Name your city after the show, and you'd win a 72 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 2: parade and a visit from the show's host. 73 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 3: Mister Senator. 74 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: I hereby Christmas City up some eight thousand people. 75 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 3: Truth or Consequences of you like to go. 76 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 2: Le sounds kind of crazy, but I guess in those 77 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 2: days that's what you had to do to have a 78 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 2: great parade. Outside of that, the town was pretty quiet. 79 00:04:31,279 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 2: One hundred and fifty miles north of Elephant Butte is Albuquerque, 80 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 2: and that's where a twenty two year old sex worker 81 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 2: named Cynthia V. Hill lived in the nineteen nineties. Here's Cynthia. 82 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 6: I didn't have the best childhood. 83 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,559 Speaker 2: Cynthia was abused and molested as a child and later 84 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,239 Speaker 2: turned to the streets, where she used drugs and sold 85 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 2: her body. 86 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 6: When I was out there, the homeless nas, the in 87 00:04:55,480 --> 00:05:00,280 Speaker 6: and out of hotels, the prostitution, being on drugs. I've 88 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 6: been there, and I've done that. 89 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 2: Central Avenue, which is part of the famous Old Root 90 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 2: sixty six cuts through downtown Albuquerque. But there's a dangerous 91 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 2: stretch of Central Avenue known for high levels of crime, 92 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 2: and that's where Cynthia was working on March twentieth, nineteen 93 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 2: ninety nine. That day, she learned that a man wanted 94 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 2: to meet her in his RV. That was a no 95 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 2: no for Cynthia. She made it a rule to never 96 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 2: meet customers in their RVs. That day, she'd break that 97 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 2: rule and it would change Cynthia's life forever. As Cynthia 98 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 2: opened the front door and entered the RV, she found 99 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 2: herself standing in front of a tall, thin man with 100 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 2: a mustache and slick back hair. He offered her thirty 101 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,479 Speaker 2: dollars for oral sex, but in her gut, she had 102 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 2: a very bad feeling. 103 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 6: I just knew something wasn't right at that moment. 104 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 2: The man then flashed a silver badge and told Cynthia 105 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 2: she was under arrest for solicitation. 106 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 6: I was a little in shocked. I had never seen 107 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 6: a badge like his. 108 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 2: The badge seemed small and didn't look legit. 109 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 6: But then I was like, I've never known the cops 110 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 6: to do that kind of undercover work. 111 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 2: The man started to handcuff her, and that's when Cynthia 112 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:17,799 Speaker 2: decided to run away. 113 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,160 Speaker 6: So after one handcuff was on my wrist, I tried 114 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 6: getting away. 115 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: Cynthia spun around and used her free hand to reach 116 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 2: for the door. 117 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 6: And I was almost at the door when he yelled Cindy, 118 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 6: and I stopped. 119 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 2: And then out of nowhere, another woman named Cindy emerged 120 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 2: from a door in the back of the RV. 121 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 6: She came out of the closet and shocked me at 122 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 6: the cattle product. It knocked me over and they pulled 123 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 6: me back and hand cucked me to the cabinets. 124 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 2: That's right, he used a cattle pod. Literally shocked and stunned. 125 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 2: Cynthia's handcuffed to a cabinet in the back of the 126 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 2: RV that's now headed to god knows where. The man 127 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 2: with the band drove while he's a compless Cindy sat 128 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 2: in the passenger seat. Cindy appeared much younger than the man. 129 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 2: She was thin, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. 130 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: What did these two want from Cynthia? And where were 131 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 2: they taking her? 132 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 6: I never had a chance to date like what was 133 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 6: going to happen long term? 134 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 2: And Cynthia decided she was not going to stick around 135 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 2: to find out. She knew if she could free herself 136 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 2: from the cabinet, she had a chance to escape. After 137 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 2: ten minutes of trying, Cynthia managed to unscroll bolt on 138 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 2: the cabinet and get her hands free. They were still handcuffed, 139 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 2: but she was no longer bounced to the. 140 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 6: Cabinet and I knew I had to get away now. 141 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 2: She waited for the RV to slow down so she 142 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 2: could jump out, but things didn't go as planned. 143 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 6: At one point, he had to slam on the brakes 144 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 6: and I tumbled forward. 145 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 2: The driver and his accomplice noticed that Cynthia was loose. 146 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 2: They jumped to the back of the RV. Cindy point 147 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 2: did a gun at Cynthia while the driver removed her clothes, 148 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 2: placed a leather mask over her head, and tied her up. 149 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 6: And I couldn't seem that thing. 150 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 2: Desperate and afraid, Cynthia tried her luck with Cindy. 151 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 6: I was begging her to let me go. I was 152 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 6: using every excuse that I could think of. 153 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 2: She was trying to talk to her, woman to woman. 154 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 2: So she was shocked by Cindy's response. 155 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 6: All she told me was that they were going to 156 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 6: take me and rap me and let me go. 157 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 2: I should warn you that things from here get more graphic. 158 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,120 Speaker 2: Naked and tied up in the back of an RV, 159 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 2: Cynthia had nothing but time to think about what awaited her. 160 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 6: The drive seemed like forever. 161 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,680 Speaker 2: Two hours would pass before the RV pulled into an 162 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 2: unpaved road and came to a stop. Seconds later, the 163 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 2: door to the RV opened. That's when panic rushed over 164 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 2: her body. 165 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 6: When they finally took me out of the RV, I 166 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 6: had no clothes on, I had had cuff and shackled. 167 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 2: It was eerily quiet, but. 168 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 6: Didn't they put duct tape around my face? 169 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 2: Cynthia couldn't see a thing as the two led her 170 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 2: to a twenty two foot cargo trailer that sat beside 171 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 2: a small white house in the middle of the desert. 172 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 6: And I couldn't figure out why nobody was seeing me naked. 173 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 6: Walking from the RV into the trailer. 174 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 2: A handful of prefabricated homes dotted the area, surrounded by 175 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 2: Elephant Butte Lake in the distance. 176 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 6: They took me inside and they sat me on the bed, 177 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,599 Speaker 6: and they put a metal collar around my neck that 178 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 6: head locked and shackled my feet to the bed and 179 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 6: my hands to the bed. 180 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 2: Cynthia didn't know it at the time, but she sat 181 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 2: inside a room that the man with the badge called 182 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 2: the toy box. But don't let that innocent name f 183 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 2: The toy box was actually a torture chamber that belonged 184 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 2: to the man who kidnapped her, David Parker Ray. During 185 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 2: the day, the fifty nine year old was a maintenance 186 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 2: man with the New Mexico Parks Department. At night, he 187 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:19,800 Speaker 2: lived out his dark sexual fantasies in an old, white 188 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 2: metal storage container that he converted into a sound proof 189 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 2: torture chamber. An old video camera fixed to the wall 190 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 2: pointed right at the chair that sat in the middle 191 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,959 Speaker 2: of the room. His partner in crime, Cindy Hendy, wasn't 192 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 2: just his accomplice in the kidnappings and sexual assault, but 193 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:42,079 Speaker 2: was his girlfriend. 194 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 6: They went about their business like it was a normal life. 195 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 2: Incredibly, the two watched movies and carried on as though 196 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 2: there wasn't a naked woman strapped to a chair in 197 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 2: their house. At some point, Cynthia believed she was drugged 198 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 2: and and when she woke up there was a cassette 199 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 2: tape player next to her playing a tape. It was 200 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 2: the voice of the man from the RV explaining what 201 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 2: would happen in his toy box. 202 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,240 Speaker 6: It started off saying, hello, bitch. 203 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 7: Okay, bitch, we both know what You've been brought here 204 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 7: far a. 205 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 6: Lot of telling me why I was there. 206 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,080 Speaker 7: I'm in the bondage and S and M. It's kind 207 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 7: of hard to find a bullet and partners. It goes 208 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 7: to that SEP. So when I get urged, I go 209 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 7: out proby some good looking little It turns me on, 210 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 7: kidnapp her and keep her in my playroom for a while, 211 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 7: and this time it's your turn. 212 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 2: That's really hard to listen to. In the recordings, David 213 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 2: calmly and matter of factly outlined all the disturbing things 214 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,080 Speaker 2: he intended to do to Cynthia. 215 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 7: I'm going to experiment on you have dinner to a 216 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:53,959 Speaker 7: lot of women over the years. 217 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,640 Speaker 2: The voice said that once he got tired of his victims. 218 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 2: He drugged them and they wouldn't remember a thing about 219 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 2: what happened. 220 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 7: You knew enough to cause serious problems. You would not 221 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 7: be turned loose. You would simply disappear. 222 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 2: Just before the forty five minute long, terrifying tape ended, 223 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 2: David Parker Ray presented an offer. 224 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,520 Speaker 7: As soon as I turned this tape off, you will 225 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 7: have an excellent opportunity to try to bag for me 226 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 7: to turn you loose. I may or may not be 227 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 7: able to understand you see the gag, but if you 228 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,720 Speaker 7: want to feel free to try. I love to listen 229 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 7: to a bag and plead. And this is the end 230 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:34,079 Speaker 7: of the tape. 231 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 2: But not surprisingly, Cynthia was unable to persuade her captors 232 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 2: to free her. Instead, she was subjected to three days 233 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 2: of unthinkable abuse. 234 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 6: Hey shocked me, but the device he made, he connected 235 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 6: it to my breast and shocked me for hours, and 236 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 6: then he watched a movie, went to bed. The next morning, 237 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 6: they ate breakfast, and then they took me into another 238 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:14,200 Speaker 6: room and they put me on massage table and she 239 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 6: shocked me. 240 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 2: The pain was excruciating. 241 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 6: That went on for about an hour, hour and a half. 242 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 2: Eventually the pain became too much and Cynthia passed out. 243 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 6: I kind of realized I might not go home. 244 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 3: I might die. 245 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 2: Cynthia woke up shackled to a chair, and across from 246 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 2: her was a long, wooden coffin. Can you imagine waking 247 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 2: up and seeing a coffin. The top was open and 248 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 2: a pillow and white sheet sat inside. And on the 249 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 2: walls of his toy box were graphic pictures of women 250 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 2: being tortured, along with some rules, rules like never trust 251 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 2: a chain captive. 252 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 6: When they had me laying on the bed and they 253 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 6: were going about their business, they were talking about a 254 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 6: little girl that they were going to make their sex slave, 255 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 6: and they already knew who she was, They already had 256 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 6: it climbed out. 257 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 2: For Cynthia, that was confirmation of the enormity of the 258 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 2: crimes that took place in that trailer. 259 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 6: I never thought for one minute that I was the 260 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 6: only girl that that ever happened to. 261 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 2: By this point, Cynthia's body was covered with bruises and burns. 262 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 2: Cynthia was smarted. She had a strategy she tried her 263 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 2: best to play by. David Parker raised rules in the 264 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 2: hopes that he'd eventually get tired of her and let 265 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 2: her go. 266 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 6: The next day he comes and he sits on the 267 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 6: bed and he takes the hair cuffs and shackles off me, 268 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 6: and he went to work. 269 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 2: It was now Monday morning, and David left the trailer 270 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 2: wearing his Green Parks Department uniform. Before he returned from 271 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 2: work that day, everything would change. In March nineteen ninety nine, 272 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 2: Cynthia v. Hill was abducted by a man soliciting sex 273 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 2: from her. David Parker Ray and his girlfriend Cindy Hendy 274 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 2: took Cynthia to their sound proof trailer in the desert 275 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,119 Speaker 2: town of Elephant Butte, New Mexico. There they sexually assaulted 276 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 2: and tortured her. 277 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 6: It was something totally different than any other situation I 278 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 6: had been in. 279 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 2: Cynthia had lost track of time, but it was now Monday, 280 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 2: March twenty second, nineteen ninety nine, the third day she 281 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 2: was held captive. That morning, David Parker Ray chained Cynthia 282 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 2: to a pole and then he went to work. This 283 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 2: meant his girlfriend Cindy Hendy was in charge. 284 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 6: She got left with me during the day. 285 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 2: That afternoon, Cynthia noticed her key to freedom, sat on 286 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 2: a coffee table just a few feet away where David 287 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 2: Parker Ray left his key ring. She'd seen her ab 288 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:56,479 Speaker 2: doctor use one of those keys to unlock the padlock 289 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 2: that currently connected the chain around her neck to the pole. 290 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 2: Cynthia was determined to get those keys, but with Cindy 291 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 2: Hendy's standing guard, she couldn't make her move. Instead, she 292 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 2: waited as Cindy spent the day cooking and watching soap 293 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 2: operas on an old TV. Never once did she speak 294 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 2: until that afternoon when she got a phone call. 295 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 6: She went to the back of the trailer and I 296 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 6: had the opportunity to get the keys. 297 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,400 Speaker 2: The collar around Cynthia's neck had her chain to a pole, 298 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 2: but her hands and feet were free, so she stretched 299 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 2: her legs as far as they would go, and then 300 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,560 Speaker 2: wrapped her feet around the base of the table. She 301 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 2: slowly and carefully pulled the coffee table closer to her 302 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 2: while trying to not make any noise. With the keys 303 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 2: within reach, Cynthia scooped them up with her right hand. 304 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 2: She tried the first key, it didn't fit. By the 305 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 2: time she put the second key in, Cindy Hendy was 306 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 2: standing in front of her. 307 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 6: When she came back in the living room, and seeing 308 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 6: I had the keys, she started beating me with a 309 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:06,160 Speaker 6: glass lamp. 310 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 2: The glass broke into a million tiny pieces. As Cynthia 311 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 2: defensively curled her body into a. 312 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,399 Speaker 6: Ball, I finally got the lock open. 313 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 2: In a fight for her life. Cynthia ran towards a 314 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 2: nearby ice pick. 315 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 6: And I got the ice pick and I stabbed her 316 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 6: with him. 317 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 2: The ice pick slashed Cindy Hendy's face, causing her to 318 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 2: fall back in pain, and that's when Cynthia grabbed the 319 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:31,200 Speaker 2: landline phone. 320 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 6: I dialed nine one one. 321 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,919 Speaker 2: But Cindy Hendy snatched the phone back from her. Blood 322 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 2: was running down her face as Cindy quickly told the 323 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 2: nine one one operator that everything was fine and hung 324 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 2: up the phone. When she turned around, Cynthia was gone. 325 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 2: Cynthia had jumped through a window and was now running 326 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 2: as fast as she could to get away from David 327 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 2: Parker Ray's house. 328 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 6: I had no clothes on, I had a metal color 329 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:04,439 Speaker 6: on my neck, and I was bleeding from head to toe. 330 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,879 Speaker 2: Her eyes burned from the sunlight as she tried to 331 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 2: find somebody, anybody, but there was no one around. As 332 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 2: she ran down the dirt road, all she saw were 333 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 2: a handful of prefabricated homes in our v's. The collar 334 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 2: was still around her neck and the chain clanked as 335 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 2: it dragged on the dirt road. After two blocks of 336 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,879 Speaker 2: running in a dead sprint, Cynthia got to an intersection. 337 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 2: She stopped. The street was paved, and a blue car 338 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 2: was headed right towards her. The driver saw her and 339 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 2: slowed down. 340 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 6: I tried getting in a car to the lady that 341 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:42,199 Speaker 6: was driving by me. 342 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 2: When the driver saw the bloodied and wild eyed Cynthia, 343 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 2: they screamed, rolled up their windows, and sped off. Remember 344 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,680 Speaker 2: this is a small town. There were no other cars 345 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 2: in sight. Cynthia continued running down the road. She passed 346 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 2: an intersection and noticed a street sign. It read Bass Road. 347 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 2: I head was a double wide mobile home and Cynthia 348 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:12,159 Speaker 2: ran straight towards the front door. Watched her surprise. It 349 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 2: was unlocked, so she went inside and double locked the 350 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 2: door behind her. 351 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:19,400 Speaker 6: I ran into some lady's house as she was doing 352 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 6: dishes and asked her for how Her husband came in 353 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 6: and it was a shock. It's like stopped in his 354 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 6: tracks and couldn't talk. He's just looking at me. And 355 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 6: she caught nine one one and they put a robe 356 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:33,920 Speaker 6: on me. 357 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,880 Speaker 1: I was at the Sheriff's office and a one call 358 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: came into the dispatch center. 359 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 2: Dave Elston was a sergeant with the Sierra County Police Department. 360 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: At first I thought it could have been a joke. 361 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,840 Speaker 1: A short time after that, there was another nine to 362 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: one one call that came in indicating that there was 363 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: a woman running down Bass Road with no clothes on 364 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: and had a chain wrapped around her neck. And then 365 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 1: moments later, another nine one one call came and that 366 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: there was a woman with no clothes on or the 367 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,879 Speaker 1: chain around her neck inside a woman's living room asking 368 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: for hilp as. 369 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 2: Two deputies responded to the home where Cynthia Viha was. 370 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 2: Sergeant Elston went to the origin of the first nine 371 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 2: on one call, David Parker Ray's home. But David Parker 372 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 2: Ray wasn't just some ordinary suspect to start in Elston. 373 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: I knew David Parker Ray personally. He was a friend 374 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: of mine. 375 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 2: Imagine knowing this horrible crime had occurred in this small 376 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,679 Speaker 2: town you were sworn to protect, only to show up 377 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 2: to the house and it's someone you know, a person 378 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 2: you call a friend. In this small town. David Parker 379 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 2: Ray was well known and likable. 380 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: He was a mechanic at the New Mexico State Parks 381 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: at Elephant. But that's how I got to know him. 382 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: I worked a case once where there was individuals that's 383 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: broke into their police cards, that stole their police radios 384 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: and ended up catching that individual and I had David 385 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: Parker Ray testify in my case, and he testified and 386 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: he presented himself very well during his testimony on the stand. 387 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 2: Now, Sergeant Elston and two other officers were standing outside 388 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 2: Perker Race home in Elephant Butte. 389 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: It was a mobile home. I've never been inside of it, 390 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: but I've been there before and knew where he lived. 391 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,520 Speaker 2: When no one answered the door, the three officers came 392 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 2: entry through a sliding glass door on the side of 393 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 2: the home, and when. 394 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:29,959 Speaker 1: I walked in, I noticed that there was what appeared 395 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: to be a hospital bed in the center of the 396 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: room with a system of chains attached to the ceiling. 397 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 2: As Sergeant Elston navigated through the room, he heard charts 398 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 2: of glass breaking under his shoes. 399 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: There was a nineteen seventies style lamp that had the 400 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,760 Speaker 1: green glass bulb on the bottom and it was broken 401 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: all over the ground. 402 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 2: He continued and took inventory of all the bizarre things 403 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 2: that surrounded him in his friend's home. 404 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: I entered into a room that had a coffee inside 405 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: of it, and then there was a dresser drawer style 406 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: with a mirror in there that had various types of 407 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 1: tools and had a scalpel, ice pick, small torch. There 408 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,120 Speaker 1: was also a like a candelabra that was in there 409 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:22,399 Speaker 1: that was approximately three feet high maybe which had a 410 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: sexual device on top, and then it also had spikes 411 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,000 Speaker 1: sticking out from the bottom of it upwards. And then 412 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: I also noticed on the walls that there were drawings 413 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: of bondage type situations. Essentially was a torture chamber with 414 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: a placard on it that indicated Satan's Den. 415 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 2: Satan's Den was the place that David Parker Ray referred 416 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,480 Speaker 2: to as the toy Box. 417 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:46,880 Speaker 1: So we determined that we actually had a crime scene, 418 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,879 Speaker 1: but we didn't know exactly what we had at the time. 419 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 2: Sergeant Alston then got in touch with the deputies who 420 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 2: were with Cynthia v. 421 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 7: Hill. 422 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: While talking with him on the telephone, he was telling 423 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: me that the victim there, who was Cynthia Vehle had 424 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: been kidnapped and had been tortured for several days at 425 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: David Parker's residence. He took a pair of bolt cutters 426 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:11,640 Speaker 1: and remove a metal collar. 427 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 7: That was on there. 428 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,400 Speaker 2: As deputies transported Cynthia to a local hospital, Sergeant Elston 429 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,960 Speaker 2: began his hunt for the man. No one in Elephant 430 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 2: Bute suspected would have a torture chamber. 431 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: David Parker Ray was always friendly with me. It was 432 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 1: kind of shocking just knowing that this individual that I'd 433 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 1: known for that long was into what he was doing. 434 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 2: Later that afternoon, Sergeant Elston was in a squad car 435 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 2: headed back to the police station when he drove past 436 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 2: a familiar vehicle. 437 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,640 Speaker 1: I noticed David Parker Ray's Harve with him driving it, 438 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: so I turned around did a traffic stop with him. 439 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 2: Neighbors looked on as police drew their weapons and ordered 440 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 2: David Parker Ray and Cindy Hendy to exit. The vehicle. 441 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 1: Is very calm. He was wearing the State Park's uniform. 442 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,040 Speaker 2: The two then walked backwards towards the police with their 443 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 2: hands in. 444 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,439 Speaker 1: The air, and he asked if he could pick the 445 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: uniform off, and I told him no, that just that 446 00:24:09,119 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: was taken him into investigative custody. 447 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 2: With David Parker Ray and Cyndy Hendy now in custody 448 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 2: for the kidnapping and torture of Cynthia V. 449 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 4: Hill. 450 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 2: What happened next would shake the quiet town of Elephant 451 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 2: Butte to its roots. Police charged David Parker Ray and 452 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:35,880 Speaker 2: Cindy Hendy with twenty five counts, including kidnapping, sexual assault, 453 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,159 Speaker 2: and aggravated battery of Cynthia V. 454 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 6: Hill. 455 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 2: What they didn't know yet was that Cynthia would also 456 00:24:42,119 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 2: be the key in unlocking even more crimes. This was 457 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,159 Speaker 2: just the beginning, and Cynthia was lucky to make it 458 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 2: out alive. 459 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 3: People were shocked. 460 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 2: Darren White was the public safety director for the new 461 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,280 Speaker 2: Mexico State Police. 462 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 5: The chief who was this very large, very stoic, and 463 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 5: very serious man. 464 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 3: I could see the look in his eye before he 465 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 3: even uttered a word. What he was about to tell 466 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 3: me was dark and disturbing. 467 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,880 Speaker 5: And he started to tell me about a woman who 468 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 5: escaped in. 469 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 3: Elephant Butte from a trailer. 470 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 5: That the reports were that she was running down the 471 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:34,119 Speaker 5: street and that she was naked, and that she had 472 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 5: a dog collar around her neck, and that there were 473 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:42,879 Speaker 5: two people accustody. It's a hundred times worse when you 474 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,639 Speaker 5: actually go to the scene of where everything happened, and 475 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 5: especially once you open the door to the toy box 476 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 5: and you see what's in there, and you know right 477 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,199 Speaker 5: away that everything that happened in there was awful, was 478 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,440 Speaker 5: just got off and designed. 479 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 3: With pure evil. 480 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,040 Speaker 5: It didn't take much more to realize it would be 481 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:14,240 Speaker 5: the most sick and twisted case that any of us 482 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:15,120 Speaker 5: would be involved in. 483 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,760 Speaker 2: Talking to Cynthia V. Hill, the police admired her heroism. 484 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 3: This was a woman that was. 485 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:30,600 Speaker 5: Unthinkably tortured, terrorized, and obviously incredibly shaken, but she was 486 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 5: able to tell them exactly what happened to her and. 487 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,680 Speaker 3: Who was responsible for and where where did it happened. 488 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 5: The detectives that were working that case knew right away 489 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 5: that that was not the first case. 490 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 3: He didn't wake up two days. 491 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 5: Prior and decide, oh my god, I'm an adoptive torture 492 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:48,119 Speaker 5: this woman. 493 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,159 Speaker 2: David Parker Ray and Cindy Hendy sat and jail awaiting trial. 494 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 2: Did two maintain their innocence and said they weren't torturing Cynthia. 495 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,960 Speaker 2: They were helping her. Helping her to talks from Heroin, 496 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,240 Speaker 2: and they maintained any sex between David and Cynthia b 497 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 2: Hill was consensual. As she was being transported to jail, 498 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,120 Speaker 2: TV cameras captured Cindy Hendy. 499 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:13,679 Speaker 3: Were you involved in any way. 500 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:21,760 Speaker 2: Kind of did you just hear that? Cindy Hendy said no, 501 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 2: kind of? What does kind of mean? 502 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 5: She was involved in the abductions? 503 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:32,360 Speaker 3: She was involved in the torture. 504 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 2: Police learned that Cindy Hendy had been convicted of theft 505 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 2: and drug possession in Washington, but fled to New Mexico. 506 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 2: She took up residence near Elephant Butte and landed a 507 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 2: job with the State park Department. That's where she met 508 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:48,879 Speaker 2: David Parker Ready. 509 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,679 Speaker 5: Cindy had said that they both had a preference for 510 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,359 Speaker 5: this kind of violent sexual activity, and. 511 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 3: So that's what brought them together. 512 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 5: It's hard to imagine that a human being is capable 513 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:08,600 Speaker 5: of treating someone like that and inflicting that type of 514 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,920 Speaker 5: pain on them and doing it for their pleasure. 515 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 2: David Parker Ray was the man known for fixing things. 516 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,119 Speaker 2: He worked at the New Mexico Parks Department and was 517 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,120 Speaker 2: well known and well liked by those in town. 518 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 5: There was not an ill word. People didn't say bad 519 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:25,680 Speaker 5: things about him. 520 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 2: People described him as quiet, neat, and somebody who would 521 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 2: never raise his voice. One co worker said David Parker 522 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:39,800 Speaker 2: Ray was the nicest, cleanest, politest person and called his 523 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 2: arrest mind boggling. And if you think about it, if 524 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 2: that is really how people thought of him, it certainly 525 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 2: was mind boggling. 526 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 5: He just seemed like a almost like a grandfatherly figure 527 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 5: that you would go fishing with on the weekend. 528 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 2: He even won an award at work for his efforts 529 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 2: in a cost savings program. Along with a cash prize, 530 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 2: he received a certificate of appreciation for his quote exemplary 531 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 2: work and dedication. 532 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 5: The thing that I remember the most is just people 533 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 5: saying is that this is something we never would have 534 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 5: expected of David parker Ray. 535 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:21,920 Speaker 2: But his reputation didn't cloud police judgment. It became obvious 536 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,960 Speaker 2: that David Parker Ray led two very different lives. 537 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 5: The one thing about David Parker Ray kept journals, videos, recordings. 538 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 2: Parker Ray kept meticulous records of what he did to 539 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 2: his victims. He even had dozens of videotapes that showed 540 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 2: him torturin women, including Cynthia V. 541 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 7: Hill. 542 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 2: With all this new information, police took another look at 543 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 2: previous missing persons cases in the area. The FBI sent 544 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 2: a pair of psychological profilers to try to get into 545 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 2: the mind of David Parker Ray. And then there was 546 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 2: the toy box. The FBI towed it to their Albuquerque office, 547 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 2: where one FBI agent had the unfortunate task of sketching 548 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 2: and making detailed dwellings of its contents. 549 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 5: You're talking about dozens of criminal investigators that were there 550 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 5: trying to investigate every aspect of David Parker Right. 551 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 2: All of this was going down weeks before Elephant Butte's 552 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 2: high season began. Sleepy hotels suddenly turned on their no 553 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 2: vacancy signs, Journalists and law enforcement flooded into town. 554 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 3: Here you have this quiet little town that likes to 555 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 3: keep to themselves. That wasn't going to be the case. 556 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 2: Anymore, especially after this news became public. One of Cindy 557 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 2: Hendy's friends told a local TV station David Parker Ray 558 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 2: was more than a rapist, he was a murderer. This 559 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 2: friend claimed he dumped four to six victims in Elephant 560 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 2: Butte Lake and that more bodies were bare in the desert, and. 561 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 5: There was immediately rumors that the lake was probably a 562 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 5: graveyard to dozens of his victims. 563 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 2: The two were no longer just being looked at as 564 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 2: sexual predators, but serial killers. Sergeant Dave Elston was one 565 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 2: of the investigators. 566 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: When I was inside of the residents, I saw a 567 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,640 Speaker 1: map of Elephabute Lake that had several red exes on 568 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 1: it in the center of the lake. 569 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:31,520 Speaker 2: What could that mean? Xes on a lake. It's an 570 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 2: ominous discovery, and you would think that somebody hiding such 571 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 2: a huge secret would be more discreet. 572 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: Was speculated that David Parker Ray would take them out 573 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,000 Speaker 1: on a boat and cut their bodies open, remove the 574 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: internal organs, fill the cavity with rocks, bricks, whatever it 575 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 1: may be, wrap them in chicken wire, and dump them 576 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: into Elophabute Lake and the fish and other creatures would 577 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:03,320 Speaker 1: take care of the decomposition of the body. So elfan 578 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: Bute Lake is approximately forty miles long. 579 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 2: Police and news helicopters took to the sky over Elephant 580 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,360 Speaker 2: Butte looking for bodies, but none turned up. 581 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 5: I did a town hall meeting with the commune to 582 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 5: try to give as much information as I could. 583 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 2: That evening, residents of Elephant Butte filled a local school 584 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,120 Speaker 2: gymnasium as Darren White of the New Mexico State Police 585 00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:29,240 Speaker 2: tried to ease their. 586 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:33,080 Speaker 5: Concerns speculation was running whatt in this tiny little community. 587 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 2: Officer White told them that the state was pouring all 588 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 2: of its resources into the investigation. He also expressed concern 589 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 2: for investigators' mental health given the chilling evidence they encountered, 590 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 2: and in the coming weeks, police would learn about two 591 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 2: more victims. 592 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: Angelica Montano was a victim of David Parker Ray. 593 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 2: Angelica lived in Albuquerque and claimed that David Parker Ray 594 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 2: held her in the toy box a few weeks before Cynthia. 595 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 2: Then he dropped her off on the interstate. 596 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: She was picked up by an off duty deputy sheriff. 597 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: She explained to him that she had been kidnapped, raped 598 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,080 Speaker 1: and tortured, and then she didn't even know how she 599 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: even got out of the interstate. 600 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,360 Speaker 2: But at the time the police didn't believe her story 601 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 2: and they let her go. 602 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 1: He just dropped her off at a gas station in 603 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 1: the middle of the night and continued on with this information. 604 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 2: Police added additional charges to David Parker Ray and Cindy Hendy. 605 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:35,520 Speaker 2: That's now two victims that came forward, and Deputy District 606 00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 2: Attorney Jim Yance would soon locate a third. But there's 607 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 2: a problem. 608 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:44,760 Speaker 4: She was able to remember bits and pieces on not 609 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 4: the entire experience. 610 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,080 Speaker 2: With three victims. Prosecutors worked to make sure they kept 611 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:51,959 Speaker 2: these monsters behind bars. 612 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 3: The victims, what they encountered and what they endured is 613 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 3: just it's unbelievable and. 614 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 5: So unbelievable that there were so many people when they 615 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,760 Speaker 5: were first told, didn't believe it was true. 616 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 2: Now it was up to prosecutors to convince a jury. 617 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,120 Speaker 4: We had chores that were just shaking their head Snow 618 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 4: we actually had yours sobbing. 619 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,800 Speaker 2: But would those jurors believe what happened? 620 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:19,160 Speaker 7: Some people like it rough. 621 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:20,680 Speaker 6: It was one of the. 622 00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:21,560 Speaker 7: Jurors that said that. 623 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:28,439 Speaker 2: Even with three witnesses, a pile of tapes, detailed recordings, 624 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 2: and physical evidence, prosecutors would struggle to keep David Parker 625 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,640 Speaker 2: Ray behind bars. And we didn't tell you hear why. 626 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,880 Speaker 2: That's on part two of The Toy Box Killer. Next 627 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:49,040 Speaker 2: time on American Homicide, you can contact the American Homicide 628 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:53,280 Speaker 2: Team by emailing us at American Homicide Pod at gmail 629 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 2: dot com. That's American Homicide Pod at gmail dot com. 630 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,520 Speaker 2: American Homicide is hosted and written by me Sloane Glass 631 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:06,600 Speaker 2: and is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of 632 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 2: Glass Entertainment Group, in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show 633 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 2: is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Todd Gans. The 634 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 2: series is also written and produced by Todd Gans, with 635 00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:23,840 Speaker 2: additional writing by Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our associate 636 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:28,240 Speaker 2: producer is Kristin Melcurry. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry 637 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:33,720 Speaker 2: and Jessica Crimecheck. Audio editing and mixing by Matt Delvecchio, 638 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:38,800 Speaker 2: additional editing support from Nico Ruka Tanner, Robbins, Britt Roebushow, 639 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:45,239 Speaker 2: and Patrick Walsh. American Homicide's theme song was composed by 640 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:50,240 Speaker 2: Oliver Baines of Noisier Music Library, provided by my Music. 641 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 2: Follow American Homicide on Apple Podcasts, and please rate and 642 00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:00,799 Speaker 2: review American Homicide. Your five star reviews goes a long 643 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 2: way towards helping others find this show. For more podcasts 644 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:10,280 Speaker 2: from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 645 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 2: you get your podcasts.