The Disturbing Way The Toy Box Killer Used A Mirror

On May 28, 2002, David Parker Ray died in a New Mexico prison at the age of 62. Just one year prior, Ray had been sentenced to 223 years in prison after what KRQE calls "the most twisted crime story in New Mexico history." Ray's treacherous saga of bloodshed and torment was so profoundly sadistic and depraved, there are only a handful of other shocking true crime cases that can truly be compared to it. 

In order to prepare his victims for the horrific bouts of torture and sexual assault he'd subject them to, Ray would play a prerecorded monologue of his voice (via Parkaman Magazine): "My lady friend and I have been keeping sex slaves for years. We both have kinky hangups involving rape, dungeon games, etc," the recording went. "We've found that it is extremely convenient to keep one or two female captives available constantly to, uh, satisfy our particular needs." 

It was in a small trailer near Elephant Butte Lake that David Parker Ray, along with his girlfriend Cindy Hendy (and another accomplice named Dennis Roy Yancy who joined them from time to time), would confine innocent women they'd abducted off the street to a small space he labeled his "Toy Box." Inside the room, which contained nightmarish devices including whips, chains, sex toys, and electric shock charges, they would subject their victims to especially dark forms of torture. Ray even had his daughter, Glenda Jean "Jesse" Ray, aid in his malevolent exploits in at least one instance (via All That's Interesting). 

While Ray insisted that he was responsible for dozens of deaths over the course of several decades, authorities were never able to ascertain an exact figure. The testimonies of two different women who managed to escape his barbaric clutches were pivotal in bringing him to justice near the turn of the century. Thus concluded one of the most terrifying and unfathomable bouts of inhuman savagery to ever arise (via FBI.gov). 

One of the most disturbing details from David Parker Ray's Toy Box was a series of mirrors he'd reportedly fastened to the ceiling. While he had his victims on their backs, they were forced to watch the heinous acts being done to them. When Ray's final victim, Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo, managed to escape the confines of the Toy Box, she recalled being strapped to a table beneath the mirrors for three days. Jaramillo fled to a nearby home and appeared at the stranger's door completely naked save for a dog collar around her neck. It was there that she was able to contact the police and inform them of her unthinkable ordeal and the whereabouts of her assailant (per Mirror U.K.).

"If I killed every b**** that we kidnapped, there'd be bodies strung all over the country," Ray's voice stated in the grisly recording he played for victims before their torture began. "I don't like killing a girl unless it's absolutely necessary." After they were through, Ray and his accomplices would heavily drug their victims in an effort to wipe their memories of the horrors they'd endured. While death wasn't necessarily imminent for every individual who crossed the threshold of Ray's Toy Box, the time they spent under his domain was unbearably grueling. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).