How Cynthia Vigil Escaped 'Toy Box Killer' David Parker Ray and Ended His Horrific Crimes

Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo's name is bound to come up in discussions of extreme acts of bravery. Hers is a true-crime story with a satisfying ending -- a rarity in kidnapping cases. She’s a victim, yes, but, more importantly, she’s a survivor. What Vigil-Jaramillo endured during three days of captivity by David Parker Ray, the "Toy Box Killer," is horrific. However, despite her seemingly hopeless situation, she accomplished the unthinkable. She escaped.

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Ray had many victims before Vigil-Jaramillo. But because of her courage, there will be none after her. In fact, it was the thought of a young girl that gave her the resilient spirit she needed to outsmart her captor.

Who exactly is the “Toy Box Killer,” and how did Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo’s act of immense valor potentially save dozens, or even hundreds, of women?

Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo's Abduction by David Parker Ray

On March 19, 1999, 22-year-old Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo was in an Albuquerque, New Mexico, parking lot, minding her own business. But then a man posing as an undercover police officer arrested her for solicitation of prostitution, and placed her in the backseat of his car. The man was actually David Parker Ray, perhaps better known as the "Toy Box Killer." He was taking her to his soundproof trailer -- the "Toy Box," he called it -- in Elephant Butte, about two hours south.

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There, Ray fitted Vigil-Jaramillo with a dog collar and padlock, then chained her to a medical-looking table. He then tortured and raped her for three days, with help from his girlfriend, Cindy Hendy. Vigil-Jaramillo was quick to hear a tape that Ray recorded, detailing what she and other women would endure. That's when she realized she wasn't the first woman Ray had held captive in the trailer.

How Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo Found the Strength to Live

“The way he talked, I didn’t feel like this was his first time,” Vigil-Jaramillo recalled. “It was like he knew what he was doing. He told me I was never going to see my family again. He told me he would kill me like the others.”

Ray also frequently spoke about another victim, a girl. Vigil-Jaramillo overheard them talking, and was distraught by the possibility of this happening to yet another woman, especially one so young. The thought of that girl strengthened Vigil-Jaramillo’s will to live.

Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo's Escape From the Toy Box Killer

On the third day, Ray went to work, and left Vigil-Jaramillo under his girlfriend's watchful eye. Hendy wasn't as meticulous as Ray, and placed keys to the restraints on a nearby table. When Hendy left the room, Vigil-Jaramillo used her feet to quietly inch the table closer, until she could reach the keys.

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She freed her hands before she was caught, and stabbed, by Hendy. Vigil-Jaramillo knew this was a battle for her life. So, she grabbed an ice pick, stabbed Hendy, and escaped.

She ran out of the trailer naked, still in chains and collar. In his tape, Ray said the neighbors knew what he was doing, and that Vigil-Jaramillo possibly would be “servicing” them. Knowing they weren’t an option, she ran to another mobile home for help. The owner brought Vigil-Jaramillo inside, and then called police.

Ray and Hendy were apprehended near their home and the “Toy Box." Vigil-Jaramillo had escaped a serial rapist, and suspected serial killer, saving others from the horrors she endured. What the police found in Ray’s “Toy Box,” and on the property of his trailer, is shocking.

David Parker Ray’s Lifetime of Crime

Ray was always a bit of an outcast. Bullied in school and abused at home, he turned to drugs and alcohol, self-medicating and self-soothing. He later joined the Army, from which he was honorably discharged. Before Hendy, Ray was married and divorced four times.

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But when did his life of crime start? Police believe Ray began to abduct, rape, torture and, presumably, kill women in the mid-1950s. It’s uncertain how many victims Ray had. However, it was Vigil-Jaramillo and another woman, Kelli Garrett, who testified against him in court.

How Police Found Evidence of David Parker Ray's Earlier Victims

Another victim, identified as Angelica M., came forward to tell how she was abducted only a month before Vigil-Jaramillo. She reported her kidnapping, but the police failed to investigate. After searching Ray's trailer, they found photos and evidence of more victims. In his “Toy Box," police uncovered torture items and sex toys priced at about $100,000, as well as a video tape of Garrett's sexual assault by Ray and Hendy.

Hendy quickly confessed, and told police what she knew about the murders. Ray’s daughter, Glenda “Jesse” Ray, and a friend, Dennis Roy Yancy, had helped him to dispose of the bodies. Yancy admitted to aiding in the 1997 murder of Marie Parker, following days of torture by Ray. Jesse Ray and Yancy claimed to have accompanied him to multiple sites to dispose of the bodies.

Ray is believed to be responsible for as many as 50 murders. However, there wasn't enough evidence to prove that, beyond diary entries in which he detailed the killings. The sites Yancy identified as containing victim remains ultimately yielded nothing. Ray was never charged with murder. Nevertheless, the justice system prevented him from striking again.

Where Are Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo and Toy Box Killer Now?

Ray was sentenced in 2001 to 224 years in prison for multiple offenses, including the abduction and sexual torture of three women. Jesse Ray was sentenced to two years in prison, and five on probation, following a plea deal made by her father.

His girlfriend and accomplice, Cindy Hendy, pleaded guilty in 1999 to kidnapping and torturing women. In return, she was sentenced to 36 years, but became eligible for parole after spending half of that time in prison. She was released in 2019.

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Unfortunately, justice wasn't served to the fullest for Vigil-Jaramillo and countless other victims. That's because Ray died of a heart attack in May 2002, three years into his prison sentence. Despite his death, the case of the “Toy Box Killer” remains a priority. Authorities searched for remains again in 2011, near Elephant Butte Lake, but founding nothing.

The 'Toy Box Killer' Investigation Outlived David Parker Ray

“We’re still getting good leads,” FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said. “As long as we’re getting those leads, and as long as the exposure in the press keeps generating interest in the case, we’re going to keep investigating this.”

Meanwhile, Cynthia Vigil-Jaramillo had her entire life ahead of her. “This was a very sick man,” Vigil-Jaramillo reflected in 2011. “The only thing that gives me comfort is that he’s gone. If I didn’t get away, I wouldn’t have my three wonderful boys. I wouldn’t be here.”

In a true tale of survival, Vigil-Jaramillo escaped an early death, and countless women from the same fate. Her persistence is a lesson to everyone. Vigil-Jaramillo embodies strength, and gives hope to women everywhere.

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