David Parker Ray was convicted in Elephant Butte sex torture chamber
Cynthia Jaramillo survived an abduction in Albuquerque before David Parker Ray was convicted in court. Her escape led to his arrest and ended years of crimes.
Jaramillo was working on the streets in Albuquerque in March 1999. She entered an RV against her own safety rules. Ray then displayed a badge and handcuffed her to a cabinet inside the vehicle.
Accomplice Cindy Hendy shocked Jaramillo with a cattle prod during the abduction. Jaramillo unscrewed the cabinet fitting to free her hands. Hendy then approached with a gun before Jaramillo lost consciousness.
Jaramillo awoke inside a trailer parked near Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Ray played an audio cassette recorded in 1993 to deliver instructions. The FBI identified Ray by the moniker Toy Box Killer.
Okay (expletive), we both know why you’ve been brought here today. Your wrists and ankles are chained and you’re gagged because you’re not going to like the way I do it. You’re going to be kept here naked and chained down. I’m going to use you for a sex slave. If I thought that you knew too much to cause damage you would not be turned loose, you would simply disappear.
Detectives located chains, whips, and pulleys inside the trailer. Jaramillo endured electric shocks in a chair for hours. A padlocked dog collar kept her secured to a pole by a bed.
Hendy left keys on a coffee table after three days of captivity. Jaramillo pulled the table closer and unlocked the padlock. Hendy returned and struck her with a lamp.
Jaramillo stabbed Hendy with an ice pick and fled through the door. A passing driver refused to stop for her on the road. Jaramillo ran naked and injured toward an illuminated trailer home.
An elderly couple inside the trailer provided clothing and contacted emergency dispatchers. Authorities arrested Ray and Hendy following the escape. Ray received a sentence exceeding 223 years for torturing two women.
Ray claimed 40 abductions across the country, but authorities located no bodies. He died from a heart attack while serving his sentence in 2002. Hendy served nearly 20 years in prison before gaining release in 2019.
Elephant Butte sits along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico. Law enforcement personnel secure physical evidence and obtain search warrants during abduction investigations. Medical examiners investigate deaths that happen in state custody.
Jaramillo later established the non-profit organization Street Safe New Mexico in Albuquerque with Christine Barber. The group provides hotel rooms and clothes for women on the streets.
