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[Music] The Disappearance of Ray Wright was a complete mystery there was no explanation of why
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he was gone the first real break is when you're Uncle Dean went to your father's house
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and found an intruder in the house did it strike you all as okay that seems too coincidental our dad is missing and
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here's a guy in his house AB yeah 100% because it was just it was scary so Ray Wright has been missing since
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Friday when he failed to show up for a meeting at work this case was a series of mysteries you have a Am Pm soda cup
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just like you would pick up at the gas station the soda cup was the one piece of evidence left by the burglar at the
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victim's residence in which we get some key forensic evidence a white man and then that evidence is linked to a car
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wreck and as ground units arrived it was like the scene uh out of a [Music] movie inside that van is just a treasure
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Trove of evidence a rain jacket covered in blood and a letter I hand delivered you your
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revenge now it's time to pay me all that added up to someone's got Ray I knew something bad was happening
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to him I felt it it was weeks to months to then years without really knowing right years of
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not knowing yeah throughout the case it was clear that many of the Witnesses were afraid to come forward because I'm
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terrified of them all of them you guys are going to get me killed like going to help you I have to go you're going going
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help you're going to get me killed 100% of the truth what happened to Ray I don't know what happened to Ray I don't
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know I don't know what happened to Ray officers in the family are left with essentially a person that has vanished
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off the face of the Earth [Music] [Music] Dean Wright was nervous where's Ray it
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was Saturday morning January 13th 2018 in Sacramento California I just wanted to know where Ry is Dean hadn't heard
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from his younger brother Ry in two days highly unusual for brothers who spoke every day without fail all of a sudden
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middle of January there's just nothing nothing no phone calls no texts no social media posts nothing Ray Wright 55
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had Miss work no one had seen or heard from him including his daughters Haley and Kennedy
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my sister called me and she was like Hey like have you heard from Dad like no one's heard from him I immediately hung
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up and called him and I called and I called and I called straight to voicemail every time so I was getting
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increasingly concerned Dean had repeatedly checked his brother's house in Rockland a
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Sacramento suburb and the shop Ray rented in Rio Linda for his work as a master Carpenter nothing seemed unusual
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except The Silence of Rey's absence and you didn't see his truck no his truck was not there you're panicked
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at this point right I think the first couple of days was when it really started to get real
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and serious I just felt really powerless over the situation and it was really scary it was the worst thing that could
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have ever happened Ray's ex-wife Peggy Wright was also up set I knew right away when he was out of touch that there was
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something wrong although they were no longer married Peggy still considered Ry to be
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the love of her life was he romantic oh God he was super romantic they married in June
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1994 and Ry became an instant dad to stepdaughter Haley then 3 years old he was meant to be a father and he was so
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good with her he was always there for me first male role model and he always did
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everything to the fullest Along Came Kennedy nearly 3 years later she says her father a loving Hands-On dad would
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never just up and disappear he was like a te- ball dad um and he would like take me like
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fishing soccer dad swim meets he could do it all yeah he could do it all he was good at
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everything but after several good years Peggy says the couple found themselves drifting apart he was so busy working I
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was busy parenting and I also worked they divorced in 2001 Ry remarried and divorced again in 2009 I think it was
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the end of his second marriage that kind of put him over the edge and that's when
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he fell off the wagon at almost 20 years sober Ray Wright a recovering alcoholic
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had stayed sober for most of his adult life but when he went missing Peggy worried he was in trouble you think oh
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gosh maybe you know he had a set back or something he was sober during your marriage oh yeah it was Ray's relapse
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after his second marriage that sparked a downward spiral exploding One Night in November 2011 when Ry got in a car and
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drove drunk he slammed head on into a vehicle severely injuring a husband and wife Ray then 49 was convicted of felony
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DUI and sentenced to 18 months in jail I think that was Rock Bottom for him yeah rock bottom was getting in this
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devastating accident yeah and hurting people in the midst of it Ray immediately stopped drinking rejoined
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Alcoholics Anonymous and checked in with his sponsor every day I think the ray after that time was even better than the
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ray prior to that time because he wanted to be in the best version of Ray Wright
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that he could be just weeks before he went missing this is the last Thanksgiving and Ray spent Thanksgiving
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and Christmas with his growing family celebrations that included Ray's first granddaughter Ashton that's ashon when
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she was really small oh I love that proud mom Haley was thrilled for her dad he was super excited he built her a
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custom crib he loved being a grandpa and she loved Grandpa Ray Ray was at such a
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great spot in his life he had it all and then he disappeared by Saturday afternoon on January 13th
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more than 48 hours had passed without a single sign of Ray Dean Wright went back
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to his brother's house yet again knocked on the door then let himself in said hello hello and immediately I smelled
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marijuana smoke and that's when I knew this is completely wrong cuz he didn't like that
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and I'm getting increasingly tense about it so as I walked forward I saw a cup and that had not been there I took
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another step and a half that's when a back door burst open and I guy yell at me get out of here and
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I said who are you where's Ray the man took a step toward Dean he says then turned away and ran out the back door I
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immediately called 911 Rockland Police arrived Dean shaken filed a missing person's report and
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pointed to the soda cup on the kitchen counter explaining that the Intruder must have left it the cup is full of Ice
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uh it's full of soda Sacramento County prosecutor Matt Chisum it has a lid and a straw and it's sweating so it's fresh
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when did you start to fear the worst Dean then right then it was crushing and you suspected Foul Play
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yes [Music] [Music] Ray Wright much admired and loved by friends and family described as generous
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creative and vibrant had seemingly vanished with the snap of a finger no one has any leads as to where he is or
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what happened to him it was the frightening home invasion just two days after Ry had disappeared
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that seemed too coincidental says prosecutor match Chisum I think that raised everyone's concern to a different
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level as days go by it becomes more suspicious Rockland Police Sergeant Zack Lewis briefly considered raise history
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of alcohol abuse but dismissed the possibility of a relapse we checked his bank accounts there was no activity on
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his bank his vehicle had disappeared off of license plate readers we couldn't find his vehicle anymore his phone
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wasn't working all those things led us to believe that it was more than just him not calling family members back and
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drinking raise family immediately organized a search we all met up at a Target parking lot and passed out flyers
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and then we just spread out and went in all different directions we were doing everything we could and exhausting
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everything that we could do the resounding question for the Wright family echoing at all hours of
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the day and night where was Ray vanish Without a Trace he was last seen a week ago today he was driving a white Ford F
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10 days after his disappearance police discovered Ray's abandoned pickup truck in a North Highlands apartment complex
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in this really high crime area the radio and license plates had been stripped for
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police finding Ray's vehicle was a break in the case for Haley it was just heartbreaking that was the first real
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piece of evidence I was like okay we know something about happened to him Rockland PD uh seized the car and
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collaborated with the FBI to have it processed for trace evidence in the back of the truck brown stains barely visible
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on black carpet liner were later determined to be human blood that was tested for DNA against Ray wri's
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toothbrushes since we don't have a body and it was a match [Applause] 16 days after Ray's disappearance
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something happened that would shift the investigation into overdrive OCC it all began with a
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harrowing high-speed police chase through Sacramento it was a very dangerous high-speed chase speeds of up to 100
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mph there was a terrible accident at the end of that Pursuit put your head open the door anybody in the car with you
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this is one of those chases that you watch on TV and it's like wo Yes except in this case the guy who was responsible
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for that is much more dangerous than we even know the driver pinned inside the vehicle with a broken leg was unable to
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[Applause] move California Highway Patrol officers cuffed the driver who appeared to be
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intoxicated the man's name Victor gray he had problems with the law before and police arrested him this time for felony
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evasion and DUI he's taken to a hospital for treatment and uh is under guard and is
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then booked in the Sacramento County Jail it was Gray's expired registration with current registration sticker tabs
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that caught the attention of a police officer like a stolen vehicle is that what they're thinking possibly or
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somebody stole a registration Tab and just stuck it on their license we a DMV record search showed the registration
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tab actually belonged to a 2016 Ford pickup truck that had recently been reported missing along with its owner
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Raymond Wright the registration tab is actually Ray wri's registration tag off of his license plate and so that that's
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the first connection that they are able to make between Victor gray and Ray Wright's
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disappearance and then 3 months after Ray's disappearance another turning point in the
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case investigators got a DNA hit off that soda straw in the cup left behind by the fleeing Intruder who finally had
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a name and it's one the police already knew Victor gray so now we have two pieces of
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evidence linking him to Ray wri the DNA match placed Victor gray inside Ray's home and at the center of the expanding
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investigation turned out things were about to get a lot worse for gray because his wrecked smoking van was a
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Smoking Gun here you've got a treasure Trove of evidence where was all of this found all this was located in the
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vehicle that uh Victor gray was driving in the van's cluttered cargo area Rockland PD and FBI investigators
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unraveled a black plastic tarp inside disturbing evidence deepened the ray rri mystery the Hat you pull that hat out
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Ray right design it was like a holy moment this is huge for us the yellow rain jacket that is Ray wri's jacket and
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what was found on that his DNA U was found on that jacket the glasses glasses yeah and they're just broke into a bunch
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of pieces his wallet which it appeared they tried to burn a cell phone that's clearly been destroyed like somebody
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took a hammer to it right is that what it looked like that's what it looked like yes we had to run the serial number
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on the back and it was registered to Ray wri's cell phone carrier we now were definitely able to tie Victor gray to
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Ray Wright going missing but police had not found Rey there was still a sliver of hope it was just really hard being
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patient it's still a hot investigation there's still uh many details left to figure out perhaps none more significant
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than Victor Gray's cell phone it wasn't just Ray's phone in the van Victor gra was there too the violent Collision
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ending the police chase sent gray self phone sliding underneath the van center console the FBI found that and was able
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to process it for its contents and inside that cell phone was also a treasure Trove of evidence astonishingly
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there was a photo of a handwritten three-page letter prosecutors say from Victor gray to someone named Bob and at
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this point we don't know who Bob is it was dated January 27th the same day as Gray's ill-fated
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Chase with police and it's clear that Victor has grievances with Bob and the Grievances stem about not
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being paid for delivering the dude to you those are his words the dude yeah I hand delivered you
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your revenge now it's time to pay me [Music] [Applause] let's talk about what was found in that
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phone text messages that seem to refer to Ray Wright's possible kidnapping at that point right yes it took months but
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investigators eventually dug up a gold mine of evidence from Victor Gray's cell phone there was a text conversation with
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a woman who appeared to be working as a lookout for Mr Gray raise out front of the shop texted
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the woman California Katie in a series of misspelled texts it was 9:50 a.m. January 11th 2018
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yes I'm watching out front for anything tracing California Katie's number found in Gray's cell phone police
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identified her as Katie Bernard the text messages with ktie Bernard were invaluable those messages were sent the
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very morning Ray Wright went missing last seen at his Workshop they revealed a plan of sorts says pler County
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district attorney investigator Ashley englefield Ray W's house probably about 30 or 40 minutes east from here mhm
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investigator englefield showed us Ray Wright's former Workshop in Rio Linda and its close proximity to a neighbor
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Katie Bernard she happened to be living in a trailer next to Ray wri's cabinet shop so that trailer right there is
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where Katie Bernard was staying that morning englefield believes Katie Bernard was watching Ray's Workshop from
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just yards away she was in a prime spot to be a source of intelligence for Victor Gray she's looking out that
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window and she's looking at the shop so where do we think Victor gray is on that
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morning during the course of that text conversation we think Victor is out there on the road and he's waiting for
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the text from Katie the one that would tell him when Ray Wright was alone at his shop it came just before 10
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a.m. just you and him hun a few hours later Ray Wright would [Music] disappear I right there we'll be right
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with you okay okay englefield brought in Katie Bernard for questioning in October
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2018 Ray Wright had been missing for nearly 300 days if we don't have reasons for why you did certain things okay and
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you lie to us about doing the things we know you did it makes you look like a killer okay are you a killer no Katy
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Bernard would grudgingly become a pivotal witness what did Katie Bernard think she was doing this all for she
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told us that she was only involved because she thought that Victor gray wanted to steal Rayman wri's truck this
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wasn't about RIS truck this doesn't start and end with Victor gray it starts with somebody else you
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about to say it two Bob Katie knew the key players including the mysterious Bob named in that letter who's Bob Bob is my
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boyfriend what's Bob name Bob Manor Robert Bobby Manor and so what's the story then what's the whole back story
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while we in a car accident when Ray Wright drove drunk 6 years earlier in November
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2011 the married couple he struck was Robert Manor and his wife she nearly died and Manor suffered multiple broken
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bones that left him with a permanent limp and lingering pain he was reminded about it on a daily basis from his
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injuries and he could never let it go after raised DUI conviction He was ordered to pay more than
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$275,000 in restitution to Manor and his wife he had occasionally made payments but not very
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much police say Robert Manor was not a man to stiff he was a feared methampetamine
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dealer in North Sacramento authorities say who had done time for assault and selling drugs armed with a gun and
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Witnesses told police that Manor was enraged and wanted revenge against Ray Wright that gives you a motive right the
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money and the Revenge mostly a few months before Ry went missing in a staggering
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coincidence police believed that Manor while visiting Katie just happened to see the man who had smashed into to him
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driving drunk years ago the man he blamed for shattering his life he came over one day and Ra was
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there Ray Wright was working in his shop about 30 ft away that might have been the moment
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englefield says when Manor lit the fuse igniting his plot for Revenge that had smoldered for
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years truck is gone yes and Ray been missing yes Katie told police when she heard the news that Ry was missing she
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realized this wasn't just about stealing his truck I'm freaking out why because like it's obvious you know like that
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what that he's been taken or hurt or something the cop tell Victor and Bob Katie says Victor
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gray later told her that morning armed with a gun he approached Ray Wright and punched him I think he then somehow
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secured Ray's hands and he was able to put Ry into his own truck then englefield says Victor gray drove Ray's
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truck with a bloodied Ray wri in the back to Manor's house a few miles away I don't know what they did with Ray afraid
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she might be implicated in Ray Wright's disappearance Katy told investigators she confronted Robert
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Manor she asked him about whether he killed Ray Wright and he tells her that he did Manor then grabbed her around the
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neck choked her and told her never to speak about this again according to Chisum Manor's
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chilling admission came in just three words he says I got him I got him I got him we heard that quote from Mr Manor
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from multiple wh Witnesses I didn't do anything I'm not saying you did like Tessa Trimble I'm
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not involved in it I'm not saying that you are in an audio only police interview Ashley englefield spoke to
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Tessa a massage therapist who had treated Robert manner's injuries from the accident she says they eventually
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became romantically involved Tessa was very hesitant to speak initially and she was also very afraid of Bobby you're
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going to get me killed I have to go I don't I get here it would take some time but Tessa began to talk she received a
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phone call from Bobby and Bobby had told her hey come over to the house we need to talk according to her what she
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thought at the time was that they were going to talk about their relationship but when she saw Manor Tessa says there
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was something else on his mind what did he talk to you about he told me he took care of whatever
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something he was trying to take care of for a long time he didn't give me details he just told
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me that he took care of he felt good about now when he said that who do you think he was talking about talking out
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Ray R why would you think he was talking about Ray R because he had he had a problem with
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that guy he he mentioned on numerous occasions he wanted to get that guy it sounded to me like one of the
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only persons that Bobby could tell about this was Tessa and and so he did Bobby telling you what he got him
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m is that what he said I got him yeah everyone knew that Manor was talking about Ray Wright and then the
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first time they see him after The Disappearance see Manor he says I got him in March 2021 prosecutors charged
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Robert Manor and Victor gray with the kidnapping and murder of Ray Wright even though police had yet to find Ry both
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men pleaded not guilty Manor facing a life sentence without parole can you hear me Mr Manor
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had a very different story to tell I'm innocent you had nothing to do with the murder of Ray R nothing to do with it
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[Music] it was still a missing person but we all assumed it was a homicide did they tell you at any point
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we believe your brother is dead yes may be three and a half years in during those agonizing years Ray
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wri's family one by one eventually came to the same conclusion [Music] Ry was no longer
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alive and their grief was compounded by not having his body to bury that's definitely still a source of
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pain for us there was no laying him to rest like he doesn't get the send away that he
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deserves prosecutor matchism hoped to provide the family A measure of Justice by convicting Robert Manor and Victor
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Gray approaching trial chism's crucial concern was The credibility of his Witnesses you've got witnesses who have
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history of drugs and drug use does that create a complication with the jury yes all these Witnesses had significant
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credibility issues including another witness who had come forward Victor Gray's cellmate
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Chris Mitchell well I started off talking to him and I'm real comfortable talking to
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him in an audio only interview Mitchell says Victor gray told him about Ray Wes tortured Final hours in Bob Manor's
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house what did gray tell you he delivered dude to Bobby alive though Mitchell claims Victor gray told
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him there was plastic sheeting laying on the floor plastic everywhere according to Mitchell gray said Manor
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had Ray Wright poisoned he poisoned him Mitchell says gray also told him that Manor had Ray's body
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dismembered cut the body up did they tell you what they did with it no he didn't tell me none of
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that Victor was your accomplice in this kidnapping and murder plot there's no connection whatsoever with me and Victor
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before the Robert Manor spoke to us from the Sacramento County Jail they searched my
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house they tore the carpet up they did everything like that there was no DNA found well because you put plastic all
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over the floor no he was good at covering his tracks he got other people to do the Dirty Work people like Victor
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gray says Chisum we find all the evidence of Ray Wright's death in Victor Gray's van the cleanup is done and
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Victor gray tells you that on the jail call in a jailhouse visit with his wife after the high-speed chase with police
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Victor gray made a powerful admission says Chisum he almost kind of confesses to his wife and brings his wife into the
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no clean up the scene or whatever I to clean up you know what I mean he said I had to clean up the
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scene as if he is almost bitter about it such a m but he played me we believe that
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Victor was supposed to be paid $10,000 he was pissed off because he didn't get paid by B that's why
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prosecutors believe Victor gray wrote the three-page letter found on his cell phone in it he said I'm done waiting and
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need a fat package today meaning the money gray believed he was owed he told Bob Manor to take care of him
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because he had hand delivered you your revenge but Manor never paid Chisum says so Victor gray decided to deliver some
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revenge of his own so white Chevy unknown occupant he was on his way to Manor's house with all the rayr evidence
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still inside the van according to Chisum that's when police tried pulling gray over had Victor gray been paid then
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maybe he's not driving across town with this treasure Trove of evidence in the back of the
00:32:31
van the trial finally began in March 2023 more than 5 years after Raymond Wright went
00:32:39
missing since there was still nobody the case had become a nobody homicide nobody
00:32:47
cases are tough to prove you lose a lot of information by losing the body we developed every single lead possible in
00:32:54
order to prove this case as Chisum fully expected The credibility of his Witnesses came under Relentless fire the
00:33:03
thrust of the defense was these Witnesses are saying whatever the cops want them to say in order to help
00:33:11
themselves I'm terrified of them they're dangerous people they have guns but Katie Bernard who was granted immunity
00:33:18
and never charged with the crime emerged as a star witness as Chism for her damaging testimony about Gray's
00:33:24
involvement and maners admission and it was something that Manor was trying to keep under wraps even though that he
00:33:33
said it to her uh it was something that she was to take to her grave in court Manor and Gray's defense teams zeroed in
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on the prosecution's lack of direct physical evidence against Robert Manor and the absence of a
00:33:49
[Music] body I reminded the jury that it' been 1,800 in 89 days and no one on the face of
00:34:00
this Earth had seen Ray Wright and this one was magical like he spent hours on that the trial says Peggy left her
00:34:13
Imagining the unimaginable Ray's final moments it's even worse to find out what it must have been like at the end for
00:34:21
him how scared he must have been he knew what was going to happen after an 8-day trial the jury got the
00:34:33
case I remember like squeezing Haley's hand and like thinking I was going to throw up like while we were waiting for
00:34:39
the verdict what do you make of the evidence against Manor and gray see a timeline of
00:34:48
the investigation at 48 hours.com [Music] how long before you got word there's a
00:35:04
verdict the jury was out about 4 hours it was late afternoon on March 17th 2023 the verdict was
00:35:14
in it was the most gut-wrenching day of my life Robert Manor and Victor gray were
00:35:22
found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping but it didn't bring him back so it was like it was a Bittersweet
00:35:33
Victory it's Unthinkable that someone would do something like that like you can't imagine that your loved one would
00:35:39
be swept off the Earth like that April 28th the day of reckoning for Manor and gray before hearing their sentence they
00:35:47
heard from Ray Wright's family I said my dad will be in heaven like amongst the Angels like where he belongs and you'll
00:35:56
be in prison for life where you belong will never be the same none of us you just can't imagine how it impacts a
00:36:05
family Manor and gray were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole gray never responded to our request for
00:36:13
an interview but Robert Manor insisted there had been a miscarriage of Justice I did not have anything to do with Ray
00:36:22
wri's disappearance at all Ray wri's body has never been found no where did you bear bury him I I never buried Ray R
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I never I never chopped Ray Rite up I never had anything to do with Ray R's disappearance or murder nothing he has a
00:36:37
family that deserves answers they want to know why why did you do this I didn't I did not do this and there was
00:36:45
something else Manor wanted to say he claimed it was Victor gray and Katie Bernard who had plotted to set him up by
00:36:53
kidnapping and killing Ray Wright he come up with this and tried to come and ask me for
00:37:00
money gray and Bernard tried to extort Manor for $20,000 he says a claim that was never raised in court Manor was
00:37:09
making it for the first time during our interview what do you make of that argument wow it it that's a Whopper
00:37:17
right there's no proof of of anything like that in Chism argues it makes much more sense that Manor was The Mastermind
00:37:25
you also have this monster motive Revenge let the evidence speak for itself it's not people that gone on
00:37:33
there said the same exact phrase you know I got him I didn't get no money the remnants of Ray wri's life
00:37:45
these silent Witnesses did speak loud and clear his famous yellow raincoat that he
00:37:57
had had for like 15 years like soaked in blood yeah I think seeing his broken glasses is what that killed us seal the
00:38:06
deal for me Haley says even her young daughter Ashton was overwhelmed by losing Grandpa
00:38:16
Ray she always thought people were going to go missing I caught her singing in the dark songs that she would make up
00:38:23
about where her Grandpa went I hope we did enough for the family until we find the body it's still an
00:38:31
open missing person's case with The Rock Police Department at the end of the day do you
00:38:37
believe Justice was served yes Justice was served it gives this family somewhere to
00:38:48
to start over consumed by Ray disappearance and death for years friends and family
00:38:55
decided it was time to celebrate his life I'm glad you all are here to share these times with us Ry was to me my
00:39:04
first best Emperor ever friend on this day June 17th day 1,983 since he went missing Ray wri's
00:39:17
presence filled the room and the hearts of those who loved him we love you Ray how do you want your dad to be
00:39:24
remembered Haley exactly how he is remembered lovable accountable creative thoughtful I have
00:39:35
never met anyone like my dad like I definitely used this whole event as motivation to do better it's all like a
00:39:45
testament to my dad I hope he's you know piece freeze a bird [Music] [Music] a famous therapist murdered I just was
00:40:18
woken up by screaming and now new evidence and clues reveal the chilling truth how creepy is that crazy creepy
00:40:26
hate har how dangerous it really is for women 48 hours Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount
00:40:35
[Music] [Applause] [Music] plus I'm anarie green and this is postmortem in this week's case who took
00:40:56
our dad the Abduction of Ray wri we have an abduction and murder of a family man
00:41:02
a high-speed police chase and a treasure Trove of evidence so here to take us behind the scenes of their reporting is
00:41:09
CBS News correspondent and 48 Hours contributor Natalie Morales and producer Greg fiser uh Natalie welcome back and
00:41:18
Greg welcome thank you emry thanks great to be here how did you first learn about
00:41:23
this case Greg we heard about the conviction so uh we went to the sentencing hearing for the two
00:41:29
defendants Victor gray and Robert Manor just to evaluate whether you know this case would work for 48 hours both men
00:41:38
got life without Pearl for murder and I was struck by two things at that sentencing hearing first of all what a
00:41:47
incredible person Ray Wright must be he had so many friends and family members who not only testified on his behalf but
00:41:57
each one of them explained what a role Ray played in their lives and I thought wow this is somebody who's impressive
00:42:06
who could be worth a story and of course the second thing I noticed was that Robert Manor convicted as The Mastermind
00:42:15
proclaimed his innocence he said he felt sorry for the family but I didn't do it
00:42:20
and I'm going to continue to advocate for my innocence probably in the appeal so after the hearing was was over I went
00:42:27
down to the jail and he was willing to do an interview and uh we called Natalie and and the Clock Was ticking yes
00:42:36
because the concern with that Greg was that he was going to be transferred to then begin serving his sentence and once
00:42:44
he's transferred to prison then you cannot get a camera in California into the prison so for us it was we want to
00:42:53
be able to do this interview with him and hear what he has to say now in his defense after the fact that he's been
00:43:01
sentenced and so with that I kind of started at the end of the story rather than the beginning usually I'm getting
00:43:08
to know the victim and the victim's families getting a sense of who they were and in this case I'm finding out
00:43:16
who this guy Robert Manor is and was who's been convicted of this horrendous crime of kidnapping and killing as well
00:43:26
as Victor gray the other man who is uh is convicted as his accomplice as well in this all right so you started at the
00:43:34
end I want to play a short recap of the episode Ray Wright's daughters Kennedy and Haley were worried it was January of
00:43:42
2018 and for days no one had been able to reach their dad and it was really scary he hadn't shown up at his
00:43:51
carpentry shop didn't answer calls or texts I knew something bad was happening to him and I felt it Ray's Brother Dean
00:44:00
felt it too he headed to his brother's house and looked around and that's when he realized someone was in the house and
00:44:08
it wasn't Ry and I said who are you where's Ry the Intruder fled says prosecutor matchism but left behind this
00:44:17
soda cup on the kitchen counter in which we get some key forensic evidence but investigators did not know who the
00:44:24
Intruder was and then Weeks Later a police officer noticed a suspicious vehicle and gave
00:44:32
chase the white shy unknown it was a very dangerous high-speed chase speeds of up to 100
00:44:42
mph there was a terrible accident at the end of that Pursuit the driver was a man named
00:44:49
Victor gray and in his wrecked van a black tarp filled with evidence Sergeant Zack Lewis this is huge for us the Hat
00:44:59
pull that hat out Ray Wright design the yellow rain jacket that is Ray Wright's jacket his DNA U was found on that
00:45:06
jacket and in Victor Gray's cell phone prosecutors say a photograph of a letter gray wrote to a man named Bob Victor
00:45:14
gray was demanding payment for delivering the dude to Bob those are his words the dude yeah I hand delivered you
00:45:23
your revenge to authorities it sounded like vict had abducted Ry at Bob's request but
00:45:30
they had no idea who Bob was or why he would want revenge this story starts off uh with
00:45:39
one mystery where is Ray Wright but as the events unfold it becomes clear there are several Mysteries here that need to
00:45:47
be uncovered yeah I mean there really was this chain of events and almost coincidences that had to happen of
00:45:54
course where is Ry was mystery number one one but then it was who is this guy Victor gray and why are all of Ray
00:46:02
Wright's belongings in Victor Gray's now beat up burnt out van and then they discover you know on Victor Gray's cell
00:46:11
phone this mysterious letter to this guy named Bob and who is this guy named Bob
00:46:18
yeah there's a lot of talk of Revenge it comes up a lot in the broadcast from your interviews and your reporting could
00:46:25
you speak to the Revenge Bob Manor might have been seeking by murdering Ray Wright yes so if you if you recall in
00:46:33
the episode there was uh an accident that Ray Wright was involved in he was driving Under the Influence back in
00:46:41
November of 2011 and he happened to hit bob Manor and his wife in their car she nearly died he suffered horrific
00:46:52
injuries that to this day he still walks with a limp and apparently has lingering
00:46:57
pain from that and because of that prosecutors said it was something that continued to Fester within him Ray
00:47:05
Wright did end up serving time being under the influence for that incident but he also had to pay more than
00:47:12
$275,000 in restitution to Bob and his wife for the accident however he was unable to make a lot of those payments
00:47:20
so prosecutors said that the motive was plain and simple that Bob Manor was seeking Revenge
00:47:27
from that moment of that car accident and moving forward Bob Manor and Ray Wright would be tragically connected and
00:47:35
sadly inextricably Linked In this horrific way so there's some things about Ray that didn't get into the hour
00:47:43
yeah I mean Greg uncovered a fascinating story about his past so what's interesting is that Ray was this
00:47:51
fabulous Builder he had you know real skill and real talent incredibly cre creative and he and he would design and
00:47:59
build these gorgeous homes um but he was also a musician he was a drummer and uh
00:48:05
when he was young and he was playing around the Sacramento area he gigged with Alanis moriset before she was
00:48:11
famous and they were friends but so some people associated with Alanis morset uh
00:48:18
went into business with Bray and financed developments where he uh Built Homes and during the housing boo
00:48:27
he made a lot of money they were uh you know pretty well off and then when the housing boom went bad uh you know Ray
00:48:35
wasn't making that kind of money anymore he moved back to Sacramento he caused that drunk driving accident and he
00:48:43
wasn't doing so well but he had that history and I think Bob Manor didn't quite understand how Ray's life had
00:48:51
taken a turn and he didn't understand why he wasn't getting some payment from him and that's actually interesting
00:49:00
Victor gray he uh broke into the home and there was one item that was missing and that was a ledger and that ledger
00:49:08
was believed to be accounts you know that Ry kept and so it's believed that you know Victor gray and Bob Manor
00:49:17
didn't believe Ray's story that he didn't have money n brought up Victor Grace so we're going to talk about that
00:49:22
she's another character involved in this plot when we get back we're going to discuss the usual soda cup found at the
00:49:28
crime scene the high-speed chase the Treasure Trove of evidence found in Grace Van and because Rays remains have
00:49:36
never been found is this case really over stay [Music] tuned welcome back so there was an
00:49:52
amazing clue that was left behind at Ray's house Greg can you just talk a little bit more about this evidence and
00:49:57
what it meant for the case when police were called to the home that an intruder had been there the Intruder left behind
00:50:05
a gas station soda cup that he'd been drinking from so police bagged it and ran a DNA check on it but when the DNA
00:50:15
check came back that's when they realized that Victor gray the man from that accident was the person who'd been
00:50:24
in the home it answered many questions but also gave them any questions I suppose yes because they you know now
00:50:31
they know okay so Victor gray is connected to Ray Wright because of course they they have him as the
00:50:38
intruder at Ray Wright's home but now they have Ray wri's belongings we went with the police and looked in their
00:50:46
files you know as they pulled out baggie after baggie of each tragic piece of Ray
00:50:52
Wright's life and it's a life you know that you could just tell ended so horrifically there was a yellow rain
00:51:00
Slicker covered in blood stains his shattered eyeglasses his daughters um talked about seeing those eyeglasses in
00:51:09
court when you know the prosecutors pulled that out as evidence that just shattered them seeing those shattered
00:51:15
glasses and the Ray Wright designs ball cap that Ry always wore they knew in that moment Victor gray has something to
00:51:24
do with Ray wri's disappearance and then of course the true piece of evidence that came forward for them was the cell
00:51:30
phone they found not just Ray Wright's crushed cell phone in the accident but Victor Gray's cell phone and on that
00:51:38
cell phone is that three-page letter that you know spells it all out for investigators I want to play some sound
00:51:45
from the hour it's a clip from prosecutor matchism describing what was written in the letter it was dated
00:51:50
January 27th the same day as Gray's ill-fated Chase with police police and it's clear that Victor has grievances with
00:52:02
Bob and the Grievances stem about not being paid for delivering the dude to you those are his
00:52:11
words the dude yeah I hand delivered you your revenge now it's time to pay me Victor
00:52:20
great he never admitted to actually writing that letter and his attorneys suggested that maybe it was PL Ed on the
00:52:27
phone you know there there's a lot of ways to interpret it uh but Victor gray never talked to police he didn't testify
00:52:36
a trial he didn't talk to us so uh we don't really have Victor Gray's side about that letter you had to just infer
00:52:45
from reading it and it's clearly A Veiled Threat to Bob you got to wonder if this case would have come together
00:52:53
the way it did if he just didn't take a picture of that letter if the name Bob just didn't come up the way that it did
00:53:02
prosecutor said how about if Bob Manor had just paid Victor gray what he was promised it was all of
00:53:08
$110,000 the life of a Man Ray Wright for $10,000 um had that payment happened prosecutors said this case would not be
00:53:19
solved the way it's been solved prosecutors said there's some irony in Bob sort of being upset about not being
00:53:25
paid restitution yet you know he allegedly stiffs Victor and the entire scheme is unraveled
00:53:34
absolutely that's a great Point yeah that's a I hadn't really thought of it that way but I think you're exactly
00:53:40
correct if you look at the case in its entirety could anyone have hired a bigger bungler to pull off criminal
00:53:50
activity than Victor gray I mean to go into Ray's house smoking marijuana while he's supposed to
00:54:00
be committing a burglary to leave the evid the key evidence that unraveled the case behind to be driving around with
00:54:10
guns and Drugs in your car and all this highly sensitive murder evidence wrapped
00:54:17
up in the back of your car to leave a copy of that letter on his phone to have text messages with the Lookout that he
00:54:27
never even bothered to delete from his phone to have conversations with people that visited him in the jail that gave
00:54:35
away key Clues even though all your conversations are being recorded when you have people come to visit you know
00:54:42
he's not anybody's partner in crime for anything that you want to get away with in March of 2021 prosecutors charged Bob
00:54:50
Manor and Victor gray with the kidnapping and murder of Ray Wright even though police had yet to find Ray's body
00:54:57
both men pleaded not guilty and to this day still maintain their innocence the trial finally began in March of 20123
00:55:04
more than 5 years after Ray Wright went missing can we talk a little bit more about Bob's defense here uh you know I
00:55:12
heard this many times from convicted criminals this idea that there's no direct evidence linking me to the crime
00:55:20
that's what Bob was jumping up and down talking about in the jail to Natalie and
00:55:26
of course defense attorneys make that argument in court but what these criminals forget is that they're can be
00:55:34
a mountain of circumstantial evidence and of course that's why the jury decided to convict Bob Manor and during
00:55:43
the time that you were speaking to Bob I mean did he talk at all about how much the accident disrupted his life did
00:55:52
he give a sort of an inkling as to whether or not he had revenge on his mind even though he says he had nothing
00:56:01
to do with this I mean he he would not go down that road he was more about you know I'm innocent you there's no body
00:56:09
there's nobody therefore Ray wri you know disappeared I have nothing to do with it how difficult is it to bring a
00:56:16
murder case to trial without a body you know I think the prosecutor matchism said it best he in presenting his case
00:56:23
he looked at the jury and he said think about this all that you know about this man Ray Wright the kind of father he was
00:56:30
the kind of Grandfather he was he was the kind of guy that would pick up the phone and call his brother every day
00:56:35
they talk to one another would he disappear how else do you explain it except that the man is dead and do you
00:56:42
need a body to make that point when you have all of these pieces of his life his
00:56:48
belongings and all of the circumstantial evidence that points at exactly these two defendants and this monster motive
00:56:56
which is Revenge obviously when you have the body you know certain things about the facts of the murder that are missing
00:57:02
with a nobody case but uh you know there are two developments that go hand inand
00:57:09
and it's really the digital society that we live in where there's so much to track people and people's activity
00:57:19
whereas 30 years ago if you said well we haven't heard from Ry you know you didn't have the ability to check his
00:57:26
bank accounts instantly and to to track a cell phone and that is matched with forensic developments along those same
00:57:34
lines that police can use to establish facts and to uh demonstrate a case that really weren't available 30 or 40 years
00:57:43
ago or even to some extent 20 years ago and so I think that is a lot of the reason that nobody cases are very
00:57:52
solvable uh these days not only evidence but Witnesses who testify that Bob Manor
00:57:58
told them I got him I got him now the prosecutor did face the challenge that first of all the witnesses a lot of them
00:58:08
felt that they would be threatened or their lives would be threatened by speaking so um there was that concern
00:58:16
but also their credibility would come into question and and that certainly is where you know the defense their
00:58:23
strategy was going after how credible are these Witness wies I found Ray's family particularly moving um can you
00:58:33
talk to me about what it was like to sit down with his family they are still yearning for sort of that final goodbye
00:58:44
I guess yes and it's been you know over six years and you know the loss is still
00:58:51
right there on the surface you see their pain their grief they still live with that day
00:58:56
his daughters you know one of them has a daughter Ashton you know always asking about
00:59:03
Grandpa and um you know they live with that pain every day and Peggy his ex-wife talks about Ry still to this day
00:59:11
as the love of her life you know this was a tight-knit family despite what life circumstances dealt them so Bob
00:59:17
Manor and Victor gray were found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping and both were sentenced to life without
00:59:24
the possibility of do you think if they never find his body will this be enough will it be enough
00:59:32
that Bob Manor and Victor gry are behind bars or will there always be that bit of
00:59:36
emptiness I think there will always be that piece that is missing in their lives the police did say that that part
00:59:44
of this investigation Still Remains open you know they are still wanting and seeking answers as to where Ray's
00:59:52
remains may be and I think there's hope that at some point point someone will speak or say something to investigators
01:00:01
but as far as closure is is concerned this is a family that will always live with this and knowing that the man they
01:00:10
love so much is now missing from their lives for now though you know I think the family lives with the the memories
01:00:16
that they have and just to add one more thing you know he was a guy who yes he had this DUI but you know that was such
01:00:25
a turning point in his life I mean that was rock bottom and his daughters all remember that's when Ry got himself
01:00:33
together and he was sober and you know he he he really made the best of the life that he lived after that moment
01:00:42
yeah he course corrected any final thoughts on this case from both of you Ry was uh such a special person because
01:00:51
he really was a leader for his family what what was significant for me was just how Ray murder left such a hole in
01:01:01
each of these person's lives their their lives are just not complete on a day-to-day basis without Ray yeah
01:01:10
definitely um well one thing I know for sure is that if there are any developments in this case 48 hours will
01:01:16
be all over it because that's what you do Natalie Greg thank you so much for joining us thanks again for having us on
01:01:23
amarie thanks a lot join us next Tuesday for another postmortem and watch 48 hours Saturdays
01:01:30
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