Hendy lived with Ray for several months in Elephant Butte before they were arrested on March 22

May 12, 1999
Web posted at: 9:55 p.m. EDT (0155 GMT)

In this story: Hendy secures plea agreement Others charged in case RELATED STORIES, SITES

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico (CNN) -- The girlfriend of sexual torture suspect David Ray said he told her he was involved in killing up to 14 people, whose bodies he buried in ravines in eastern New Mexico, according to a court affidavit released Wednesday.

Cynthia Hendy, 39, was questioned by New Mexico authorities after she and Ray, 59, were arrested March 22. The two had lived together in Elephant Butte for several months.

Details from Hendy's interview could explain why law enforcement officials mounted a massive investigation after a woman, bleeding and wearing only a padlocked collar, fled Ray's mobile home in Elephant Butte on March 22.

As many as 100 agents from the FBI and state police investigated the case in the first few weeks, following leads in 10 states and using ground-penetrating radar and dogs trained to locate human remains.

The affidavit about what Hendy told investigators was used to obtain a search warrant for two trailer homes -- one where the couple lived and the other that Ray allegedly used as a torture chamber.

The affidavit provides no specific time frame for the alleged killings, but authorities have previously said they may have occurred over a period of decades. No bodies have been found.

Ray is being held under $1 million bond on 37 charges, including the kidnap, torture and assault of three New Mexico women, who were allegedly taken to Ray's trailer and sexually abused. He has not been charged in any killings.

Ray has been ordered to stand trial, but no date has been set yet. Hendy agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for her cooperation.

Investigators believe the information from Hendy is credible because of her "close relationship" with Ray, said Deputy District Attorney Jim Yontz.

Ray's attorney, Jeff Rein, said Hendy's allegations came after her deal with prosecutors reduced the number of charges against her and reduced her potential prison sentence -- from 198 years to as few as 12.

"She told them what they wanted to hear," Rein said. "I think if they would have found any bodies after 45 days, we would have seen some charges."

On Tuesday, Ray's daughter, Glenda "Jesse" Ray, 32, was ordered to stand trial on charges she helped her father in the 1996 abduction of a woman who was sexually assaulted several times over four days. The daughter also is being held on $1 million bond.

Both she and her father have said they are innocent.

Investigators have recovered more than 1,500 pieces of evidence from Ray's property in searches, including a videotape allegedly showing a woman being tortured in his trailer.

Dennis Roy Yancy, identified by the FBI as a known associate of Ray and Hendy, was arrested April 9 and charged with murder in the killing of Marie Parker, 22, who disappeared from an Elephant Butte bar two years ago. Her body has never been recovered.

Yancy, 27, faces a preliminary hearing May 25 in Truth or Consequences.

Although he has pleaded not guilty, a source close to the investigation said Yancy told police in his post-arrest interview that he strangled Parker.

CNN's Jim Vojtech contributed to this report.