Ray Wright | Man Injured by Reckless DUI Offender Obtains Homicidal Revenge

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[00:01:08] This is Drew Crime Psychology and Personality, where we discuss the pathology behind some

[00:01:13] of the most horrific crimes and those who committed them from a scientifically informed

[00:01:18] perspective. I'm Dr. Todd Grande, I have a PhD in counselor education and supervision

[00:01:26] and a licensed professional counselor of mental health. Dr. Todd Grande, that's my YouTube

[00:01:30] channel.

[00:01:32] Today's question is, can I analyze the case of Ray Wright? First I'll look at the background

[00:01:37] of this case, move to the timeline of the crime then off from my analysis. Raymond Eugene

[00:01:43] Wright was born on June 29, 1962 and lived in the state of California. He went by the

[00:01:49] name Ray. For many years he had difficulty regulating his intake of alcohol. His drinking

[00:01:56] behavior dominated his life. In June 1994 he married a woman named Peggy. At some point

[00:02:03] he stopped consuming alcohol. The couple divorced in 2001. In 2009 they remarried but they

[00:02:10] divorced again that same year. Ray started drinking again after the second divorce.

[00:02:17] Predictably this behavior led to disaster. In November of 2011, 49-year-old Ray Wright

[00:02:24] was driving under the influence of alcohol when he slammed head on into another vehicle.

[00:02:30] He severely injured a man named Robert Mannor and Robert's wife. Robert was left with

[00:02:35] a permanent limp and a painful recovery. Robert's wife almost died in the collision. Ray

[00:02:42] Wright was charged with felony DUI. Ultimately he was convicted and sentenced to 18 months

[00:02:48] in jail. After his release, he attempted to pick up the pieces of his life. He attended

[00:02:54] alcoholics anonymous meetings and communicated with his sponsor on a daily basis. Ray lived

[00:03:00] in the town of Rockland, California which is 21 miles northeast of Sacramento. He worked

[00:03:07] as a carpenter in a shop about 16 miles away in the town of Rio Linde. Ray had carved

[00:03:14] a path of destruction but was ready to put all his wrongdoing behind him. Unfortunately

[00:03:20] for him it would not be that easy. Now moving to the timeline of the crime. On January

[00:03:26] 11, 2018 Ray Wright was at his carpentry shop in Rio Linde. He had contact on his cell phone

[00:03:34] with another person sometime around 9 a.m. His phone was deactivated at around 10 a.m.

[00:03:41] Ray was seen leaving his shop at around 10.30 a.m. This was the last time he would ever

[00:03:47] be seen. He started missing obligations after this like he failed to show up to work.

[00:03:53] In January 13, two days after Ray went missing his brother Dean went to Ray's house and

[00:03:59] knocked on the door. There was no answer so Dean entered the house. He was confronted

[00:04:04] by a mysterious intruder who said get out of here. Dean replied, Who are you? Where's

[00:04:11] Ray? The intruder exited out of the back door of the house and Dean called 911. When the

[00:04:17] police arrived, Dean pointed out a cup on the kitchen counter that may have been left

[00:04:23] by the intruder. The police seized the cup as evidence and sent it to a lab for DNA testing.

[00:04:30] The police started searching for Ray Wright, but they did not have success. There was

[00:04:35] no activity on any of his financial accounts and they were not able to reach him on a cell

[00:04:40] phone. His 2016 Ford F250 pickup truck was also missing. On January 21, 10 days after

[00:04:48] Ray disappeared, the police found his Ford pickup truck at the Freedom Park Apartments

[00:04:54] in North Highlands, California. This area has a reputation for being safety challenged.

[00:05:01] Residents there are at age dramatically high risk of being the victim of crime. The

[00:05:06] radio was missing from the pickup truck. In addition, there were no license plates on

[00:05:10] the vehicle. Human blood was found in the back of the truck and DNA test indicated it

[00:05:16] belonged to Ray. On January 27, 2018, law enforcement activity completely unrelated to the investigation

[00:05:23] into Ray's disappearance generated a significant lead. The police in Sacramento engaged in a high

[00:05:29] speed pursuit after noticing a white van with an expired registration. The van eventually

[00:05:36] ended up in a collision which injured the driver and innocent victims. The driver was a man

[00:05:41] named Victor Murrell Gray. He was arrested for DUI and felony evasion. The registration

[00:05:48] sticker on the white van's license plate did not match the vehicle. Instead, it belonged

[00:05:54] to Ray Wright's Ford F250. On April 3, 2018, the DNA results came back from the cup that

[00:06:02] was found in Ray's house. It matched Victor Gray. The police examined the contents of

[00:06:07] the white van that Victor was driving. They found a yellow rain jacket and a hat, both

[00:06:13] of which belonged to Ray. In addition, his wallet, broken glasses, and broken cell phone were

[00:06:19] in the vehicle. Victor's cell phone was found in the center console. On the phone, the police

[00:06:25] found an image of a three-page letter which was dated January 27, the same day of the high

[00:06:30] speed chase that led to Victor's arrest. The letter had been written from Victor to a man

[00:06:36] named Bob. The letter indicated that Victor had hand-delivered revenge for Bob, and now it

[00:06:43] was time to pay. This made it seem like Bob had hired Victor to kill Ray Wright. The police

[00:06:51] examined text messages on Victor's phone and found that he had communicated with a woman

[00:06:55] named Katie Arnorn. She lived in a trailer in Rio Linda that was located across from

[00:07:01] Ray's carpentry shop. The trailer was only a few feet away. Katie had transmitted information

[00:07:07] to Victor about Ray's movements. On January 11, 2018, the day that Ray went missing, Katie

[00:07:15] indicated that Ray was alone in the shop. On October 8, 2018, the police interviewed Katie.

[00:07:22] She told them that she believed Victor was trying to steal Ray's pickup truck. The police

[00:07:27] learned that Katie's ex-boyfriend was Robert Manor. This is the man who Ray Wright had seriously

[00:07:34] injured in November of 2011. Robert had been visiting Katie one day and noticed Ray Wright

[00:07:40] in the shop directly across from Katie's trailer. It was just a coincidence, but it may have

[00:07:46] inspired Robert to pursue revenge. When Katie heard the news that Ray was missing, she realized

[00:07:52] that Victor was not interested in stealing the pickup truck. Rather, he wanted to commit a much

[00:07:56] more serious crime. She spoke with Victor Ray who told her that he had attacked Ray Wright

[00:08:02] and kidnapped him in the Ford F-250. Katie did not know what happened to Ray, but she knew

[00:08:08] it wasn't good. Concerned about being connected to a kidnapping and potentially to a murder,

[00:08:14] Katie asked Robert what happened. He told her that he murdered Ray Wright. After the stunning

[00:08:20] revelation, Robert grabbed Katie's neck and told her never to speak about this. In July of 2018,

[00:08:26] the police spoke to a massage therapist named Tessa. She had treated Robert after his collision with

[00:08:32] Ray Wright, and eventually they became romantically involved. During their magical time together,

[00:08:38] Robert mentioned many times how he wanted to get Ray Wright. On one occasion after Ray's disappearance,

[00:08:45] Robert asked Tessa to come over to his house to talk. When she arrived, he told her that he took

[00:08:50] care of something he was trying to take care of for a long time. He felt good about his actions.

[00:08:57] Robert never offered specifics, but Tessa knew that he was talking about Ray. The police

[00:09:04] believed that Robert and Victor conspired to kill Ray Wright. On January 27, the day of the high-speed

[00:09:09] pursuit and Victor's arrest, he must have been on his way to Robert Manners' house.

[00:09:16] In March of 2021, both Victor and Robert were charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.

[00:09:22] Their trial started two years later on March 8, 2023. Katie was granted immunity and testified

[00:09:29] against Robert and Victor. The massage therapist Tessa also testified. On March 17, Robert and Victor

[00:09:36] were found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping. On April 28, 2023, both men were sentenced

[00:09:44] to life in prison without the possibility of parole. When we made our McDonald's spicy chicken

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[00:11:02] Now moving to my analysis. Robert Manor maintains his innocence. After his conviction he told

[00:11:07] the media that Victor and Katie were in a conspiracy to extort him for $20,000. This theory was not

[00:11:15] introduced at his trial. The state believes that Robert had a strong motive to kill and entered

[00:11:21] into a conspiracy with Victor. There's not much question that Victor Gray was guilty considering

[00:11:26] all the evidence found in the white van that he was driving. But what about Robert Manor?

[00:11:32] Is it possible that Victor worked alone and Robert had nothing to do with it? Let's take a look

[00:11:37] at the evidence both foreign against the idea that Robert was guilty of murder starting with the

[00:11:42] inculpatory factors. Ray Wright mysteriously disappeared after Robert's ex-girlfriend Katie

[00:11:48] fed information about his location to Victor Gray. Victor had raised property in his van

[00:11:54] and a note for Robert implying that Robert ordered Ray's murder. Clearly Victor did not plan on

[00:12:00] being apprehended by the police, so he never thought the note would be made public. Why did he write

[00:12:06] the note if there was no conspiracy to murder Ray? Katie claimed that Victor admitted to the kidnapping.

[00:12:13] She also claimed that Robert confessed to the murder. Tessa claimed that Robert implied that

[00:12:19] he murdered Ray. Robert had a strong motive to kill Ray in the form of Ray seriously

[00:12:24] injuring him and his wife in the 2011 collision. Moving to the ex-compatory factors, it is possible

[00:12:32] that Ray was never actually murdered after all his body was never found. No physical evidence

[00:12:37] whatsoever ties Robert Manor to the murder of Ray Wright. Maybe Victor carried out the murder

[00:12:44] after Robert indicated that he wanted revenge on Ray. Like Robert never explicitly said to commit

[00:12:49] murder, rather Victor took the initiative and did what he thought Robert wanted him to do.

[00:12:55] Robert bragged Katie and Tessa because he was happy that Ray was dead, but he did not have a hand

[00:13:00] in the murder. When considering all the evidence, do I think that Robert Manor was guilty of murder?

[00:13:06] Yes, I believe he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Robert is the one who possessed the powerful

[00:13:12] motive for homicide, and the massage therapist Tessa did not have any reason to lie.

[00:13:18] If it wasn't for her testimony, I would not have been convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.

[00:13:24] Katie was not a credible witness, and outside of the motive there was no other substantial

[00:13:29] evidence against Robert. What do I think happened in this case? This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:13:36] Ray Wright was a criminal offender who seriously injured two innocent people by driving

[00:13:41] while intoxicated. His behavior was uncalled for, unacceptable, and extremely dangerous.

[00:13:48] He should have been sentenced to many years in prison, but instead he somehow ended up with a

[00:13:53] light sentence. He was ordered to pay Robert Manor and Robert's wife $275,000, but Ray did not take

[00:14:00] this obligation seriously. He made payments every now and then, but these payments were very small.

[00:14:06] Realistically, he was never going to satisfy a substantial portion of his debt.

[00:14:12] Ray Wright was ready to forget about the past. He wasn't interested in compensating the victims

[00:14:17] of his horrible crime. He just wanted the entire situation to be in his rearview mirror.

[00:14:23] Robert Manor did not have the same opinion. He took Ray's criminal behavior personally,

[00:14:27] and believed the justice was not served. Ray's criminal act devastated Robert's life,

[00:14:34] left him in pain, and inspired him to get revenge. Perhaps it didn't make sense to Robert

[00:14:40] how he was suffering, but Ray had moved all of his life. When he was at Katie's trailer

[00:14:45] in Rialinda and saw Robert a few feet away, he thought that fate was giving him a message.

[00:14:51] It was his destiny to get revenge. Like Ray, Robert was no angel. He had spent time in prison for

[00:14:59] selling drugs and for assault. Violence and Robert were not strangers to one another. Somehow,

[00:15:06] Robert communicated with Victor in a way that was never detected by law enforcement

[00:15:10] and hired him to kill Ray. Victor was a dangerous individual who was just looking for a way

[00:15:16] to end up in prison for life. He managed to kill Ray without being caught, but then entered Ray's

[00:15:21] house and left behind a cup containing his DNA. What's more, he led the police on a high-speed chase,

[00:15:28] caused by him taking the registration sticker off Ray's pickup truck. Victor was an incompetent

[00:15:35] conspirator. Robert Manor is not happy to be in prison, but at the same time, revenge was important

[00:15:41] to him. He managed to kill his nemesis and at his mind even the score. Ray Wright did not deserve

[00:15:48] to die, but he certainly contributed to his own death. His cowus, reckless, and anti-social choice

[00:15:55] to drink and drive destroyed his life and the lives of other people. He crafted the instrument

[00:16:02] of his own demise through his refusal to keep his vehicle separate from his drinking behavior.

[00:16:09] Now moving to my final thoughts, the case of Raymond Wright can be summarized in this way. A daring

[00:16:15] and devil-may-care carpenter dealt damage to a drug dealer during a drunken driving disaster,

[00:16:20] delivering despair, and disability. Driven by a deep desire for deliverance from the distressing

[00:16:26] dilemma, the drug dealer dreamt of drastic deeds and a linkant drama designed to dismantle

[00:16:33] the drunk driver, a devastating downstream domino effect led to a dastardly disappearance,

[00:16:39] definitely disclosing a destination of death. During a delightful dialogue with a discerning disciple,

[00:16:46] the drug dealer divulged details that doomed him, leading to a dire destiny of mortal damnation.

[00:17:00] This has been True Crime Psychology and Personality from R's Lunga Media. This content is for

[00:17:07] educational and entertainment purposes only. R's Lunga, Vita Brebis.

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