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Mar 20, 2023 · On March 17, Robert Manor and Victor Gray were convicted by a jury trial of first-degree murder in the death of Raymond Wright, with the special circumstance that the murder occurred during a...
- Sergio Robles
- 2 min
- Overview
- RAY WRIGHT VANISHES WITHOUT A TRACE
- A TREASURE TROVE OF EVIDENCE
- A PLOT FOR REVENGE?
- RAY WRIGHT IS STILL MISSING BUT THE CASE GOES TO TRIAL
- "A BITTERSWEET VICTORY"
Ray Wright's daughters were worried when their dad didn't show up at his carpentry shop and didn't answer any calls or texts. "I knew something bad was happening to him. I felt it," says Haley Kendall.
Dean Wright felt it too. He headed to his brother's house and looked around. That's when he realized someone was in the house and it wasn't Ray. The intruder fled but left evidence on the kitchen counter. It would be a while before investigators would figure out who that intruder was. It began with a police chase.
"It was a very dangerous high-speed chase with speeds of up to a hundred miles an hour," prosecutor Matt Chisholm tells "48 Hours" contributor Natalie Morales. "There was a terrible accident at the end of that pursuit."
The driver was a man named Victor Gray. And in his wrecked van was a treasure trove of evidence. Prosecutors say they found a photograph on Gray's cellphone of a letter he wrote to a man named Bob. Gray was demanding payment for delivering the "dude" to Bob. Prosecutors say Gray wrote that he "hand delivered you your revenge ... "
Dean Wright was nervous. It was Saturday morning, Jan. 13, 2018, in Sacramento, California.
Dean Wright: Where's Ray? ... I just wanted to know where Ray is.
Dean hadn't heard from his younger brother Ray in two days – highly unusual for brothers who spoke every day without fail.
Natalie Morales: All of a sudden, middle of January, there's just —
Dean Wright: Nothing.
Natalie Morales: Nothing.
Ray Wright, much admired and loved by friends and family — described as generous, creative and vibrant – had seemingly vanished with the snap of a finger.
Matt Chisholm: No one has any leads as to where he is or what happened to him.
It was the frightening home invasion just two days after Ray had disappeared that seemed too coincidental, says Prosecutor Matt Chisholm.
Matt Chisholm: I think that … raised everyone's concern to a different level.
Sgt. Zack Lewis: As days go by, it becomes more suspicious.
Rocklin Police Sergeant Zack Lewis briefly considered Ray's history of alcohol abuse but dismissed the possibility of a relapse.
Natalie Morales: Let's talk about what was found in that phone. … Text messages that seemed to refer to Ray Wright's possible kidnapping at that point, right?
Matt Chisholm: Yes.
It took months, but investigators eventually dug up a gold mine of evidence from Gray's cellphone.
Matt Chisholm: There was a text conversation with a woman, who … appeared to be working as a lookout for Mr. Gray.
"Rays out fron y of the sjop," texted the woman, "Kalifornia Katie," in a series of misspelled texts. It was 9:50 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2018. "Yes im watching out front for any thimg."
Tracing "Kalifornia Katie's" number found in Gray's cellphone, police identified her as Katie Barnard.
Ashley Englefield: It was still a missing person, but we all assumed it was a homicide.
Natalie Morales: Did they tell you, at any point, we believe your brother is dead?
Dean Wright: Yes. … Maybe three-and-a-half years in.
During those agonizing years, Ray Wright's family – one by one – eventually came to the same conclusion: Ray was no longer alive. And their grief was compounded by not having his body to bury.
Kennedy Wright: That's definitely still … a source of like pain for us. There was no … laying him to rest. Like he doesn't get the send away that he deserves.
Prosecutor Matt Chisholm hoped to provide the family a measure of justice by convicting Manor and Gray. Approaching trial, Chisholm's crucial concern was the credibility of his witnesses.
Natalie Morales: How long before you got word there's a verdict?
Matt Chisholm: The jury was out about four hours.
It was late afternoon on March 17, 2023. The verdict was in.
Kennedy Wright: It was the most gut-wrenching day of my life.
Manor and Gray were found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Kennedy Wright: But it didn't bring him back. So, it was like — it was a bittersweet victory.
- 41 min
- Natalie Morales
Feb 3, 2024 · A few days later, the vehicle reportedly appeared in an apartment complex near Watt Avenue and Elkhorn Boulevard. After weeks of no developments, the authorities extended the search for Raymond Wright across the state of California. Since the police could not find his body, he was presumed dead.
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Mar 21, 2023 · On Jan. 11, 2018, Raymond Wright mysteriously disappeared. Two days later, his brother confronted a strange man inside Wright's home. The intruder ran from the house, but he left behind his...
- 3 min
- Shawnte Passmore
Feb 4, 2024 · Ray Wright, 55, mysteriously vanished. His daughters Kennedy Wright and Haley Kendall say he was a loving father who would never abandon his family. But now, no one could reach him. Peggy...
Feb 2, 2024 · By Cameron Rubner, Kat Teurfs. Updated on: February 4, 2024 / 2:18 AM EST / CBS News. Ray Wright's disappearance puzzled investigators and left his worried family deeply shaken. No one had any...
Mar 21, 2023 · Raymond Wright’s body has never been found since he disappeared from his job in Rio Linda on Jan. 11, 2018, though DNA evidence tied him to the accused killers, prosecutors said.