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Man found dead in lake worked with torture suspect Rayj ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. (AP) — A man whose anchor-weighted body was found floating in Elephant Butte Lake in 1989 had worked at the same car lot as a man accused in a sex torture case, an FBI official said.Billy Ray Bowers disappeared from a Phoenix car repair shop on Sept. 25,1988. His body was found a year later with a bullet wound to the head. ^,s v,,/-. :,!•He had worked with David Parker Ray, 59, who was bound over for trial on last week on 25 counts that include kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration and aggravated battery.“They worked in the same car lot,” said FBI agent Doug Beldon. glWe’re looking into it.”—-Ray worked at Canal Motors Inc. in Phoenix from 1982 to 1990 as a mechanic, according to his 1994 work application with the New Mexico State Parks Division.Before his arrest, Ray worked as a mechanic at Elephant Butte State Park.Beldon wouldn’t comment on whether the death is related to the sex-torture case. He also wouldn’t comment on the circumstances of Bowers’ presence in Elephant Butte.Ray and Cynthia Lea Hendy, 39, were arrested on March 22. Hendy had been charged with the same 25 counts as Ray, but has since pleaded guilty to five counts, two counts of accessory to kidnapping, two counts of accessory to criminal sexual penetration and onecount of conspiracy to kidnap.A plea agreement with those charges is being negotiated. Until it is signed by a judge, prosecutors can reinstate any of the other charges.Beldon said Sunday there were no new arrests or charges in thecase.New Mexico state police Lt. Greg Richardson said Bowers “suffered a gunshot wound which we believe was the cause of death.”Bowers’ body was found wrapped in a blue tarp weighted by boat anchors Sept. 28, 1989, off the eastern shore of Elephant Butte Lake near McCrae Point.At the time, the dead man was described as being in his late 30s or early 40s, and was carrying $47.49 in cash.
Newspaper Details
Alamogordo Daily News
Alamogordo, New Mexico, US
Mon, Apr 19, 1999
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Albuquerque C.
