Raymond Wright, 55, vanished without a trace from his Rocklin, California home on Jan. 11, 2018. The last glimpse of him was leaving his contractor workshop in Rio Linda. As his family frantically searched for answers, investigators gradually uncovered a devastating truth, transforming this mystery into a deeply saddening tragedy.
CBS News extensively covered this case, echoing the family’s sorrow and giving Raymond Wright’s story due attention. From this coverage, contributor Natalie Morales and producer Greg Fisher created a video report titled “Who Took Our Dad? The Abduction of Ray Wright,” meticulously reconstructing the unsettling circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
What happened to Ray Wright?
Born in the early 1960s, divorced, and a caring father of three, including daughters Kennedy and Haley, who have played a vocal role in this tragic case. He freelanced as a contractor in Sacramento, with a job hub set up in a rented shop in Rio Linda. A music enthusiast, he had a history of playing drums in a local band. Close family connections, notably with his daughters and brother Dean, were instrumental in quickly uncovering his abduction.
“I called, and I called, and I called, straight to voicemail every time,” Haley Kendall recalled with CBS News.
Two days of unanswered calls set off alarm bells for Ray’s loved ones. His past drinking habits raised concerns of a possible relapse. Dean, his brother, made countless visits to the workshop, growing increasingly anxious. On Jan. 13, he couldn’t bear the uncertainty and checked Ray’s place. Something felt amiss – no truck in the parking lot, a marijuana scent in the apartment, and a used soda cup on the countertop. Suddenly, a mysterious figure emerged from the garage. Dean confronted the intruder, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared. Alarmed, he swiftly filed a missing person report, prompting the start of investigations.
The first clue came from the abandoned soda cup – an unwitting misstep by the intruder that left a crucial DNA trail for investigators. The break-in raised puzzling questions, with no forced entry evident, hinting that the intruder might have had access to keys. The investigation unfolded over days until, on Jan. 18, Wright’s missing truck was located near an apartment complex adjacent to his shop. The stereo and license plates were among the missing items, and a grim discovery awaited investigators – conspicuous brown stains on the carpet liner, later confirmed to be Wright’s blood.
Puzzle pieced together
In just 16 days since Wright went missing, a dramatic turn of events advanced the puzzle toward completion. A vigilant police officer, spotting a white van flaunting expired registration but adorned with suspiciously current stickers, initiated a high-stakes chase reaching 100 miles per hour. The pursuit culminated in a crash, leaving the driver, Victor Gray, with a broken leg. Gray was promptly arrested on felony charges of DUI and evasion. But the real breakthrough was still ahead – police traced the van’s stickers back to Ray Wright’s missing ones.
Following that, investigators swiftly connected the DNA traces on the soda cup to Gray. Adding to the mounting evidence, the police discovered Wright’s blood-soaked yellow raincoat, a shattered phone, his driver’s license and wallet, completely broken glasses, and a hat with Wright’s name on it. Reportedly, Gray’s phone contained messages with a woman nicknamed “Kalifornia Kate,” suspected to have served as a lookout for the abductor, informing him of Wright’s movements.
Gray’s phone harbored another crucial piece of evidence – a photo of a handwritten letter dated Jan. 27, 2018, the very day of the police chase. The letter exposed Gray executing a vengeful plan on behalf of a certain Bob, involving the “hand-deliverance of revenge,” with Gray eagerly anticipating a payoff.
Bob, later identified as Robert Manor, was a victim of a tragic 2011 car crash involving a drunk Ray Wright slamming into Manor and his wife’s car. Both were severely injured, and Manor was left with a permanent limp. Wright faced justice, serving time for a felony and compensating the victims with $275,000. Afterward, he rebuilt his life, finding solace and sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous.
Despite this, Manor found no consolation, as his resentment only grew with time. Prosecutors pieced together the story of long-anticipated revenge against Wright, as Manor believed he hadn’t paid enough for the 2011 incident. Witness Tessa Trimble, the massage therapist who healed Manor’s injuries and became his lover, later confirmed this sentiment.
“He told me that he took care of whatever — something he was trying to take care of for a long time,” Trimble told investigators. “He had a problem with that guy (Wright). He mentioned on multiple occasions he wanted to get that guy.”
Amidst the unfolding investigation, “Kalifornia Katie” was unmasked as Katie Barnard, strategically positioned by Gray as a lookout just across from Wright’s workshop. She confessed to her involvement, initially misled into thinking they were only stealing Wright’s truck. Barnard also confirmed the intricate details of Robert Manor’s revenge plot. As recalled by the district attorney, “Manor held a grudge against the victim for years and put his plan for revenge into motion in 2018.”
The end of the story — or is it?
After nearly five years of anticipation, justice finally caught up with Raymond Wright’s perpetrators in April 2023. Despite their initial pleas of innocence, both Robert Manor and Victor Gray were convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder, earning them life sentences without parole. Gray is serving his time in the Sierra Conservation Center, as disclosed by the California Department of Corrections, while Manor is held at the California State Prison, Solano.
“My dad will be in heaven, like amongst the angels, like where he belongs. And you’ll be in prison for life, where you belong,” Kennedy Wright directly addressed the killers in the courtroom.
Now, circling back to the crucial question: was Raymond Wright’s body ever found? Despite justice being served, the story remains open-ended, as Raymond Wright’s body was never recovered. Gray’s cellmate in the Sacramento County Jail disclosed to investigators in 2022 what Gray had shared with him – Manor allegedly poisoned Wright and had him dismembered. “There’s no laying him to rest,” mourned Kennedy Wright. The Rocklin Police Department keeps the file open as an ongoing missing person investigation.
