5 chilling details of Cindy Campbell Ray's crime

The case of Cindy Campbell Ray and her former boyfriend, David West, was explored in episode 24 of Snapped season 27, which originally premiered on August 16, 2020. It was re-aired on Oxygen on July 17, 2025.

Cindy and her then-boyfriend were convicted of the murder of Cindy's wealthy parents at their Houston residence while they were asleep on June 19, 1982. In the beginning, they were the primary suspects in the case, and as the case unravelled, authorities discovered that it was David West who shot and killed Cindy's parents while she aided him and orchestrated the whole thing.

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Cindy Campbell Ray's case explored: 5 details about the murder of James Campbell and Virginia Campbell

Here are five details explored from Cindy Campbell Ray's case:

1) Cindy Campbell Ray's parents were found murdered

James Campbell and Virginia Campbell were found dead in their Houston home (Image via Getty)

According to Oxygen, an attorney from Texas, James Campbell, and his wife, Virginia Campbell, were found murdered in Houston while they were sleeping on June 19, 1982. The incident shocked the community, and the prime suspects in the case were one of their daughters, Cindy Campbell Ray, and her then-boyfriend, David West.

Cindy had a troubled past and had once even allegedly run away from home and gotten married to a man named Michael Charles Ray, with whom she had two boys. However, they got divorced, and Cindy moved back to Houston, where she met David Duval West and moved in with him with her two sons.

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2) The Campbells were found dead by their housekeeper

It was during that time that Cindy's father, James Campbell, decided to retire to live a quiet life with his wife and grandsons. But it never came to that as he and his wife were found shot dead on June 19, 1982.

As per ABC 13, they were discovered by their maid, Maria Gonzales, who called 911. However, when the police arrived, James and his wife were dead. They were shot three times while they were asleep in their room.

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3) Cindy Ray Campbell was the prime suspect

It was at the elderly Campbell couple's funeral that the tense relationship between Cindy and her other sisters came to light, which made investigators speculate that it was Cindy who had a hand in her parents' murder.

When the other Campbell sisters hired Clyde Wilson, a Houston private investigator, to work on the case, things started coming to light. According to the Los Angeles Times, Wilson asked his co-worker, Kim Paris, to go undercover and get close to David West after he had parted with Cindy Ray Campbell.

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4) A shocking confession

Kim Paris reportedly struck up an intimate relationship with David West, who admitted to her that he wanted to open a bar and that his ex-girlfriend, Cindy Ray Campbell, had agreed to be his partner and investor.

Sometime later, West also confessed to Paris that he had killed Cindy's parents and that she had aided him in the murder, reported Oxygen. He also admitted to contemplating killing Cindy because he felt she would break and go to the police about the murders.

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5) Cindy and David were arrested

As per Oxygen, Kim Paris was wearing a wire when David was confessing to his crimes, and the whole conversation was recorded and listened to by two homicide detectives who were hiding out in a nearby car. They arrested West for capital murder and later arrested Cindy Campbell Ray at her apartment.

Cindy and David were charged with capital murder, and both of them received a life sentence. According to AnyLaw, Cindy Campbell Ray's conviction and life sentence were upheld by the Texas Court of Appeals on December 22, 1988.

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Watch Snapped, which is available on Peacock, for more about Cindy Ray Campbell's crimes.