Two men have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Raymond Wright. Robert Manor and Victor Merle Gray were convicted by a jury on March 17, 2023, of first-degree murder with the special circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission of a kidnapping, as well as kidnapping for ransom causing death. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable James Arguelles on April 28, 2023.
The victim, Raymond Wright, was involved in a DUI collision in 2011 that seriously injured Robert Manor and his wife. Wright was prosecuted for felony DUI by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and completed his sentence. However, Manor held a grudge against Wright for years and in 2018 put his plan for revenge into motion.
Wright, a resident of Rocklin, California, mysteriously disappeared on January 11, 2018. Concerned family members checked his home and a shop he rented in Rio Linda. When Wright remained missing, the search extended statewide. On January 13, 2018, the victim’s brother encountered a strange man inside Wright’s home and called the police. The man ran out of the house, but a soda cup filled with a fresh drink was found in the kitchen. The straw from the cup was tested for DNA and uploaded to the CODIS database.
On January 27, 2018, Victor Gray was under the influence and led the California Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash causing injuries to innocent victims. Gray’s van was towed from the scene, and a search of the van yielded a blood-soaked raincoat, the victim’s wallet, and other property belonging to Wright. Much of the property was charred, and the blood on the raincoat matched Wright’s DNA. Further investigation revealed a letter from Gray to Manor complaining about not being paid for “delivering dude” and asking Manor to take care of the person “who hand delivered you your revenge.”
The investigation in this case was led by the Placer County District Attorney’s Office and the Rocklin Police Department, with the involvement of many other regional law enforcement agencies, as well as the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. Despite the extensive investigation, Raymond Wright’s body has never been found.
