Murders of James and Virginia Campbell by daughter Cindy Campbell Ray examined on Snapped

Police tape

Oxygen is re-airing the Snapped investigation into the murders of James and Virginia Campbell, a wealthy couple from Houston, Texas, who were gunned down by David West, who was working at the behest of the couple’s daughter, Cindy Campbell Ray.

In the early hours of June 19, 1982, West blasted 55-year-old James and 50-year-old Virginia as they slept in their bed. The shooting was watched by the couple’s fourth daughter, Cindy.

The couple were reportedly shot as their grandchildren slept at the foot of the bed.

James was a successful lawyer who had amassed an estate worth about $2 million. The police later concluded that Cindy wanted her share of the inheritance, so she persuaded West, her boyfriend at the time, to do the murder.

The police and the Campbell’s three other daughters suspected West and Cindy were involved with the killings, but there wasn’t enough evidence to make an arrest. Cindy was always considered the “problem child” by her siblings.

Eventually, the family recruited private investigators, Clyde Wilson Investigations, to see if they could make a breakthrough, and they employed a rather unusual tactic. They tasked 23-year-old Kim Paris with befriending West in the hope that he would reveal his dark secret to her.

Paris, a former naval air traffic controller, feigned accidentally bumping into West one night, and they soon began dating in a relationship that lasted over two months.

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David West eventually admitted to killing James and Virginia Campbell

The pair became so close that West even dropped a marriage proposal. However, Paris told him she wouldn’t consider marriage until he revealed to her the dark secret that he had previously hinted at. The ruse worked; West confessed to the Campbell killings, and Paris recorded the whole conversation with a tape recorder in her handbag.

Paris then told West she wanted some cigarettes, so the pair drove to a convenience store. When Paris got out of the car, the police surrounded the vehicle and arrested the shocked West. He never saw his fiancee again.

In an interview with reporters following West’s arrest, Paris quipped, “Well, I guess this means I won’t be going to meet David’s mother Sunday night.”

Cindy Campbell Ray and David West sentenced for killing James and Virginia Campbell

West was charged with capital murder, and he soon agreed to testify against Cindy Campbell Ray, who was also arrested and charged with capital murder. Both killers were sentenced to life in prison.

West is currently incarcerated at the W. F. Ramsey Unit prison in Rosharon, TX. Cindy Campbell Ray passed away in prison in 2021.

This episode of Snapped re-airs Tuesday at 7/6c on Oxygen.

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