Zakaria Fry, 28, and Carrell Ray, 70, went missing in Santa Fe County at the end of January.
Fry was an out trans woman and although many news reports are identifying Ray as a man, according to The T.R.A.N.S. Network, Ray was also transgender. The T.R.A.N.S Network spoke with Fry’s sister Britney Willis who told them: “the roommate, [her] name is [male name omitted] Carrell Ray and [she] is also transgender.”
The two were reported missing when Ray’s family members found their home in a “disarray” on Jan. 29.
On February 19, Two bodies were discovered dumped off the side of the road, two miles apart in Stanley, NM, 45 miles east of Albuquerque.
On February 20 police identified the bodies as Ray and Fry.
But the mystery continues to deepen. Police have released few details, and the victims’ families say they have no idea how Ray and Fry met, or how long she had been renting a room from him.
Ray was a prominent attorney.
Ray, whose career as an attorney spanned 40 years, started as an assistant attorney general in the child support enforcement division, and then rose to the position of supervising attorney in the same division.
In an interview Tuesday, Ray’s daughter, Alarie Ray-Garcia, said she was horrified to learn how they had been found.
I don’t understand how someone can do that to anyone, just dump them like if they are trash. It’s unfathomable to me.
--Ray-Garcia
Ray-Garcia said her father left the state position and opened his own family law practice, often serving as a guardian ad litem for children and as a part-time judge for domestic cases. Ray-Garcia, who was communications director for Gov. Bill Richardson and now owns her own public relations firm, said the family is shocked by the loss.
A rancher told the Journal last week that he had found the body of a woman, presumed to be Fry, a transgender woman, stuffed in a garbage bin. Ray’s body was found some distance away, but the details of the discovery have not been disclosed.
Ray-Garcia said the last time she heard from her father, who had a wry sense of humor, was when he posted a meme on her Facebook page on Jan. 18 about the difficulties of parenting. When the family hadn’t heard from him again eight days later, they went to check on his house near Moon and Constitution NE, and found it in disarray, raising suspicions of violence.
When Fry’s family realized no one had heard from her either, she was reported missing, too. Ray-Garcia said that until that point she had not even known her father was renting out a room in his house. And Fry’s sister, Brittany Willis, also said she did not know how long Fry had been living in the home.
Willis said Fry was a fun-spirited, loving person and her family is saddened by how her life has been cut short. She said Fry was never without her 3-year-old Chihuahua-mix named Tinker Bell. The dog still has not been found.
We will continue to pray and ask for prayers from others that justice will be served for my brother and (her) roommate Mr. Ray.
--Willis
Last night an arrest was made in the case.
Police arrested 32-year-old Charles Spiess, charging him with two open counts of murder in the deaths of Eugene Carrell Ray and Zakaria Fry. According to an arrest warrant, Spiess is also known as James Knight. The arrest warrant also states Spiess faces a tampering with evidence charge.
Police also recovered Ray's abandoned vehicle that was blood splattered and had a baseball bat inside. They also found disinfectant spray and duct tape.