Ray Dell Sims

Ray Dell Sims (born 1935) is an American serial killer who is responsible for the murders of at least five girls in Fresno, California, from 1974 to 1977. Originally convicted of a single murder, he was linked to the later killings via DNA in 2001, and has since been convicted of one more and is currently serving two life terms.

Early life Little is known of Sims' background. Born in Oklahoma in 1935, in a family with multiple brothers and sisters, his first known conviction dates back to July 1965, when he raped a 70-year-old landlady in East Oakland during a burglary. After serving time in prison, Sims moved to Fresno in the early 1970s, where he married, had a daughter and found work as a fry cook.

At a later date, Sims' wife, Caroline Turner, would claim that her husband had a heightened sex drive and would often coerce her into having sex, during which he physically abused and even strangled her.

Murder of Janet Herstein On May 18, 1977, the body of 17-year-old Janet Herstein was found near a canal in Mendota by an employee of the USBR. Lacerations on her body indicated that she had been raped and then strangled with a cord. Herstein, a student at Theodore Roosevelt High School, also worked as a newsie for The Fresno Guide, and had been reported missing by her mother two days prior. It turned out David McGown was not the man's real name, but was actually just the alias of Ray Dell Sims. He was subsequently tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, after which he was sent to serve his sentence at San Quentin State Prison. In November 2001, DNA testing was performed on a male hair found under a ring on the hand of another victim. The results again implicated Sims, who was subsequently charged with the murders. The next killing occurred on November 14, 1975, when 18-year-old Robin McCullar was raped and murdered and the final known attack happening on June 9, 1976, when the body of 16-year-old Eva Hernandez Lucio, last seen walking home from school, was found in a local vineyard. All of the victims had lived in the same neighborhood as Sims, and each had been strangled.

As of March 2025, no other crimes have been linked to Sims.