David Allen Raley was born on November 9, 1961, in Santa Clara County, California. 

On February 2, 1985, David Allen Raley was working as a security guard at the Carolands mansion in Hillsborough, California. That day, he gave an unauthorized tour to two high school girls, Laurie McKenna and Jeanine Grinsell, after they asked to explore the empty mansion. Raley told them to park their car where it could not be seen, and during the tour, he made inappropriate comments about guards receiving sexual favors to allow entry.

After the tour, Raley locked the girls in a basement safe, claiming he was hiding them from police. They pleaded not to be confined, but he assured them he wouldn't close the door. He did close the door and refused to let them out until they undressed to their underwear. During their captivity, Raley sexually assaulted, beat, and stabbed both girls. He then bound Grinsell with rope and rolled McKenna up in a carpet, putting them in the trunk of his car.

After finishing his shift at 4 PM, Raley drove home to San Jose, where he let the girls out of the trunk. McKenna begged for help and asked to go to a hospital. Raley responded with a threatening glare and put them back in the trunk when he heard voices outside. He later moved the car across the street and drove to a ravine off Silver Creek Road.

At the ravine, Raley beat the girls again before dumping them into the ravine, which was used as a garbage dump. The girls were bloodied and battered, exposed to drizzle and near-freezing temperatures overnight. The next morning, McKenna managed to crawl out of the ravine and flagged down a passing pickup truck. Although both girls were conscious and able to talk, Grinsell died later that day from her injuries.

Raley was arrested on February 3 and charged with multiple crimes, including murder and attempted murder. His trial began in March 1987, and he was convicted on April 22 of the same year. Raley's penalty phase trial ended with a hung jury on the death penalty, leading to a mistrial. A retrial concluded with his sentencing to death on May 17, 1988.

Raley's appeals were eventually denied, and he kept arguing against his death sentence, citing various personal claims and legal precedents. Despite several attempts to change his status, he remained on death row at San Quentin State Prison. Throughout the years, changes in California's death penalty procedures have continued to affect his case, influencing when and how executions could resume.