2006 Richmond spree murders

The 2006 Richmond spree murders took place during a 7-day period in January 2006 in Richmond, Virginia, and claimed the lives of 7 people. After the arrest of the perpetrators, Ricky Javon Gray and Ray Joseph Dandridge, two more murders as well as an assault were linked to one or both of the men. The case received intense media attention due to the brutal and random nature of the crimes, as well as the relative fame of Bryan Harvey, one of the victims.

Prelude

On November 5, 2005, the badly-beaten body of 35-year-old Treva Terrell Gray was found in a shallow grave by Brookside Avenue in Washington, Pennsylvania by passersby. She had married a 28-year-old former convict named Ricky Javon Gray approximately 6 months before, and lived in a house owned by her family with her husband and his nephew Ray Joseph Dandridge, who had moved in with the couple following his release from prison on October 26, 2005 after serving over 10 years for armed robbery. According to John and Marna Squires, Treva's stepfather and mother, the Grays fought bitterly, and they saw claw marks on Ricky Gray's forearm the day Treva's body was found. [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_411958.html Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] "Stepfather didn't trust Gray", January 10, 2006] While both Gray and Dandridge were interviewed by the Washington police, they were not considered suspects. Approximately a week after the discovery of their daughter's body, the Squires evicted Dandridge from their property; Dandridge then moved in with his father in west Philadelphia. On December 23, Gray moved out as well to stay with his maternal grandmother in Arlington, Virginia. Dandridge left Philadelphia on Christmas day to join Gray in Virginia. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011102191_2.html Washington Post] , "Pair Admit N.Va. Stabbing", January 12, 2006] Marla Squires alleges that the police were lax in investigating Treva's death, going so far as to suggest to her that she had died of a drug overdose. [http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190108443 Richmond Times-Dispatch] , "Gray jury dismissed until Tuesday", August 22, 2006] While the police ruled her death suspicious at the time, no homicide investigation was launched until after Gray's confession.

On December 18, 2005, Sheryl Warner, 37-year-old legal secretary and mother of three, was found shot and hanged by an electrical cord in the basement of her burning house in the town of Reva in Culpeper County, Virginia. She had been on the phone with her father when she stated that a motorist with car trouble was asking to use her phone. Her father contacted the police when she failed to call him back, leading to the discovery of her body. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032002119_pf.html Washington Post] , "Death Row Convict Faces 2nd Trial in Killing Spree", March 25, 2007]

On December 31, 2005, 26-year-old Ryan Carey was attacked by two men he later identified as Gray and Dandridge in front of his parent's home in the 5100 block of North 25th Street in Arlington. Carey sustained extensive beating and stab wounds to the chest, neck and arms in a near-fatal assault, and spent the next two weeks in a coma. He also permanently lost the use of his right arm. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,209362,00.html?sPage=fnc/specialsections/lawcenter FOXnews.com] , "Jury Weighing Execution for Killer of Richmond Family Hears Testimony of Violence",August 18, 2006]

The Harvey Family

In the early afternoon of January 1, 2006, Kathryn, Bryan, Stella, and Ruby Harvey, a family of four, were found beaten, slashed and bound with electrical cord and tape in the basement of their burning house in the Woodland Heights district of Richmond, Virginia.

Kathryn Harvey, 39, was the co-owner of a popular local toy shop called " [http://www.worldofmirth.com/ World of Mirth] " in the Carytown district of Richmond, and the half-sister of actor Steven Culp. Bryan Harvey, 49, was an indie musician of note, a former member of House of Freaks, a two-man college rock band in Richmond. Their daughters Stella and Ruby were 9 and 4, respectively. Bryan and Kathryn died of blunt-force trauma to the head, Stella of smoke inhalation and blunt-force trauma to the head, and Ruby of stab wounds to her back, one of which punctured her lung. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-17-virginia-slayings_x.htm USA Today] , "Man convicted of grisly murders of Virginia couple, daughters", August 17,2006]

Chesterfield Home Invasion

On January 3, 2006, a couple living on Hollywood Drive in Chesterfield was robbed by two men and a woman who had gained entry to their house by pretending to ask for directions. The robbers stole several items including a computer and a television as well as $800 in cash. The husband was able to dissuade the gang from tying them up by drawing attention to the wife's disability and his need to assist her.

The Tucker-Baskerville Family

On January 6, 2006, the police received a call from a Chesterfield resident who was concerned about her daughter's friend, a 21-year-old named Ashley Baskerville. The caller suspected that her former houseguests Ricky Gray and Ray Dandridge, respectively former and current boyfriends of Ashley, were involved in the Harvey murders. The police found items at the Chesterfield home linked to the Harvey case, and stormed the house on East Broad Rock Road where Ashley lived with her stepfather, 55-year-old Percyell Tucker, and her mother, 46-year-old Mary Baskerville-Tucker. Percyell worked as a forklift driver and Mary was employed at a dry cleaning establishment. All three members of the family were found gagged and bound with tape in their ransacked house. Percyell and Mary had also been slashed across the throat. The three had suffocated due to the layers of duct tape wrapped around their heads. Ashley had a plastic bag wrapped around her head as well, secured with duct tape. [http://www.richmond.com/news-features/1725 Richmond.com] , "Prosecution: Victims Suffocated", September, 19, 2006]

Arrest and Confessions

On the morning of January 7, 2006, Ricky Gray and Ray Dandridge were arrested in Philadelphia, where Dandridge's father Ronald Wilson lived. Approximately one hour after the arrest, Dandridge confessed to killing the Tuckers and Ashley Baskerville. [http://www.discoverrichmond.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190693392 Richmond Times-Dispatch] , "Dandridge: 'I bound the family'", September 19, 2006] Twelve hours after the arrest, Gray asked to speak with a detective, then proceeded to provide a detailed, 3-page confession in which he described using a kitchen knife and claw hammer to kill the Harveys, stating "I don't believe sorry is strong enough. None of this was necessary." [http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190019220 Richmond Times-Dispatch] , "Gray: 'None of this was necessary'", August 17,2006] In subsequent confessions, he admitted to beating his wife Treva to death while Dandridge held her down, to being an accomplice in the Tucker-Baskerville murders, and to the attack on Ryan Carey. [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06295/732071-85.stm Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] , "Why is one killing worth less?", October 22, 2006] [ [http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5298108 CBS6 WTVR] , "Friday Morning Blog - Arlington Attack Testimony", October 31, 2006]

On January 8, 2006, the police formally identified Ashley Baskerville as a participant in the Harvey murders, the Chesterfield robbery and the robbery at her own home as a result of the above confessions as well as eyewitness testimony and other evidence. [http://www.cbs8.com/printable/?id=59731 CBS8.com] , "Trial to Begin in Gruesome Va. Killings", August 8, 2006] Baskerville had acted as the lookout in the parked car while Gray and Dandridge entered the Harvey home, and was found wearing Bryan Harvey's wedding band. [http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0106/1301_Tucker_Baskerville_Family_Murders1.html CrimeLibrary.com] , "Tucker/Baskerville Family Murders"] Gray and Dandridge testified that she had posed as a victim and allowed herself to be bound as a part of the plan to rob her mother and stepfather, "but "things just went wrong" [http://www.richmond.com/news-features/1866 Richmond.com] , "Live or Let Die?", August 18,2006] and "(Gray) got tired of the girl, so he decided to kill her and take her parents' car."

The Trials

On February 9, 2006, Ricky Javon Gray was charged with five counts of capital murder in the Harvey killings: one charge for killing more than once in a three-year period, one charge for committing more than one killing in a single act, one charge for killing in commission of a robbery, and two charges for killing a child under 14 years of age. On the same day, Ray Joseph Dandridge was charged with three counts of capital murder in the Tucker-Baskerville killings. Gray pleaded not guilty, and his defense team sought leniency by presenting evidence of physical and sexual abuse during childhood as well as PCP use during the commission of the crimes.

*August 17, 2006: A jury finds Gray guilty on five capital murder charges after four days of trial and 30 minutes of deliberation.

*August 22, 2006: The jury recommends the death penalty for the murders of Stella and Ruby Harvey and life in prison for the three remaining charges after 12 1/2 hours of deliberation. [http://www.discoverrichmond.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190122999 Richmond Times-Dispatch] , "Gray gets death penalty", August 23, 2006]

*September 19, 2006: Dandridge pleads guilty to three counts of capital murder as a part of an agreement to serve life in prison without parole for the deaths of the Tucker-Baskerville family. [ [http://ontrial.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/ontrial/dandridge_pleads_guilty_sentenced_to_life_without_parole/ inRich.com] "Dandridge pleads guilty; sentenced to life without parole", September 19, 2006]

*October 23, 2006: The judge sentences Gray to death. [http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2006/10/23/504908.html&cvqh=itn_vakiller Comcast News] , "Killer of Virginia Family Gets Death", October 23, 2006]

*December 19, 2006: Culpeper County indicts Gray for the murder of Sheryl Warner. [http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/122006/12192006/245049 The Free Lance-Star] , "Culpeper indicts Gray", December 19, 2006]

*January 9, 2007: Gray pleads not guilty to the murder of Sheryl Warner. A trial is scheduled for July 30. [http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&cid=1149192562460&c=MGArticle The Star Exponent] , "Not guilty plea from convicted killer Gray", January 9, 2007]

*July 18, 2007: Ricky Jovan Gray pleads not guilty to Warner murder. [http://www.starexponent.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CSE/MGArticle/CSE_MGArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173352040416 The Star Exponent] , "Ricky Jovan Gray pleads not guilty to Warner murder", July 18, 2007]

Memorials

Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment

The [http://www.bryanandkathrynharvey.net/ Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment] has been created "to provide music, visual art and performing arts enrichment in the Richmond area, which may include but is not limited to educational scholarships."

Ruby Harvey Memorial Scholarship Fund

An annual event, [http://rubys-run.com/ Ruby's Run] , has been organized to raise money in Ruby Harvey's name for a scholarship fund at Ruby's preschool, the [http://homepage.mac.com/eschlatt/2pccc/Personal3.html Second Presbyterian Child Care Center] in downtown Richmond. The first took place on Saturday, November 4, 2006; the second was on Saturday, November 17, 2007.

Children's Garden in Richmond

In June 2006, the [http://www.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/fox/ William Fox Elementary School] in Richmond, where Stella Harvey attended school, dedicated its new Children's Garden to the memory of Stella Harvey.

2006 Richmonders of the Year

In January 2007, a Richmond newspaper named the Harvey Family the [http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=13639 2006 Richmonders of the Year] .

Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, by the Drive-by Truckers

On their 2008 album Brighter than Creation's Dark, Athens, GA rock band Drive-by Truckers perform a song in tribute to the Harvey family titled "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife." [http://www.pattersonhood.com/newsongs.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/harvey_family/ courtTV Crime Library: Harvey Family Murder]
* [http://bryanandkathrynharvey.net/ Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Foundation]