Harvey family murder
Encyclopedia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and claimed the lives of 7 people. After the arrest of the perpetrators, Ricky Javon Gray and Ray Joseph Dandridge, two prior murders and an assault were also linked to one or both 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
Bryan Harvey (musician)
Bryan Harvey was an American musician noted for his fronting role in House of Freaks. He was murdered with his wife Kathryn and their two daughters Stella and Ruby on January 1, 2006....
, one of the victims.
Prelude
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
by passersby. She had married Gray, a 28-year-old former convict, approximately 6 months before, and lived in a house owned by her family with her husband and Dandridge, his nephew, 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.
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
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Dandridge left Philadelphia on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day to join Gray in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Marna 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. 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
Culpeper County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,262 people, 12,141 households, and 9,045 families residing in the county. The population density was 90 people per square mile . There were 12,871 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. 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.
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
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. He also permanently lost the use of his right arm.
The Harvey Family
Woodland Heights, Virginia
Woodland Heights, VA is a neighborhood in the city of Richmond, Virginia. It began as a trolleycar neighborhood in the early 1900s and was built up along the James River beside Forest Hill Park...
district of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
Kathryn Harvey, 39, was the co-owner of a popular local toy shop called "World of Mirth" in the Carytown
Carytown (Richmond)
Carytown is an urban retail district lining Cary Street at the southern end of the Museum District in Richmond, Virginia. The district includes over 300 shops, restaurants, and offices. Located near The Fan District, the district is known for having a bohemian flair...
district of Richmond, and the half-sister of actor Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
. Bryan Harvey
Bryan Harvey (musician)
Bryan Harvey was an American musician noted for his fronting role in House of Freaks. He was murdered with his wife Kathryn and their two daughters Stella and Ruby on January 1, 2006....
, 49, was an indie musician of note, a former member of House of Freaks
House of Freaks
House of Freaks was a two-man band formed in Richmond, Virginia in the mid 1980s. Bryan Harvey played guitar and sang, and Johnny Hott played percussion...
, a two-man college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
band in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. 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.
Chesterfield Home Invasion
On January 3, 2006, a couple living on Hollywood Drive in Chesterfield County, Virginia, 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 Baskerville-Tucker Family
Arrest and Confessions
On the morning of January 7, 2006, Gray and 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. 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." 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.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. 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. 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" and "(Gray) got tired of the girl, so he decided to kill her and take her parents' car."
The Trials
Gray was tried in Virginia while Dandridge was tried in Pennsylvania. On February 9, 2006, 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, 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 physicalPhysical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
and sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
during childhood as well as PCP
Phencyclidine
Phencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...
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 12½ hours of deliberation.
- 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.
- October 23, 2006: The judge sentences Gray to death.
- December 19, 2006: Culpeper County indicts Gray for the murder of Sheryl Warner.
- January 9, 2007: Gray pleads not guilty to the murder of Sheryl Warner. A trial is scheduled for July 30.
- July 18, 2007: Gray pleads not guilty to Warner murder.
- June 4, 2008: Judge suspends Warner murder charge against Gray based on contradictory evidence.
- May 12, 2011: Gray sentenced to be executed June 16, 2011.
- June 15, 2011: Gray's execution is stayed for 90 days.
Memorials
- The 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."
- An annual event, Ruby's Run, has been organized to raise money in Ruby Harvey's name for a scholarship fund at Ruby's preschool, the 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; the third was Sunday, November 9, 2008, and the fourth was November 8, 2009.
- In June 2006, the William Fox Elementary School in Richmond, where Stella Harvey attended school, dedicated its new Children's Garden to the memory of Stella Harvey.
- In January 2007, a Richmond newspaper named the Harvey Family the 2006 Richmonders of the Year.
- The American alternative countryAlternative countryAlternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
group Drive-By TruckersDrive-By TruckersDrive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
dedicated the song "Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife" from their 2008 record Brighter Than Creation's DarkBrighter Than Creation's DarkBrighter Than Creation's Dark is the seventh studio album released by Drive-By Truckers. It was released on January 22, 2008 in the United States. Recorded during and after the acoustic Dirt Underneath Tour, the album features a more stripped down, and country based sound not seen since their...
to the Harvey family. Band member Patterson Hood stated he wrote the song in reaction to the death of Bryan Harvey and his family.