On New Year's Day in 2006, the city of Richmond, Virginia, was shaken by a brutal crime that ended the life of 9-year-old Stella Harvey, a young female, along with her entire family. The tragic event unfolded in the family's home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood, where they were preparing to host a holiday party. Stella, her 4-year-old sister Ruby, their father Bryan, and their mother Kathryn were found dead in the basement of their burning house.
An investigation revealed that the family had been bound, beaten with a claw hammer, and had their throats slit before the perpetrators attempted to destroy the evidence by setting the house on fire. The official cause of death for Stella was determined to be smoke inhalation and blunt-force trauma to the head.
The senseless act was carried out by Ricky Javon Gray and his nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, who were looking for a home to rob when they came across the Harveys' open front door. After holding the family hostage in the basement, the two men ransacked the home, stealing a computer, a wedding ring, and a basket of cookies before committing the murders. The crime was part of a seven-day spree of violence by Gray and Dandridge that resulted in the deaths of seven people in the Richmond area.
Following an intense investigation, Gray and Dandridge were arrested on January 7, 2006, in Philadelphia. Dandridge confessed to his involvement in other murders committed during their crime spree, while Gray provided a detailed confession of the Harvey family murders. In August 2006, Ricky Javon Gray was found guilty on five capital murder charges. He was subsequently sentenced to death for the murders of Stella and Ruby Harvey and received life in prison for the deaths of their parents. His accomplice, Ray Joseph Dandridge, pleaded guilty to three counts of capital murder in connection with another family killed during the spree and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. After a series of appeals, Ricky Javon Gray was executed by lethal injection on January 18, 2017.
