In a tragic turn of events that concluded a week-long crime spree, 21-year-old Ashley Baskerville, an African-American woman, was found deceased in her Richmond, Virginia home on January 6, 2006. She was discovered alongside her mother, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 46, and her stepfather, Percyell Tucker, 55. All three victims were found gagged and bound with duct tape in their ransacked house on East Broad Rock Road.
While her mother and stepfather had their throats slashed, the cause of death for all three, including Ashley, was suffocation due to layers of duct tape wrapped around their heads. In Ashley's case, a plastic bag was also secured over her head with duct tape.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly connected to the brutal murders of another Richmond family, the Harveys, which had occurred just days earlier. The perpetrators were identified as Ricky Javon Gray and his nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge. A tip from a concerned individual who knew Ashley led police to suspect the two men's involvement in the Harvey murders. This crucial information led police to the Baskerville-Tucker residence, where they made the grim discovery. The suspects were apprehended in Philadelphia the following day, on January 7, 2006.
Following their arrests, both men confessed to their roles in the crime spree. Dandridge admitted to the murders of Ashley and her parents, while Gray provided a detailed confession to the Harvey family murders. In a shocking twist, the investigation revealed that Ashley Baskerville had been an accomplice to Gray and Dandridge in the earlier Harvey family murders and related robberies, serving as a lookout. Evidence supporting her involvement included her wearing the wedding ring of one of the Harvey victims. According to court testimony, the plan had been for Ashley to be bound and appear as a victim during the robbery of her own home. However, the situation escalated, and Gray reportedly decided to kill her and her parents.
Ray Joseph Dandridge pleaded guilty to the three murders at the Baskerville-Tucker residence and received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ricky Javon Gray was convicted of capital murder for the Harvey family killings and was sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection on January 18, 2017.
