Ricky Gray and the 2006 Richmond Murder Spree
Overview
Ricky Javon Gray was an American mass murderer responsible for a series of home invasions, robberies, assaults and killings that terrorized the Richmond, Virginia, area during the opening days of 2006. Working primarily with his nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, Gray participated in crimes that left seven people dead in Virginia. He also admitted involvement in the earlier killing of his wife, Treva Gray, in Pennsylvania.
The best-known crime associated with Gray was the murder of musician Bryan Harvey, his wife Kathryn, and their two young daughters, Stella and Ruby, inside their Richmond home on January 1, 2006. Five days later, Gray and Dandridge were involved in the killings of Mary Baskerville-Tucker, Percyell Tucker and Ashley Baskerville. The violence involved robbery, restraint, suffocation, stabbing, beating and an attempt to destroy evidence through arson.
Background and Association with Ray Dandridge
Ricky Javon Gray was born on March 9, 1977. By late 2005, he was living in Washington, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Treva Terrell Gray. Ray Joseph Dandridge, Gray's nephew, moved into the residence after being released from prison in October 2005 following a lengthy sentence for armed robbery.
Gray and Dandridge later traveled to Virginia, where Gray had family connections. Once together in the Richmond and Arlington areas, the two men began committing violent crimes against people selected during robberies and home invasions. Ashley Baskerville, who had personal relationships with both men at different times, participated in some of their criminal activity before becoming one of their victims.
The Killing of Treva Gray
Before the Richmond murder spree, Gray was connected to the death of his wife, 35-year-old Treva Terrell Gray. Her body was discovered on November 5, 2005, in a shallow grave near Brookside Avenue in Washington, Pennsylvania. She had suffered severe blunt-force injuries.
Gray and Dandridge were questioned after the body was found, but the death was not immediately prosecuted as a homicide. Following his arrest in January 2006, Gray confessed that he had beaten Treva while Dandridge restrained her. The Pennsylvania killing demonstrated that the pair's violence had begun before they arrived in Virginia.
The Attack on Ryan Carey
On December 31, 2005, Gray and Dandridge attacked 26-year-old Ryan Carey outside his parents' home in the 5100 block of North 25th Street in Arlington, Virginia. Carey was beaten and repeatedly stabbed in the chest, neck and arms.
Carey survived but spent approximately two weeks in a coma and permanently lost the use of his right arm. He later identified Gray and Dandridge as the men who attacked him. The assault occurred only one day before the Harvey family murders and became an important part of the evidence demonstrating the pair's escalating violence.
The Harvey Family Murders
On January 1, 2006, Gray, Dandridge and Ashley Baskerville traveled through Richmond looking for a home to rob. They selected the Harvey residence in the Woodland Heights neighborhood. Baskerville remained outside as a lookout while Gray and Dandridge entered the house through the open front door.
Bryan Harvey, his wife Kathryn and their four-year-old daughter Ruby were initially inside. Gray restrained the family in the basement with electrical cords and tape while Dandridge searched the residence for money and valuables. During the robbery, nine-year-old Stella Harvey returned home after visiting a friend.
Gray temporarily released Kathryn and forced her to go upstairs to receive Stella. Kathryn spoke briefly with the adult who brought Stella home but was unable to warn her about the danger. Kathryn and Stella were then taken back to the basement and restrained with the other members of the family.
Gray used a kitchen knife and a claw hammer during the killings. All four family members suffered extreme violence. Bryan and Kathryn died from blunt-force injuries to their heads. Stella suffered fatal blunt-force injuries and smoke inhalation. Ruby was stabbed in the back, with one wound penetrating a lung.
After the murders, Gray and Dandridge attempted to burn the house and destroy evidence. A fire was started in the basement before the killers left with stolen property. Bryan Harvey's friend and fellow musician Johnny Hott arrived at the residence, noticed the fire and called emergency services. Firefighters discovered the family in the basement.
Bryan Harvey was a respected Richmond musician and the singer and guitarist for the rock duo House of Freaks. Kathryn Harvey was a co-owner of World of Mirth, a popular toy store in Richmond's Carytown district. The murders of the couple and their young daughters shocked the city and generated intense public attention.
The Chesterfield County Home Invasion
On January 3, 2006, Gray, Dandridge and Baskerville entered the home of Roy and Brenda Mason on Hollywood Drive in Chesterfield County. They gained entry by pretending to need directions and then robbed the couple.
The intruders stole property that included a computer, a television and approximately $800 in cash. Gray and Dandridge considered restraining the victims, but Roy Mason persuaded them not to do so by explaining that his wife had a disability and required his assistance. The Masons survived without serious physical injury and later provided investigators with valuable information.
The Baskerville-Tucker Family Murders
On January 6, 2006, police entered a residence on East Broad Rock Road in Richmond where Ashley Baskerville lived with her mother, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, and her stepfather, Percyell Tucker. Officers found all three dead inside the ransacked home.
The victims had been bound and gagged with duct tape. Mary and Percyell suffered cuts to their throats, but investigators determined that all three victims died from suffocation caused by tape or plastic covering their heads. Ashley had a plastic bag secured around her head with duct tape.
Evidence indicated that Ashley had initially cooperated in a plan to rob her mother and stepfather. According to testimony and confessions, she allowed herself to be bound to appear as though she were also a victim of the robbery. Gray and Dandridge then killed all three occupants and stole the family's vehicle.
A concerned woman contacted police after becoming suspicious about Gray and Dandridge and fearing for Ashley's safety. Information from the earlier Chesterfield robbery also helped authorities connect the suspects to the Harvey murders and locate the Baskerville-Tucker residence.
Victims
- Treva Terrell Gray, 35 — Her body was discovered on November 5, 2005, in a shallow grave near Brookside Avenue in Washington, Pennsylvania. Gray later admitted beating his wife while Dandridge restrained her.
- Bryan Taber Harvey, 49 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, in the basement of his family's home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. He died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
- Kathryn Elizabeth Harvey, 39 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, inside the Harvey residence in Richmond. She was restrained and died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
- Stella Ann Harvey, 9 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, after returning home during the robbery. She died from blunt-force trauma and smoke inhalation.
- Ruby May Harvey, 4 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, in the basement of the Harvey home. She suffered multiple stab wounds, including a wound that penetrated a lung.
- Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 46 — Found murdered on January 6, 2006, at her home on East Broad Rock Road in Richmond. She had been bound and suffered a cut to her throat before dying from suffocation.
- Percyell Tucker, 55 — Found murdered on January 6, 2006, in the East Broad Rock Road residence. He had been restrained, cut across the throat and suffocated beneath layers of duct tape.
- Ashley Baskerville, 21 — Found murdered on January 6, 2006, in the home she shared with her mother and stepfather. A plastic bag had been placed over her head and secured with duct tape.
Arrest and Confessions
Gray and Dandridge fled Virginia and traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were arrested there on the morning of January 7, 2006, at the home of Dandridge's father.
Dandridge confessed soon after his arrest to participating in the Baskerville-Tucker killings. Gray later requested to speak with a detective and provided a detailed confession describing the Harvey murders. He acknowledged using a kitchen knife and claw hammer and admitted that the killings had been unnecessary.
Gray subsequently admitted involvement in Treva Gray's death, the attack on Ryan Carey and the Baskerville-Tucker murders. Investigators recovered stolen property and developed physical and testimonial evidence connecting the defendants to the series of crimes.
Trial and Conviction
Gray was prosecuted in Richmond Circuit Court for the Harvey family murders. He faced five counts of capital murder, including charges based on the killing of multiple people, murder during a robbery and the murders of children younger than 14.
During his August 2006 trial, prosecutors presented Gray's confession, crime-scene evidence, witness testimony and evidence from his other violent offenses. His defense attorneys presented evidence concerning abuse during his childhood and his use of PCP around the time of the crimes.
After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately 30 minutes before finding Gray guilty on all five capital murder counts. The jury recommended death sentences for the murders of Stella and Ruby Harvey and life sentences for the remaining capital charges.
On October 23, 2006, the court formally sentenced Gray to death. Dandridge pleaded guilty to three counts of capital murder and received three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Additional Murder Charge
In December 2006, Gray was indicted in Culpeper County for the death of 37-year-old Sheryl Warner. Warner had been found shot and suspended by an electrical cord in the basement of her burning home near Reva, Virginia.
Gray pleaded not guilty. The prosecution was later suspended in June 2008 after contradictory evidence raised questions about whether the case against him could be proved. He was never convicted of Warner's murder and should not be identified as her confirmed killer.
Appeals and Execution
Gray remained on Virginia's death row while his attorneys pursued state and federal appeals. His legal challenges included arguments concerning his trial, sentencing and Virginia's proposed lethal-injection procedure. Courts repeatedly upheld his convictions and sentences, and the United States Supreme Court declined to review his case.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe denied Gray's request for clemency. Ricky Javon Gray was executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia, on January 18, 2017. He was pronounced dead at 9:42 p.m.
Legacy
The Richmond murder spree became one of the most notorious criminal cases in Virginia history. The crimes were particularly devastating because two entire households were attacked and young children were among the dead. The Harvey family's prominence in Richmond's music, business and educational communities intensified the sense of loss throughout the city.
Memorial projects were established in honor of the Harvey family. These included arts-related charitable efforts, a children's garden dedicated to Stella, scholarship fundraising in Ruby's name and the Harvey Family Memorial Bridge in Richmond's Forest Hill Park. The memorials emphasized the family's contribution to Richmond rather than the brutality of the crimes that ended their lives.
