Ray Dandridge and the 2006 Richmond Murder Spree
Background
Ray Joseph Dandridge was one of the perpetrators responsible for a series of home invasions, robberies, assaults and murders committed in Virginia during the final days of 2005 and the first week of January 2006. Working primarily with his uncle, Ricky Javon Gray, Dandridge participated in a violent crime spree that left seven people dead in the Richmond area. The victims included four members of the Harvey family and three members of the Baskerville-Tucker household.
Dandridge had been released from prison on October 26, 2005, after serving more than ten years for armed robbery. He initially stayed with Gray and Gray’s wife, Treva Gray, in Washington, Pennsylvania. Treva was later found murdered, and both men eventually became connected to her death. Dandridge subsequently traveled with Gray to Virginia, where their crimes escalated into a succession of robberies and killings.
The Murder of Treva Gray
On November 5, 2005, the body of 35-year-old Treva Terrell Gray was discovered in a shallow grave near Brookside Avenue in Washington, Pennsylvania. She had suffered a fatal beating. Treva had married Ricky Gray approximately six months earlier, and Dandridge had recently moved into the couple’s residence following his release from prison.
Gray later confessed that he killed Treva while Dandridge helped restrain her. Although the killing preceded the Richmond murders by nearly two months, it became an important part of the broader investigation into the two men. Authorities had initially treated Treva’s death as suspicious but did not immediately charge Gray or Dandridge. The case received renewed attention after the men were arrested in January 2006 and Gray provided a confession.
The Attack on Ryan Carey
On December 31, 2005, Dandridge and Gray attacked 26-year-old Ryan Carey outside his parents’ home in the 5100 block of North 25th Street in Arlington, Virginia. Carey was severely beaten and stabbed in the neck, chest and arms. He survived but remained in a coma for approximately two weeks and permanently lost the use of his right arm.
The attack demonstrated the extreme violence the men were willing to use even before the Richmond killings began. Carey later identified Gray and Dandridge as his attackers. The assault occurred only one day before the Harvey family was murdered.
The Harvey Family Murders
On January 1, 2006, Dandridge and Gray entered the home of Bryan and Kathryn Harvey in Richmond’s Woodland Heights neighborhood. The invasion began as a robbery but developed into the murder of the entire family. Bryan Harvey, his wife Kathryn, and their four-year-old daughter Ruby were restrained inside the house. Their nine-year-old daughter, Stella, returned home from a friend’s house while the crime was underway and was also taken captive.
Dandridge searched the residence for property to steal while Gray controlled the family. The victims were bound with electrical cord and tape in the basement. All four were beaten and attacked with a knife. The perpetrators then set a fire inside the home in an effort to destroy evidence and conceal the killings.
The bodies were discovered after firefighters responded to the burning residence. Investigators determined that Bryan and Kathryn died from severe blunt-force injuries to their heads. Stella suffered fatal head injuries and smoke inhalation. Ruby suffered stab wounds, including an injury that punctured one of her lungs.
Although Gray personally carried out much of the fatal violence against the Harvey family, Dandridge actively participated in the home invasion, robbery and restraint of the victims. His involvement in the Harvey crimes was later incorporated into the prosecution’s capital murder case against him.
The Baskerville-Tucker Family Murders
On January 6, 2006, Dandridge and Gray carried out another robbery at a home on East Broad Rock Road in Richmond. The residence was occupied by 46-year-old Mary Baskerville-Tucker, her 55-year-old husband Percyell Tucker, and Mary’s 21-year-old daughter, Ashley Baskerville.
Ashley had previously associated with Gray and Dandridge and had participated with them in criminal activity, including events connected to the Harvey home invasion. Despite that association, she became a victim when the men decided to rob her family’s residence and eliminate witnesses.
Mary, Percyell and Ashley were restrained, gagged and wrapped with layers of duct tape. Mary and Percyell suffered cuts to their throats, but medical evidence established that all three victims died from suffocation caused by the tape and other materials placed around their heads. Ashley also had a plastic bag placed over her head and secured with duct tape.
The house was ransacked during the robbery. Dandridge later admitted responsibility for the three deaths. These murders became the principal basis for the three capital murder charges to which he eventually pleaded guilty.
Victims
- Treva Terrell Gray, 35 — Found dead on November 5, 2005, in a shallow grave near Brookside Avenue in Washington, Pennsylvania. She had been beaten to death. Ricky Gray later confessed that Dandridge helped hold her during the killing.
- Bryan Taber Harvey, 49 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, inside his family’s home in the Woodland Heights neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. He was restrained and suffered fatal blunt-force injuries.
- Kathryn Elizabeth “Kathy” Harvey, 39 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, in the Harvey residence in Richmond. She was bound and died from severe head injuries.
- Stella Ann Harvey, 9 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, after returning home while the invasion was in progress. She suffered blunt-force trauma and fatal smoke inhalation.
- Ruby May Harvey, 4 — Murdered on January 1, 2006, in the family’s Richmond home. She suffered stab wounds, including one that punctured a lung.
- Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 46 — Murdered on January 6, 2006, at her home on East Broad Rock Road in Richmond. She was bound, gagged and suffocated after duct tape was wrapped around her head.
- Percyell Tucker, 55 — Murdered on January 6, 2006, in the East Broad Rock Road residence. He was restrained and suffocated during the robbery.
- Ashley Baskerville, 21 — Murdered on January 6, 2006, in the home she shared with her mother and stepfather. A plastic bag and duct tape were placed around her head, causing her to suffocate.
Investigation and Arrest
Police began connecting the Richmond murders after a Chesterfield County resident contacted authorities on January 6, 2006. She was concerned about Ashley Baskerville and reported information concerning Gray and Dandridge. Investigators found property linked to the Harvey family crimes at a Chesterfield residence where the suspects had previously stayed.
By the time police discovered the Baskerville-Tucker victims, Gray and Dandridge had fled Virginia. Investigators traced them to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Dandridge’s father lived. Both men were arrested on the morning of January 7, 2006.
Approximately one hour after his arrest, Dandridge confessed to killing Mary Baskerville-Tucker, Percyell Tucker and Ashley Baskerville. Gray later gave investigators a lengthy confession describing the Harvey murders and admitting his involvement in additional crimes, including Treva Gray’s death and the attack on Ryan Carey.
Charges, Guilty Plea and Sentence
On February 9, 2006, Dandridge was charged with three counts of capital murder in connection with the Baskerville-Tucker killings. One of the charges was later amended to account for his participation in the Harvey home invasion and murders.
Dandridge initially pleaded not guilty and went to trial in September 2006. Before the trial reached closing arguments, however, he accepted an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to three counts of capital murder. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
On September 19, 2006, Dandridge was sentenced to three consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The sentence permanently removed him from society while avoiding a separate capital sentencing proceeding.
Ricky Gray was separately convicted of capital murder for the Harvey family killings. He received death sentences for the murders of the two Harvey children and life sentences for killing their parents. Gray was executed by lethal injection at Greensville Correctional Center in Virginia on January 18, 2017.
Legacy of the Crimes
The January 2006 Richmond murders shocked the community because of their brutality and the deliberate killing of entire families, including two young children. The crimes combined robbery, home invasion, restraint, torture, homicide and arson. The perpetrators attempted to eliminate witnesses and destroy evidence rather than leave anyone alive who could identify them.
Dandridge’s role extended beyond simply accompanying Gray. He participated in the selection and invasion of homes, searched for valuables while victims were restrained, assisted in earlier violence and personally admitted responsibility for the three Baskerville-Tucker murders. His guilty plea and three life-without-parole sentences reflected his direct responsibility for one of the most notorious murder sprees in modern Richmond history.
