Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 17, 2006 23:46:59 GMT -5
Trial set for man charged in Virginia family slaying
It was just supposed to be a robbery, one of the men told police. An easy
score that would rake in a little bit of money.
Instead, an entire family was left to slowly suffocate as they lay
helpless and bound, their mouths and noses covered in duct tape, 2 of them
bleeding from knife wounds to their necks.
"Something so simple became so complicated," Ricky Jovan Gray said of that
night during a confession to a string of bloody crimes he said he and his
nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, committed - including the slaughter of
another Richmond family less than a week earlier.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Dandridge, 29, charged with
3 counts of capital murder for the Jan. 6 slayings of Percyell Tucker, 55,
his wife, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 47, and her daughter, Ashley
Baskerville, 21. He is charged with killing someone during a robbery,
killing more than 1 person at a time and killing more than 1 person in a
3-year period. Opening statements in the jury trial are scheduled for
Monday.
Gray, 29, was convicted last month of capital murder in the New Year's Day
slayings of musician Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife, Kathryn, 39, and
daughters Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4. The family had been bound, beaten with a
hammer and stabbed, their throats cut and their bodies set ablaze. Gray
told police Ashley Baskerville was an accomplice in the Harvey slayings.
In his confession to police, Gray said he, Dandridge and Baskerville had
been looking for a house to rob when they saw the Harveys' front door
open. After the slayings, they fled with a computer, a wedding ring and a
basket of cookies.
The jury recommended Gray be sentenced to death for the murders of Stella
and Ruby. Sentencing is set for Oct. 23.
The Arlington ex-convicts were arrested Jan. 7 in Philadelphia at the home
of Dandridge's father. Gray has not been charged in the Baskerville-Tucker
slayings, and Dandridge has not been charged in the Harvey killings.
Autopsy photos presented during the sentencing phase of Gray's trial
showed bloody gashes to the necks of Tucker and his wife and duct tape
covering the faces of all 3 victims. Medical examiner Darin Trelka
testified the 3 slowly suffocated in about 6 minutes.
In his statement to Philadelphia police, Gray said he and Dandridge had
plotted to rob Baskerville's mother and stepfather. The two entered the
home along with Baskerville in the middle of the night and taped
Baskerville up as part of the plan. After the couple was bound, Gray said
he and Dandridge ransacked the house and loaded up Tucker's truck with
stereo equipment, TVs and hair clippers.
"The next thing I know is we was struggling with the mom and stepdad and
they was all cut up and dead," Gray said in his confession.
Gray said he used a knife from the house to stab the couple, and
Baskerville was "choked out" and left in her room. He did not say in his
confession whether he or Dandridge choked Baskerville, and seemed at a
loss when asked why she, too, had been killed.
"That's a good question," he said. "That things just played out that way
is something, isn't it?"
Percyell Tucker worked in the tobacco industry and his wife worked at a
laundry, said JoAnn Barnes, Ashley's aunt and the sister of Mary
Baskerville-Tucker. The couple had been together for more than 20 years.
Tucker was a whiz at making coconut pies and always quick with a joke,
said Barnes, who often sat on her sister's porch and read the Bible with
her.
Barnes, 53, said her niece had been turning her life around and was just
starting nursing school when she was killed.
"Ashley was a good person," Barnes said. "She just hooked up with the
wrong people."
Dandridge was released from prison Oct. 26 after serving 10 years for
robbery, according to Virginia Department of Corrections records. Gray was
released in 2002 after serving six years for robbery, firearms possession
and cocaine possession.
Gray also confessed to the Nov. 5 killing of his 35-year-old wife, Treva
Terrell Gray, in Washington, Pa., about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. In
his confession, Gray said he beat his wife to death in their bed with a
piece of pipe while Dandridge held her down. Her body was later discovered
near a wooded area.
The 2 have also been charged in the slashing assault and robbery of an
Arlington man on New Year's Eve. Gray told police he and Dandridge were
driving around Arlington when they spotted Ryan Carey, now 26, getting out
of his car. Gray confessed to breaking off two knives in Carey's body.
(source: Associated Press)
It was just supposed to be a robbery, one of the men told police. An easy
score that would rake in a little bit of money.
Instead, an entire family was left to slowly suffocate as they lay
helpless and bound, their mouths and noses covered in duct tape, 2 of them
bleeding from knife wounds to their necks.
"Something so simple became so complicated," Ricky Jovan Gray said of that
night during a confession to a string of bloody crimes he said he and his
nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, committed - including the slaughter of
another Richmond family less than a week earlier.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Dandridge, 29, charged with
3 counts of capital murder for the Jan. 6 slayings of Percyell Tucker, 55,
his wife, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 47, and her daughter, Ashley
Baskerville, 21. He is charged with killing someone during a robbery,
killing more than 1 person at a time and killing more than 1 person in a
3-year period. Opening statements in the jury trial are scheduled for
Monday.
Gray, 29, was convicted last month of capital murder in the New Year's Day
slayings of musician Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife, Kathryn, 39, and
daughters Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4. The family had been bound, beaten with a
hammer and stabbed, their throats cut and their bodies set ablaze. Gray
told police Ashley Baskerville was an accomplice in the Harvey slayings.
In his confession to police, Gray said he, Dandridge and Baskerville had
been looking for a house to rob when they saw the Harveys' front door
open. After the slayings, they fled with a computer, a wedding ring and a
basket of cookies.
The jury recommended Gray be sentenced to death for the murders of Stella
and Ruby. Sentencing is set for Oct. 23.
The Arlington ex-convicts were arrested Jan. 7 in Philadelphia at the home
of Dandridge's father. Gray has not been charged in the Baskerville-Tucker
slayings, and Dandridge has not been charged in the Harvey killings.
Autopsy photos presented during the sentencing phase of Gray's trial
showed bloody gashes to the necks of Tucker and his wife and duct tape
covering the faces of all 3 victims. Medical examiner Darin Trelka
testified the 3 slowly suffocated in about 6 minutes.
In his statement to Philadelphia police, Gray said he and Dandridge had
plotted to rob Baskerville's mother and stepfather. The two entered the
home along with Baskerville in the middle of the night and taped
Baskerville up as part of the plan. After the couple was bound, Gray said
he and Dandridge ransacked the house and loaded up Tucker's truck with
stereo equipment, TVs and hair clippers.
"The next thing I know is we was struggling with the mom and stepdad and
they was all cut up and dead," Gray said in his confession.
Gray said he used a knife from the house to stab the couple, and
Baskerville was "choked out" and left in her room. He did not say in his
confession whether he or Dandridge choked Baskerville, and seemed at a
loss when asked why she, too, had been killed.
"That's a good question," he said. "That things just played out that way
is something, isn't it?"
Percyell Tucker worked in the tobacco industry and his wife worked at a
laundry, said JoAnn Barnes, Ashley's aunt and the sister of Mary
Baskerville-Tucker. The couple had been together for more than 20 years.
Tucker was a whiz at making coconut pies and always quick with a joke,
said Barnes, who often sat on her sister's porch and read the Bible with
her.
Barnes, 53, said her niece had been turning her life around and was just
starting nursing school when she was killed.
"Ashley was a good person," Barnes said. "She just hooked up with the
wrong people."
Dandridge was released from prison Oct. 26 after serving 10 years for
robbery, according to Virginia Department of Corrections records. Gray was
released in 2002 after serving six years for robbery, firearms possession
and cocaine possession.
Gray also confessed to the Nov. 5 killing of his 35-year-old wife, Treva
Terrell Gray, in Washington, Pa., about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. In
his confession, Gray said he beat his wife to death in their bed with a
piece of pipe while Dandridge held her down. Her body was later discovered
near a wooded area.
The 2 have also been charged in the slashing assault and robbery of an
Arlington man on New Year's Eve. Gray told police he and Dandridge were
driving around Arlington when they spotted Ryan Carey, now 26, getting out
of his car. Gray confessed to breaking off two knives in Carey's body.
(source: Associated Press)