By Seamus McGraw

Richmond, Va.  (Crime Library) Continued

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Though investigators say they are not certain when the bloodbath began, they have confirmed that Kathryn was seen alive between 10 and 10:30 a.m. on New Year's Day when a neighbor dropped Stella off after a sleepover. The neighbor told authorities that Kathryn looked pale and troubled when she came to the door to fetch her daughter, but insisted that she was just feeling ill.

The bodies were discovered about four hours later when a family friend, who had come to help the Harveys set up for a New Year's Day chili party, found the house filled with smoke and summoned firefighters. The bodies were discovered in the basement, but according to published reports, it was only after the first of them had been removed that authorities realized that the family had been slain and had not succumbed to smoke or fire.

Authorities now believe that the killer or killers set the blaze to cover up the crime.

Investigators have declined to say whether they have recovered a weapon from the scene. But they have acknowledged that there was no sign of forced entry and no indication that robbery or sexual assault was involved, leading to speculation that the Harveys may have known their killer and perhaps even invited the killer into their home.

The probe is one of the most crucial tests for the Richmond Police Department's new homicide unit, founded last spring by Police Chief Rodney Monroe. In the months since the unit was established, the city has reported a 71 percent clearance rate, meaning that more than two-thirds of the slayings in Richmond have been solved.

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