Continued from Page 2
Was There a Link Between the Suspects and One of Their Victims?
Somehow, 21-year-old Ashley Baskerville got to know Ray Dandridge and Ricky Gray. Writing in the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch on January 9, 2006, Jim Nolan and Mark Holmberg reported the following:
"Ashley Baskerville, one of the seven victims bound and slain in South Richmond last week, was more than a casual acquaintance of the two men charged in the killings.
The 21-year-old Baskerville, who was killed Friday with her mother and stepfather in their East Broad Rock Road home, was an accomplice in at least one of the crimes that police say were committed by Ray Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Gevon "Cooley" Gray, sources close to the investigation say..."
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| From left: Ashley Baskerville, Percyell Tucker, Mary Baskerville Tucker |
It isn't clear at the moment how Ashley Baskerville knew either man. Whatever the case may be, it appears from the report filed by Nolan and Holmberg that Ashley Baskerville not only knew of the crime that turned the nation's eyes again to Richmond, Virginia, population near 200,000, on the first day of January, 2006, she may have unwittingly participated.
Baskerville lived with her mother, Mary, and Mary's husband, Percyell Tucker, just over a mile from the residence of former indie rock star Bryan Harvey and his family. In the late 1980's and 1990's Harvey had been one-half of House of Freaks, a two-piece band he formed with percussionist Johnny Hott.
In the same report by the Times-Dispatch journalists, Baskerville's aunt, JoAnn Barnes, said the following, "She never really had a life (...) Somebody gave her some drugs. She just got out of control, and her mother couldn't handle her and turned her over to the welfare [department]."
It now appears that on New Years day, Ashley Baskerville may have sat as a lookout for Ricky Gray and Ray Dandridge while they entered the Harvey home, according to the report. As Gray and Dandridge allegedly bound, beat, then murdered the Harvey family, Bryan, Kathryn, 9-year-old Stella, and 4-year-old Ruby, Ashley Baskerville kept an eye out.
January 6 saw Ashley and her parents suffer exactly the same fate as the Harveys. Five days had passed since the horrific crime at the Harvey residence, and even if Baskerville didn't know what was going on at the time, she certainly knew by January 6th.
Whatever the case, it was apparently evidence from the murders of the Baskervilles and Mr. Tucker that led police to the arrest in West Philadelphia on January 7 of Ricky Gray and his nephew, Ray Dandridge.
Reaching out from behind cell bars, Luckey Dandridge sang the praises of women, regardless of their race, their 'place,' their age. In the end, it appears he and his Uncle, Ricky "Cooley" Gray, may have indeed seen no boundaries in their supposed targets.
Their alleged victims, Treva Gray, the Baskervilles and Percyell Tucker, were known to them, and in the case of the Harvey family, apparently unknown. Gray and Dandridge are charged in connection with the slayings of seven people, and are reportedly under suspicion in at least one more homicide. The victims were scattered throughout the social, racial, economic strata of Richmond and beyond.
In that sense, it may be that Ray Dandridge was telling the truth in his Internet posting. It didn't matter who you were; you were in danger as long as he was free, and he and his Uncle Cooley Gray were lucky enough to stay ahead of the law.
Harvey Family Murder Investigation Continues
As cops scramble to solve mystery, slain rocker's friends look to the future
Harvey Murderers Linked to Similar Crimes?
Harvey Family Murders Full Coverage & Breaking News
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