atlantamoi

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10699151/

By Chris Morris
Hollywood Reporter
Updated: 9:30 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Bryan Harvey, singer-guitarist for the two-man ’80s rock band House of Freaks, was found dead with his wife and two children in the family’s Richmond, Va., home over the weekend.

Harvey, 49, his wife Kathryn, 39, and their children, Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4, were found Sunday in the basement of their burning home. A Richmond Police Department spokeswoman said the bodies were bound but added that no cause of death was being released. Local news reports said the victims’ throats were cut.

Former House of Freaks drummer Johnny Hott arrived at the Harvey home to attend an afternoon New Year’s Day party and discovered it ablaze; firefighters summoned to the scene discovered the bodies.

The police spokeswoman said there were no suspects in the case.

In the mid-’80s, Richmond natives Bryan Harvey and Hott moved to Los Angeles, where their group House of Freaks made an immediate mark on the club scene. Some credit the band’s dynamic, melodic attack with setting the template for such later two-piece units as the White Stripes.

The group recorded two albums and an EP for Rhino Records. Its lone major-label set, for Giant in 1991, featured an expanded lineup that included fellow Virginian Stephen McCarthy of the Long Ryders and Bob Rupe of the Silos.

Harvey, Hott, McCarthy, Rupe and ex-Dream Syndicate singer-guitarist Steve Wynn formed the side project Gutterball, which released three early-’90s albums. House of Freaks, which moved back to Virginia in the late ’80s, disbanded in 1995 after cutting a final indie-label set.

On New Year’s Eve, Harvey played a Richmond date with his band NrG Krysys.



I just read this today. How incredibly sick and sad. These guys had a couple of decent recordings with some MTV play back in the late 80's.

Pointyskull

Not familiar with the band, but a sad story.

And as a curiosity it has the weird name symmetry of:

Groucho

Wow, that is just horrible. How could somebody murder four people in cold blood like that, two of them children?

atlantamoi

Here's a little info about the band from All Music Guide:

House of Freaks were a completely original two-man act — Bryan Harvey and Johnny Hott — who played only guitar and drums, respectively, but achieved a full band sound. Formed in Richmond, VA in the late '80s, the Freaks specialized in Southern gothic, provided by Harvey's literary lyrics with references to regional culture. The band debuted on Rhino in 1987 with the Bottom of the Ocean EP and quickly followed with Monkey on a Chain Gang (Rhino 1987). The more cohesive follow-up, Tantilla, showcased their songwriting and unique style. An uneven EP, To Our Friends, followed in 1990 and finally gave way to a major-label deal with Giant and Cakewalk in 1991. House of Freaks eventually disbanded, but Harvey and Hott continued to work together, chiefly in Gutterball, a side project for them as well as Steve Wynn, formerly of Dream Syndicate, and Bob Rupe of the Silos, which has yielded two albums.

Jazzbutcher

Wow. That totally sucks. I love the HOF song "Sun Gone Down" off Tantilla. Great tune.

Once again, I weep for humanity.

DJLinus

I went home to Richmond to see my family over the holidays and my brother told me the news. Very sad. You've got to wonder how someone could do such a thing.

Although I wasn't really a fan of HoF or familiar with most of their catalog, I really like one of their songs - "Remember Me Well." Wish I could remember the full lyrics, as they are very fitting right now.

His wife was co-owner of a shop called World of Mirth, which is a very fun place to browse and shop - lots of interesting things there. I hope it remains open.

And for those wanting to stay on top of this story, here's a link to the Richmond Times-Dispatch section on it, which contains the paper's related stories, pictures, and message board: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet...=1128769069686

atlantamoi

DJ, thanks for the additional info and link. I also wouldn't call myself the biggest fan, but there is a song from their album Cakewalk called "This Is It" that I put on mix tapes for years. It's got this hook as big and fat as any Beatles tune. I had forgetten that these two guys were in Gutterball with Steve Wynn from Dream Syndicate. With a guy from the Long Ryders. I saw Gutterball live 10 years ago in a small club and it's one of those shows where I had a big smile on my face realizing that I was watching some incredible secret on stage. Ever seen a concert where you just can't understand why other people aren't clamouring to see the same band? Talent out the wazoo.

In the article from your link they said that one of the family members may have died differently from the other three. I wonder if that will be significant?

Metrodub

This is very sad and spooky. I was listening to Gutterball on Saturday while cleaning.

My brother sent me a link to the story as well. Being from Richmond, I was able to see House of Freaks play a few times. I didn't realize Kathryn owned World of Mirth. Again, very sad.

DJLinus

Weird. I'm still wondering what the hell the motive was.

I've never been one to immediately go out and buy an artist's music as soon as he dies, but I did go to the used CD shop* today and found the House of Freak's Cakewalk and All My Friends EP, for $.98 and $1.99, respectively. The former's really good stuff; still have yet to listen to the latter. I recommend seeking the band's music out, especially at those prices.

There's also a limited edition (2500 copies) disc put out by Rhino Handmade - Tantilla Plus, which collects their remastered Tantilla disc along with the aformentioned EP, demos, outtakes, and a live track. At $20 + shipping, I'm not sure I'm a big enough fan (yet) to buy it. Just thought I'd give a heads-up for others.

Remember Me Well

When I lay down my head
Bound for Heaven or Hell
After all’s said and done
Please remember me well

You can dance on my grave
You can ring out the bells
You can drink to my health
But remember me well

Sing the soldier’s lament
Hear the stories he tells
If you all shed a tear
Please remember me well

When my ship’s going down
And the band plays its knell
When the mask disappears
Remember me well

In a hundred years since
With the worms I will dwell
When I’m gone from this world
Please remember me well

You can dance on my grave
You can ring out the bells
After all’s said and done
Please remember me well

Just remember me well

*Completely unrelated, but the store was also selling a couple of OOP DVDs - "Get a Life Vol. 1" for $110 and Rocky Horror Picture Show 2 disc for $65. What a rip! These go for a fraction of that on ebay. But now I know where to go if I ever decide to sell mine.

atlantamoi

I love those Rhino Handmade titles. Of course, they aren't cheap. I noticed the HoF disc on their site the other day. Kind of surprised me that there weren't at least 2500 people who purchased that disc (when they sell out they don't issue more). But, Tantilla was on disc 10 years ago and people might already own it.

DJLinus

I just checked RH's catalog and they actually offer two HoF discs. RH is a great imprint. I think of it as sort of the Criterion of CDs: lovingly assembled, plenty of extras, titles (mostly) out of the current mainstream, and at a higher price. The whole "limited" thing makes them more special, although I wish they wouldn't go OOP. People miss out on some great music that way.

I only own one RH CD: Loudon Wainwright III. It's great (but no longer available).

dvduser6

Here's the latest update on the case. What a horrible event.

Back to Story - Help
Two Charged in Slaughter of Va. Family By LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 40 minutes ago



Two men arrested Saturday in the killing of a Richmond family are also suspected of slitting the throats of a musician, his wife and their two young daughters six days earlier, police said.

All seven victims were found bound with tape in their homes, authorities said. The musician's home was set ablaze on New Year's Day, and the other was ransacked Friday in what police described as an apparent robbery.

On Saturday, as detectives in two states were tracking down the suspects, more than 1,400 people packed into a Richmond theater to remember the victims.

Police released few details about the two men charged in the killings, and didn't say if detectives had found any personal connections between the suspects and the victims or any possible motive beyond robbery.

The two men were arrested in a house in West Philadelphia by Philadelphia police and a SWAT team, said Capt. Benjamin Naish, a police spokesman.

"I understand there was some struggle, but there was no major incident," Naish said.

Ricky Gavon Gray, believed to be from Arlington, and Ray Joseph Dandridge, both 28, were both charged Saturday in Virginia with conspiracy to commit murder and auto theft, Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe said at a news conference Saturday night, publicly connecting the two crime scenes for the first time.

"We believe we have put an end to what we consider seven very serious cases in this area," the chief said.

It was the investigation into Friday's triple homicide that led police to Dandridge and Gray, Monroe said. He said the detectives also found evidence linking the assailants to the four killings on New Year's Day, but he declined to give specifics.

Monroe said additional charges against the two are possible once they are returned to Virginia. He said authorities were not looking for anyone else in connection with the killings.

The two sets of vicious attacks in the span of a week cast a pall over Richmond, a city of about 200,000.

Bryan Harvey, 49, had been a fixture on the local rock music scene since the mid-'80s — most notably as guitarist and singer for the critically acclaimed duo House of Freaks, which released five albums on three labels from 1987 to 1995.

His wife, Kathryn Harvey, 39, was the half-sister of actor Steven Culp, who played Rex Van De Kamp on "Desperate Housewives." She co-owned World of Mirth, a quirky toy and novelty store in Carytown, a 12-block stretch of trendy boutiques, cafes and coffee shops just west of downtown.

The couple and their daughters, Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4, were found in their basement, bound with tape and with their throats cut, authorities said.

The Harveys had invited friends for a chili party on New Year's Day. Bandmate Johnny Hott, the first to arrive, entered the unlocked front door and was engulfed in smoke. He shouted for a neighbor to call 911, and authorities discovered a fire and the bodies in the basement.

Less than a week later, in another Richmond neighborhood, the bodies of Percyell Tucker, 55; Mary Baskerville, 47; and her 21-year-old daughter, Ashley Baskerville, were found Friday, also bound with duct tape. Monroe did not say how the three were killed.

A makeshift memorial of flowers and candles had built up in Kathryn Harvey's store during the week, along with condolences scrawled on a large poster and sealed letters addressed in children's handwriting to Stella and Ruby.

John Morand, co-owner of a Richmond recording studio and Bryan Harvey's friend for 20 years, said Harvey was the antithesis of the stereotypical rock musician.

"Music was a big part of his life, but he did other things. He was a great dad. You couldn't get a more normal suburban couple," Morand said.

salamander2

how can anyone cut a throat of 4 year old girl in cold blooded fashion?

nazz

It will be interesting to see how the detectives put this all together and traced it to the guys in Philadelphia. It sounds like damn good police work getting these scum bags off the street.

atlantamoi

Yeah, I'm always impressed how they can find people quickly. This is such an awful tragedy for both families. Sometimes I wish we had an "eye for an eye" type of justice system. If guilty, these two guys don't deserve jail time or a simple needle in the arm. Unbelievable.

hal9000

This is just horrible, words cannot describe how I feel right now.

Let's just hope that some good ol' prison justice is served up on these 2 non-human pieces of scum. Anyone who murders a child let alone an adult should suffer every minute of every day for the rest of their lives.

Do you think there's anyway I can get a carton of smokes to any of their future cell mates to take care of this?

Hiro11

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...in_7_killings/

It looks like these two guys were indeed on a crime spree, the police are thinking they're involved in a number of different cases up and down the East Coast.

This is an unbelievably sick story. It looks like this was a random crime with burglary as the motive. You've got to be kidding me, slitting two small girl's (and their parent's) throats in cold blood to steal a TV?

How do you even begin to assess the depravity of that type of crime? Is it even possible to define a punishment that is commensurate with that level of evil?

This reminds me of those guys who lined up seven employees in a Wendy's in Queens and shot them all execution style over $2400 a few years ago.

Jazzbutcher

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/08/22/ri....ap/index.html

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- A jury on Tuesday recommended a man be put to death for the random mutilation killings of a musician and his family during a bloody crime spree that left four others dead.

The jury's recommendation followed several days of graphic testimony in the trial of Ricky Jovan Gray.

The jury took just 30 minutes last week to convict him of capital murder in the slayings of Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife, Kathryn, 39, and daughters Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4.

They were found in the basement of their burning home, bound, beaten with a hammer and stabbed, with their throats cut.

Jurors, who met for 12-1/2 hours over two days, recommend death for the murders of Stella and Ruby and life for their parents' slayings. Formal sentencing was scheduled for October 23.

"All of this was one global, gigantic tragedy, but there's something particularly heinous and troubling about killing young girls," prosecutor Michael Herring said outside of court.

Harvey family members and friends wept and nodded in relief at the jury's decision. Gray's father, Ellsworth H. Gray, said afterward: "I'm OK with it and I'm sure Ricky is because he's made peace with the Lord."

According to Gray's confession to Philadelphia police after his January 7 arrest, he and two accomplices were looking for a house to rob on New Year's Day when they noticed the Harveys' front door was open. They fled with a computer, a wedding ring and a basket of cookies.

Prosecutors say Gray, 29, and his nephew, Ray Joseph Dandridge, killed the Harveys as part of a two-month rampage that included the slaying of a second Richmond family less than a week later. A police detective from Philadelphia testified that Gray confessed to those crimes and others, including the November slaying of his wife near Pittsburgh.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors characterized Gray as a monster and menace to society. Grisly crime scene photos and graphic testimony detailing the injuries suffered by the Harveys drove many in the courtroom to tears.

Prosecutors also suggested that Gray was a flight risk, pointing to testimony from a city jail official that seven razors and a 36-foot rope fashioned out of strips of sheet were found in his cell.

But defense attorneys pleaded for mercy, recounting testimony from Gray's relatives who said his childhood was marred by physical and sexual abuse.

"The thing that set this case really apart from a lot of capital cases is the fact that two young children were involved. We knew that was a high hurdle for us to potentially overcome," attorney Jeffrey L. Everhart said Tuesday.

Gray had indicated he wanted to die for killing his wife and the Harveys.

"I'm sorry and I miss her and wish we could trade places," Gray told police when confessing to the pipe-bludgeoning slaying of his wife, 35-year-old Treva Terrell Gray, of Washington, Pennsylvania.

Dandridge, 29, was not charged with killing the Harveys but is scheduled for a September 18 murder trial in the January 6 suffocation of Percyell Tucker, 55, his wife, Mary Baskerville-Tucker, 47, and her daughter, Ashley Baskerville, 21. Gray told police Baskerville was an accomplice to the Harvey slayings.

Bryan Harvey was a guitarist and singer for the rock duo House of Freaks, which released five albums between 1987 and 1995.

Kathryn Harvey co-owned a quirky toy and novelty store called World of Mirth and was the half-sister of actor Steven Culp, who played Rex Van De Kamp on "Desperate Housewives."

Mordred

Terrible story but glad this guy is getting the death penalty.