Richmond community keeps Harvey family’s memory alive 20 years after their murders

On the 20th anniversary of the Harvey family’s murders, Richmond remembered Kathryn, Bryan, Ruby, and Stella fondly. The family’s legacy has been kept alive through various community efforts. 

This article contains discussion of murder. Out of respect for the family, details surrounding their deaths have been omitted. 

On January 1, 2006, the bodies of the Harvey family were found inside their Woodland Heights home after a friend called 911 to report a fire at the property. Kathryn “Kathy” Harvey was 39, and her husband, Bryan, was 49. Kathy ran World of Mirth, a popular toy store in the Carytown district, and Bryan was a lead singer and guitarist for the band House of Freaks. Their daughter Stella was nine years old at the time of her death, and their daughter Ruby was four years old. They were victims of a crime spree that ultimately resulted in the deaths of seven people total (including the Harveys). The men responsible for the murders were caught and prosecuted—one was executed via lethal injection in 2017, and the other is serving a life sentence without parole.

CBS 6 spoke with members of the Richmond community on the 20th anniversary of the Harvey family murders. Kirsten Perkinson, who was interviewed for the piece, was one of the last people to have seen Stella and Kathryn before they were murdered. She was unaware that the killers were already inside the Harvey household when she dropped Stella off that day after a sleepover. Speaking with CBS 6, Perkinson said, “They were a spirited, happy, whacky group of people. There were many families who were very close to them. We miss their hilarity and generous spirits, which is their legacy. We miss their sweet souls every day. As I watch my own daughters grow, who were their peers. I have a sense of sweet nostalgia, wondering what great things Stella and Ruby would’ve achieved.”

She also spoke highly of the family’s toy store, which is still operational, saying, “World of Mirth is a testament to their desire to create fun and whimsy, and to spread joy to uplift kids of all ages!!” Perkinson is one of many who work to keep the Harveys’ memory alive—not just on the anniversary of their deaths, but all year long.

The Harveys are remembered through endowments, runs, and memorials

Following their deaths, an endowment was created to honor the Harveys. The Bryan and Kathryn Harvey Family Memorial Endowment Fund “carries forward their legacy by supporting projects that invite families and communities to come together through music, visual art and the performing arts.” It’s meant to pay homage to “a family remembered for their kindness, creativity, love of music and the arts.” Since it was established, the endowment has awarded over $146,000 through 32 grants. Sally Kemp received one of these grants, and she was also a friend of the family. She spoke with CBS 6 about them, saying, “Just the way they lived their life, the creative, courageous paths they took. Together as a family, they were magical… And I think remembering them, and remembering who each of them were together, inspires us each year.”

Kirsten Perkinson expressed a similar sentiment: “We will always love the positive impact that Bryan and Katherine made on us and the Richmond community. His project to give kids laptops in school was a giant step in technology, and his music will live forever,” she said. In addition to the endowment fund, Ruby’s Run was created in 2006 as a way to raise scholarship funds for Ruby’s preschool. That same year, Stella’s school, Richmond’s William Fox Elementary School, dedicated a new Children’s Garden to her memory. Then, in 2010, Richmond completed a new footbridge located in Forest Hill Park and dedicated it to the memory of the Harvey family, calling it The Harvey Family Memorial Bridge.

Though the community will always feel their immense loss, their spirits will be kept alive through these kind endeavors.