A former valet parker has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October death of young writer Josephine V. Stone.
Paul Peter Gray Jr., a 26-year-old Chesterfield County resident, was indicted Jan. 3. His lawyer was working with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office last week to choose a time to turn himself in, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland says.
Stone, 23, was a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, a technical writer for health insurer WellPoint and managing editor of Quail Bell, a new Richmond-based arts and literary magazine. For years she was a popular server at Penny Lane Pub.
Stone was walking along North Fifth Street to a show at the National on Oct. 28. That’s when she was struck by a vehicle being driven to the garage at the Hilton Garden Inn by a valet parking attendant, according to Richmond police.
She died three weeks after the publication of Quail Bell’s inaugural print edition, before it was distributed. This month Stone’s former colleagues released a new edition of the issue that includes more of her writing. Their goal: to distribute 1,000 free copies of the Josephine Stone Edition across Richmond. Donations to the project can be made through Kickstarter, a website that helps creative projects find funding.
