On
July 9, 2014, a mass shooting occurred in a home located in
northern Harris County, Texas, near the Spring
census-designated place, a suburban area
of the Greater Houston area, leaving six family
members dead, four of them children, and a lone survivor. The shooter, Ronald
Lee Haskell, was apprehended after a standoff that lasted several hours.
Haskell was related to the victims by a former marriage. On October 11th, 2019
Haskell was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
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Man who killed 6 members of ex-wife's
family gets death sentence for Texas attack
One
child of the Stay family survived by playing dead. Cassidy Stay said she hopes
her experience will give others strength in difficult circumstances.
Oct.
12, 2019, 3:31 PM GMT+8
By
Associated Press
HOUSTON
— A man who prosecutors say was driven by vengeance when he fatally shot six
members of his ex-wife's family in Texas, including four children, was
sentenced Friday to death, a decision the lone survivor of the attack says will
help her let go of "hurt and anger."
Jurors
sentenced Ronald Lee Haskell after deliberating for little more than four
hours. The jury had to choose between life in prison without parole or a death
sentence.
The
same jury last month convicted Haskell of capital murder in the 2014
killings of Stephen and Katie Stay at their home in suburban Houston. The jury
rejected his attorneys' efforts to have him found not guilty by reason of
insanity.
Haskell
killed the couple and four of their children in the living room of their
suburban Houston home in 2014. A fifth child, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay, was
shot in the head but she survived by playing dead.
After
the sentence was announced, Cassidy Stay, now 20, read a victim impact
statement from the witness stand, saying she had initially had felt "hurt
and anger" after learning that Haskell felt no remorse for killing her
family.
"My closure was the hope that you would feel bad ... I'm
letting go of my emotions and I'm giving it to God because he'll take care of
me and he'll help me through this,"
said Stay, adding she would continue to live "my life with happiness"
and forget about Haskell.
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|
Cassidy
Stay, left, reacts with family members after the sentence of death for Ronald
Lee Haskell Thursday, Oct. 11, 2019 in Houston.Melissa Phillip /
Houston Chronicle via AP
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During
closing arguments in the punishment phase of Haskell's trial earlier Friday,
Harris County District Attorney's Office prosecutor Kaylynn Williford described
the terrifying scene as Haskell fulfilled his plan to kill his ex-wife's
family.
Williford
described how Haskell shot 4-year-old Zach in the shoulder — an injury he could
have survived — and said the frightened child scurried in the chaos to his
father on a couch, burying his head in his father's shoulder for protection.
But
by that point, Zach's father was already dead, Williford said.
"He
scrambles over to his father, because that's what little boys do,"
Williford said.
Haskell
then went over to Zach, pointed a gun to the back of his head and pulled the
trigger, she said.
"How
cold and vengeful do you have to be to take the life of a 4-year-old?"
Williford said.
Cassidy Stay, now 20, was in court on Friday and cried when
Williford detailed the killing of her family. At least one juror also wiped
away tears. Stay testified at trial, which began Aug. 26, that she begged her
uncle "please don't hurt us" before Haskell opened fire.
Defense
attorneys argued hard for a life sentence.
Neal
Davis III said the 39-year-old man should spend the rest of his life thinking
about what he has done and "die in prison."
Doug
Durham told jurors that at the heart of prosecutors' arguments for a death
sentence is "anger, hatred, fear, vengeance because of this terrible,
terrible crime."
Durham
said Haskell's long history of mental illness, in which he was treated by
multiple doctors, should be considered by the jury as a mitigating factor in
deciding that life in prison would be a more appropriate sentence. His attorneys
said Haskell heard voices that told him to kill his ex-wife's family.
Durham
urged jurors to consider "compassion and forgiveness" instead of
"hate, anger" when making their decision.
But
prosecutor Lauren Bard told jurors that Haskell's "issue
is not his mental illness, his issue is his personality," describing him
as a "manipulative, selfish, narcissistic, blame-shifting monster."
Prosecutors
said Haskell had faked symptoms of mental illness and had meticulously crafted
a plan to hurt anybody who helped his ex-wife, Melannie Lyon, after the couple
divorced, traveling from California to Texas to carry out the killings.
 |
|
Kelly
Lyon, center hugs her daughter, Melannie Lyon, right, as family members react
after the sentence of death for Ronald Lee Haskell Thursday, Oct. 11, 2019 in
Houston. Haskell was convicted of capital murder in the 2014 massacre that
killed six of members of the Stay family. Melannie Lyon is the ex-wife of
Ronald Lee Haskell and Katie Stay was her sister.Melissa Phillip /
Houston Chronicle via AP
|
To
impose a death sentence, jurors had find Haskell would be a future danger to
society and that any mitigating factors — such as mental illness — were
insufficient to merit a lesser sentence.
Besides
Stephen and Katie Stay and their son Zach, Haskell also killed 7-year-old
Rebecca; 9-year-old Emily; and 13-year-old Bryan. Katie Stay was Lyon's sister.
Prosecutors
only needed to charge Haskell with two of the deaths to get to capital murder.
In cases with multiple murders, it is a common trial strategy for prosecutors
to not charge the deaths all at once in case legal issues arise and new
indictments are needed.
After
the shooting, he reloaded his gun and headed to the homes of Lyon's parents and
brother so, according to prosecutors, he could complete his vengeful plan. He
was arrested before reaching any other homes.
During
the trial's punishment phase, relatives of the Stays told jurors how their
lives were devastated by the killings.
Haskell's
brother testified that his sibling "still has good in him."
After
Friday's verdict, Cassidy Stay told reporters she hopes what's she experienced
will give others strength to face difficulties in their own lives.
"I did not think I would lose my whole family in a matter of
seconds. If I can get through this, you can get through what you're going
through and you're going to be OK,"
Stay said.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-who-killed-6-members-ex-wife-s-family-gets-n1065366
Lone survivor speaks out after man who killed her whole
family sentenced to death
The lone
survivor of a US Texas massacre has spoken out after the man who killed her
parents and siblings was sentenced to death.
Cassidy
Stay was just 15 years old in 2014, when Ronald Lee Haskell arrived at her home
demanding to know the whereabouts of his estranged wife, Melannie Haskell.
Ms
Haskell was not there, but her sister - Cassidy's mother Katie Stay - and her
family were. He shot her parents and four siblings one by one.
Stephen
Stay, 39, Katie Stay, 33, two boys, ages 13 and 4, and two girls, ages 9 and 7,
were killed when Haskell opened fire, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.
Ms Stay
was shot too but played dead to survive.
Authorities
at the time indicated she was critically wounded, though she later made a full
recovery.
A judge
announced yesterday that Haskell had been sentenced to death by lethal
injection.
Haskell was found guilty of capital murder last
month.
Inside the courtroom, Ms Stay faced the man who
took away her family.
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Cassidy Stay speaks to
reporters outside court after the man who took away her family was sentenced to
death. (CNN)
|
"The jury decided that you are going to die through lethal
injection and I respect their decision," she told Haskell in court.
"I'm letting go of my emotions and I'm giving it to God because
he will take care of me and help me through this.
"I hope that when you die, you will get the punishment you
deserve from God. Only God can help you now."
Speaking
to reporters outside court, Ms Stay said she felt relief at the judge's
decision.
"It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest and I
feel like justice is finally going to be served."
Ms
Stay said she had this message for people who were doing it tough: "Life
is not going to go how you think it is."
"I did not think I would lose my whole family in a matter of
seconds so, if I can get through this, you can get through what you are going
through and you're going to be okay."
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://www.9news.com.au/world/lone-survivor-speaks-out-after-haskell-sentenced-to-death-us-news/e2376b55-7b1a-4425-9cba-648a46df5857
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