On July 9, 2014, a mass shooting occurred in a home located in northern Harris County, Texas, near the Springcensus-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 |
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.
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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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