Killing of the Stay Family

On July 9, 2014, a shooting occurred at a home on Leaflet Lane in the Enchanted Oaks subdivision, an unincorporated area near the Spring census-designated place in Harris County, Texas. Six members of the Stay family were killed: Stephen Robert Stay, 39; his wife, Katie Stay, 33; and four of their children — Bryan, 13; Emily, 9; Rebecca, 6; and Zachary, 4. Their eldest daughter, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay, survived after being shot and playing dead.

According to police and court documents, Ronald Lee Haskell, 34, arrived at the home dressed as a FedEx employee. Cassidy answered the door and initially did not recognize him. He returned shortly after, identified himself as her "ex-uncle," and forced his way inside when she tried to close the door. He tied up Cassidy and, as other family members returned home, bound them as well before shooting all seven victims in the back of the head. He fired his pistol 13 times inside the house before fleeing in the family's car. Five victims died at the scene; one child died shortly after reaching a hospital. Cassidy was shot in the head and finger, sustaining a skull fracture and finger injury, but survived and later contacted police, warning that Haskell intended to target other relatives, including her grandparents.

Using information from Cassidy, police located Haskell at a second residence. A vehicle chase involving roughly two dozen patrol cars ended in a cul-de-sac about three miles from the shooting scene. Officers disabled his car with a spike strip and blocked it with armored vehicles. Haskell held a pistol to his head and communicated with police by cellphone during a standoff lasting about three hours before he surrendered without further incident.

Haskell was related to the victims through his ex-wife, Melannie Lyon, who is Katie Stay's sister. He had a documented history of domestic violence, including a 2008 domestic assault charge involving his then-wife and a 2013 protective order later replaced by a mutual restraining order during their divorce. About a week before the shooting, Haskell's mother sought a restraining order after he allegedly restrained her with duct tape and threatened to kill her and his family.

On July 10, 2014, Haskell was charged with six counts of capital murder and held without bond. He collapsed during his first court appearance on July 11, 2014, and made further court appearances in September and December 2014 and January 2015. His trial began in August 2019. On September 26, 2019, a jury found him guilty of capital murder, and on October 11, 2019, he was sentenced to death. He remains on death row at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit near Livingston, Texas. Funeral and memorial services for the victims were held in July 2014 at a local church and at Lemm Elementary School, where two of the children had been students.