Jurors now must decide life or death for Haskell
State says killer of 6 is a ‘manipulator’ and ‘con artist’; defense says ‘he’s not a threat’
Aurielle Lyon sobbed as she identified four of her nieces and nephews from their autopsy photos.
She will never see Bryan Stay, 13, graduate from high school. She won’t watch Emily, 9, go through childhood with her cousin and closest pal, or witness Rebecca, 7, develop her wacky fashion sense into her teenage years. Her own son can’t become best friends with Zachary, 4.
“My mind just goes to the experiences I should have had with these children,” Lyon said Monday during the first day of testimony in the punishment phase of convicted murderer Ronald Haskell, who admitted to killing the children and their parents.
The aunt painted a portrait of the lively children, fatally shot at their Spring home in 2014 along with their mother and father.
Earlier in the day, Haskell’s lawyers told jurors that the man, found guilty of capital murder last week, is no longer a future danger to society and should be given life without parole. Harris County prosecutors are urging the jury panel to choose the death penalty.
“He is who he is,” prosecutor Samantha Knecht said during the punishment phase’s opening arguments. “He’s a manipulator, he’s a con artist, and he’s a future danger.”
Defense attorney Neal Davis III countered that Haskell is being properly treated for his mental illnesses while in jail and has not behaved violently since being arrested for the shootings on July 9, 2014.
“As long as he’s being treated, he’s not a threat,” Davis said. “He’ll be contained.”
Attorneys rarely discussed the children while arguing Haskell’s guilt or innocence, partly because only parents Katie and Stephen Stay were named in the official indictment. The slain children were expected to
be a larger focus in the punishment phase, prosecutors said Monday.
Emotional moment
Lyon described her nieces and nephews to the jurors, smiling at some of her memories. Bryan Stay, who had cerebral palsy, loved baseball and greeting people with tight hugs. Emily had emotional special needs and was affectionate to those she loved. Rebecca tried to act older than she was, liked purple and had just begun taking ballet classes. Zachary was known to bury his full head of curly hair into a book.
The aunt identified the children in their gruesome autopsy photos, which medical examiners then showed to the jury panel. Bryan, Emily, Rebecca and Zachary were all shot in the head.
Haskell once told a doctor that the children were “collateral damage” in his quest to hurt anyone who helped his ex-wife, who was Katie Stay’s sister, prosecutors have said. He also shot Cassidy Stay, 15, who was the only survivor of the massacre.
‘It broke our hearts’
Several other loved ones testified on Monday, bringing life to Stephen and Katie Stay.
Stephen Stay’s brother, father and best friend described a hardworking and humble man who got engaged to Katie after high school and dedicated the rest of his life to his wife and children. He was 39.
Tom Stay wore his son’s tie, brightening while he talked about Stephen’s childhood. He choked up speaking of the events of July 9, 2014.
“It broke our hearts,”
Tom Stay said.
Aurielle Lyon described her 34-year-old sister, Katie, as an active and busy mother. Katie frequently helped neighbors with their yardwork, and was creative in coming up with new crafting projects for her children.
Jurors have already rejected defense attorneys’ claims that Haskell was insane when he shot the Stay family. The lawyers contended that Haskell, now 39, was mentally ill at the time of the shooting and didn’t know his actions were wrong.
Prosecutors said he was a narcissist who was enacting vengeance on anyone who helped his ex-wife. She left him a year before, after sustaining more than a decade of alleged abuse.
The trial is in District Judge George Powell’s court.