Former co-workers: Haskell ‘manipulative’
When Bryce Seeholzer learned that his former co-worker was arrested in the murders of a husband, wife and four children in Spring, he emailed the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
He needed them to realize that Ronald Haskell was the most manipulative person he believed he had ever known.
“He made me think I was his friend and had my back, while at the same time, trying to get me fired,” Seeholzer wrote to thenDistrict Attorney Devon Anderson.
“I think he could play the ‘I’m insane’ card for the rest of his life if he thought it would benefit him.”
Seeholzer was one of several former colleagues who testified Tuesday against the convicted killer in the punishment phase of the defendant’s capital murder trial, describing a person who first presented himself as funny and friendly but later revealed himself as calculating and self-motivated.
“He was so good at letting you see only what he wants you to see,” said Todd Fullerton, who worked at Schreiber Foods in Utah with Haskell.
Life or death
Jurors are deciding whether to sentence Haskell to life in prison without parole, or death.
A jury convicted him last week in the 2014 murders of Katie and Stephen Stay, his former sister and brother-in-law.
Haskell has also admitted to killing four of the couple’s five children.
Haskell’s former colleagues and bosses had a good first impression of the man, who mostly held jobs requiring manual labor. He was friendly and a known jokester. He was also bilingual.
Over time, their opinions changed, they said.
Seeholzer told jurors that he began working with Haskell in 2008 at a hardwood construction business in Utah. He viewed Haskell as a friend and felt he looked out for him when he was new on the job.
Eventually, Haskell began relaying to Seeholzer that their company’s business owner was unhappy with his work, and finally, that he was going to be fired, the Utahan said.
Seeholzer turned in his twoweeks notice, but the owner told him he was never going to be fired at all, he said. Seeholzer testified that he called Haskell to clarify his version of events, and his friend said he “can’t go back now.”
Haskell never showed up for work at the business again, Seeholzer and the business owner testified.
‘Blind’ to the deception
Haskell began working at Schreiber Foods, a dairy factory, and was generally well-regarded until a co-worker complained about him, said Ben Williams, a business support manager for the company.
The woman, who was in Haskell’s department, told human resources she felt he was targeting her and trying to get her fired. The company’s investigation uncovered other problems with Haskell, including foul language, sexual harassment, truancy and laziness, Williams said.
One worker alleged that Haskell cornered her in her lab in November 2011 and attempted to kiss her, according to the human resources report. He got angry and threatened her if she told anyone about his life, the woman said.
Haskell at first denied the allegations, but then wrote a “confession letter” coming clean about flirting with the woman and getting angry with her. In a later interview, he told Williams that he admitted to trying to kiss the coworker and then threatening her, resulting in Schreiber firing Haskell.
Fullerton said he was panicked when he heard Haskell’s job was terminated, because they were still best friends. He later found out that Haskell lied to him.
“I was blind to it,” he said. “The wool was pulled directly over my eyes.”
Fullerton recalled that Haskell would claim credit for his own work, and often clock out early. Haskell responded poorly to practical jokes, and threatened to kill someone on one occasion, Fullerton said. The friend stood up for Haskell multiple times, and believes he would have been fired much sooner if it wasn’t for his intervention.
Haskell had a crush on the one coworker he tried to kiss, the former friend said, and it was clear the feelings weren’t reciprocated. The defendant had few boundaries, was touchy with men and women, made crude sexual comments and frequently hit on older women, Fullerton said.
Haskell told Fullerton he was pursuing relationships on Ashley Madison, a dating website for married people. He also pulled the “priesthood card” on his wife, meaning that he would persuade her to do as he wished, sexually, because he held the “keys to heaven,” Fullerton said.
The defendant planted ideas in Fullerton’s head about the work ethic of the colleague whose complaint eventually launched an investigation, he testified. Fullerton broke down on the witness stand, recalling how he believed Haskell and felt the other employee was bad at her job.
Like Seeholzer, Fullerton called Haskell the most manipulative person he had ever known.
Defense attorneys have claimed Haskell was insane and didn’t know his conduct was wrong — an assertion that jurors rejected in the first phase of the trial. Prosecutors contended that Haskell was a narcissist who was on a mission to hurt anyone who helped his ex-wife.
Katie Stay was the sister of Haskell’s ex-wife, who had left him in 2013 after sustaining years of alleged abuse.
The trial will remain in recess until Thursday morning in Judge George Powell’s courtroom.