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Spring Family Murders: Ronald Haskell To Face Death Penalty In Slaying Of Six Family Members

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 10:16 PST, Aug 27, 2016

Ronald Haskell, who is allegedly the lone killer behind the Spring family murders, will face the death penalty for his alleged crimes. The horrific mass slaying took place July 9, 2014, and resulted in seven people being shot, six of whom died from their injuries. All of the victims were members of the Stay family, residents of the town of Spring in Harris County, Texas.

Reportedly, the murders were the result of domestic violence gone horribly wrong. According to investigators, Ronald Haskell, a 36-year-old from Utah, killed six members of the Spring family in the execution-style shootings as he searched for his ex-wife, who he had allegedly abused on multiple occasions.

Assistant District Attorney Kaylnn Williford has announced that the alleged Spring family murderer, Ronald Haskell, is set to face trial in late 2017. He has been charged with multiple counts of capital murder in connection to the slaying of the Spring family, reports the Houston Chronicle.

The murders of the Spring family, which Haskell is accused of methodically plotting and carrying out, garnered national attention, as six members of the same family lost their lives in the brutal, unthinkable crime. All-in-all, Ronald Haskell is accused of shooting and killing married couple Katie and Stephen Stay, as well as their children 13-year-old Bryan, 9-year-old Emily, 7-year-old Rebecca, and 4-year-old Zach. The seventh member of the Stay family, 15-year-old Cassidy, was shot and wounded as well. However, according to her own account, Cassidy “played dead” in order to survive the tragic Spring family murders.

Reportedly, the terrifying and deadly ordeal began when Ronald Haskell showed up at the family’s home disguised as a FedEx employee. Young Cassidy was allegedly home alone at the time, and when she opened the door, Ronald Haskell pushed his way inside the house, according to investigators.

After he got into the home, Haskell allegedly tied Cassidy up. As the remaining members of the Spring family got home for the afternoon, Ronald Haskell attacked and bound them, as well.

Haskell’s goal, according to law enforcement, was to discern the location of his ex-wife, who happened to also be Katie Stay’s sister. When he was done interrogating the incapacitated family, according to investigators, Ronald Haskell shot each one of them point blank in the head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-jUxa5S4JY

Melanie Haskell, who was reportedly married to alleged Spring family murderer Ronald Haskell for 11 years, spoke out immediately following the tragic mass murder of six of her family members. As the Daily Mail reports, Melanie heard the news about the horrific slaying of the Stay family, she immediately blamed herself. She claimed that she “paid the ultimate price” for her freedom from the man who had allegedly violently abused her repeatedly over the course of the couple’s more-than-a-decade-long marriage. Reportedly, the sister of the wife in the Spring family murders spoke to her lawyer through her mother.

Prior to the horrific Spring family murders, which were allegedly carried out by Ronald Haskell, his ex-wife had repeatedly tried to escape her abusive marriage with the alleged murderer. Former neighbors of the Haskells from Logan, Utah, say that domestic violence was rampant in the couple’s marriage, at the hands of Ronald Haskell. He had even pleaded guilty to assault related to a 2008 case of abuse.

“Melanie Haskell stated her husband Ronald had (dragged) her by her hair and struck her in the head, and then did it again in front of the children.”

A neighbor told a local newspaper that the ex-wife of suspected Spring family murderer Ronald Haskell had gotten tired of being victimized, tired of her three children witnessing the abuse, and the last straw was when her oldest child began exhibiting violent behavior.

She and her children sought available community resources to move away from Ronald Haskell and into an undisclosed, safe location. It was shortly thereafter that Ronald Haskell allegedly disguised himself as a FedEx worker and committed the unthinkable Spring family murders.

Ronald Haskell’s defense attorney, Doug Durham, has reportedly cited criminal insanity as a possible defense for his client. Durham doesn’t deny that Ronald Haskell alone carried out the Spring family murders, but has claimed that his client is mentally ill and had ceased taking prescribed medications prior to and during the time that the horrific murders were committed.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case of alleged Spring family murderer Ronald Haskell met with the judge on Friday, where it was announced that the death penalty would be sought in the capital murder trial.

The alleged mastermind and killer behind the Spring family murders, Ronald Haskell, did not appear at Friday’s hearing; he is currently being held without bond at the Harris County Jail.

[Photo via Chugiak High/Harris County Jail]

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