HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on the capital murder case against a man accused of killing a couple and four of their children in suburban Houston (all times local):
3:10 p.m.
A young woman who was the lone survivor of a 2014 deadly shooting that claimed the lives of her parents and four siblings wiped away tears as a jury convicted her uncle of capital murder in their killings.
Cassidy Stay later smiled and took deep breaths as she hugged prosecutors in the Houston courtroom Thursday.
Ronald Lee Haskell showed no reaction as the verdict was read, looking down to the floor as he had throughout the trial.
Haskell also shot Stay in the head during the attack on her family. The now-20-year-old woman testified at trial that she survived by playing dead.
Haskell’s lawyers had argued for him to be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors said Haskell’s actions were motivated not by mental illness but by vengeance.
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2:35 p.m.
A jury has convicted a man of capital murder for fatally shooting six members of his ex-wife’s family in Texas.
Jurors on Thursday rejected Ronald Lee Haskell’s insanity defense. His attorneys said Haskell believed voices in his head were telling him to kill the Stay family, including four children, at their suburban Houston home in 2014.
Prosecutors say Haskell was motivated by vengeance and wanted to hurt anybody who had helped his ex-wife after the couple divorced. Prosecution experts testified that Haskell faked his symptoms of mental illness and had carefully planned the attack.
Jurors will now hear evidence in the trial’s punishment phase before deciding whether to sentence the 39-year-old man to life in prison or death.
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10:20 a.m.
A jury has resumed deliberating in the trial of a man who claims he was insane when he fatally shot six members of his ex-wife’s family, including four children, in suburban Houston.
Jurors in the capital murder trial of Ronald Lee Haskell deliberated for about 3½ hours on Wednesday. They returned to deliberations on Thursday morning.
The jury has been sequestered during deliberations.
Haskell’s lawyers told jurors he committed the killings but should be found not guilty by reason of insanity because his judgment was impaired by severe mental illness.
Prosecutors say the 2014 killings were motivated not by mental illness but by rage and vengeance.
If convicted of capital murder, Haskell could be sentenced to death.
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