- Katie and Stephen Stay and their four children, Bryan, 14, Emily, nine, Rebecca, seven, and Zach, four, will be laid to rest on Wednesday
- The only survivor, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay, played dead before alerting authorities that he was on his way to shoot dead her grandparents
- She was seen waving to her supporters as she arrived at the funeral
- The service comes a week after the family was gunned down by Katie’s former brother-in-law, Ronald Haskell, after his divorce from her sister
Cassidy Stay, the lone survivor of a Texas shooting that claimed her parents and four younger siblings, broke down today as she saw their six white coffins being carried from their funeral.
The 15-year-old, who heroically called 911 despite being grazed by a bullet to warn authorities that the gunman was on his way to kill her grandparents, was comforted by friends and family outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Houston. Her family – mother Katie Stay, 34, father Stephen, 39, and siblings, Bryan, 14, Emily, nine, Becca, seven, and Zach, four – were remembered at an emotional funeral service on Wednesday afternoon.
Heartbroken: Cassidy Stay, center, watches as the caskets of her family are loaded into waiting hearse outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after their funeral service on Wednesday
Devastated: Cassidy’s head was grazed by a bullet in the shootings last week but she was able to call 911
Saying goodbye: The caskets are removed from the church. They will be buried in a private ceremony
Sadness: Friends and family break down as the coffins are brought out from the service on Wednesday
A program for the service showed the slogan ‘Families can be together forever’ along with a picture of the victims, who were shot dead in their Houston home by a former family member a week ago. Inside the church, the caskets were arranged with a large photo of each victim set up behind each one. Organ music filled the air, NBC reported.
A program for the service showed the slogan ‘Families can be together forever’ along with a picture of the victims, who were shot dead in their Houston home by a former family member a week ago. Inside the church, the caskets were arranged with a large photo of each victim set up behind each one. Organ music filled the air, NBC reported.
Family members spoke at the service to paint a touching picture of the close, religious family, whose mother always loved to celebrate, and whose father always put his family first. Stephen Stay’s brother Jeff added that Cassidy wanted everyone to know that her father loved the drums, while her brother Bryan was obsessed with his tablet and brother Zach adored sea life.
Tragic: One of six caskets is moved to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday afternoon for the funeral of six family members gunned down in their home last week
Saying goodbye: The caskets each have the name of the slain victim. This is for 14-year-old Bryan
Gathering: Hearses line the parking lost outside the LDS Church on Wednesday ahead of the funeral
Sad sight: Hearses line up to leave the church following funeral services for members of the Stay family in Spring, Texas July 16, 2014. Six members of the Texas family were shot dead execution-style in their home last week
Katie’s sister, Aubrey Westwood, added that Cassidy said her sister Emily loved Hello Kitty, and Rebecca’s nickname was Becca Boo. Bishop Scott McBride told the surviving teen that her family would always be with her, NBC added. ‘You have a family of guardian angels looking over you,’ he said. Before the service, Cassidy had been seen waving to her supporters and smiling before heading confidently inside the church with her uncle at her side. Friends had said they were wrestling with the loss of what one called an ‘anchor family’, whose home was the place where neighborhood kids gravitated. ‘I don’t know if you ever prepare yourself for something like this because you don’t expect this,’ Don Guthrie, 57, a family friend and fellow church member, said before the funeral. ‘This is a shock. This is incomprehensible.’
Fighter: Cassidy, left, arrives with her uncle Drew Lyons at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
‘They were the people, despite the chaos of life, who were always looking for happiness and looking to do something better,’ said Tom Mixon, 47, a scoutmaster to one of the Stay boys. ‘Katie Stay was adamant about teaching her kids to do better every day and to treat people better every day. And because of that we all wanted to be better and wanted to be around them. ‘It’s hard to wrap my head around it, when somebody that’s so ensconced in your life like that is suddenly gone.’ Ronald Haskell, 33, has been charged with capital murder in connection to the massacre. Authorities have said he was searching for his ex-wife, Katie Stay’s sister Melanie, when he came to the Stays’ home last week. He tied up the family and put them face-down on the floor before shooting each in the back of the head, according to investigators. The family had refused to say where Haskell could find his ex-wife. Investigators said Cassidy Stay suffered a skull fracture from a bullet graze but survived by playing dead to call 911 and warn police that Haskell planned to shoot other relatives. Haskell was eventually cornered in front of the home of Cassidy’s grandparents and taken into custody. Those who knew the Haskells have said that the couple had a rocky marriage, and that Melanie was desperate to get away from her husband who allegedly beat her in front of their children. Haskell’s lawyers have said they will focus on his mental condition and whether he was legally responsible for the carnage. Prosecutors haven’t yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
‘They were the people, despite the chaos of life, who were always looking for happiness and looking to do something better,’ said Tom Mixon, 47, a scoutmaster to one of the Stay boys. ‘Katie Stay was adamant about teaching her kids to do better every day and to treat people better every day. And because of that we all wanted to be better and wanted to be around them. ‘It’s hard to wrap my head around it, when somebody that’s so ensconced in your life like that is suddenly gone.’ Ronald Haskell, 33, has been charged with capital murder in connection to the massacre. Authorities have said he was searching for his ex-wife, Katie Stay’s sister Melanie, when he came to the Stays’ home last week. He tied up the family and put them face-down on the floor before shooting each in the back of the head, according to investigators. The family had refused to say where Haskell could find his ex-wife. Investigators said Cassidy Stay suffered a skull fracture from a bullet graze but survived by playing dead to call 911 and warn police that Haskell planned to shoot other relatives. Haskell was eventually cornered in front of the home of Cassidy’s grandparents and taken into custody. Those who knew the Haskells have said that the couple had a rocky marriage, and that Melanie was desperate to get away from her husband who allegedly beat her in front of their children. Haskell’s lawyers have said they will focus on his mental condition and whether he was legally responsible for the carnage. Prosecutors haven’t yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.
Preparing to say goodbye: Six white caskets draped with colorful bouquets and ribbons sit in chapel of the Klein Funeral Home in Houston ahead of the funeral for the six relatives shot dead last week
Cassidy, whose head was grazed by a bullet, was discharged from Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Friday in good condition after being treated for injuries to her finger. With her grandfather Robert Lyon, she attended a celebration of life organized in Spring to remember the slain loved ones at the weekend. After taking a deep breath, a smiling Cassidy mounted the stage to address more than 400 people who came out to pay tribute to her parents and siblings, Click2Houston reported. ‘I’m feeling a lot better and I’m on a very straightforward path to a full recovery,’ she said. ‘I know that my mom, dad, Bryan, Emily, Becca, and Zach are in a much better place, and that I’ll be able to see them again one day.’
Before the event at Lemm Elementary School, Cassidy helped release 600 colorful balloons into the air – 100 for each slain member of her family.
Those who wish to help with the victims’ final expenses and Cassidy’s medical bills can do so by donating money to the Cassidy Stay Fund on GoFundMe.com.
So far, more than 4,300 people have given more than $340,000. The goal now is to raise $375,000.
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