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The Stay family

Cassidy Stay, the sole survivor of the horrific execution-style killings in Texas that took the lives of her mother, father, and four younger siblings last week, told her grandfather that she felt “angels” were with her during the ordeal, as she played dead and waited for a chance to call 911 after being shot in the head.

Stay, 15, suffered a skull fracture from the impact of the gunshot wound, but stayed conscious and was able to call the police to warn them the gunman was heading for her grandparents’ home next.  The shooter was her aunt’s ex-husband, Ron Lee Haskell, who gave himself up after an hours-long standoff with police last Wednesday.  He has been charged with capital murder.

“Without [Cassidy’s] courage and quick thinking we might be mourning the death of 20 people today, including myself and nearly all of my children and grandchildren,” Stay's grandfather, Roger Lyons, told KPRC-TV.  He said the girl told him she felt as if angels were with her, telling her to stay quiet. “We have wondered whether those angels might have been her brothers and sisters,” he said.

At a memorial service for her family members held at a local elementary school Saturday, just three days after the shootings, the petite, bespectacled teen told mourners that she believes her family is in heaven, and that she’ll join them there someday. 

“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,” she told the crowd.  Reciting a quote from her favorite book series, Harry Potter, she added, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

“I'm feeling a lot better,” she said, “and I'm on a straightforward path to a full recovery.”