Delivering Death: The Leaflet Lane Murders

The Man at the Door

On July 9, 2014, a man in a FedEx uniform knocked on the front door of 711 Leaflet Lane in Harris County, Texas. Inside, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay was holding down the fort. She was a student at Klein Collins High School, oldest of five kids, and just trying to survive the Texas summer without losing her mind—or her patience.

The man at the door smiled and asked if her parents were home. Cassidy said no, they were out, and so were her four younger siblings. He nodded, said he’d come back later, and walked off like it was just another delivery stop on just another day.

Except it wasn’t. And he wasn’t.

That man was Ronald Lee Haskell Jr.—and he wasn’t a stranger at all. He was family-adjacent. Deeply so. And Cassidy had no idea that she’d just opened the door to a nightmare wearing a courier uniform.

The Charmer from Eagle River

Ronald Lee Haskell Jr. was born in 1980 and bounced around a bit—started off in San Marcos, California, then landed in Eagle River, Alaska, where he finished high school. And if you’d asked his classmates who the funny, likable guy was? That would’ve been Ronald. Voted class clown and prom king. Twice. Apparently you could be both hilarious and homecoming royalty, and Ronald pulled it off.

He had the kind of personality people remembered—charming, talkative, just the right amount of confidence to make it work in a room full of strangers. That followed him back to California too, where he took a job as a private postal contractor for a company working with FedEx. So technically, not real FedEx, but close enough that people didn’t question the uniform.

One day, while out working, Ronald crossed paths with Melannie Kaye Lyon. And from there, things moved fast. The two of them clicked hard. They were both devout, shared the same values, and didn’t waste time second-guessing what felt like fate.

Within a few years, they had packed up and started a new chapter in Logan, Utah. One child already, another on the way, and a picture-perfect life—at least from the outside.

But whatever version of Ronald was winning prom crowns in Alaska didn’t fully make the trip to Utah. The charm? Still there. But when the doors were closed, that cheerful version of Ronald gave way to something much darker.

When the Mask Slipped

Two years into their new life in Utah, everything fell apart.

An argument between Ronald and Melannie spiraled into a screaming match—right in front of their two young kids, who were five and three at the time. And then Ronald crossed a line there’s no walking back from.

Melannie was sitting on the bed when Ronald came at her. He grabbed her by the hair, yanked her from the bed, dragged her across the room, and hit her. Not behind closed doors. Not when no one was looking. Right there, in front of their children.

This wasn’t just a man with a temper. This was violent. And it was enough.

Melannie called the police. Filed for a restraining order. Ronald, in classic abuser fashion, downplayed it—said he’d only pushed her. But when it went to court, he pled guilty to assault and managed to secure a plea deal. Which meant he walked.

Free to go. Free to stew. Free to hold a grudge.

The only thing standing between Melannie and a man she now feared was a single piece of paper. A restraining order. And she knew it. That paper didn’t erase a marriage. It didn’t stop him from being angry. It didn’t make her feel safe.

And as long as they were still legally married, she knew Ronald wouldn’t really be gone.

A Legal Wall and a Fresh Start

By 2013, Melannie had had enough. She filed for divorce and asked the court to renew her expired restraining order. But even with a restraining order in place, things weren’t simple. Ronald was still the father of their four kids, and legally, that meant he could still request visitation—something that didn’t sit well with anyone who had seen how bad things had gotten.

The judge agreed. After reviewing Ronald’s behavior, the court laid it out in black and white: his parenting time would be supervised, and only after a physical therapist determined he no longer posed a threat to the children.

The word threat wasn’t tossed around lightly.

This wasn’t just about Melannie anymore. Ronald’s instability was affecting his kids, too. And with that ruling, Melannie finally had the space to move forward. She and Ronald signed a mutual restraining order—meaning neither one could come near or contact the other—and Melannie took the chance to start over.

With the help of her sister, Katie Stay, Melannie and her kids relocated to Houston, Texas. New place. New chapter. The kind of reset you hope actually sticks.

Meanwhile, Ronald didn’t reset. He redirected.

Back in Utah, with no wife and no children to fixate on, Ronald moved in with the only people still willing to give him a roof over his head: his parents.

And when the storm inside him needed a new target, that’s exactly where it landed.

A Violent Escalation

Just over a week before he showed up at Cassidy Stay’s door, Ronald Haskell snapped again—this time at his mother, Karla Jeanne Haskell.

There were no kids watching this time. No bed to drag someone from. But the violence hadn’t gone anywhere.

Ronald shoved Karla into the garage, forced her into a computer chair, and duct-taped her wrists. For nearly four hours, he held her there.

Why? Because she’d been in contact with Melannie.

When he finally let her go, Karla did what Melannie had done before her—called the police and filed a restraining order. But this time, Ronald disappeared before it could be served.

And when he resurfaced, it was at the home of the Stay family.

The Attack on Leaflet Lane

Cassidy answered the door alone. It was Ronald in the FedEx uniform again, asking if her parents were home. Cassidy told him no, they weren’t… and he left. That honest answer bought her time. But not much.

When Ronald came back later, Cassidy wasn’t alone. Her younger siblings were with her.

This time, he told her exactly who he was. Cassidy knew his name. And she knew he meant danger. She tried to close the door, but Ronald forced his way inside.

He tied Cassidy up, laid her face-down on the floor, and did the same to her four younger siblings. When her parents arrived home, he restrained them too.

With everyone held at gunpoint, Ronald demanded to know where Melannie was. He knew Katie Stay had helped her sister start over in Houston. Now he wanted directions.

The Stays didn’t give him what he wanted—not even when he began executing them one by one.

Ronald left the house thinking his job was done. But one person had survived.

Cassidy Stay’s Survival

Cassidy, just 15 years old, had lifted her hand in the split second before Ronald pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through her finger and grazed her head—but didn’t kill her. She played dead until Ronald was gone.

Then she got up, called 911, and told the dispatcher everything: who he was, what he’d done, and where he was going next—straight to her grandparents’ house to do it again.

That call saved lives.

Police located Ronald’s vehicle just four houses down. He fled. A brief car chase ended with a spike strip, armored vehicles, and a standoff that lasted nearly three hours. Ronald held a gun to his own head, but eventually gave up.

Trial, Sentencing, and the Aftermath

Ronald Haskell was charged with six counts of first-degree murder for the execution-style killings of Stephen and Katie Stay and four of their children.

The trial was long, and Ronald milked it for all it was worth—fainting, claiming confusion, rolling into court in a wheelchair like he was the one who needed sympathy.

In the end, he was found guilty and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He’s still on death row.

Cassidy Stay made a full physical recovery. And in the wake of everything she endured, and everything she did to protect the rest of her family… people stepped up. A GoFundMe in her name raised over $400,000.

Because bravery like that deserves more than headlines. It deserves support.