Ex-wife, forensic psychologist take stand in Ronald Haskell's murder trial

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Testimony resumed Monday in the trial of a man accused of killing six members of a Spring family and wounding a seventh.

Ronald Haskell, 39, of Utah, is charged in connection with the 2014 shooting deaths of Katie and Stephen Stay and their children Bryan, Emily, Rebecca and Zach. Their fifth child, Cassidy, was shot but survived her injuries.

The case has been delayed a couple of times, once in early September due to the judge having a matter unrelated to the trial that needed his attention and another time last week due to Tropical Storm Imelda.

What happened Monday

A forensic psychologist took the stand to address Haskell's mental state.

Also, Monday, Haskell's ex-wife Melanie Lyon took the stand to testify.

Ex-wife's testimony

Lyon, 38, testified that she and Haskell were married in March 2002 and remained married for 12 years.

She said they separated in June 2013 and the divorce was final in February 2014.

She said that shortly into their marriage Haskell became very controlling. Lyon said it began by Haskell not allowing her to work and eventually turned into daily physical abuse. She said he would hit, choke and kick her in front of their children. She testified that he also abused the children.

She said she never reported the abuse because she was scared.

What's next

Closing arguments of the high-profile case could happen as soon as Wednesday.