Emily Khristyne Stay was 9 years old when she was killed in her family’s home in Spring, Texas, on July 9, 2014. She was one of six family members executed there that day; the victims included her parents Stephen and Katie Stay and her siblings Rebecca, Zachary, and Bryan. A surviving family member, Cassidy Stay, then 15, escaped by playing dead and later called police.

Authorities say the attacker, Ronald Haskell Jr., posed as a FedEx worker to gain entry and targeted the household while seeking out his ex-wife, who was related to the family. Haskell was arrested the same day and charged with multiple counts of capital murder; his trial began after several delays in August 2019. The community remembered the Stay family for their warmth and the case drew widespread attention.