TownGate Elementary Reaches Out to Tragic Family Murder Survivor

Today she is regarded as a tragic hero after surviving the slaying of the rest of her family in July, but 15-year-old Cassidy Stay is remembered fondly by staff at TownGate Elementary as an enthusiastic student and voracious reader while attending there from kindergarten through fifth grade. Now her TownGate family is reaching out to her. It was while at TownGate that Cassidy came to love the Harry Potter series. During a family memorial several days after the shooting, Cassidy quoted Professor Dumbledore from the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, saying, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” Following up on her choice of the quotation, her TownGate family is sending Cassidy a gift of a hurricane lamp to remind her that she has their love and support. “Cassidy developed her love for the Harry Potter series while she was a student here at TownGate,” said school librarian Esther Layne. “When we heard her quote Professor Dumbledore at her family’s memorial, we thought the hurricane lamp would be a meaningful way of letting her know that she is not alone.” The lamp is engraved with the Dumbledore quotation on one side, and includes the words, “With Love from Your TownGate Family” on the other. The Stay family were natives of Southern California, having lived in Moreno Valley for several years before moving in 2010 to Spring, Texas, to be closer to their relatives. On July 9, Cassidy’s parents and four younger siblings were shot to death in their home. The bullet that was intended to kill Cassidy only grazed her head, and she played dead until her family’s killer, her former uncle, Ronald Lee Haskell, 34, left, allegedly intending to murder her grandparents. Jody Dellinger, a volunteer who began the gofundme page requesting donations for the family, along with the family released the following shortly after the tragedy, "Six of the seven family members of the Stay Family were taken from our community in a horrific and violent tragedy on July 9, 2014. Stephen and Katie Stay along with four of their five children were lost in a horrible domestic violence event that left only their 15-year-old daughter (Cassidy Stay) the sole survivor of her family." Once the murder left her home, Cassidy called 9-1-1 immediately and authorities located and arrested the suspect before he was able to harm anyone else. Police say Cassidy may have saved as many as 20 lives. “The entire Stay family was active and well-liked at TownGate,” remembered Principal Paula Rynders. “Mrs. Stay was vice president of the PTO. We just want Cassidy to know that she and her family are remembered fondly here, and that she is always in our thoughts and in our hearts.” A family statement posted to the gofundme website on Aug. 13 reads, "Cassidy and our whole family thanks you for your prayers, for your notes of comfort, for the food, for the fundraising, for the rides and for all of the love. Together, you have proven that even the worst acts of one individual are swallowed up by the endless good that has been poured out by the many. Your generosity has been a source of light in these “darkest of times,” of which Cassidy spoke. We will keep you all in our prayers and ask you keep us in yours as we go forward. Our faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ and His plan for all of us will heal all heartache. It is time for us as a family to develop a new routine, keeping our lost loved ones in our heart as we make a new path."