FILE – In this July 11, 2014 file photo, Ronald Lee Haskell collapses as he appears in court in Houston. A forensic psychiatrist told jurors Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, that Haskell, accused of fatally shooting six members of his ex-wife’s family was not responsible for his actions because of severe mental illness that made him believe voices in his head were telling him to carry out the killings. The psychiatrist was expected to be the final witness from defense attorneys for Haskell, who is charged with capital murder in the July 2014 attack in a suburban Houston home. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP, Pool)
HOUSTON (AP) — Both the prosecution and the defense have rested in the trial of a man who’s accused of fatally shooting six members of his ex-wife’s family in suburban Houston.
The final witness in the guilt or innocence phase of Ronald Lee Haskell’s capital murder trial testified Tuesday. Closing arguments are scheduled Wednesday. The trial began Aug. 26.
Haskell’s attorneys say their client was insane at the time of the 2014 shootings and believed voices in his head were telling him to carry out the killings.
Prosecutors allege that Haskell created a meticulous plot “fueled by vengeance.” They say he traveled from California to suburban Houston and stalked his ex-wife’s family before killing six of them, including four children.
Haskell faces a possible death sentence if convicted of capital murder.
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