JK Rowling writes letter to US shooting survivor

JK ROWLING wrote a touching letter to the lone survivor of a shooting that left her entire family dead in the US.
JK Rowling sent a letter and other gifts to the girl. Picture: APJK Rowling sent a letter and other gifts to the girl. Picture: AP
JK Rowling sent a letter and other gifts to the girl. Picture: AP

The author reached out to brave teenager Cassidy Stay who saw her family wiped out by her crazed ex-uncle in Houston, Texas, last month.

The 15-year-old quoted the Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore at her family’s memorial service last month by saying: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

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A Facebook campaign was set up in a bid to organise a meeting between Rowling and the teenager, a huge fan of the books about the boy wizard.

The Edinburgh-based writer then responded by sending Cassidy a series of gifts including a wand, a signed book and a hand-written letter by ‘Dumbledore’.

On July 9 Ronald Lee Haskell, 33, came to the Stay’s home in search for his ex-wife, Cassidy’s aunt.

Haskell shot and killed Cassidy’s parents Stephen and Katie and her four siblings after they refused to tell him where his ex-wife was.

Cassidy was shot in the head, but she survived the shooting by playing dead. She immediately called the police to tell them what her uncle had done, and she warned the police that Haskell was headed to her grandparent’s home.

Her actions have been credited with saving the lives of countless of people and she has been praised for her strength and courage.

While the other family members died almost instantly, the bullet had only fractured Cassidy’s skull

Cassidy made a speech at her family’s memorial service just three days after her family was shot and killed.

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An announcement on the Facebook page ‘We want J.K. Rowling to meet Cassidy Stay,’ read: “This afternoon, I talked to a friend of Cassidy’s who confirmed that J.K. Rowling did, in fact, write her a personalized letter from ‘Dumbledore’ (hand-written with purple ink).

“She was also sent a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts with a school supply list, along with the third book with J.K.’s autograph. I’m so excited and ecstatic that we were all able to make a difference! How wonderful.

“However, I still really want J.K. Rowling to actually meet her. We might just have to keep this page going until that actually happens.”

Haskell, 33, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the killings.