"I said, "Well, yeah. What was worse, Kay Stayner said, was that family members never talked about their feelings -- because in the Stayner home emotions were taboo. The naive child believed the pedophile and thereafter began a new and dark life with Parnell as his abusive father figure. Cary's brother, Steven . He was held in captivity for seven years. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, was accused of sexually abusing his daughters, and Rinek wrote sexual abuse in the family went back at least five generations. Stayner left a substantial amount of evidence in and around Armstrongs cottage, but police initially started searching for him because his vehicle had been seen near her place and they thought he would be a "natural witness to interview," Rinek said. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. "Steven could have grown up normal happy and healthy and Cary still wouldve been a serial killer. However, during Cary's murder trial, his attorneys argued that he never wanted fame or attention, calling him a "shrinking violet," per the Independent. In the car, Stayner started rambling about seeing Bigfoot in the woods. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, Stayner "ended up taking refuge" in Yosemite, Rowlands said. After all, the latter helped a 5-year-old child escape a pedophile as a teenager after enduring years of abuse. have yall heard of Steven and Cary Stayner? She had to tell him to leave a second time, per SFGate. And for a brief moment, a wave of good memories appeared to wash over her face. According to Cinemaholic, in the 1970s, their family consisted of Cary and Steven Stayner, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner. I'll just give you a ride home.' "Everything they did and everything they had, it was about Steven," she said. ", Thus began a seven-year ordeal in which Parnell held and sexually molested Stayner, forcing the boy to call him. Steven Stayner and Timmy White at a police press conference in 1980. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people. Cary had been a doting older brother who played with Steven. By Gina Tron. After her friends reported her missing, police found signs of a struggle at her cabin and half a mile away, they found her body. At the end of his murder trial in 2002, Cary Stayner was sentenced to death for the murders of Carole and Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso. 190.14.37.124 This Sunday's TCATT episode is on the senseless murders committed by Cary Stayner "The Yosemite Killer". In 1999, Steven's older brother, Cary, was convicted of killing four women at Yosemite National Park where he worked. The defendant's father, Delbert Stayner, testified that after Steven went missing, he became obsessed with finding his boy and neglected his other four children -- especially Cary. From the time Cary was a small boy, the Stayner family vacationed together in Yosemite and the surrounding high countrypiling into the family van and driving 60 miles east to camp, fish, and . Still, Stayner wanted to help his parents and asked that a $250,000 reward for information go to his family, Rinek . FBI agents caught up with Stayner at a nudist colony, where he had fled to after Armstrongs murder. But Cary Stayner also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. However, due to an error, he was released, according to ABC News. "He seemed like a nice guy. On February 15, 1999, Yosemite tourists Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and exchange student Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing, per SFGate. In California, 900 people were sentenced to death between the years 1978 and 2019. In 1972, a seven-year-old was abducted 200 in Mendocino County, 200 miles away. But adding children to the equation seemed to only make their relationship worse. Cary Stayner is led into a van by a U.S. FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Rinek wrote in his book, In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agents Relentless Pursuit of the Nations Worst Predators, that Stayner believed when he was giving his confession that he would be sentenced to death. On July 21, 1999, when Stayner saw Joie Armstrong, a 26-year-old naturalist at Yosemite who taught children about nature in the park, "something instantly" changed with him, Rowlands said. As for where Delbert and Kay Stayner are now, the pair had made it evident that they wanted to lead quiet lives after the events of the early 2000s. Stayner was once driven by a friend to a psychiatric center after hitting his bloodied hand against a piece of plywood and saying he wanted to set his workplace on fire with his boss and coworkers inside, per SFGate. What happened to Steven Stayner? "One time Cindy (Stayner) and I were outside at night and he exposed himself to us. In 1972, when he was eleven, his seven-year-old brother, Steven Stayner, was abducted by a pedophile, Kenneth Parnell, and didn't escape until eight years later. [5] The top of the note read, "We had fun with this one." Stayner claimed after his arrest that he had fantasized about murdering women since he was seven years old, long before the abduction of his brother.[10]. [11] Stayner was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Stayner himself played the part of a police officer in the second part of the series. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. That year Parnell recently kidnapped another young boy to replace the aging Stayner, 5-year-old Timothy White. It happens to all families, I guess." "Cary was the ideal son," Kay Stayner told the jury. According to SFGATE, Cary Stayner was jealous of all of the attention his younger brother received, both in the media and from their parents. Even if I confess, they are going to give me death.. Stayner told his high school girlfriend that he was determined to save White from Parnell, according to ABC News. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. They were staying at Cedar Lodge at the edge of Yosemite National Park. After Steven's death, his parents sold the house. So, of course, we can not help but wonder more about their family, particularly their parents. Investigators went to the location depicted on the map and found the remains of Juli, whose throat had been cut. Bill Balestra said of Stayner, who was returned to his parents . As Strength tracked down the information for the FBI, he made the connection. No executions have been made in California, since the year 2006 when a court . [2] His seven-year-old brother, Steven Stayner, was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell in 1972, when Cary was 11, and held captive for more than seven years before escaping and being reunited with his family. But he received it nevertheless, and he is in prison. And they searched. In 1989, Steven tragically died in a motorcycle accident at 24 years old, per A&E. Steven's father, Delbert Stayner, died on April 9, 2013 at his home in Winton, California. "For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. Courtesy of Hulu The relentless attention was difficult. His family came to national attention in the early 1970s when his younger brother,. Seven years later, after escaping his captor, he returned home. Stayner and White left while Parnell was at work and took refuge at a police station, where they informed authorities of their abduction. He had joined the Mormon Church. Jesse Houtz, co-owner of Cedar Lodge Restaurants, said Cary Stayner would hang out at the bar, but often kept to himself. Hulu. Some of the older children, including Cary Stayner, had moved out by then. I dont think he should be executed because hes sick. But Cary still got the death penalty. MERCED - The name sounded familiar to Assistant Sheriff Henry Strength when an FBI agent called him Saturday morning, wanting the criminal record of a possible suspect in a murder in Yosemite. Here are some untold facts about Cary Stayner's grim past and his monstrous crimes. His mother, Kay, flipped through the photographs Thursday from a witness stand in Santa Clara County Superior Court. This is a carousel. Its a story of a happy ending turned rathertwisted. He graduated from Merced High School, and worked as a window installer for a glass company in nearby Atwater. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'". Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the other murders in state court. He was found smoking marijuana and brought in for questioning. Linda Shertz, stepmother of Lynnea, said Cary Stayner was traumatized by his brother's abduction. He often carried a backpack that she later found out contained his murder weapons. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five -- less time than he held Steven captive. And I said, "Well, it's just a little ways, I can walk.' From one perspective, it seemed Cary Stayner had found his niche among his peers in school. A month later, Juli's body was found 40 miles away. Investigators initially didn't suspect Cary Stayner as a suspect, despite spending much of his time in the area. While Steven was a freshman at Mendocino High School, some 300 miles to the south, his older brother Cary was an upperclassman at Merced High School. "He was very proud of who he was," his wife, Jodi Stayner, said in 1999. Today, the idea of a 7-year old walking home from school alone is almost unheard of. Cary Stayner is an American serial killer and the oldest brother of Steven Stayner. So, Steven figures the best thing to do is to take him to the police station," Flynn said. Unlike his brother, Cary Stayner wasn't abducted, but that hardly meant his home was safe. Shock was a familiar reaction in Merced, a San Joaquin Valley city about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco, where residents considered Steven Stayner a hero for escaping from a child molester in 1980, only to die in a motorcycle accident nine years later. The fact that Stayners brother was kidnapped by a pedophile and abused for seven years adds an almost unfathomable dimension to the tragedy that enveloped this family. Only Kay Stayner's father voiced his opinion, she said. You know what I mean? Five months passed without another killing, and the community surrounding Yosemite was lulled into a sense of calm especially when the FBI announced that those they believed responsible for the murders were in custody. He was inattentive and dour toward his other children, and family road trips involved searching for their missing brother whenever new tips emerged. When he was an adolescent, he began having dark, sexual fantasies involving rape. I wish there was a reason. "There wasnt really much time for us to speculate on whether this was related, I mean it quickly became related," said Des Kidd, former medical director at Yosemite who participated in search and rescue. Cary's mother, Kay Stayner, had also been molested by her own father, per SFGate. When Cary Stayner was questioned by FBI agents, he immediately confessed to the four Yosemite Park murders and provided a detailed accounting of his crimes. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. Stayner's captor, Kenneth Parnell, convinced co-worker Ervin Murphy to lure seven-year-old Steven into their van on 4 December 1972, telling the boy: "Your parents, I just spoke to them. FBI/California Department of Corrections In 1986, Delbert was court-ordered to therapy after abuse allegations. Steven was a different person when he returned to his home in Merced, California. "I'm just shocked that he would be involved in something like this.". [4] Between February and July 1999, he murdered two women and two teenagers: 42-year-old Carole Sund; her daughter, 15-year-old Juli Sund; Juli's friend, 16-year-old Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso; and Yosemite Institute employee Joie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old naturalist.[5]. Stayner saved White from his captor after he was kidnapped. Kay lost her son Steven in a motorcycle accident, and even though his son was found guilty of murder, she begged the jury to not give her son the death penalty. Cary Stayner is the oldest of five children in the Stayner family and was born in Merced, CA, in 1961. "It seemed as though he had a compulsion with trying to get close to women or be sexual with them," Rowlands said. The trips always ended in a wild goose chase, according to testimony. "I didn't socialize with him," he said. Steven Stayner and his parents reunited after his abduction. "But he was unable to develop any sort of interpersonal relationships with any women.". As a kid, Cary Stayner became famous for all the bad things that happened to his family. Timothy "Timmy" White was 5 years old when he was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell as he walked home from his Ukiah school in 1980. Kenneth told Steven that his parents had given him away and that his new name was Dennis. But according to court testimony, the girls weren't safe. Steven Stayner became a national hero after escaping his kidnapper and rescuing his fellow captive Timmy White in 1980. On trial for his life, Stayner sat just a few feet away. He did his own thing. [16], Kidnapping resulting in death (18 U.S.C. When Steven Stayner returned home, the whole family's focus was on him, she said. Stayner's father, Delbert Stayner, was accused of sexually abusing his daughters, and Rinek wrote sexual abuse in the family went back at least five generations. "His idea of serenity was to maybe smoke a little pot and to sunbathe naked.". Therefore, Kay swore to raise her children that same way, without an ounce of sentimental touch or warmth, which Delbert seemed to agree with. Parents today are very protective of their children, and for good reason. Hulu's Captive Audience tells the tragic story of two Stayner brothers: Steven, who was kidnapped by a pedophile as a child, and Cary, who later became a serial killer. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story,'" Rowlands said. In high school, he served as the cartoonist for the student paper and was voted "most creative" by his classmates, per ABC News. Now we only had four children to clothe," she told the court. "It was a sleety, wintery day," Sean Flynn, a journalist who wrote about both Stayner brothers for Esquire, said. The case remains unsolved. "Then you have Steven Stayner get kidnapped, and then he comes back and gets killed in a motorcycle accident. She and her family have been the subject of more news stories and profiled in more books than some politicians and celebrities. At first, they believed the perpetrator was already in custody; this proved to be a fatal mistake. The day after she spoke to Stayner, Damant watched the news and saw that the FBI were looking for Stayner. On July 23, when Cary Stayner was released from custody for his marijuana charge, he quickly packed up and left for Laguna del Sol, a nudist colony, according to ABC News. "I don't think he should be executed because he's sick.". Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). His abductor kept and sexually abused Steven for seven years. By then police had charged two other men for Stayner's initial murders two brothers who had a criminal record, per ABC News. Last year, he became famous for the bad things that happened to four women in Yosemite National Park. Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 - September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. And now this. What happened to Gary Hilton? When interviewed by GMA shortly after his return, Steven said although his parents changed little, he didn't recognize his siblings, per ABC News. Against the odds, he flourished there. Kay and Delbert Stayner testified as character witnesses in the penalty phase of their son's murder trial. Cary Stayner was the oldest of Delbert and Kay Stayner's five children, who included Steven and three sisters. He is still on death row in San Quentin State Prison at the age of 60. "The Yosemite Park Killer," or simply "The Yosemite Killer," is an ephebophilic serial killer, serial rapist, thrill killer and abductor. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). "Working at Cedar Lodge gave Cary access to his beloved Yosemite," Rowlands said. Our days would be-- just get on our bikes in the morning and go to the park. "As far as I know, hes never talked to anyone about the effect Steven might have had on his crimes. Your IP: "He knew everyone and talked to everyone, but I can't say anyone was his best friend or not.". His story was turned into a television miniseries. His mental health issues predated his brother's abduction. Moreover, according to his testimony in 2002, when Steven went missing, he became fixated with finding him and neglected his four other children in the process, particularly Cary. 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