Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. Jens had scheduled to meet them at the San Francisco airport that evening on his way to Arizona, to where the others were to accompany him. Among other things, the FBI Laboratory has found hairs in vacuum sweepings taken from Room 509 and possibly body fluid stains on a blanket (and) a latent palm print from the window sill. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. After first flying to San Francisco, where Carole rented a red 1999 Pontiac Gran Prix, they stopped in Stockton, where Juli took part in a cheerleading contest at the University of the Pacific. Im just horrified when I think of what happened in that room, what my daughter felt when she realized she was in serious trouble, said Carole Carrington as she asked the judge to sentence Stayner to death. | Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. Because he was the handyman at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal where the Sund & Pelosso group had stayed before they were murdered, his questioning at that time seems to have been more routine than anything. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. The Untold Truth Of Serial Killer Cary Stayner - Grunge Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". In this, he calmly reviewed how he strangled 16-year-old Silvina Pelosso in the motel bathtub and how he sexually assaulted Juli Sund for hours before brutally cutting her throat. He paid a local kid to ride with him to the town of Ukiah, California and he told to go and find him a boy. In mid-July of 2002, the trial began in Judge Thomas C. Hastings courtroom. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. 51K views 3 years ago 20/20 Extra: For the first time, 20 years after the Yosemite murders, Lenna speaks out exclusively on what she learned about Cary WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. Goofs Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. Larry Duane Utley, 41 an associate of Dykes and Larwick, first picked up during a March parole sweep. Steven later said in an interview, I returned almost a grown man, and yet my parents saw me at first as their seven-year-old. "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. Silvina Pelossos mother, Raquel, said, I just cannot understand how so many peopledidn't realize that maybe (Stayner) was the man since I heard that he was interviewed some time ago. The American Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots released an episode on the Stayner case titled "Cary Stayner The Cedar Lodge Killings". [29] In 2018, the Reelz channel aired an hour-long documentary about the murders titled Yosemite Park Killer. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. He has been questioned about any involvement. "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. You have the other brother who's left at home. On December 4, 1972, at the age of seven, Steven was approached after school by Edward Ervin Murphy, who claimed he was collecting money for the church. The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive : Steven Stayner helped another child escape from a pedophile, after enduring years of abuse and not wanting to see the child experience the same fate. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. Many local residents were convinced that no one person could have created so much horror, "'The logistics of it say it had to involve more than one person, said Letty Carolyn Barry, owner of the Yosemite Rosebud Lodge, west of Cedar Lodge. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. Steven was a national hero. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 'I try to stay strong because I know that's what you'd want your baby to be, but, Mommy, I don't want you to leave me.'". He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. Cary didnt emerge as a suspect during the initial investigation, and the FBI actually believed they had the people responsible for the killings in custody. Acting on a tip from a caller who was worried about the whereabouts of his friend, Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26, park rangers found her decapitated body on the morning of July 22, 1999. Cary Stayner yosemite murders True Crime Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. Caroles parents, Francis and Carole Carrington, appeared on the Good Morning, America TV show, to ask for the prayers of Americans and their help in locating their daughter and the children. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Cary Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. A Shade Of His Brother - TIME Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. Cary Stayner confesses to killing four innocent women in 1999: Part 9 Two FBI agents were eating pizza with Stayner when he suddenly admitted he murdered Joie Timothy White, the kidnap victim, was only 35 when he died. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. I guess seven years changed him, too. Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. The Bureau relocated its headquarters from Yosemite to Modesto at this point and, on February 28, twelve days after the women's disappearance, hinted that was is no longer treating the Sund incident as a missing persons case, but as murder. Then there was another murder. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. But when Parnell kidnapped another young boy, this time 5-year-old Timothy White, Steven knew he couldnt let another child be subjected to the abuse and torment he had faced for years. Because of the discovery of Sund's wallet in suburban Modesto, police, and FBI searched "the logical routes in and out of that spot, interviewing homeowners and business owners and others who may have seen them." When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. She was working for the Yosemite Institute for the past year and had worked on education programs through a partnership with the National Park Service. Heroism, tragedy and cold-blooded murder: The Stayner brothers It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. And he wanted the same treatment. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Stayner You know what I mean? Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. Stayner's father, Delbert, admitted that he thinks son Cary may have suffered a trauma at age 11, when younger brother Steven, then seven, was abducted in 1972, disappearing for eight years. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" Stayner Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. He grew up, got married and had two kids. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. He remains on It then came out that Steven had been kidnapped by Parnell, who had been sexually abusing Steven while also posing as his father and forcing him to go by the name Dennis Parnell. Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. Soundtracks. The prosecution team was headed by George Williamson and the defense team was headed by Marcia Morrissey. How intended victim of 1999 Yosemite killer views the tragedy So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. I guess I was jealous. "He stated that he felt like jumping in a truck, driving it through the shop and killing the boss and killing everybody in the office, and then torching the place," friend Mark Marchese said in 1999. Steven told the police what happened to him and Timothy and he was also able to tell them his real name was Steven, not Dennis. An FBI Agent Recounts a Repulsive Request by Serial Killer Cary But, as the Hulu doc frames it, the media attention that Steven got after escaping his abductor and also saving Timothy White had a dark side both for Steven and for the rest of his family. During an off-camera jailhouse interview in Sacramento following his arrest, Cary admitted to Armstrong's murder as well as the murders of Carole Sund, 42, her He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, See more StrangeOutdoors True Crime Stories, The horrific rape and murder of Sophie Louise Hook whilst camping in her Uncle's garden, The miracle rescue of Alan Lee Phillips at Colorados Guanella Pass - the man who turned out to be a serial killer, The chilling story of Thomas Lee Dillon - the Ohio Outdoorsmen killer, https://casefilepodcast.com/case-161-the-yosemite-sightseer-murders-part-1/, https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/stayner-cary.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner, https://abcnews.go.com/US/steven-cary-stayner-tale-brothers-horror-heroism/story?id=60529944, https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/me-timothy-white10-2010apr10-story.html, https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26040174/cary-stayner-steven-yosemite-murders/, https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/july-25-1999-cary-stayner-arrested-murder-yosemite-60263995, https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-recalls-moment-family-learned-target-1999-yosemite/story?id=60364987, https://www.theunion.com/news/local-news/stayner-sentenced-to-death/, Tagged: The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, Carole Sund yosemite murders, Juli Sund yosemite murders, Silvina Pelosso yosemite murders, Cary Stayner yosemite murders, Yosemite park murders, Joie Ruth Armstrong, Sign up now for a one-time fee for access to over 55 exclusive member articles, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, The miraculous escape of the Brazilian and German backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, Robert Hansen Butcher Baker - the Alaska Serial killer who hunted his victims in the wilderness, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing death of Fiona Torbet in the Scottish highlands, The unsolved Williams and Winans camping murders in Shenandoah National Park, The real Wolf Creek - The Backpacker Murders in the Australian Outback, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, The disturbing disappearance of the Beaumont children on Glenelg Beach, The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances, The Delphi hiking murders - Abigail Williams and Liberty German, The Peter Falconio disappearance in the Australian Outback, The unsolved murder of Scott Lilly on the Appalachian trail, The disturbing case of James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. He remains on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. From the Archives: Friends surprised by Cary Stayner's arrest There was a lot of torment: the family who endured two true There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. The brothers, four years apart in age, shared a room, but didnt get along, Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. A large search turned up nothing. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. | After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. I got put on the back burner, you might say," Cary told J.P. Miller, a filmmaker who wrote a screenplay about Steven's abduction. But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a FBI Accused Of Botching Yosemite Case / Agency Then he took action. The Sund family's worst fears were confirmed when a hiker wandered onto the site of a burned-out red 1999 Pontiac, hidden off Highway 108, in the Stanislaus Forest region on March 18. Larwick, who grew up in Tuolumme County near where the bodies of Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso were found, was jailed on March 16 after he allegedly shot a Modesto police office. Yosemite Victims Were Raped - CBS News They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. Some who knew Cary were shocked at his arrest. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. "I remember going out one night after Steve disappeared and wishing on a star that my brother would come back home," Cary reportedly told Mike Echols, author of the book I Know My First Name Is Steven. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 Part of TV News Archive. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. Cary, as the older brother, had a very strange relationship now with his younger brother, Steven, who was getting all of this attention and who was a different person, former KNTV reporter Ted Rowlands told ABC News. Rachel Lou Campbell, 36, of Modesto, was charged in April with stealing checks and credit cards, and converting them into cash and merchandise worth $365,000. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC "He was spunky. In 1997, Stayner got a job as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge, seven miles from the gate of the national park, where he worked for 2 years before the murders.. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. Her body was next to a stream and head within the water that she and her friends used for drinking water. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. The issue of whether his confession was coerced seemed to be resolved when on July 24, the court heard the recorded demands that Stayner made to the FBI agents that he wanted to be satisfied before he would give them his confession. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. But it took less than six months for another murder in the area to show them that the killer was still at large this time, the victim was 26-year-old naturalist Joie Armstrong. CNN.com All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. But he was surprised that did not find his wife at the airport and assumed she had flown ahead, The next day, he tried to contact them again and failed and he called the police. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years and Parnell and Steven together realized that Steven was growing up and that he was no longer going to be controlled by Parnell and they would need to find someone else that they could sexually abuse. The FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. He was a good student, a It was discovered beyond a campground adjacent to her living quarters in the Foresta community, a group of 30 cabins for use by park workers. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Curtis Cousin Eddie Smith Claims Alex Murdaugh Made Him A Fall Guy, Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Buster Murdaugh Testified For The Defense At His Fathers Double Murder Trial, Randy Roth From 'A Rose For Her Grave' Is Still In Prison, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. What followed turned out to be one of the most shocking crimes in both National Park and American history, involving a man whose family had already been involved in a notorious crime, literally the two faces of evil. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. One brother was subjected to just unspeakable horror for years, but by all appearances, he was a happy-go-lucky, jovial kid with a girlfriend. Those sources say it is difficult for some investigators to believe Stayner could have gotten the jump on all three women without any help, let alone dispose of their bodies.". Stayner Raped 2 Teenagers, Affidavit Says Cary, the motel handyman and champion underachiever who was arrested at a nudist colony, said in a jailhouse interview that voices told him to kill Carole and Juli | Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. . The boys were still in elementary school when on December 4, 1972, a man named Kenneth Parnell took seven-year-old Stephen, whilst walking home from school on Highway 140. In December 1972, a 7-year-old Steven was kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell, a man who worked at the Yosemite Lodge at the national park near Stevens hometown of Merced, California. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March.