By the end of that evening, the FBI felt it had gathered enough evidence to arrest Cary Stayner for murder, Sunday morning, they rushed him to Fresno to officially lodge a complaint, then to Sacramento on Monday where he was put before the courts. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a Quotes Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. Over the next few weeks, a task force including FBI agents and law enforcers from four surrounding counties, arrested several known sex offenders, drug users, and ex-convicts with a record of violence from within a 75-square-mile area between Modesto and Sonoma. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. 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. He was a good student, a However, given Californias statewide moratorium on capital punishment, it doesnt appear that hell be executed anytime soon the states last execution was held in 2006. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. 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. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. Steven was a national hero. 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. Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. Carole and her husband, Jens, 43, owned a realtors business in the Stockton area. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. 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, 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. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. 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. And he wanted the same treatment. 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. Then he took action. 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. In mid-July of 2002, the trial began in Judge Thomas C. Hastings courtroom. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. On the way to his police interview he confessed to a detective in the car to murdering Joie Armstrong, describing the brutal killing "as if he was reading a soup label," said John Boles, another FBI agent on the case. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". 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 In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC Unfortunately, less than a decade after his incredible escape, Steven Stayner died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24, leaving behind a wife and two children. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. The new three-part Hulu docuseries Captive Audience explores the tragic story of the Stayner family specifically the fraught lives of their two sons, Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner. In his interview, Stayner claimed that hair from his body was left on the bedspread in their motel room, but he returned later and changed the bed. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. However, when they found Cary at a nudist colony nearby and brought him in for questioning, he quickly confessed to Armstrongs murder, and soon after admitted he was also responsible for the first three killings. | In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. 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. He remains on The suspect, Cary Stayner, 37, had been one of the people questioned after the triple killings in February, but, at that time no evidence linked him directly to the crime and he had been released. For years, Parnell traveled around California with Steven. After several days, the bodies were identified as Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso through dental records. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. 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. 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. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. Unsurprisingly, it didnt take long for the story to become national news, and the teenage Steven was at the center of it all. On Saturday, July 24, FBI agents announced at a press conference that a man was in custody on strong suspicion of murder and that a "significant announcement" would be made shortly. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. '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.'". The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. Timothy White, the kidnap victim, was only 35 when he died. 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 was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. Real Crime 1.23M subscribers Join Subscribe 6.7K 562K views 1 year ago Also known as the Yosemite Park Killer, Cary Stayner murdered four women in 1999 The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. In a 2003 jailhouse interview with The Chronicle, Parnell admitted that he had tried to buy the boy to experience the "love and respect" that a son has for a father. This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. Very seldom did he get into trouble. 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, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. On Dec. 4, 1972, Steven, 7, was walking alone to his familys home in Merced, California, when he was coaxed into the car of convicted child rapist Kenneth Parnell, who was posing as a minister. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. But, to no avail. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. 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. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. 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 He wanted the world to take note.. 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. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. Cary was the ideal son, Kay Stayner revealed to the jury during her elder sons trial for murder. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. "We never really got along that well after he came back All of a sudden Steve was getting all these gifts, getting all this clothing, getting all this attention. Alternate Versions ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. The prosecution team was headed by George Williamson and the defense team was headed by Marcia Morrissey. Her body was next to a stream and head within the water that she and her friends used for drinking water. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "(A witness claimed that) Stayner was angry about authorities seizing his backpack after he was questioned earlier that day. In (the) interview, Stayner said he had fantasized about killing women for the last 30 years and described in detail how he murdered all the women, He had strangled Pelosso and Carole Sund in their rented cabin in the Cedar Lodge motel, then took Juli Sund to a lake, where he killed her early the next morning. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. While he attended his meeting, the women were to tour the Grand Canyon. Part of TV News Archive. 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. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. They no longer want you.. Campbell, when first arrested on mail fraud charges, had in her possession Carole Sund's checking account and automated teller machine numbers. He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. 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. 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. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. Soundtracks. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. | 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. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. But why doesnt my dad hug me anymore? Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. Sandy Cox, whose husband owned the window company where Stayner worked for in Atwater, says, "We've known Cary since he was a little boyIt just doesn't match up. Something was clearly very, very wrong. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. 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. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. Still, the Bureau intensified its search, recruiting the use of more high-tech equipment and air support. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. The revelation came in a six "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" He received the death penalty for killing four women, three of whom had been staying at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner was employed as a handyman. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. 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. In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. 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. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. Larry Duane Utley, 41 an associate of Dykes and Larwick, first picked up during a March parole sweep. Goofs Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. 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.". 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. The FBI task force investigating Yosemite issued a federal warrant for her arrest after she failed to appear in Stanislaus County drug court in June. Cary Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Items included in the Television News search service. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. Crazy Credits On February 12, 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli 15, and Silvina Pelosso 16, left their home in Eureka, California to go on vacation in the area near Yosemite National Park in the same state in the United States. Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. 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. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. . 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. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. She was seen that day at the Institute offices and was planning to visit a friend in Sausalito, California, that day but never made it. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. The FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. Timothy Lee White, 5, gets a piggyback ride from 14-year-old Steven Stayner at a news conference in Ukiah, California, in 1980, Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, Your parents, I just spoke to them. Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". 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. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. He abandoned the group's rental car with the bodies of Carole and Silvina inside, returning two days later to burn the evidence and retrieve the wallet, which he dumped in Modesto to confuse authorities. 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. Management found him a hard worker and honest. 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.. Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". Ive never seen anything thats so close to black and white and evil and good as Stayner and our children, said Francis Carrington, the father of Carole Sund and grandfather of Juli. The inn staff claimed that when they cleaned the room the next morning, they had detected no evidence of foul play or anything that made them suspicious. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. 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. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. 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. I did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. I never recognized either one of them.". So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. You have the other brother who's left at home. He loved his brother. He has been questioned about any involvement. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. 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. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. 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. The issue was no longer who committed the murders but whether Stayner was insane at the time and whether the confession to the FBI agents was coerced. The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. 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.
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