Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. Five months later, he killed Joie Armstrong, a Yosemite Institute employee. "You'vegot this crazy story that happens, and then you've got kind of the 1980s version of that story that's presented to the world," Dimmock told E!. Looking beyond the good vs. bad brother trope, the directorreflected onrevisiting the divergent branches of the Stayner storyin a way that doesn't allow for the audience to tidily point fingers. Murphy, who was instructed to distribute gospel tracts to school boys, approached Steven Stayner, claiming to be a church representative and asked him if his mother would be willing to donate anything to the church. We tried to keep quiet and not upset our parents.. Cary pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for killing Armstrong. He was at times eerily nonchalant about what happened to him and even took to making jokes about it himself. But executing him is not going to bring them back. During the testimony, Kay also said that her father molested her when she was younger. "It was my do-or-die chanceand I also would be coming home for doing something positive.". Learn how your comment data is processed. ", He added, "Everything has changed. Dimmock explained. Much of the testimony that the defense has tried to introduce, such as the molestation of one of Stayners sisters by their father, has been barred because of objections by the prosecution. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. 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. The next day, on March 2nd, both the boys were reunited with their respective families and Parnell was arrested. When Parnells mother gifted him a dog, he gifted it to Steven. Article continues below advertisement Great article, as always! ), Barely four months after the series premiered, Steven, 24, was on his motorcycle heading home from work at a pizza shop on Sept. 16, 1989, when a car turned in front of him. Steven Stayner testifies about his abduction in 1972 by Kenneth Parnell and his seven years in captivity in this 1981 photo. Miller toldPeople: He was kind of a reckless kid after he came back home he wrecked a couple of cars and I talked to him about being careful, because he could kill himself. Timmy White and Steven Stayner during a press conference. Young Stayner replied that his mother would donate, following which Murphy asked for his address and offered to accompany him to his house, to which he agreed. April 22, 2022 Steven Stayner's miraculous story of escape from his kidnapper in 1980 garnered national headlines at the time. I feel bad for him,White said. ", Kay said in an interview, per CNN, "He came back different, very different. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. TheOakland Tribune reported that the two men,who hadn't seen each other since Parnell's 1981 trial, hugged and Poorman whispered an apology, to which White replied, "It's OKI've got a good wife.". I was the oldest and all that. So, today, at the age of 59, Cary Stayner is incarcerated at the San Quentin State Prison. [17], On March 1, 1980, while Parnell was away at his night security job, Stayner left with White and hitchhiked into Ukiah. Under false pretenses, Cary entered their room and sexually assaulted both girls. He was bullied, teased, and his sexuality was always called into question. The boy, who was in the Santa Rosa Boys Club with Steven, wouldnt be so easy. In 1981, Parnell was tried in two separate trials, one for each boy. Both Del and Kay Stayner testified during the penalty phase of the trial that October that they neglected Cary to a degree when Steven went missing. Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. Carole and Silvina's charredremains were found March 19 in the trunk of their burned-out rental car, which was abandoned along a utility road off the California 108 highway at the edge of the Sierra Foothills. However, Stayner skillfully sabotaged Kenneths plans. Steven was persuaded to get intothe car, whereKenneth Parnellwas waiting. When Steven Stayner hitchhiked his way to freedom in 1980, reporters . Steven's death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayner's mental health and well-being. [9] Parnell began raping Stayner thirteen days later, on December 17, 1972. In 1975, Parnell felt he needed another boy. Source: Vimbuzz.com Related Posts He and her son Lloyd played together. According to reports, Cary Stayner and Cory Stayner are Steven Stayner's two siblings. On July 24, hours after beingcharged withthe murder ofJoie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old nature guidewho was found decapitatedtwo days beforehand in a densely wooded area of Yosemite just a few hundred feet from her home, Cary confessed in an off-camera jailhouse interview with San Francisco's KBWB-TV to also killing Carole Sund, 42,her daughter JuliSund, 15, and the girl's friend Silvina Pelosso, 16,that past February. In 2002, he was sentenced to death and is currently on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California. He had problems adjusting because, with Kenneth, there were no rules; he was used to drinking and smoking. The world is a crazy place, full of unknown dangers. Cary was 11 years old at time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. In an interview with Good Morning America in 1983, Steven recalled, The first year was kinda hectic. Born on April 18, 1965, Steven Stayner was the third of five children born to Delbert and Kay Stayner. In 1999, against the wishes of the Stayner family, Echols wrote an additional chapter about Steven's older brother Cary at the request of his publisher, which then re-published the book.[34]. It wasnt until 1980 that Kay and the family saw Steven again. How does it feel to be "brought through the experience of feeling a deep sympathy for a family, for a mother, and then to have a sudden left turn?" Parnell allowed Stayner to begin drinking at a young age and to come and go virtually as he pleased. Its late and dark when they arrive, and Timothy cant remember where he lives, so they went to the police. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. While adjusting to his new life at home, and being bullied in school for the abuse he experienced, Steven also had to deal with Parnell during his 1981 trial, a year after his return home. Despite the severe trauma that he dealt with when he lived with his kidnapper, Steven made a life for himself, marrying and having children. Hawkins said: She was the one who stayed so strong and calm and collected through that seven-year-ordeal. After Timothy White, who had become a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy, died from pulmonary embolism in 2010, a statue of Stayner and White was built in Applegate Park in Merced, California. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his sister, Cory, said He got on with his life. Lainey Wilson Stuns in Paisley Bell Bottoms. "It's a lot to imagine that any one family could undergo,"Jessica Dimmock, director of the three-part docuseries Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, now streaming on Hulu, told E! Kay and Delbert Stayner married in 1960 and had five children together. And there was just nothing there. Little did they know, Steven was being held at a cabin in nearby Catheys Valley. The Abduction Of Steven Stayner. All about his family, Was Dave Hollis Sick? Of course Cynthia Sartell knew him; he was her older sibling. '", While promoting the movie, Steven said of his own kids,"They don't go out unless I go with them or there's someone outside watching. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". [6], Acting on instructions from Parnell, Murphy passed out gospel tracts to boys walking home from school that day[6][7] and, after spotting Stayner, claimed to be a church representative seeking donations. But after he and a fellow victim escaped in . [4] Murphy, described by those who knew him as a trusting, nave, and simple-minded man,[4] had been enlisted by Parnell (who had passed himself off to Murphy as an aspiring minister)[5][6] into helping him abduct a young boy so that Parnell could "raise him in a religious-type deal," as Murphy later stated. Aged seven, Stayner, a California native, was abducted by child molester Kenneth Parnell. His relationship with his father remained strained. Stayner dropped out of school and started a drinking habit that strained his relationship with his dad. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Initially wanted as an eyewitness, Cary was confronted by police in July of 1999, and ended up confessing to all four murders. But in July 1999, the name Stayner made headlines once againwhen Steven's older brother Carywas arrested for murdering a woman in Yosemite, Calif. Adjusting to post-abduction life was no easy task for Steven. In 2004, at the age of 72, he tried to bribe a nurse with $500 to get him a young boy. Steven, hoping to spare another child his fate, had sabotaged so many kidnappings. Growing up, brothers Cary and Steven Stayner shared a home with their parents and three sisters in Merced, California a small farming town near Yosemite National Park according to the. I know my first name is Steven, he told the police. Despite his circumstances, he did well among his peers, and even became known as an all-around happy person. Luck was not on his side, however, and at 4:55pm, three miles away and driving under the speed limit, he rammed a car that had pulled into the street just ahead of him. On Sept. 20, 1989, Steven Stayner was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle without a helmet in the rain. [25], In 1985, Stayner married 17-year-old Jody Edmondson,[2] with whom he had two children: a daughter Ashley and a son Steven Jr.[26] He also worked with child abduction groups, spoke to children about personal safety, and gave interviews about his kidnapping. "I brought in Timmy because I didn't like what was happening," Stevenexplained to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a variation of what he told police and reporters for a long time afterward. I know where Stevies at now., Read Next: Bonny Lee Bakleys death The accusations behind her unsolved murder, Is Bob Barker still alive? Kenneth told Steven that his parents had given him away and that his new name was Dennis. For the sexual assaults carried out in Mendocino County, prosecutors chose not to prosecute. She later insisted she hadno idea that"Dennis"wasn't Parnell's real son, that he even had a birth certificate for the boy. [17] Both children were reunited with their families that day. Hewassentenced to three months in jailfor felony hit-and-run. Steven Stayner was the middle child of five siblings living with their parents in Merced, CA. Timothy, back home with his family, adjusted well, and things returned to normal. [27] At the time of his death, Stayner was living in Merced and working at a pizza shop. April 20, 2022 Steven Stayner became a household name in 1980 when he returned home after being kidnapped about seven years earlier. So much tragedy surrounding this case. His mysterious death. He then violently murdered all three, according to History.com. Needless to say, nothing is so black and white, especially when there isn't a handy scenario to explain away any of it at all. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five -- less time than he held Steven captive. "I didn't socialize with him," Del said. I have covered them both in the same article. In hindsight,people who knew the Stayners started to remember the quiet, withdrawn boy living in the shadow of his brotherboth when Steven was gone and when he returnedwhowas a creative, talented artist but also pulled his hair out in clumps and as he got older and had trouble forming relationships with women. Dena. Cary at 6, watching television from the couch. But, in 1974, things were much different as the family of Steven Stayner would discover. It was a sad end to a tragic life,Allen Maxfield, CHP traffic safety officer, said. The driver, Antonio Loera, drove off, leaving Stayner helpless on the rain-soaked highway. [30] While at school, Steven never revealed to anyone that he had been kidnapped. Hehad been working as a maintenance man and living at Yosemite's Cedar Lodge,where the trio were staying. [39] Parnell died of natural causes on January 21, 2008, at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, while serving a sentence of 25 years to life. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". This idea was eventually rejected and the honor was instead given to another Merced resident, because Stayner's brother Cary confessed to, and was convicted of, killing four women in Yosemite in 1999; Merced city officials feared that the name "Stayner Park" would be associated with Cary rather than Steven. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! Steven Stayner (April 18, 1965 - Sept 16, 1989) was a kidnapping victim. Hereturnedto school, where he was always an object of curiosity. It wasn't, but when Cary didn't show up for work the next day, authorities put out an APB andthe FBI arrested him at a nudist colony in Wilton, Calif. (He was wearing shorts when agents found him sitting in the camp restaurant. Hes free.. [7] Unbeknownst to Stayner, Parnell's cabin was located only several hundred feet from his maternal grandfather's residence. But as Kay also said that night, "We expected him to come back. [15] Mathias later claimed to have been completely unaware that "Dennis" had been kidnapped. A cabin that sat several hundred feet away from his grandfathers house. Steven Stayner was a typical 7-year old boy. Talking remotely toGood Morning Americaon March 14, 1980, Steven,his mom and dad on either side of him, said it was "great" to be back, but his siblings had "changed a lot. A police investigation didnt trace the deaths back to Cary, although he was interviewed. Los Angeles TimesTV critic Howard Rosenberg called the production "an exception" to the usual "exercises in distortion and exploitation" that tended to characterize made-for-TV dramatizationsof horrific crimes. News. 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. When he didnt return home from school that day his parents went to the police. That statement later became the title of a book and movie. But this time hes the one who is staying strong for Kay., Delbert mourned the tragedy but expressed relief in the certainty of death. Claiming full legal custody of Steven, Parnell changed his name, calling him Dennis Gregory Parnell, allowing him to keep his real middle name. It wasn't until Parnell was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 to life. Parnell created a new identity for Stayner, giving him the new name, Dennis Gregory Parnell, but retained his original middle name and his original date of birth. Things were pretty rough for a while, bouncing from one job to another, some would say wandering aimlessly. Then he met Jody Edmondson, and in 1985, when he was 20 and she 17, they married. Although Stayner was dead, his testimony at Parnell's earlier trial was read to jurors as evidence in Parnell's 2004 trial. Realizing how the young boy would suffer at the hands of his captor, Stayner decided to return Timmy to his parents. [21] Stayner remembered the kindness "Uncle" Murphy had shown him in his first week of captivity while they were both under the influence of Parnell's manipulation, and he believed that Murphy was as much Parnell's victim as he and Timmy were. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Steven later admitted to sabotaging the efforts. On September 17, 1989, he succumbed to head injuries after being involved in a car accident while returning home from work in his motorcycle. seen in Montana, according to our information three sisters. "Police say that Stayner seemed fond of Parnell, who he said 'spoiled' himStayner was defensive about Parnell in his talks with police and reluctant at first to reveal his name. 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