"He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. 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. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. 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. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. 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. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 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. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. I guess I was jealous. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. 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. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. 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. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. Stayner 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. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. 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. Then there was another murder. Quotes His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. '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 Untold Truth Of Serial Killer Cary Stayner - Grunge But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. 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. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. Then all of a sudden it's gone. How intended victim of 1999 Yosemite killer views the tragedy During the session, an unexpected event occurred. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. For years, Parnell traveled around California with Steven. 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 By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, everyone was smiling, but Cary in his baseball cap wasnt smiling at all. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. Cary Stayner yosemite murders True Crime Some who knew Cary were shocked at his arrest. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. At that time, the Bureau stated that, while no one had yet been charged, it felt that those responsible for killing the three women at Yosemite were already behind bars. There was a lot of torment: the family who endured two true The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. Cary Stayner Today: Where Is He Now in 2021? | Heavy.com While he attended his meeting, the women were to tour the Grand Canyon. Larry Duane Utley, 41 an associate of Dykes and Larwick, first picked up during a March parole sweep. 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. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. 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. Stayner A Shade Of His Brother - TIME William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. The trio stayed at the lodge in February 1999, during which time Cary talked his way into their room, where he sexually assaulted and murdered all of them. According to court documents filed Monday, Cary Stayner told the FBI he assaulted Silvina Pelosso and Juli Sund before killing them. ", Steven Stayner with his kidnapper Kenneth Parnell. 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." 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. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. Stayner 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. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. Sex offender Kenneth Parnell dies in Vacaville The trivia item below may give away important plot points. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. Soundtracks. . He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. 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. 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. Yosemite Victims Were Raped - CBS News You have the other brother who's left at home. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. 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. 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. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. 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. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". 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. 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 It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. The two brothers of the Stayner family are both famous - one experienced horror in the hands of a child molester, Steven, and the other, Cary, the serial killer in Yosemite. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. In mid-July of 2002, the trial began in Judge Thomas C. Hastings courtroom. 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. Where Is Cary Stayner from Hulu's Captive Audience Now? I did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. 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. 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. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. 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. Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. From the Archives: Friends surprised by Cary Stayner's arrest Cary and Steven Stayners Parents Now: Where Are - The 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. He demanded that his parents be given the reward money, that he be incarcerated at a prison near his parents home, and, to Stayners detriment, that he be given a large cache of child pornography. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. Then he took action. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. The initial suspicion was that they may have wandered off the main hiking paths and got lost in the park. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. He grew up, got married and had two kids. 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. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. He had talked his way into the room under the guise of fixing a leak, and then sexually assaulted both girls and brutally murdered Carole Lund and Silvina Pelosso in the room. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. They no longer want you.. 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 IMDb For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. 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.". CNN.com Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. In 1972, Stayners Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, California. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. It seemed as though he had a compulsion with trying to get close to women or be sexual with them, but he was unable to develop any sort of interpersonal relationships with any women. Jens couldn't accompany them on this trip because he needed to prepare for an upcoming business trip. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. 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. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. ", The FBI was reluctant to finger Stayner because, they, and many others, did not believe that Stayner acted by himself, given the brazen killing of the three women in the Cedar Lodge Motel and the disposal of the bodies. 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. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. Against the odds, he flourished there. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. Yosemite Park Killer: When A Victim Turns Into A Murderer 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.. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. 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. A large search turned up nothing. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. Timothy White, the kidnap victim, was only 35 when he died. The FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. An FBI Agent Recounts a Repulsive Request by Serial Killer Cary Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. 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. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. Four hikers visiting Yosemite National Park had been brutally murdered, and Cary Stayner had confessed to the crimes. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. Cary Stayner He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. 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.