The trivia item below may give away important plot points. 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. The initial suspicion was that they may have wandered off the main hiking paths and got lost in the park. I was the oldest and all that. There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. 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. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. Cary and Steven Stayners Parents Now: Where Are - The When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. 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. The case of a lifetime / For Cary Stayner, there was something Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. 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. 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. Heroism, tragedy and cold-blooded murder: The Stayner brothers 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. 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. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. 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. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. 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 wanted the world to take note.. 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. Cary Stayner For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. 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. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. Suspect at Yosemite Had Fantasy of Killing Women Goofs So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. Steven & Cary Stayner: Hero vs Killer Brother - YouTube 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. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. "Her mother, sisters, and a family friend had been missing for a month by the time Gina Sund read her poem in front of a thousand or so people who gathered in Modesto," writes Time. 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. An FBI Agent Recounts a Repulsive Request by Serial Killer Cary After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. CNN.com Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. 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 She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. 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 denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. 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. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. He has been questioned about any involvement. 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." Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. 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. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. Stayner Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. 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. 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. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. Then he took action. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. 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. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. | Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". He loved his brother. 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. 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. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. I did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". Sex offender Kenneth Parnell dies in Vacaville 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. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. 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. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. 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 The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. 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. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. 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. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. "He was spunky. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." There was a lot of torment: the family who endured two true One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. In mid-July of 2002, the trial began in Judge Thomas C. Hastings courtroom. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. 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. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. 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. 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. Then all of a sudden it's gone. 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. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. According to court documents filed Monday, Cary Stayner told the FBI he assaulted Silvina Pelosso and Juli Sund before killing them. The revelation came in a six Stayner Raped 2 Teenagers, Affidavit Says 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. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. 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. 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. 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. | That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. Unsurprisingly, it didnt take long for the story to become national news, and the teenage Steven was at the center of it all. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. Stayner How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. Yosemite killer Cary Stayner born According to Special Agent Christopher Hopkins , both the FBI's Evidence Response Team and the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office collected items of potential interest from Room 509 at the Cedar Lodge Motel, the room in which Stayner sexually assaulted Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso and murdered both Carole Sund and Silvina. 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. Very seldom did he get into trouble. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. Items included in the Television News search service. Management found him a hard worker and honest. 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. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. '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.'". And he wanted the same treatment. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. "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. 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. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. I never recognized either one of them.". 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. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. After several days, the bodies were identified as Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso through dental records. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. 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. ", 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. He remains on "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. 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. TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Archive : I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. 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. He grew up, got married and had two kids. Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. 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. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. 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. Cary Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. 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. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" 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. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. You have the other brother who's left at home. Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, Carole and her husband, Jens, 43, owned a realtors business in the Stockton area. Against the odds, he flourished there. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. 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. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". Crazy Credits Something was clearly very, very wrong. 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. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. A large search turned up nothing. Captive Audience Revisits Steven And Cary Stayner's Stories Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. 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. Cary Stayner yosemite murders True Crime 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 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. From the Archives: Friends surprised by Cary Stayner's arrest On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. Stayner, clad in a red jail jumpsuit, bowed his head but showed no emotion as Judge Hastings sentenced him to death three times, once for each murder, after returning to the courtroom. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. 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. 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. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. In 1972, Stayners On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. Alternate Versions A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. 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.