Kay lost her son Steven in a motorcycle accident, and even though his son was found guilty of murder, she begged the jury to not give her son the death penalty. When his sister had a sleepover, he crawled under the bed of one of her friends in order to touch her breasts. The first time, he was a seven-year-old child on a missing person poster, having disappeared without a trace on his way home . However, she remembers feeling uncomfortable with him when he once stripped completely bare in front of them at the Merced River. "He said we should be glad that Steven was gone. "Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, 'Your parents, I just spoke to them. When was 7, he imagined himself killing female cashiers at a grocery store, per SFGate. "There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. When investigators finally began to suspect Stayner six months later, he had already murdered again. Cary with his little brother, Steven. The older brother of Steven, Cary. He was held in captivity for seven years. On February 15, 1999, Yosemite tourists Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and exchange student Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing, per SFGate. He is also the prime suspect in the Sund-Pelosso case. The panel has rejected his insanity defense and found him guilty of killing Carole Sund, 42, her daughter, Juli, 15, and their 16- year-old Argentine friend, Silvina Pelosso. Although he was quiet and kept to himself, he was an avid cartoonist who spent time in his class for gifted students doodling and drawing caricatures of people. Your IP: He had two brothers: Richard S. Lee and Jonathan O. Lee. He loved his brother. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, "everyone was smiling, there was a lot of jubilation, but if you look in the background, there's something worth noting, and it's Cary in his baseball cap, and he's not smiling at all," according to Flynn. Peterson had been condemned to death row, but his sentence was overturned and he is awaiting a new trial in the death of his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner. When Cary Stayner was just 11, his younger brother, Steven, 7, was snatched from a Merced street on his way home from school. You know, hung out with him, played with him., Martin Purdy, a friend of the brothers, remembered Cary as a "nice guy.". Cary Stayner in his arrest photo taken by the FBI./Cary Stayner in 2019. Assistant Sheriff Strength said Stayner was on the waiting list for a job as a county jail guard. It happens to all families, I guess." You have the other brother who's left at home. Steven Stayner became a national hero after escaping his kidnapper and rescuing his fellow captive Timmy White in 1980. His father, Delbert Stayner, admitted that he became so obsessed about finding Steven at the cost of his relationship with his other children, according to SFGate. "Then finally, things were getting to be normal and things were getting good, that's when Steven gets killed," she said. And they searched. But after he and a fellow victim escaped in . "Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. He had visited the resort before in March after his first murder spree, and he lived there in a tent beside a lake. The two brothers are both famous and both knew unspeakable horror. Death row inmates are also allowed showers every other day, but they shower alone and not in groups per KALW News. I never recognized either one of them.". Watch "20/20's" full story, "The Black Sheep," TONIGHT at 9 p.m. There was a "pall over" Cary, because he was "the kid who had his brother kidnapped," said Bungart. Stayner was sentenced to death for the four murders and remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison in California. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at age 24. "Cary was pretty much a loner. Authorities had already interviewed him once before about the other three murders, but at the time he hadnt raised any red flags. "Whatever demons were clamoring around in his head, by being naked, by smoking pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed," LaLama said. He sure led a rough life, California Highway Patrol Sgt. She had to tell him to leave a second time, per SFGate. Steven Stayner captured the heart of a nation when he helped another child escape from a pedophile, after enduring years of abuse and not wanting to see the child experience the same fate. See photo gallery . Panda's thread on parents of murderers reminded me of the Steven Stayner case and his parents. "It was outrageous. He had visited the resort before in March after his first murder spree, and he lived there in a tent beside a lake. She had spoken to him before during his March trip, so she was aware of his employment at Cedar Lodge. [4], When Steven escaped Parnell and returned home in 1980, he received massive media attention. He smoked cigarettes. [] When he was an adolescent, he began having dark, sexual fantasies involving rape. And then Kay Stayner, who was raised to keep her emotions to herself, cried. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Shock was a familiar reaction in Merced, a San Joaquin Valley city about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco, where residents considered Steven Stayner a hero for escaping from a child molester in 1980, only to die in a motorcycle accident nine years later. When Steven Stayner returned home, the whole family's focus was on him, she said. "My son is very sick right now," Delbert Stayner told the court while sobbing. The FBI provided a number in case anyone saw him, which Damant called, per Esquire. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso. Cary Anthony Stayner (born August13, 1961) is an American serial killer and the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. Lynnea Shertz, who grew up two doors down from the Stayners, remembered Cary Stayner as a scrawny teenager who liked to draw figures. Still, Stayner wanted to help his parents, so he asked as a condition of his confession that a $250,000 reward offered by his victims family members go to his own family, Rinek wrote. Now Steven Stayner's brother, Cary, 37, was the prime suspect in the decapitation killing of a young naturalist, and the FBI suggested he had a role in the murder of three Yosemite tourists in February - Carole Sund, her daughter, Juli, and family friend Silvina Pelosso. The tale of his abduction and escape was adapted into a book and novel, both titled "I Know My Name First Name Is Steven." In the 1970s, they constituted Cary and Steven, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner. A cousin said that Stayner spied on her and his sisters and a neighbor girl, hiding under their beds and secretly videotaping them in the bathroom and bedroom. Jeff Rinek, at the time an FBI agent handling Cary Stayners case, said the search for the women was the "largest ever mounted in Yosemite at any time." After Steven's death, his parents sold the house. Stayner's parents fear losing another son. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was on his way home from school when Ervin Edward Murphy approached him, pretending to be a dude from the church handing out gospel tracts, as. Her body was found decapitated near a stream in the forest. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and uncle. Delbert even referred to Steven as his real son and pushed the other away. Steven Stayner is reunited with his parents Kay and Delbert Stayner on 2 March 1980 after escaping from a seven-year captivity (Courtesy of Hulu) America met Steven Stayner twice. ABCs 20/20: Yosemite Serial Killer, as the title suggests, profiles the tale of the male who carried out four murders in six months near the Yosemite National Park in 1999. The Stayners were not only parents to a child who was the victim of a kidnapping (Steven) but also of the Yosemite serial killer (Cary Stayner). The day after she spoke to Stayner, Damant watched the news and saw that the FBI were looking for Stayner. Performance & security by Cloudflare. The trial was so emotionally charged that Judge Thomas C. Hastings had to leave the room to gather himself, and when he returned, he appeared as if he had cried. Steven died in a motorcycle accident in 1989. 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Cary is still on death row and as of now, the court has not set the execution date for him. Detectives began interviewing employees of the Cedar Lodge motel where the first three victims had been staying just before their deaths. Even if I confess, they are going to give me death.. In fact, the wrong men were custody. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. "I wish I could tell you why I did such a thing, but I dont even know myself. Steven Stayner was the middle child of a family from Merced, California. One of those employees was Stayner, but he was not considered a suspect at that point because he had no criminal history and remained calm during the police interview.[8]. However, as we all know, that turned when pedophile Kenneth Parnell abducted Steven in 1972, and the Stayners allegedly began to neglect their children. Cary Stayner is led into a van by a U.S. According to Cinemaholic, in the 1970s, their family consisted of Cary and Steven Stayner, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner. Linda Shertz, stepmother of Lynnea, said Cary Stayner was traumatized by his brother's abduction. "They did mention about finally getting a chance to get out of here," said Ennis Mayberry, 36, who bought the house from the Stayners 10 years ago. 42-year-old Carole Sund, 15-year-old Juli Sund, 16-year-old Silvina Pelosso, and 26-year-old Joie Ruth . "We figured he would be a cartoonist by now," Shertz said. And for a brief moment, a wave of good memories appeared to wash over her face. Steven was famous, and now Cary was living in his shadow. Stayner told his high school girlfriend that he was determined to save White from Parnell, according to ABC News. The attorneys also requested a new trial since it appeared that three jurors were victims of child molestation, but the judge rejected the motion. However, it took several months for investigators to realize Stayner was behind the killings. Then on Valentine's Day, 1980, Stayner left a Mendocino County cabin and walked into the Ukiah police station along with 5-year-old Timmy White, another Parnell kidnap victim, whom he had helped to free. On Sept. 20, 1989, Steven Stayner was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle without a helmet in the rain. We were talking about the Kennedy family, and all the bad things that have happened to them," Strength said. Stayner was born on August 13, 1961. An FBI agent said that Stayner recounted his crimes "as if he was reading a soup label," (via ABC News). He was one of two sons and three daughters to parents, Delbert and Kay Stayner.. A third brother, Cary Stayner, is seen in a ball cap in the background between his brothers Steven and Delbert. "Cary was very upset," childhood friend Mike Marchese told ABC News in a 1999 interview. "But executing him is not going to bring them back.". Some of the older children, including Cary Stayner, had moved out by then. However, due to an error, he was released, according to ABC News. They were staying at Cedar Lodge at the edge of Yosemite National Park. ABC 20/20 is digging into the case on a new episode, which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 2, 2021. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Surrounded by TV cameras, Steven Stayner, right foreground, and and his brother Delbert Stayner are shown walking toward their Merced County, Calif., home, March 2, 1980, as Steven was reunited with his family following a 7-year kidnap ordeal. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Im not sure there is any direct cause and effect," Flynn said. ", "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. [5] The top of the note read, "We had fun with this one." "He knew everyone and talked to everyone, but I can't say anyone was his best friend or not.". Those who knew him assumed he would go on to become a graphic artist or a professional cartoonist. He also revealed a disturbing truth: he originally intended to kill his girlfriend and her daughters before he went on to target Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso on February 15, 1999. Stayner is on death row, serving time with a man convicted in another high-profile murder case, Scott Peterson. "His idea of serenity was to maybe smoke a little pot and to sunbathe naked.". "He was kind of a quiet guy. Steven Stayner's incredible story features in the captivating Hulu crime drama Captive Audience. However, during Cary's murder trial, his attorneys argued that he never wanted fame or attention, calling him a "shrinking violet," per the Independent. According to SFGATE, Cary Stayner was jealous of all of the attention his younger brother received, both in the media and from their parents. [2] His seven-year-old brother, Steven Stayner, was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell in 1972, when Cary was 11, and held captive for more than seven years before escaping and being reunited with his family. Stayner had been arrested the same day Joie Armstrong's body was found but for a different crime. ", Thus began a seven-year ordeal in which Parnell held and sexually molested Stayner, forcing the boy to call him. ", "The first year was kinda hectic," Steven said on GMA in 1983. Steven's older brother, Cary Stayner, took his disappearance particularly hard. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Not only was Steven able to explain to police what happened to him and Timothy, he was also able to tell them his real name was Steven, not Dennis. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years. Cary Stayner, who had been working as a handyman at Cedar Lodge for less than two years, was responsible for the murders. Cary Stayner is an American serial killer and the oldest brother of Steven Stayner. "Hes ready to kill again. Carole and Pelosso's bodies were found burned and in the trunk of Carole's rental car. Steven Stayner and his parents, Kay Stayner and Delbert Stayner, reunited after seven years of losing their son in abduction. In 2002 Cary Stayner was convicted of first degree murder on four counts. ". He was seven years older and no longer the little brother Cary had once bonded with. One of her daughters, Lenna, was interviewed by ABC's 20/20 in 2019 and said she and her sister were excited whenever Stayner visited. Stayner, already serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Joie Armstrong, faces the death penalty for the murders of Carole and Juli Sund and Sylvina Pelosso. Steven was a different person when he returned to his home in Merced, California. The description is echoed by Cary Stayner's co-workers and friends at the Cedar Lodge near Yosemite Valley, where he lived and worked as a handyman. He usually ordered a rum and coke. [13] He was nevertheless found sane and convicted of three counts of first degree murder with special circumstances and one count of kidnapping by a jury on August 27, 2002. [1], Cary Stayner was born and raised in Merced, California. The head turned up, 27 feet away. [15] Stayner remains on death row as of May 2022[update][16][1] though there have been no executions in California since a 2006 court ruling over flaws in the administration of capital punishment in the state. After he was brought in for questioning, he confessed 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. His lawyers claimed that the Stayner family had a history of sexual abuse and mental illness, manifesting itself not only in the murders, but also his obsessive-compulsive disorder and his request to be provided with child pornography in return for his confession. His mental health issues predated his brother's abduction. The abductor abused Steven and planned to use the boy to abduct more victims. [4] Between February and July 1999, he murdered two women and two teenagers: 42-year-old Carole Sund; her daughter, 15-year-old Juli Sund; Juli's friend, 16-year-old Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso; and Yosemite Institute employee Joie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old naturalist.[5]. 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