cary stayner interview

He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. ", 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. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin I was the oldest and all that. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. He wanted the world to take note.. 51K views 3 years ago 20/20 Extra: For the first time, 20 years after the Yosemite murders, Lenna speaks out exclusively on what she learned about Cary In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. He loved his brother. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. 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. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. 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. Im just horrified when I think of what happened in that room, what my daughter felt when she realized she was in serious trouble, said Carole Carrington as she asked the judge to sentence Stayner to death. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. Carole and her husband, Jens, 43, owned a realtors business in the Stockton area. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. 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. Campbell, when first arrested on mail fraud charges, had in her possession Carole Sund's checking account and automated teller machine numbers. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. 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.. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. 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. 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. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. 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. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a While he attended his meeting, the women were to tour the Grand Canyon. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. But he was surprised that did not find his wife at the airport and assumed she had flown ahead, The next day, he tried to contact them again and failed and he called the police. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. Quotes Cary was the ideal son, Kay Stayner revealed to the jury during her elder sons trial for murder. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". 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 always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. Then he took action. I never recognized either one of them.". The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. 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. It was the last time the women were seen alive. 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. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Soundtracks. 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." 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 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. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. 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. Steven Stayner helped another child escape from a pedophile, after enduring years of abuse and not wanting to see the child experience the same fate. Something was clearly very, very wrong. 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. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. 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. Management found him a hard worker and honest. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. After several days, the bodies were identified as Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso through dental records. 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.". They had been hosting Silvina, who was a foreign exchange student from Argentina and a friend of Juli's, She was spending three months with the family. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. "He was spunky. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. 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. At the time of the murders, Cary was working as a mechanic at the Cedar Lodge, which is where he met his first three victims Carole Sund, her daughter Juli Sund, and her friend Silvina Pelosso. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. 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. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. 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 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 FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Her body was next to a stream and head within the water that she and her friends used for drinking water. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. Some who knew Cary were shocked at his arrest. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. You know what I mean? "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. 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 I guess I was jealous. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. 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. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. 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. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. 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. But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. Then there was another murder. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. 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. 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. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. 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 had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. 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 Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. 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. I did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". | The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. You have the other brother who's left at home. 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. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. 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. Cary Stayner, also known as The Yosemite Killer, was convicted nearly 20 years ago in the murders of four people in 1999 while he was working as a hotel A relatively quiet, but friendly, a motel handyman called Cary Stayners only passions seemed to be nude sunbathing and hiking. Connections He has been questioned about any involvement. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. 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. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." You know, hung out with him, played with him.. 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. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story,'" There was a movie made about his brother, Steven Stayner, and he wanted the same and for the world to take notice. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. "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. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. 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. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. 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. FBI agent Nick Rossi said on February 26, "At this point, we have not yet uncovered evidence to allow us to determine conclusively whether this was a tragic accident or a criminal act. Two weeks later, FBI agent James Maddock, now placed in charge of the investigation, told the press, "We feel almost certain that the women were victims of a violent crime.". It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. 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. 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. Then all of a sudden it's gone. 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. 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. 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. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. 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. 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. I guess seven years changed him, too. 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. "I remember going out one night after Steve disappeared and wishing on a star that my brother would come back home," Cary reportedly told Mike Echols, author of the book I Know My First Name Is Steven. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room.