The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. Cary was the ideal son, Kay Stayner revealed to the jury during her elder sons trial for murder. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. | That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. 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. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Steven was a national hero. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. He has been questioned about any involvement. How can one family, contain two completely contrasting children? 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. 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 wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". 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. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. 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. 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. 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. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. Then there was another murder. Quotes Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 According to court documents filed Monday, Cary Stayner told the FBI he assaulted Silvina Pelosso and Juli Sund before killing them. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. The Sund family's worst fears were confirmed when a hiker wandered onto the site of a burned-out red 1999 Pontiac, hidden off Highway 108, in the Stanislaus Forest region on March 18. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. | 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. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. A large search turned up nothing. 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. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. He grew up, got married and had two kids. 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.. 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. Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. ", 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. Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. You know what I mean? They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. Cary didnt emerge as a suspect during the initial investigation, and the FBI actually believed they had the people responsible for the killings in custody. 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 did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". 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. 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. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. 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 seen that day at the Institute offices and was planning to visit a friend in Sausalito, California, that day but never made it. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. 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. A relatively quiet, but friendly, a motel handyman called Cary Stayners only passions seemed to be nude sunbathing and hiking. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, everyone was smiling, but Cary in his baseball cap wasnt smiling at all. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. 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. 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. Against the odds, he flourished there. 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. Cary Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. Crazy Credits 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. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. 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 Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. He wanted the world to take note.. 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. "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. 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. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. 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. Unsurprisingly, it didnt take long for the story to become national news, and the teenage Steven was at the center of it all. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. 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. | You know, hung out with him, played with him.. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. 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. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. 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. "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. 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 revelation came in a six "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. But, to no avail. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. I guess seven years changed him, too. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. 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. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. 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 a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. 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. The prosecution team was headed by George Williamson and the defense team was headed by Marcia Morrissey. Then all of a sudden it's gone. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. She was working for the Yosemite Institute for the past year and had worked on education programs through a partnership with the National Park Service. He was a good student, a "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. For years, Parnell traveled around California with Steven. 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 looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. Part of TV News Archive. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. But why doesnt my dad hug me anymore? Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. 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. 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. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. 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. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. The issue was no longer who committed the murders but whether Stayner was insane at the time and whether the confession to the FBI agents was coerced. Alternate Versions I never recognized either one of them.". 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. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. 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. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. Very seldom did he get into trouble. In 1972, Stayners Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. On December 4, 1972, at the age of seven, Steven was approached after school by Edward Ervin Murphy, who claimed he was collecting money for the church. Connections Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. 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. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. 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. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. 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 '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.'". 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. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said.
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