Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. Something was clearly very, very wrong. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. 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. He loved his brother. 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. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". 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 trivia item below may give away important plot points. Part of TV News Archive. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Then all of a sudden it's gone. 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. Stayner 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. In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. 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. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. Against the odds, he flourished there. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. 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. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. CNN.com He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. From the Archives: Friends surprised by Cary Stayner's arrest A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. They no longer want you.. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. 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. So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. 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. It was the last time the women were seen alive. 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. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. 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 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. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. Management found him a hard worker and honest. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. ", 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. Very seldom did he get into trouble. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. 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. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. Campbell, when first arrested on mail fraud charges, had in her possession Carole Sund's checking account and automated teller machine numbers. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. 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. Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 Alternate Versions Soundtracks. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. After several days, the bodies were identified as Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso through dental records. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. 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. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. Stayner Raped 2 Teenagers, Affidavit Says He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. IMDb On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" 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. | | Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. 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. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. Steven & Cary Stayner: Hero vs Killer Brother - YouTube 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. 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. Goofs 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. I never recognized either one of them.". Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. 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. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. 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. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. A relatively quiet, but friendly, a motel handyman called Cary Stayners only passions seemed to be nude sunbathing and hiking. 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. 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. In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. Cary Stayner yosemite murders True Crime He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. 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. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. Items included in the Television News search service. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. 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. 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. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. How can one family, contain two completely contrasting children? 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. I was the oldest and all that. Where Is Cary Stayner from Hulu's Captive Audience Now? After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. Although most of the stains were likely to include Armstrong's blood, Stayner was observed to have a laceration on his hand during his interrogation, and therefore may have been cut and bled during the attack. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Larry Duane Utley, 41 an associate of Dykes and Larwick, first picked up during a March parole sweep. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. 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. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. Captive Audience Revisits Steven And Cary Stayner's Stories Cary Stayner Today: Where Is He Now in 2021? | Heavy.com 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. Quotes For years, Parnell traveled around California with Steven. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. 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. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Steven was a national hero. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. 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. | Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. 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. Cary was the ideal son, Kay Stayner revealed to the jury during her elder sons trial for murder. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. 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. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. 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. The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. 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. 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. Stayner "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". 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. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. The boys were still in elementary school when on December 4, 1972, a man named Kenneth Parnell took seven-year-old Stephen, whilst walking home from school on Highway 140. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. He has been questioned about any involvement. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. And he wanted the same treatment. He grew up, got married and had two kids. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. He was a good student, a Yosemite Victims Were Raped - CBS News 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. 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. 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.. 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 Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. Yosemite killer Cary Stayner born 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. Unsurprisingly, it didnt take long for the story to become national news, and the teenage Steven was at the center of it all. Then he took action. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. 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. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. "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. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 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 went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. 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. Cary Stayner Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. | 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 The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. How intended victim of 1999 Yosemite killer views the tragedy 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. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. I guess I was jealous. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. | She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. '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.'". Some who knew Cary were shocked at his arrest. The FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. I guess seven years changed him, too. 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.