Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." He grew up, got married and had two kids. Her body was next to a stream and head within the water that she and her friends used for drinking water. 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. 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 great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. "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. 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. 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. 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. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. 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. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. 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. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. 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 guess seven years changed him, too. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. 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. 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. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. Crazy Credits The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. You know what I mean? "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. | Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. 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. 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. Four hikers visiting Yosemite National Park had been brutally murdered, and Cary Stayner had confessed to the crimes. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. 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. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. | In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. 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.". After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. 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. They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. ", 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 then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. 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. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. 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. 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. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. I was the oldest and all that. Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. Web6,597 views Jan 24, 2019 56 Dislike Share ABC10 172K subscribers On July 26, 1999, former ABC10 reporter Tim Daly went down to the Cedar Lodge where Cary Stayner But, to no avail. I never recognized either one of them.". Timothy White, the kidnap victim, was only 35 when he died. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. 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. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. 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 "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. 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. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. 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. Goofs Unsurprisingly, it didnt take long for the story to become national news, and the teenage Steven was at the center of it all. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. They no longer want you.. "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. 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. 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. 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 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 Stayner Span of crimes FebruaryJuly 1999 Country United States State (s) California Date apprehended 1999 7 more rows "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". 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. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. Steven was a national hero. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. 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. "He was spunky. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. 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 Connecticut Serial Killer William Devin Howell Describes The Shockin 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.". Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. 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. 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. 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 loved his brother. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. 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 Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 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. 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. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. He had no criminal record and his only encounter with the law was for marijuana use in 1997. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. 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. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. Then there was another murder. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. | 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. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. 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. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. 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. A relatively quiet, but friendly, a motel handyman called Cary Stayners only passions seemed to be nude sunbathing and hiking. 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. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC 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 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. 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. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. 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, 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 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. Quotes He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. '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.'". Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 You know, hung out with him, played with him.. 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. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. 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 Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. 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. 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. | Then he took action. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. 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. 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. Alternate Versions ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. He remains on He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. 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." He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. Management found him a hard worker and honest. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, California. Connections 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. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. 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. Part of TV News Archive. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Campbell, when first arrested on mail fraud charges, had in her possession Carole Sund's checking account and automated teller machine numbers. 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. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. 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. "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. Against the odds, he flourished there. 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. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. 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. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. 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 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. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. 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.
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