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. Cary Stayner, now 57, was convicted of the murders of Armstrong, the Sunds and Pelosso, and sentenced to death for all except Armstrong's. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. 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. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. 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. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. Steven was a national hero. 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. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. 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.. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, California. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. ", 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. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. 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. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. 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 He has been questioned about any involvement. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. I did murder Carole Sund, Juli Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong None of the women were sexually abused in any way.". Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. 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. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. 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. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. Then all of a sudden it's gone. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. I guess I was jealous. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. 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. 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.". He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. 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. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. 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 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. In 1972, Stayners On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. 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. 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 It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. And he wanted the same treatment. 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. This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. 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. Jens couldn't accompany them on this trip because he needed to prepare for an upcoming business trip. | | After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. 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. 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. "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. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. 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. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. 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. 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. 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. | 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. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. They no longer want you.. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. 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. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. 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. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. 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 Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. 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 The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. I was the oldest and all that. 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. 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. ", Steven Stayner with his kidnapper Kenneth Parnell. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. Connections I guess seven years changed him, too. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. Although the Merced police department launched a full-fledged investigation at the time of Stevens disappearance, they werent able to find any significant leads. To the dismay of the Stayner family, the case went cold. 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 inn staff claimed that when they cleaned the room the next morning, they had detected no evidence of foul play or anything that made them suspicious. 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. 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. 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. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. Very seldom did he get into trouble. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. While he attended his meeting, the women were to tour the Grand Canyon. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. 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. 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. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Timothy Lee White, 5, gets a piggyback ride from 14-year-old Steven Stayner at a news conference in Ukiah, California, in 1980, Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, Your parents, I just spoke to them. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. Ive never seen anything thats so close to black and white and evil and good as Stayner and our children, said Francis Carrington, the father of Carole Sund and grandfather of Juli. Alternate Versions 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. Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. Something was clearly very, very wrong. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. He wanted the world to take note.. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. 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 Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. The brothers, four years apart in age, shared a room, but didnt get along, Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. "He stated that he felt like jumping in a truck, driving it through the shop and killing the boss and killing everybody in the office, and then torching the place," friend Mark Marchese said in 1999. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. William Mapother is a cousin of, The unsub bears some similarities with Cary Stayner, older brother of infamous kidnapping victim Steven Stayner (. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. Quotes WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. 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 Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Timothy White, the kidnap victim, was only 35 when he died. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. I never recognized either one of them.". 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. 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. 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. Items included in the Television News search service. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. 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. You have the other brother who's left at home. A relatively quiet, but friendly, a motel handyman called Cary Stayners only passions seemed to be nude sunbathing and hiking. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Then there was another murder. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. He remains on Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. 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. A large search turned up nothing. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. Four hikers visiting Yosemite National Park had been brutally murdered, and Cary Stayner had confessed to the crimes. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. "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. 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. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. Soundtracks. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. 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. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. 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. 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. 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. 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. Part of TV News Archive. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body.