In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. 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. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. 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. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. Quotes Agents descended on the colony and returned him to El Portal on Saturday where he was put through a more lengthy interrogation. Soon after, he confessed to murdering Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso once in custody. I guess I was jealous. He loved his brother. They finally caught up with him at the Laguna Del Sol nudist colony, which he frequently visited. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. 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.". She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. Part of TV News Archive. 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 They no longer want you.. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. 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. | Goofs 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. "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. 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 The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. 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. Soundtracks. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. During the first crash, the truck jackknifed before hitting the car. ", Steven Stayner with his kidnapper Kenneth Parnell. 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 days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. "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. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. 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. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. Still, the Bureau intensified its search, recruiting the use of more high-tech equipment and air support. He grew up, got married and had two kids. Hastings rejected new defense claims that juror misconduct prevented a fair trial. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". 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. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. 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. 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. Latent fingerprints were also been lifted from the interior of Joie Armstrong's truck, which Stayner admits to touching during his encounter with her. Then all of a sudden it's gone. 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. 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. He wanted the world to take note.. Cary was the ideal son, Kay Stayner revealed to the jury during her elder sons trial for murder. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. Then he took action. I never recognized either one of them.". Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. 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 From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. 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. It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. The prosecution team was headed by George Williamson and the defense team was headed by Marcia Morrissey. 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. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. 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. He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. 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. 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. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. Items included in the Television News search service. He has been questioned about any involvement. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. 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. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. 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. 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. 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. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. Her body was next to a stream and head within the water that she and her friends used for drinking water. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. "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. For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. Something was clearly very, very wrong. 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. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. 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 other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. 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. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, 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.'". But, says Delbert, puberty-aged Cary endured some emotional hardships because of that incident. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. ", 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. Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. 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 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. Against the odds, he flourished there. 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.". ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. 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. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. In 1972, Stayners Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. He had talked his way into the room under the guise of fixing a leak, and then sexually assaulted both girls and brutally murdered Carole Lund and Silvina Pelosso in the room. 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. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. In mid-July of 2002, the trial began in Judge Thomas C. Hastings courtroom. 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. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, See more StrangeOutdoors True Crime Stories, The horrific rape and murder of Sophie Louise Hook whilst camping in her Uncle's garden, The miracle rescue of Alan Lee Phillips at Colorados Guanella Pass - the man who turned out to be a serial killer, The chilling story of Thomas Lee Dillon - the Ohio Outdoorsmen killer, https://casefilepodcast.com/case-161-the-yosemite-sightseer-murders-part-1/, https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/stayner-cary.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner, https://abcnews.go.com/US/steven-cary-stayner-tale-brothers-horror-heroism/story?id=60529944, https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/me-timothy-white10-2010apr10-story.html, https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26040174/cary-stayner-steven-yosemite-murders/, https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/july-25-1999-cary-stayner-arrested-murder-yosemite-60263995, https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-recalls-moment-family-learned-target-1999-yosemite/story?id=60364987, https://www.theunion.com/news/local-news/stayner-sentenced-to-death/, Tagged: The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, Carole Sund yosemite murders, Juli Sund yosemite murders, Silvina Pelosso yosemite murders, Cary Stayner yosemite murders, Yosemite park murders, Joie Ruth Armstrong, Sign up now for a one-time fee for access to over 55 exclusive member articles, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, The miraculous escape of the Brazilian and German backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, Robert Hansen Butcher Baker - the Alaska Serial killer who hunted his victims in the wilderness, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing death of Fiona Torbet in the Scottish highlands, The unsolved Williams and Winans camping murders in Shenandoah National Park, The real Wolf Creek - The Backpacker Murders in the Australian Outback, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, The disturbing disappearance of the Beaumont children on Glenelg Beach, The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances, The Delphi hiking murders - Abigail Williams and Liberty German, The Peter Falconio disappearance in the Australian Outback, The unsolved murder of Scott Lilly on the Appalachian trail, The disturbing case of James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer. 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 He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. In (the) interview, Stayner said he had fantasized about killing women for the last 30 years and described in detail how he murdered all the women, He had strangled Pelosso and Carole Sund in their rented cabin in the Cedar Lodge motel, then took Juli Sund to a lake, where he killed her early the next morning. 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. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 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 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. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. 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 FBI pushed for Strange's arrest, but he denied any part in the triple murders. 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. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. For years, Parnell traveled around California with Steven. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. 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. Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. 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 order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. Management found him a hard worker and honest. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. How frightened the girls must have been when he cut their clothes off.. Alternate Versions Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, Connections While he attended his meeting, the women were to tour the Grand Canyon. 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. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. 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. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. 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. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. 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. 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. 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. . Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. "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. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. 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. 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. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public.