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. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. 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. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. 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. They no longer want you.. 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. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. 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. "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. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. Items included in the Television News search service. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. 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. I guess seven years changed him, too. 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. Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. Soundtracks. 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. 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. In the end, Stayner confessed without the promise of child pornography or reward money for his parents. He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. It was badly decomposed and her throat had been cut. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. 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. He was arrested on March 5 when he allegedly reported to his parole officer with liquor on his breath. 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. 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. Crazy Credits After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. Unofficially, Jens Sund offered a $250,000 reward for information that would lead to the return of the missing women. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. After a couple of weeks, he upped the sum to $300,000. 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. This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. 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. But why doesnt my dad hug me anymore? 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. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. | | Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. 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. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. 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. 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. He remains on 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 is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. where Stayner was employed as a handyman. Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. It was discovered beyond a campground adjacent to her living quarters in the Foresta community, a group of 30 cabins for use by park workers. 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. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. And he wanted the same treatment. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. On Good Morning America in March 1980, Steven shared with host David Hartman that it felt "great" to be home. 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 It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. Management found him a hard worker and honest. Jens couldn't accompany them on this trip because he needed to prepare for an upcoming business trip. 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 He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. 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. 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. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. 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. Angelia Dale, who testified before the federal grand jury. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. Still, the Bureau intensified its search, recruiting the use of more high-tech equipment and air support. WebThe story of Steven and Cary Stayner will leave you in absolute disbelief. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. 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. 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. 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. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. Something was clearly very, very wrong. "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. 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. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. He had given the FBI details "only the killer would know in such specificity that agents were able to recover evidence confirming his confession. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. 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. . Steven Stayner was just seven-years-old when he was abducted a few blocks from his home in Merced, For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. | Quotes "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. '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.'". 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. 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. 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. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. The revelation came in a six Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. 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. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. 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. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. 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 then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. According to court documents filed Monday, Cary Stayner told the FBI he assaulted Silvina Pelosso and Juli Sund before killing them. There, they got a room with a plan to stay for a few days. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. 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. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. 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. 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. He wanted the world to take note.. Investigators searched his truck and confiscated his backpack for examination. Then there was another murder. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at the age of 24. 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. 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. 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. Woman recalls moment family learned they were target of 1999 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. 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.". For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. 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 Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. I was the oldest and all that. In the Bureau's mind, this time it had the right man. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. She had probably been murdered on the evening of Wednesday, July 21. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. The 1999 murders of four women near Yosemite National Park were already a big story before Cary Stayner confessed in an FBI interview. Then he took action. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, California. 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. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. Then all of a sudden it's gone. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. You know what I mean? Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. 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 He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. 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. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. Steven and Cary Stayner: The tale of two brothers' horror - ABC In May 2002, Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1999 murder of Pelosso and the Sunds. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. 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. Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". 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. 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. She was subpoenaed because she is a friend of Dykes and Larwick. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. 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. 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 Alternate Versions Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. That evening, the group grabbed some videos from the lodge's service desk to watch in their room. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. 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. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. "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. 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 looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. 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. Specifically, the media scrutiny seemed to affect his older brother Cary, who clashed with his brother after his return. You have the other brother who's left at home. In a jailhouse interview with a television reporter, he said he did not rape any of the women. Check-out had apparently been done in advance and the keys were left on the room desk. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, everyone was smiling, but Cary in his baseball cap wasnt smiling at all. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. Campbell, when first arrested on mail fraud charges, had in her possession Carole Sund's checking account and automated teller machine numbers. In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. But, to no avail. 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. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. In order to prevent Steven from escaping, Parnell was constantly moving the two of them from town to town in California. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. Parnell and Murphy were driving towards town when Stephen was lured into their vehicle and abducted. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. It was the last time the women were seen alive. "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". 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, 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.