what happened to cary stayner parentswhat happened to cary stayner parents

"It was a sleety, wintery day," Sean Flynn, a journalist who wrote about both Stayner brothers for Esquire, said. Stayner was questioned several times by law enforcement and eventually confessed to the 1999 murders of 42-year-old Carole Sund, her 15-year-old daughter Juli, their 16-year-old family friend Silvina Pelosso and Joie Armstrong, a 26-year-old Yosemite naturalist, according to History. Stayner, already serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Joie Armstrong, faces the death penalty for the murders of Carole and Juli Sund and Sylvina Pelosso. Later, she moved to the food and wine section, where she covered food and wine trends and news. Perhaps confident in his evasion, he sent FBI investigators a letter with a map, detailing where he had left Juli's body and hinting that he had sexually assaulted the body. I'd play basketball with them, hang out with them," said Tim Tatum. [3] Cary later said that he felt neglected while his parents grieved over the loss of Steven. [1], Cary Stayner was born and raised in Merced, California. What was worse, Kay Stayner said, was that family members never talked about their feelings -- because in the Stayner home emotions were taboo. He also revealed a disturbing truth: he originally intended to kill his girlfriend and her daughters before he went on to target Carole Sund, Juli Sund, and Silvina Pelosso on February 15, 1999. That night, he talked his way into their room under the guise of fixing a leak, and then sexually assaulted both girls and brutally murdered all three. "Very seldom did he get into trouble. Cary Stayner was the oldest of Delbert and Kay Stayner's five children, who included Steven and three sisters. Stayner's parents, who apologized to the families of the victims, advocated against the death penalty. She and her family have been the subject of more news stories and profiled in more books than some politicians and celebrities. Detectives began interviewing employees of the Cedar Lodge motel where the first three victims had been staying just before their deaths. "His idea of serenity was to maybe smoke a little pot and to sunbathe naked.". Refocus, and listen as we honor the memory of Steven Stayner, a boy kidnapped in his youth, only to tragically die shortly after escaping captivity. Along Bette Street, neighbors searched for clues from Cary Stayner's childhood that he was capable of the gruesome crime. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. [5] FBI agents John Boles and Jeff Rinek found Stayner staying at the Laguna del Sol nudist resort in Wilton, where he was arrested and taken to Sacramento for questioning. During his murder trial, Staynor's defense lawyers who were trying to save him from a death sentence revealed a long history of child abuse in the Stayner home. You know what I mean? After he was brought in for questioning, he confessed 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. Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the other murders in state court. He had visited the resort before in March after his first murder spree, and he lived there in a tent beside a lake. His father, Delbert Stayner, admitted that he became so obsessed about finding Steven at the cost of his relationship with his other children, according to SFGate. When Cary Stayner was just 11, his younger brother, Steven, 7, was snatched from a Merced street on his way home from school. There was a "pall over" Cary, because he was "the kid who had his brother kidnapped," said Bungart. When Steven was abducted, Cary had wished upon a star every night that Steven would return, per SFGate. "He seemed like a nice guy. Steven Stayner with his parents In their four years together, they welcomed daughter Ashley, followed by son Steven Jr. Authorities had already interviewed him once before about the other three murders, but at the time he hadnt raised any red flags. Lynnea Shertz, who grew up two doors down from the Stayners, remembered Cary Stayner as a scrawny teenager who liked to draw figures. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a135be5ae24dae5 "Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. In 1972, when he was eleven, his seven-year-old brother, Steven Stayner, was abducted by a pedophile, Kenneth Parnell, and didn't escape until eight years later. Joie Ruth Armstrong, a naturalist at Yosemite National Park, was brutally murdered by Cary Stayner, a motel handyman at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal, Calif. (The . His mental health issues predated his brother's abduction. Steven was a different person when he returned to his home in Merced, California. She started at the Chronicle as a general assignment reporter, covering breaking news, catastrophes, crime, criminal and civil trials. Staynerwhose young brother Steven was abducted as a child and later received nationwide attention through the TV miniseries, "I Know My First Name is Steven"murdered two women and two teenage girls near Yosemite National Park in 1999: Joie Armstrong, Carole Sund, Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso. Stayner is now 60 years old and is currently being held in San Quentin State prison, per California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. And now this. But adding children to the equation seemed to only make their relationship worse. He goes, "OK. Don't worry. According to SFGATE, Cary Stayner was jealous of all of the attention his younger brother received, both in the media and from their parents. The penalty phase is scheduled to resume today, and closing arguments are planned for Monday. The Stayner family, made up of the two brothers, their three sisters and parents Kay and Delbert, lived in the secluded farming town of Merced, California, surrounded by almond groves and peach orchards, in the shadow of Yosemite National Park. The Stayner family thought they lost their 7-year-old son, Steven Stayner, when he disappeared in 1972. His high school girlfriend said he later told her what happened. But Kay knew that child molestation, something she went through, was out of the question. "We got Steve back, not Stevie," said Kay Stayner, who spent a lot of time telling the jury about the toll her youngest son's disappearance took on the family and how it affected Cary. He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. Would love your thoughts, please comment. By that time, Cary Stayner was already having grotesque fantasies, the agent wrote. He was perverted," Flores, 35, said. Cary's mother, Kay Stayner, had also been molested by her own father, per SFGate. Two weeks later, fellow kidnap victim Steven Stayner . Steven Stayner was 7 years old when he was approached on his way home from school by a Ukiah hotel clerk named Kenneth Parnell. The trial was so emotionally charged that Judge Thomas C. Hastings had to leave the room to gather himself, and when he returned, he appeared as if he had cried. I dont think he should be executed because hes sick. But Cary still got the death penalty. Therefore, Kay swore to raise her children that same way, without an ounce of sentimental touch or warmth, which Delbert seemed to agree with. After her friends reported her missing, police found signs of a struggle at her cabin and half a mile away, they found her body. Even if I confess, they are going to give me death.. They. The first time, he was a seven-year-old child on a missing person poster, having disappeared without a trace on his way home . Now I had to compete with a brother and three sisters. Delbert even referred to Steven as his real son and pushed the other away. On December 4, 1972, Steven Stayner was walking home from school on the side of a highway when a white Buick pulled up beside him. Stayner's brother, Cary, is in San Quentin State Prison awaiting execution for killing four women in Yosemite National Park in 1999. They then slept in the same bed, and Cary awoke to his uncle attempting to molest him, according to SFGate. Cary Stayner was convicted in the 1999 murders of 42-year-old Carole Sund, . Cary with his little brother, Steven. 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. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. [4] Between February and July 1999, he murdered two women and two teenagers: 42-year-old Carole Sund; her daughter, 15-year-old Juli Sund; Juli's friend, 16-year-old Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso; and Yosemite Institute employee Joie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old naturalist.[5]. Cary Stayner, shown in this March 2, 1980 photo, is hugged by his mother Kay Stayner outside the Stayner home in Merced County, Calif., on the day Stayner's brother Steven was reunited with his family after being kidnapped for 7 years. Our days would be-- just get on our bikes in the morning and go to the park. Her stories include full coverage of the Yosemite murders and the Scott Peterson case, the beleaguered California olive industry and farming and ranching issues. By then police had charged two other men for Stayner's initial murders two brothers who had a criminal record, per ABC News. Kay Stayner, left, and her son's attorney, Marcia Morrissey, right, leave the Santa Clara Superior Court during a break in the penalty phase of her son's murder trial Thursday, Oct. 3, 2002. Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Five months after killing the trio, he decapitated Joie Armstrong, a 26- year-old Yosemite naturalist. Its a story of a happy ending turned rathertwisted. Rinek wrote that even though the abuse likely poured fuel on a fire for Stayner to eventually commit murder, it was a fire that had already begun to smolder before he was sexually abused and before his brother was kidnapped. No executions have been made in California, since the year 2006 when a court . As the older brother, Stayner felt a natural if undeserved sense of responsibility for not protecting Steven from harm. The brothers, four years apart in age, shared a room, but didnt get along, according to Rowlands. While his brother was outgoing and popular at Merced High, Cary Stayner was known as more of an introvert. The two brothers of the Stayner family are both famous, both tied to the wonder of Yosemite National Park, and both knew unspeakable horror. "He said, "OK,' and gave me these booklets and he asked me if I wanted a ride home. Born In: Merced, California, United States 26 7 Quick Facts Also Known As: Steven Gregory Stayner Died At Age: 24 Family: Spouse/Ex-: Jody Edmondson (m. 1985-1989) father: Delbert Stayner mother: Kay Stayner siblings: Cary Stayner, Cory Stayner children: Ashley Stayner, Steven Stayner Jr. American Men Aries Men Died on: September 17, 1989 His story was turned into a television miniseries. "At some point, Parnell and Steven together realized that Steven was growing up and that he was no longer going to be controlled by Parnell," Lunney said. When the FBI arrived at the restaurant, Stayner was eating breakfast. And there was just nothing there," said Pat Lunney, an investigator assigned to Steven Stayners case. Born on April 18, 1965, Steven Stayner was the third of 5 children born in the Stayner family in Merced, California. Your IP: Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, was accused of sexually abusing his daughters, and Rinek wrote sexual abuse in the family went back at least five generations. In the little time I worked with him, he just seemed like a regular person.". One of those employees was Stayner, but he was not considered a suspect at that point because he had no criminal history and remained calm during the police interview.[8]. Cary's brother, Steven . During that time, he was physically and mentally abused by Kenneth which deeply affected him as a person. Currently, she is a business reporter, covering the food and wine industries, agriculture and tourism. Most people now know him as "The Yosemite Park Killer". Click to reveal California Department of CorrectionsCary Stayner's prison record. Aged seven, Stayner, a California native, was abducted by child molester Kenneth Parnell. His brother Steven was held captive for more than seven years before escaping and reuniting with his family. [4], When Steven escaped Parnell and returned home in 1980, he received massive media attention. He's never caused any problems," Houtz, 32, said. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. By Gina Tron. From the time Cary was a small boy, the Stayner family vacationed together in Yosemite and the surrounding high countrypiling into the family van and driving 60 miles east to camp, fish, and . After Steven's death, his parents sold the house. As for where Delbert and Kay Stayner are now, the pair had made it evident that they wanted to lead quiet lives after the events of the early 2000s. Tragically, Steven Stayner was killed in a 1989 motorcycle accident at age 24. Cary Stayner worked at Cedar Lodge for two years before he killed guests Carole and Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso. But there isnt. When his sister had a sleepover, he crawled under the bed of one of her friends in order to touch her breasts. Assistant Sheriff Strength said Stayner was on the waiting list for a job as a county jail guard. To avoid a possible death sentence, he pleaded guilty to premeditated first-degree murder, felony first-degree murder, kidnapping resulting in death, and attempted aggravated sexual abuse resulting in death. A third brother, Cary Stayner, is seen in a ball cap in the background between his brothers Steven and Delbert. He finally ran away and turned himself over to a nearby police department. Steven Stayner captured the heart of a nation when he helped another child escape from a pedophile, after enduring years of abuse and not wanting to see the child experience the same fate. Steven Stayner tragically died in a motorcycle accident in 1989. In high school, he served as the cartoonist for the student paper and was voted "most creative" by his classmates, per ABC News. Seven-year-old, Steven Stayner lived with his parents, Kay and Delbert and his three sisters and an older brother in the small Californian city of Merced. In 1989, Steven tragically died in a motorcycle accident at 24 years old, per A&E. Cary Stayner is not just a convicted killer and rapist, but hes also the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. The few years after Steven's abduction, their parents had been well preoccupied with trying to find their son. Cary Stayner is shown in a 1979 Merced High School yearbook photo. I wish there was a reason. When investigators finally began to suspect Stayner six months later, he had already murdered again. On February 15, 1999, Yosemite tourists Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and exchange student Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing, per SFGate. The 14-year-old was an instant hero, and later the subject of the NBC miniseries "I Know My First Name Is Steven.". "He knew everyone and talked to everyone, but I can't say anyone was his best friend or not.". He was sentenced to death in 2002 and remains on death row. Cary was arrested the following year and was convicted of all four women's murders and put to death in the trials that followed. He skidded trying to avoid a car pulling out of a driveway and fatally struck his head. In December 1990, Jesse "Jerry" Stayner, 42, Cary and Steven's uncle, was shot to death in his Merced home. Steven Stayner was the middle child of a family from Merced, California. In 2021, it was penalized around $400,000 for safety violations that resulted in a COVID-19 outbreak and 28 inmate deaths, per CNN. A true crime book and TV movie, both titled I Know My First Name Is Steven, were made about the ordeal. At first, they believed the perpetrator was already in custody; this proved to be a fatal mistake. He is also the prime suspect in the Sund-Pelosso case. "He said we should be glad that Steven was gone. Kay and Delbert Stayner testified as character witnesses in the penalty phase of their son's murder trial. He died at the age of 79, and the reason for his death has not been publicly disclosed as far as we can ascertain. The contrast between the two brothers is "surreal," Flynn said. There was out and out fury over the sentence," Flynn said. Her head, which had been removed, was found several feet away in the water. After Steven had been abducted, Cary and a cousin spent a night with their uncle, who showed them nude photos of underage girls. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Stayner's case was granted additional attention because of his brother, Steven Stayner, who had been kidnapped and was missing for seven years. Stayner's 1972 abduction was originally treated like a local news item about every parent's worst nightmare. But for the murders of the three female tourists, prosecutors were not going to let him get off so relatively easy; they were determined to give him the maximum penalty. Stayner's attorneys request that the location of his trial be moved away from the area surrounding Yosemite in order to guarantee him a fair trial was granted, per The Los Angeles Times. Cary Stayner, also known as The Yosemite Killer, was convicted nearly 20 years ago in the deaths of four people in 1999 while he was working as a hotel handyman in California. 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