Steven Stayner's Childhood Abduction Made Him A Household Name. Then Stayner had a traumatic childhood involving sexual abuse, the kidnap of his younger brother by a pedophile, and feelings of blame that he could not protect his brother, FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Rinek wrote in his book, In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agents Relentless Pursuit of the Nations Worst Predators. Rinek wrote that even though the abuse likely poured fuel on a fire for Stayner to eventually commit murder, it was one that had already begun to smolder before he was sexually abused and before his brother was kidnapped. At one point, Steven mentioned in an interview, Ive been talking to reporters for nine years. 0 references. Killer: Cary Stayner - The Yosemite Killer profiled on Killer.Cloud "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. Everything has changed. According to The Press Democrat, Kay Stayner said she "never did lose [her] hope" of finding her missing son. He married Kay about three years later, and the couple went on to have three daughters and two sons. Per the Spokesman-Review, Parnell told Stayner that his parents didn't want him anymore; he was beaten so viciously that he was afraid to run away. How Did Steven Stayner's Dad Del Stayner Die? - The Cinemaholic On September 16, 1989, Steven Stayner was riding his motorcycle home from work when a car suddenly pulled out of a driveway onto the highway. In addition to assisting in the production of a miniseries based on his experience, Stayner became an advocate for preventing child abduction and helping victims of abuse. Starcasm Staff July 2, 2021 20/20, True Crime. He eventually got a job as a trainee manager at Pizza Hut in Merced, and spent the rest of the time lecturing about stranger danger at local schools. Stayner's brother, Cary, is in San. Steven Stayner testifies about his abduction in 1972 by Kenneth Parnell and his seven years in captivity in this 1981 photo. For two weeks, Steven watched Timothy suffer the separation from his family. Parnell was registered as a sex offender when he lured 7-year-old Stayners into his car as the boy walked home from his elementary school in Merced, California. Following his brother's death, History reports Cary worked as a handyman at a lodge near Yosemite National Park. Cary Stayner was convicted in 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. After several weeks, the bodies of all three women were discovered. and our 'Captive Audience' Hulu Review: Stream It Or Skip It? - Decider Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! During the penalty phase, Del admitted to having neglected his children after Steven went missing and said regarding Cary, I didnt socialize with him. According to a psychiatrist who would later evaluate Stayner for his defense team, the Stayner family tree was riven with mental illness and sexual abuse going back five generations. [6] He escaped from a state institution in Norwalk, but was recaptured. Kenneth Eugene Parnell was born in Amarillo, Texas[1][2] to Cecil Frederick and Mary Olive (ne Pollard) Parnell, during the region's dust bowl era during the Great Depression. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. On September 16, 1989, Stayner was riding his motorcycle on his way home from his job, when he collided with a driver coming out of a nearby migrant labor camp. Steven Stayner - Wikiwand Stayner had been driving his new Kawaksaki motorcycle when the driver pulled out in front of him on a rain-soaked highway. Like Kay, he urged the jury at Carys trial not to sentence him to death. As Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, a Hulu docuseries that streams today, shows, the two boys bravely testified against Parnell at his trial. He was charged and convicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment, sentenced to seven years in prison. "Captive Audience": Steven Stayner's Short Life Was Marred by - Yahoo! "Parnell wanted another kid that he could sexually assault.". 0 references. Steven died in 1989, aged 24. In addition to believing his parents no longer wanted him, The Famous People reports Stayner was simply unsure how to get out of the situation he was in. Cary's defense team argued that he suffered from mental illness, in part from the trauma he suffered when Steven was kidnapped. "Steven was a national hero. "[2] He claimed to have been married three times, but only one record of his marriage is known. For seven years, as the two moved around Mendocino and Sonoma counties, Stayner was known as Dennis Parnell. Two kidnapped boys, a hero's return, then a tragic twist: The Steven's death, along. Watch "20/20's" full story, "The Black Sheep," TONIGHT at 9 p.m. As he was not wearing a helmet, he suffered massive head trauma, which led to his death less than one hour after the accident occurred. His parents had different expectations. Steven's parents were devastated by their son's disappearance and the lack of witnesses or any evidence in the case. Steven Gregory Stayner was born on April 18, 1965 in Merced, California, to Delbert and Kay Stayner. Police first arrested convicted pedophile, Kenneth E. Parnel immediately and went to work tracking down Ervin Murphy according to Lodi News-Sentinel, who had only been involved in the kidnapping before going his own way. 12 Leading Causes of Death in the United States - Healthline Im not sure there is any direct cause and effect," Flynn said. However, he only served five years of his sentence. ", "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. Steven Stayner, who as a child was kidnaped from his Merced home and held captive until he escaped seven years later, died Saturday in a motorcycle accident, a coroner's spokesman . Unable to avoid the collision, Steven hit the driver's side of the vehicle. He sexually abused Stayner repeatedly until Stayner fled in 1980 when he was 14. 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. "It seemed as though he had a compulsion with trying to get close to women or be sexual with them," Rowlands said. He was convicted in 2004 for attempting to purchase a child for sex and died in prison. Privacy Policy. As reported by The Famous People, Parnell eventually convinced Stayner that his parents relinquished their rights and that he was granted full legal custody. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Steven Stayner, who as a child was kidnaped from his Merced home and held captive until he escaped seven years later, died Saturday in a motorcycle accident, a coroners spokesman said. They kicked him out of their house twice. In 1999 a proposition was put forward to rename several local parks in the Merced area to honour outstanding citizens of the city. The officers soon realized that both of the boys had actually been kidnapped, and the one identifying himself as Dennis Parnell was actually Steven Stayner. Cary is 60 and remains in prison. The Famous People reports Stayner had a difficult time adjusting to returning to his parents' home. When Stayner failed to return home from school, his parents contacted authorities immediately. Stayner was riding his motorcycle home from work the night before the Emmys when he was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Steven was 24 years old at the time of death. You know what I mean? For more information, please see our "They call [Merced] the gateway to Yosemite," said Ted Rowlands, a former reporter who covered Cary Stayners story at KNTV for the San Francisco Bay area. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years. Leave a Comment / Death-Obituary / By Elon. Parnell was sentenced to 20 months in prison for Steven's. Stevens sister, Cory, later said that he never went to therapy or counseling because their father didnt think he needed it. Have something to tell us about this article? One relative described child sexual abuse as like a family sickness because it had been going on for so many generations. He was convicted of kidnapping 7-year-old Steven Stayner as the boy walked . Find a Grave And if I didnt take care of it now, it would just get worse, Lori Duke, Stayners high school girlfriend, told ABC News. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood.". Steven Stayner cause of death - vimbuzz.com Stayner became known as a hero and inspired a television miniseries, I Know My First Name is Steven.. As Steven got older and entered puberty, Parnell's sexual interest in Stayner waned and Parnell sought a new boy to "build his family". in 2004. That's tragic. Steven Stayner (April 18, 1965 - Sept 16, 1989) was a kidnapping victim. Timothy White, Victim of a Notorious 1980 Kidnapping, Dies at 35 Convicted sex offender Kenneth Parnell, known for the 1972 kidnapping and seven-year-long confinement of Steven Stayner, died Monday in the state prison hospital at Vacaville . He had been under hospice care for some time.[10]. Parnell was registered as a sex offender when he lured 7-year-old Stayners into his car as the boy walked home from his elementary school in Merced, California. He also felt more directly responsible. Sentenced to eight years, he served only five before being released, as reported by CNN. Carole Sund, her daughter Juli Sund and friend Silvina Pelosso were missing for a month before their bodies were found. In 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped by a pedophile named Kenneth Parnell in Merced, California and held captive for the next seven years. About eight years later, Steven escapeda story that drew significant media attention and was turned into a popular television miniseries, "I Know My First Name Is Steven." But in 1989, Steven died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24. By this point, Cary Stayner was suffering. However, none of them panned out. sibling. ET on ABC, Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. Kidnapping On the afternoon of December 4, 1972, on his way home from school, Stayner was approached by a man named Ervin Edward Murphy, who had met convicted child rapist Kenneth Parnell while working at a resort in Yosemite National Park. Release Date! Surrounded by TV cameras, Steven Stayner, right foreground, and and his brother Delbert Stayner are shown walking toward their Merced County, Calif., home, March 2, 1980, as Steven was reunited with his family following a 7-year kidnap ordeal. "Steven could have grown up normal happy and healthy and Cary still wouldve been a serial killer. Maybe if he hadnt fled the scene then Steven could have gotten help sooner and might still be alive. Cary was very upset, he said. His grades faltered, and he dropped out, per the Los Angeles Times. Steven Stayner (Steven Gregory Stayner) was born on 18 April, 1965 in Merced, CA, is an American child kidnapping victim. Child molester of famed Steven Stayner case dies in prison Parnell married 15-year old Patsy Jo Dorton in 1949,[7] had a daughter in 1951, and divorced in 1957. This is the story of a seven-year-old boy named Steven Stayner. I never recognized either one of them.". At that point Stayner decided to save White from the abuse he had endured and the two escaped. 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. "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," Rowlands said. Stayner had a pet dog named Queenie, with whom he formed a close bond, and was permitted to begin drinking and smoking at a young age. Barbara Mathias, Parnell's girlfriend who lived with him and Stayner for some time, was never charged with any violation and cooperated with authorities in Parnell's trials. An archive article published September 18, 1989, two days after Stayners death, in The Spokesman-Review, said a driver hit Stayner on a highway and left him on the ground with severe head injuries. However, he always enrolled the boy in school and often allowed Stayner freedoms that a kidnapper would not traditionally grant a captor. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'". . Unfortunately, Parnell eventually convinced another teenage boy, named Randall Sean Poorman, to help him kidnap 5-year-old Timothy White. He got on with his life, his sister Cory Stayner told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Then he took matters into his own hands. He later moved with his mother, his two half-sisters, and a half-brother to Bakersfield, California, where his mother operated a boarding lodge. Captive Audience: Where Is Steven's Brother Cary Stayner Now? - Peoplemag