It reads: "My name is Steven Stainer [sic]. But for the Stayners, this seemingly closed hellish chapter of their lives turned out to beonly the first of the worst-nightmare scenarios that they faced. But as Kay also said that night, "We expected him to come back. ", Kay said in an interview, per CNN, "He came back different, very different. 162.211.29.130 The driver of the car fled the scene (and later surrendered himself in Tijuana, and was returned to California to be arraigned on felony hit-and-run manslaughter charges). Steven was transported to Merced Community Medical Center, and at 5:35pm, was declared dead. 195 in 2010) in Mendocino County, Calif., and hitchhiked 40 miles to Ukiah. I never recognized either one of them.". And there was just nothing there. Little did they know, Steven was being held at a cabin in nearby Catheys Valley. While there's not much information about what Steven was like as a child, there is some insight to Cary's early life. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. For two weeks Steven watched Timothy suffer. Dena. White eventually became a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy. "[25], Stayner underwent brief counseling but never sought additional treatment. Cary had been interviewedearly on in the investigationa massive undertaking involving local and federal authoritiesand ruled out as a suspect. In 1989, he tragically died in a motorcycle accident. ", Rowlandsreported that the then-37-year-old also said he had dreamed of killing women for 30 years and these four were "at the wrong place at the wrong time.''. According to our findings, little is known about Cory; nevertheless, Cary Stayner, popularly known as The Yosemite Killer, was condemned over 20 years ago for the 1999 killings of four people while serving as a motel handyman in California. We had hope, faith and kept busy. The title of the film and book are taken from the first paragraph of Steven's written police statement, given during the early hours of March 2, 1980 in Ukiah. [3], On the afternoon of December 4, 1972, Stayner was approached on his way home from school by a man named Ervin Edward Murphy, who had become acquainted with convicted child rapist Kenneth Parnell as they both worked at a resort in Yosemite National Park. Cary was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the murders of four women in 1999. This dog had been given to Parnell by his mother, who was not aware of Stayner's existence during the period when he was being held by Parnell. Barbara Mathias was never arrested. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Parnell approached with the car, and they left. At 14 years old, Steven was reunited with this parents, and became a national hero overnight. Adjusting to post-abduction life was no easy task for Steven. Kay was elated to have her son back. Steven Stayner escaped Kenneth Parnell when he was 14 years old. On March 1, 1980, after two weeks, Steven had had enough. I guess I was jealous. Stayner's parents proposed that one be named "Stayner Park". "He was spunky. "He assumed that identity because he [had to], you know, what would any of us do with that choice, and he was just a young kid. No longer able to deal with his peers, feeling academically stunted and more prone to drinking and goofing off, Steven dropped outof school and started doing odd jobs. On February 14, 1980, Parnell employed Randall Sean Poorman, a teenage friend of Stayner, to abduct a five-year-old Timothy "Timmy" White in Ukiah, California. On July 24, hours after beingcharged withthe murder ofJoie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old nature guidewho was found decapitatedtwo days beforehand in a densely wooded area of Yosemite just a few hundred feet from her home, Cary confessed in an off-camera jailhouse interview with San Francisco's KBWB-TV to also killing Carole Sund, 42,her daughter JuliSund, 15, and the girl's friend Silvina Pelosso, 16,that past February. [33], The production, which received four Emmy Award nominations, including one for Nemec, was based on a manuscript by Mike Echols, who had researched the story and interviewed Stayner and Parnell, among others. All three episodes ofCaptive Audience: A Real American Horror Storyare streaming now on Hulu. News. Captive Audiencealsodelves into thecreative license taken during the making of the miniseries and the way in which the version of events that unfolded for an average of 35.8 million viewers over the course of two nights becamethestorythat everyone knew. I think my last name isStayner.". He had askedhis home health care worker if she could help him procure a 4-year-old boy, offering to pay $500 to have him delivered to his house in Berkeley. Unable to avoid the collision, Steven hit the drivers side of the vehicle. One December afternoon in 1972, 7-year-old Steven had been walking home in Merced, California, when he was coaxed into a stranger's car with the promise of a ride home. At the time, Parnell was convicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment. FBI agent Jeff Rinek, one of the agents who arrested Cary and then spent 90 minutes in the car withhim driving to bureau headquarters in Sacramento, remembered to the San Francisco Chroniclein 2002 howthe suspect willingly talked about what happened to his brother. He even had a regular babysitter for awhile, a single mom namedBarbara Mathias, who ended up moving in with them for nine months. Steven Gregory Stayner was an American kidnapping victim popularly known for being abducted in Merced, California by child molester Kenneth Parnell on December 4, 1972, at the age of 7 years. Ervin Murphy, who aided in Steven'sabduction but, according to Echolls' book,insisted that he really thought Parnell was a minister and never thought he'd hurt a little boy, was also convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap, and served two years of a five-year sentence. As long as I can see them and hear their voices, I'm OK.", I Know My First Name Is Stevenwas nominated fora Golden Globe and four Emmys, including Outstanding Miniseries and Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for then 17-year-oldCorin Nemec,thanks to his heart-wrenching turn asSteven. What happened to Steven Stayner family? Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. His relationship with his father remained strained. Cary Stayner when he was just 8 months old, wearing a baby bonnet. ", Added Steven's father, Del Stayner, "I never stopped looking, every time I saw a crowd on TV or a picture of a lot of people in a magazine. The morning of March 2, 1980 Parnell was arrested. of revisiting thatunfathomable part ofhis childhood. But the family has since dealt with several tragedies along the way, including Stevens death and his older brothers incarceration for murder. On March 1, 1980, two weeks after Timothy White was abducted, as Parnell went on duty at his night security job, Steven Stayner left the house with Timmy and hitchhiked a ride to Ukiah. Initially wanted as an eyewitness, Cary was confronted by police in July of 1999, and ended up confessing to all four murders. After Timothy White, who had become a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy, died from pulmonary embolism in 2010, a statue of Stayner and White was built in Applegate Park in Merced, California. In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his sister, Cory, said He got on with his life. Gavin Newsom imposed a moratoriumon carrying out the death penalty while he's in office. Your IP: Parnell had also moved from one menial job to another, some of his work requiring travel and leaving Stayner unguarded, causing an adult Stayner to remark he could have easily used these absences as opportunities to flee, but was unaware how to summon help. Let's Look at Gaga's Style Evolution, Shall We? When 14-year-old Steven Stayner turned up at a police station, more than seven years after he was kidnapped while walking home from school, it felt like . kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell, who sexually abused him. He also refused to disclose all the details of sexual abuse he endured from Parnell. Article continues below advertisement He turned to alcohol to suppress his feelings, and eventually dropped out of school. Hes free.. The docuseries focused heavily on the miniseries and featured appearances by both Corin Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews. Both Poorman and White testified for the prosecution at his 2004 trial. Why Trust Us? . Parnell had also told this little boy that he wasgoing to be his new dad because his parents didn't want him anymore. All rights reserved. Reminiscent of what happened when kidnapping survivorElizabeth Smartwas spotted in town nine months after she was taken in 2002, seeminglyfree to run but actually terrified of what her abductor might do to her,many would question why Steven didn'ttell someone or otherwise try to escape. He was third of five children of his parents and had an elder brother Cary and three sisters. "I think it's so courageous for the family not only to let the story be toldit's very delicate and tragicbut also because they're using their real names," Cindy Pickett, who played Kay Stayner, told the Washington Postat the time. "I brought in Timmy because I didn't like what was happening," Stevenexplained to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, a variation of what he told police and reporters for a long time afterward. Much of the testimony that the defense has tried to introduce, such as the molestation of one of Stayners sisters by their father, has been barred because of objections by the prosecution. [2] In 2002, Cary was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of four women. Then all of a sudden it's gone. An ex-con who had already spent three years in San Quentin formolestingan 8-year-old boy plus another six years in a Utah prison on armed robbery and grand larceny charges, Parnell told Steven that he wasgoing to adopt him because his parents didn't want him anymore. Stevens parents, Kay and Delbert, were on a camping trip when they learned of the passing. Its final this time,he said. [25] He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just before his death. He now belonged to Parnell. Since then, Kay has preferred to keep her life private and hasnt spoken out apart from the interview on Captive Audience. She lost Delbert in April 2013. From what we can tell, Key spends her life post-retirement in California with her grandchildren and other loved ones. But in 1980, the Stayners' prayers were answered when Steven returned home after a seven-year disappearance. On December 4, 1972, he was walking home from school when he was spotted by Kenneth Parnell and his friend Ervin Murphy. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. During this time, he had grown very fond of his pet dog Queenie, a Manchester Terrier; Parnells mother has given the dog to Parnell. He was bullied, teased, and his sexuality was always called into question. They stopped the car and Murphy got out. He was held by his abductor until he was 14,. "The Abductions That Changed America", Article by Tim Bragg (staff writer) printed in the, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, List of child abuse cases featuring long-term detention, "Crash ends life scarred by childhood abduction", "Kidnapper arrested, accused of trying to buy a child", "Kidnap victim reunites with 'mystery woman', "Alleged attempt to buy child leads to arrest of kidnapper", "Stayner, serial killer Cary Stayner's brother, was abducted for 7 years - Crime Library on truTV.com", "17 Years Later, a Tv Miniseries Forces Steven Stayner to Relive the Horror of His Childhood", "Mormon News for WE 01Aug99: Stayner family's woeful history", "A Hit-and-Run Crash Ends the Life of Kidnap Victim Steven Stayner", "A Kidnapping Victim Rates The Film About His Ordeal", "OAKLAND / Child predator sentenced to 25 years to life / Steven Stayner's kidnapper tried to buy 4-year-old in Berkeley", "Sex offender Kenneth Parnell dies in Vacaville", "Ukiah Daily Journal: Timothy White, boy saved by Steven Stayner, dead at 35", "Timothy White, victim of 1980 kidnapping, dies", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Stayner&oldid=1141810053, Articles with dead external links from February 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 22:53. He told TheSan Jose Mercury Newsthat watching his children play was like having another childhood the childhood I didnt have., Steven was bravely going about reconstructing his life,JK Miller said. "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. Ramirez, Jessica. Originally published January 20, 2007 at 12:00 am. According to Stayner, Mathias, along with Parnell, raped him on nine occasions at the age of nine. After he failed to find Timmy's parents, he decided to lead the young boy into the police station to get help, as he was not attempting an escape for himself. Sadly, Stayners triumphant return didnt last long, as he died several years after the daring escape. Motivated in part by the young boy's distress, Stayner decided to return the boy to his parents. Steven Stayner's parents were left with many questions when their 7-year-old son vanished into thin air in 1972. 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