While adjusting to his new life at home, and being bullied in school for the abuse he experienced, Steven also had to deal with Parnell during his 1981 trial, a year after his return home. April 22, 2022 Steven Stayner's miraculous story of escape from his kidnapper in 1980 garnered national headlines at the time. His health struggles detailed, Martina McClures story: Her injury and recovery, How did Simon Dunn die? If its the last thing I do, Ill nail him if I possibly can. Cary had been interviewedearly on in the investigationa massive undertaking involving local and federal authoritiesand ruled out as a suspect. He named the dog, a Manchester Terrier, Queenie. This is the hardest thing she has ever had to face, and she just cant talk to anybody. Born on April 18, 1965, in Merced, California, Steven Gregory Stayner had an older brother named Cary and three sisters. [25] He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just before his death. Stayner's parents proposed that one be named "Stayner Park". Even though missing fliers circulatedall over the place, including some of the schools Steven attended, no one evercame forward to say they recognized him. ", HetoldNewsweek in 1984, "I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their 7-year-old. [8], Parnell molested Stayner the first night at the cabin. The abductor abused Steven and planned to use the boy to abduct more victims. For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. If you enjoyed this story, read about another kidnap victim who returned home safely Jayme Closs. But it wasn't until the age of 37 that he would become a murderer. The parents of five, who had kept all the presents their son never got to open after going missing a few weeks before Christmas in 1972, ultimatelygot their wish thanks to Steven's bravery. Parnell bounced from one job to another, some requiring him to travel and leave Steven home alone. Looking beyond the good vs. bad brother trope, the directorreflected onrevisiting the divergent branches of the Stayner storyin a way that doesn't allow for the audience to tidily point fingers. He barely knew his parents, and his parents scarcely knew the teenager whod returned home. Steven, taking a leave of absence from his job, acted as an advisor for Lorimar-Telepictures and had a non-speaking part, playing one of the two policemen who escort 14-year-old Steven (played by Corin Nemec) through the crowds to his waiting family, on his return to his Merced home. My dad said he didnt need any.. The sexual abuse also went on at night, until, as Steven remembered, Parnell told him he was getting too old and came home with Timothy White, the child's blond hair already dyed a darker shade. He was described as a quiet kid, he enjoyed hanging out with his friends, going to the park, riding his skateboard, or even his bike. Both actors reflecton the stranger-than-fiction chain of events inCaptive Audience, as well asread Steven and Cary's own words from interview transcripts. "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. Yet Stayner also said that he had no desire to see him again.". He went back to sharing a room with his older brother Cary, and the two didnt get along. He remains on death row as of July 2021, but there have been zero executions in the state of California since a 2006 court ruling on the flaws found in the management of capital punishment. He also refused to disclose all the details of sexual abuse he endured from Parnell. [44] Fundraisers for the statue have stated that it is meant to honor Steven Stayner and give families of missing and kidnapped children hope that they are still alive.[44]. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five -- less time than he held Steven captive. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. We had hope, faith and kept busy. What happened Cary Stayner? This case just breaks my heart And the whole story about his big brother, too. Juli's body was discoveredMarch 25 next to a reservoirabout 30 miles away from the car with help from an anonymous letter to the FBI that Cary said he sent himselfbut had someone else lick the stamp, so his DNA couldn't be traced. 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. Under false pretenses, Cary entered their room and sexually assaulted both girls. I Know My First Name Is Stevenalludes to Cary, who was 18 when his brother reappeared, being jealous of all the attention Steven was getting, but there's no indication of him being seriously disturbed. Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Stayner was abducted in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Cary was 11 years old at time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. (The other driver, Anthony Loera, actually left the scene but ultimatelyturned himself in. Why Trust Us? "I couldn't see Timmy suffer," Stevenlater told Newsweek. Mathias also helped Parnell in the abduction of another boy who was in the Santa Rosa Boys' Club with Stayner, but the attempt was unsuccessful. "How does that change the way we think about responsibilityand does it bring us into an uncomfortable place?". After performing a background check, they discovered this wasnt his first offense he had been convicted in 1951 for sodomy. Although pleased with the dramatization, Stayner did complain that it depicted him as a somewhat "obnoxious, rude" person, especially toward his parents, something he refuted while publicizing the miniseries in the spring of 1989. Dena. Normally when I think about storylines in these categories, they tend to fall in binary categories, someone is either a hero or a villain. Furthermore, Steven had saved a then 5-year-old Timothy White from the same fate, escaping from the cabin where they were kept. Now I had to compete with a brother and three sisters. Stayner began to drink frequently, and was eventually kicked out of the family home. In 1981, Parnell was tried in two separate trials, one for each boy. Both Poorman and White testified for the prosecution at his 2004 trial. [6], Acting on instructions from Parnell, Murphy passed out gospel tracts to boys walking home from school that day[6][7] and, after spotting Stayner, claimed to be a church representative seeking donations. Steven's father, Delbert Stayner, died on April 9, 2013, at his home in Winton, California. When Parnells mother gifted him a dog, he gifted it to Steven. Born on April 18, 1965, Steven Stayner was the third of five children born to Delbert and Kay Stayner. 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. Dnde ver Entfhrt: Der Fall Stayner? Over the next several years, he was enrolled in various schools around California. Selena is the entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. "We tried to keep quiet and not upset our parents.". For the sexual assaults carried out in Mendocino County, prosecutors chose not to prosecute. Jody emotionally described how she and Stayner planned to visit their favorite restaurant after he got home. Although Stayner was dead, his testimony at Parnell's earlier trial was read to jurors as evidence in Parnell's 2004 trial. While at school, Steven never revealed to anyone that he had been kidnapped. I think my last name isStayner.". Throughout the first week, Stayner repeatedly told Parnell that he wanted to go home, to which, Parnell told him that he had been granted legal custody of him by his parents. She urged the jury not to sentence him to death, adding, If his dying [death] would bring these people back, Id say do it. ), Barely four months after the series premiered, Steven, 24, was on his motorcycle heading home from work at a pizza shop on Sept. 16, 1989, when a car turned in front of him. He didnt complain. When he didnt return home from school that day his parents went to the police. Needless to say, nothing is so black and white, especially when there isn't a handy scenario to explain away any of it at all. 2023 E! After they were unable to locate White's home, they went to a police station. 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. White eventually became a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy. JP Miller, the co-screenwriter ofI Know My First Name Is Steven,a mini-series about Stayners abduction and escape, said Steven struck him as a man unafraid of death. Judge Thomas Hastings has said that the evidence is becoming repetitive, and he has ordered Stayners defense to tighten up testimony so the case can go to the jury early next week. For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. 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 Cause of Death: Accident U.S. State: California Once more details emerged about his ordeal, some kids teased him about being molested. White, despite losing touch with Steven and remembering little about his brief abduction, was a pallbearer at Stayners funeral. According to a TIMEmagazinereport from March 17, 1980, Steven hadn't yet fully divulged what really happened to him. They found recordings of executives discussing proposed audience-friendly tweaks, and the Hulu series examines "both what really happened and also the way what really happened was digested and made into something with a Hollywood narrative.". Timmy White, the boy saved by Steven, learned of his death through his grandfather. I don't know sometimes if I should have come home. I never recognized either one of them.". Its final this time,he said. 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. During this time, Parnell kidnapped another child, Timothy White, while he was on his way home from school, according to The Modesto Bee. "It happened to me, and I didn't want to see it happen to anybody else.". Their mother, Kay, knew Cary to be "artistic, seldom in trouble and quiet," according to The Berkeley Daily Planet. On March 1, 1980, after two weeks, Steven had had enough. Thirteen days in, Steven was being raped. "It was my do-or-die chanceand I also would be coming home for doing something positive.". In 2004, at the age of 72, he tried to bribe a nurse with $500 to get him a young boy. Parnell used Steven in his next attempts to take a boy, but none were successful. While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. Stayner later claimed that Murphy asked him if his mother would be willing to donate any items to the church. Claiming full legal custody of Steven, Parnell changed his name, calling him Dennis Gregory Parnell, allowing him to keep his real middle name. Steven Stayners incredible story features in the captivating Hulu crime dramaCaptive Audience. Steven was held captive and sexually abused by his abductor 200 miles away in Mendocino County, California until he was 14. I dont know sometimes if I should have come back home. Steven was transported to Merced Community Medical Center, and at 5:35pm, was declared dead. Timmy White and Steven Stayner during a press conference. [43] Residents of Ukiah, White's hometown, carved a statue showing a teenage Stayner with young White in hand while escaping their captivity. But why doesnt my dad hug me anymore? He went on to add, Sometimes I blame myself. When the boy replied that she would, Murphy then asked Stayner where he lived and if he would be willing to take Murphy to his home. For Steven though, the adjustment was a little more difficult. [4], One of the few positive aspects of Stayner's life with Parnell was the dog he had received as a gift from him, a Manchester Terrier that he named Queenie. He waited until Parnell went to work, then took Timothys hand and ran. And there was just nothing there. Little did they know, Steven was being held at a cabin in nearby Catheys Valley. Would I have been better off if I didn't? Cary was convicted with four counts of first-degree murder. Steven Stayner was the middle child of five siblings living with their parents in Merced, CA. 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. Steven Stayner's parents were left with many questions when their 7-year-old son vanished into thin air in 1972. At his funeral on September 20, a 14-year-old Timmy White was one of the pallbearers. He had problems adjusting because, with Kenneth, there were no rules; he was used to drinking and smoking. It would have been a lot different if this man who hit him stayed. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. [11], Parnell began calling the boy Dennis Gregory Parnell,[12] retaining Stayner's real middle name and his real birth date when enrolling him in various schools over the next several years. The teen, by then 5-foot-10 and barely resembling the little boy who disappeared, haddecided he had to escape inorder to save his abductor's latest victim, 5-year-old Timothy White, who was taken not far from his elementary school inUkiah, Calif.about 200 miles away from Mercedon Feb. 14, 1980. For this crime, Parnell had enlisted 14-year-old Randall Sean Poorman, offering him $50, marijuana andbooze in exchangefor helping him lure the 5-year-old to his car. In 1999, a proposal to name a park after him was rejected as the officials feared that 'Stayner Park' may point to his brother Cary, who had just confessed to killing four women in Yosemite. However, Stayner skillfully sabotaged Kenneths plans. "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. He [Steven] got on with his life but he was pretty messed up,Stevens sister said in 2007. Who are Steven Stayner sisters? At the age of seven, Steven Stayner was kidnapped on the afternoon of December 4, 1972 by Kenneth Parnell, who had previously been convicted for sodomizing a young boy and for armed robbery in Utah. Del Stayner passed away in 2013, but Kay and her grandchildren Steven Jr. and Ashley, who were only 2 and 3 when their father died and grew up knowinghim primarily from Nemec's TV performance, sat down to talk for Captive Audience. Sartell testified about the toll that the 1972 kidnapping of younger brother Steven took on the family. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Sandra Hawkins, a family friend, toldPeoplethat Kay stayed strong during the abduction but was totally crushed after learning of Stevens death. In 1999, Carole Sund, her teenage daughter Juli, and Juli's friend Silvina Pelosso stayed at Cedar Lodge, where Cary worked as a handyman. Parnell made Steven go by "Dennis Parnell," and as they moved from town to town in California he posed as the boy's father and enrolled him in school. During this time, he had grown very fond of his pet dog Queenie, a Manchester Terrier; Parnells mother has given the dog to Parnell. It was a sad end to a tragic life,Allen Maxfield, CHP traffic safety officer, said. And they searched. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Parnell was convicted first of kidnapping Timmy in June 1981, Steven tellingThe Evening Newshe was "glad" about the verdict and hadn't been worrying too much about the next trial, at which he'd be called to testify. I dont believe that it was my brother who committed such things, Sartell said as the defense presented his three sisters in an effort to spare his life. "It's a lot to imagine that any one family could undergo,"Jessica Dimmock, director of the three-part docuseries Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, now streaming on Hulu, told E! Aged seven, Stayner, a California native, was abducted by child molester Kenneth Parnell. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Im visiting all 600 L.A. spots on the National Register. Steven refused to reveal the details of his sexual abuse and endured bullying in school for being molested. The family sent out fliers, Sartell said, and headed off on distant road trips to talk to people who might have any information about the missing child. Stayner, 41, faces the death penalty for the killings of Carole Sund, 42, her daughter, Juli, 15, and their Argentine friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, while they were staying at the motel where he worked as a handyman outside Yosemite National Park in February 1999. Parnell passed himself off as Stayner's father, and the two moved frequently around California, living in locations including Santa Rosa and Comptche. [4] Murphy, described by those who knew him as a trusting, nave, and simple-minded man,[4] had been enlisted by Parnell (who had passed himself off to Murphy as an aspiring minister)[5][6] into helping him abduct a young boy so that Parnell could "raise him in a religious-type deal," as Murphy later stated. That year Parnell recently kidnapped another young boy to replace the aging Stayner, 5-year-old Timothy White. She added, "He [Steven] got on with his life but he was pretty messed up." 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. By 1980, when Steven was fourteen, and now a high school student, Parnells need for another boy became more prevalent. Those sorts of comparisons have been used a lot in these two brothers and I started to think, is it more complicated?". Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. The Mendocino County prosecutors, acting almost entirely alone, decided not to prosecute Parnell for the sexual assaults that occurred in their jurisdiction. Sister Cynthia Sartelltestified that their dad was "on a mission" after Steven disappeared, and looking for their brother consumed his time and energy, to the detriment of his other kids. Let's Look at Gaga's Style Evolution, Shall We? Parnell was not charged with the numerous sexual assaults on Stayner and other boys because most of them occurred outside the jurisdiction of the Merced County prosecutor or were by then outside the statute of limitations. 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. On February 14, 1980, Parnell and a teenage friend of Stayner's named Randall Sean Poorman kidnapped five-year-old Timmy White in Ukiah. Things were pretty rough for a while, bouncing from one job to another, some would say wandering aimlessly. Then he met Jody Edmondson, and in 1985, when he was 20 and she 17, they married. 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. 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