When Parnell kidnapped 5-year-old Timothy White that year, Stayner fled on foot along with the kindergartner and then hitchhiked to safety, a journey that thrust the two kidnapping survivors into the national spotlight. 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. The Stayners were in the news yet again after Cary, Stevens older brother, confessed to murdering four women, including two teenagers. He returns to Merced triumphant. But Steven's return was only the start of the family heartache. 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. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. Parnell died in 2008 at the age of 76 of natural causes in the state prison hospital at Vacaville, SF Gate reported. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story,'" Rowlands said. [10] Parnell was arrested that day,[14] subsequently telling authorities "I wanted a family". After that time he was in and out of juvenile custody for car theft and arson.[4][5]. "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. The boy agreed and gave the man his address. He married Kay about three years later, and the couple went on to have three daughters and two sons. They had a daughter, Ashley, who was 3 at the time of her fathers death, and a son, Steven Jr., who was 2. have yall heard of Steven and Cary Stayner? In the time after Stevens disappearance, Del dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts. After two weeks of watching White cry for his family, the then-14-year-old Stayner decided that was enough. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people. "I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk. 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. Release Date! Tragically, the Stayner family would be in for another shock a decade later. 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. He was convicted of kidnapping 7-year-old Steven Stayner in 1972 and keeping him . The brother of convicted murderer Cary Stayner was kidnapped as a young child and was missing for seven years. As Steven Stayner got older, Kenneth Parnell began planning to kidnap another, younger, boy. When Parnell kidnapped 5-year-old Timothy White that year, Stayner fled on foot along with the kindergartner and then hitchhiked to safety, a journey that thrust the two kidnapping survivors into the national spotlight. Stayner was stolen on December 4, 1972, in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. While Parnell was working as a night security guard, the children hitch-hiked to Ukiah, California, Timothys home town. And he wanted the same treatment. Although Stayner told the younger boy to go inside by himself and tell the officers he had been kidnapped, White refused to leave Stayner's side. Cary Staynar tried to protect his younger brother and looked out for him, according to ABC News. (Stayners helmet had been stolen two months prior, and he hadnt replaced it.) Their return launched Stayner into the spotlight, and he later became the focus of a 1989 television movie titled, I Know My First Name Is Steven. In the years after Steven vanished, Del spent considerable time looking for anything that would lead him to his son. Starcasm Staff July 2, 2021 20/20, True Crime. [3] Parnell was raised mostly without his father, who abandoned the family when Parnell was six. On September 16, 1989, Steven Stayner was driving home from work on a California highway after work one rainy evening and got into a deadly collision with a car that turned in front of him. What was his cause of death? So, Steven figures the best thing to do is to take him to the police station," Flynn said. He also felt more directly responsible. In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agents Relentless Pursuit of the Nations Worst Predators. The Merced Police Department launched an extensive investigation and search effort. Sean Poorman, Stayner's schoolfriend who abetted Parnell in the White kidnapping, was sentenced to a term in a juvenile work camp. I wouldnt think that he would think of himself as one, but he is a hero.". Steven Stayner was the middle child of five siblings living with their parents in Merced, CA. But in 1980, the Stayners prayers were answered when Steven returned home after a seven-year disappearance. 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. For seven years, as the two moved around Mendocino and Sonoma counties, Stayner was known as Dennis Parnell. Timmy White, 5, sits on the lap of Steven Stayner, 14, during a news conference Photo credit: Getty Images - Getty When he was 24, he died in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident. He was arrested again in 2004 for attempting to buy a child, and died in a state prison hospital in California in 2008.). Parnell went on to tell Stayner that his parents couldn't afford to keep him any more, that a judge had given Parnell legal custody of him, and that his new name was "Dennis". In 2005, Timothy landed a job as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, according to the New York Times. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five -- less time than he held Steven captive. Like Kay, he urged the jury at Carys trial not to sentence him to death. By Mike Moran of the Confessional Podcast : Steven Stayner was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was 24 years old FBI/Wikipedia 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. However, he only served five years of his sentence. Cary is 60 and remains in prison. Stevens was aware of Parnell's past and cooperated with police in setting up a sting operation that would lead to his arrest. Stayner's brother, Cary, is in San. Flynn said Satyner had "a couple of nervous breakdowns," one of which was "fairly violent. Parnell remained incarcerated until his death in 2008 at theCalifornia Medical Facility, where he died of natural causes. Stayner grew up in Merced, California, near Yosemite National Park. "It was outrageous. "Hes ready to kill again. But instead of seeking mental health treatment, Stayner "ended up taking refuge" in Yosemite, Rowlands said. [6] He escaped from a state institution in Norwalk, but was recaptured. He sustained fatal head injuries after his motorcycle struck a car that suddenly pulled out in front of him as he drove home from his Pizza Hut shift, according to People. In a 2000 interview about his 1951 crime, Parnell said he kidnapped and molested the boy because his wife was pregnant and that he "had to find another outlet. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. 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. According to ABC News, Parnell stopped to make a call from a payphone shortly after Murphy and Steven Stayner got into his car. Stayner had been driving his new Kawaksaki motorcycle when the driver pulled out in front of him on a rain-soaked highway. ? Stayner died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident while driving home from work. Nobody can hurt him now. In 2003, he was once again arrested in connection with a kidnapping, when an elderly and sickly Parnell tried to get his caretaker to buy a 4-year-old boy for him in Berkeley, California, the Associated Press reported in 2004. Ashley Stayner is a self-professed true crime fan. The two brothers are both famous and both knew unspeakable horror. Im not sure there is any direct cause and effect," Flynn said. One last Steven Stayner, one last Timmy White. Jeff Rinek, at the time an FBI agent handling Cary Stayners case, said the search for the women was the "largest ever mounted in Yosemite at any time." At his funeral, Timmy White was a pallbearer (via Press Democrat). "I think Cary after high school seemed a little lost, like he didnt know where he was going," Bungart said. The docuseries kicks off with Stevens 1972 kidnapping, and follows his abuse at the hands of Yosemite Lodge worker Kenneth Parnell. Steven disappeared while returning from school, Cary, Stevens older brother, confessed to murdering four women. Where is Cary Stayner now? 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. Still, Stayner wanted to help his parents and asked that a $250,000 reward for information go to his family, Rinek wrote. "It was a sleety, wintery day," Sean Flynn, a journalist who wrote about both Stayner brothers for Esquire, said. However, he allowed him to keep the middle name "Gregory" and his original birthdate. However, Timothy could not remember his address, so Stayner took him to a police station instead. A cousin said that Stayner spied on her and his sisters and a neighbor girl, hiding under their beds and secretly videotaping them in the bathroom and bedroom. #truecrime #PodernFamily #perspective #WednesdayWisdom pic.twitter.com/IItIDruGTI, It Could Always Be Worse (@alwaysbeworse) March 21, 2018, Steven Stayner was only 7 years old when he was kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell and Ervin Murphy, according to ABC News. After convincing the boy his parents did not want him anymore, he changed his name to Dennis Parnell. When Stayner was 14, he ran away with another kidnapped boy, Timmy White, and went to the police, ABC News reported. In February 1980, Parnell brought home a 5-year-old White, who, like Stayner, had been walking home from school. 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. Parnell died of natural causes on January 21, 2008, at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California, while serving a sentence of 25 years to life. 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. You know what I mean? "There wasnt really much time for us to speculate on whether this was related, I mean it quickly became related," said Des Kidd, former medical director at Yosemite who participated in search and rescue. He later moved with his mother, his two half-sisters, and a half-brother to Bakersfield, California, where his mother operated a boarding lodge. He was held by his abductor until he was 14, when he escaped with another of Parnell's victims, Timothy White. I was disappointed however on some of the inconsistencies, misspellings, and grammatical errors. When 14-year-old Steven Stayner turned up at a police station, more than seven years after he was kidnapped while walking home from . in 2004. 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. Overnight, Steven Stayner became a national hero, especially as Kenneth Parnell was arrested the very next day March 2, 1980. By age 19, Stayner had amassed $1,100 in unpaid traffic tickets, which led to his drivers license being suspended, according to the Los Angeles Times. And so Steven made it home, Timmy was returned to his parents, and two families could breathe again. . While Steven was a freshman at Mendocino High School, some 300 miles to the south, his older brother Cary was an upperclassman at Merced High School. Our days would be-- just get on our bikes in the morning and go to the park. ", "The first year was kinda hectic," Steven said on GMA in 1983. ", Steven also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the tragic abuse he had endured. If youre wondering what happened to him since then, heres what we know. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Stayner was abducted in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell.He was held by his abductor 38 miles (61 km) away in Mariposa County, California, and later in Mendocino County, California, until he was aged 14, when he managed to escape with . As reported by ABC News, Lori Duke, who went to school with Stayner, but knew him as Dennis Parnell, said, "He had a great personality. Stayner and Parnell moved often, finally settling nearUkiah, California, where Steven Stayner became Dennis Parnell, according to The New York Times. On September 16, 1989, Steven Stayner was driving home from work on a California highway after work one rainy evening and got into a deadly collision with a car that turned in front of him. Later that year he married again and had another daughter. 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. Stayner eventually began drinking more heavily, dropped out of high school, and left his parents' home. Unfortunately, the entire incident was part of an elaborate plan to kidnap the boy. He has been a danger to children his entire life, prosecutor Tim Wellman said in 2004. The second man, who was later identified as Kenneth Parnell, offered to give Murphy and Stayner a ride. Carey Stayner is currently sitting on death row in San Quentin. Ten years after Stayner's death, the city of Merced . Over the next four years, he worked at Pizza Hut while lecturing about personal safety at schools. Delbert Stayner passed away in 2013. He was popular for being a Person. At that point Stayner decided to save White from the abuse he had endured and the two escaped. Steven Stayner was born in Merced. He retired in 1995 from working at a canning factory in Atwater, California. Murphy had befriended serial paedophile Kenneth Parnell, and the two were in cahoots. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Steven Stayner's grave./Steven Stayner. Here is all you want to know, and more! Steven's last name is spelt "Staynor" on the cover but is actually spelt "Stayner." The author also states that Steven was missing for 7 years, then later on in the book he says 9 years. Flynn said his sexuality was "constantly under attack.". As reported by The Famous People, the man, who was later identified as Ervin Edward Murphy, said he was a representative of a local church and was seeking donations for his parish. Birthday: April 18, 1965. Stayner's wife, Jodi, who The Spokesman-Review reported married Steven when she was 16, said he was her first love and the couple met in high school. He had three sisters and an older brother, Cary. Powered by. I dont know sometimes if I should have come home. number of children. On December 4, 1972, 7-year-old Steven Stayner was walking home from school in Merced, California when he was abducted by two men who worked at . Steven Stayner led a short and tragic life. Captive Audience tells Steven Stayner's story after he was kidnapped and abused for seven years. At the time, Parnell was convicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment. Date of Death: September 16, 1989. I Know My First Name Is Steven: With Cindy Pickett, John Ashton, Corin Nemec, Luke Edwards. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Stevens high-school girlfriend, who knew him as Dennis, told ABC News he told her he wasnt going to let that child go through what I had already been through, adding if he didnt take care of it now, it will just get worse. Cary's defense team argued that he suffered from mental illness, in part from the trauma he suffered when Steven was kidnapped. As reported by The Famous People, Parnell eventually convinced Stayner that his parents relinquished their rights and that he was granted full legal custody. Steven Stayner was born on April 18, 1965 and died on September 16, 1989. . Steven and Timmy. Stayner was terribly concerned about White's welfare and immediately began planning to get the 5-year-old away from Parnell and return him home to his parents. "For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. Parnell forced Stayner to take on the name Dennis Parnell, and shuttled him from remote towns to isolated cabins all around Northern California, according to the Los Angeles Times. Steven Stayner (April 18, 1965 - Sept 16, 1989) was a kidnapping victim. 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. "Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. The harrowing true account of Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped by a perverted pseudo-priest and his lackey during the 1970s. The Truth About The Kidnapping Of Steven Stayner, California Department of Corrections/Wikipedia. Cary Stayner will forever be known for marring Yosemite's reputation as a peaceful retreat with the brutal murders of four innocent women. Stayners parents withdrew emotionally after Steven went missing, Rinek wrote. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 14-year-old and 5-year-old boys hitchhiked their way to a police station 40 miles away and told officers what had happened. Steven Stayner Death - Obituary, Cause Of Death. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years. 1 reference. Within days, he's on 'Good Morning America,'" Flynn said. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. 2. Steven was 24 years old at the time of death. He was kidnapped when he was a child but was eventually able to escape after seven years. Cookie Notice Read More: Where is Kay Stayner Now? Hang out with friends or skateboard," Purdy told ABC News. He wanted the world to take note. Ive been watching the documentary on Hulu and first Steven is kidnapped and molested and by some miracle, returns to his family, only for some guy to do a hit and run on him? In 1989, he tragically died in a motorcycle accident. In addition to the molestation, Stayner later claimed that Parnell's attitude altered from severe beatings to sometimes "spoiling" him. And it wasn't that he was just a loner, he was a bit of a creepy loner," Flynn said.
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