Kay was elated to have her son back. Unable to avoid the collision, Steven hit the drivers side of the vehicle. Shortly before his death, Steven had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Stayner was the third of five children born in Merced, California to Delbert and Kay Stayner. 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). When Steven Stayner hitchhiked his way to freedom in 1980, reporters . [25][28], On September 16, 1989, Stayner sustained fatal head injuries while on his way home from work when his motorcycle collided with a car[28][29] in a hit-and-run accident. "You'vegot this crazy story that happens, and then you've got kind of the 1980s version of that story that's presented to the world," Dimmock told E!. Ill cover Cary Stayner soon. We were kind of on our own, Sartell said. 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. "We thought we were prepared and, of course, we weren't," Carole's father, Francis Carrington, told theLA Times after his granddaughter was found. And there was just nothing there. Little did they know, Steven was being held at a cabin in nearby Catheys Valley. In 1989, he tragically died in a motorcycle accident. My dad said he didnt need any.. [40], White later became a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy. Hewassentenced to three months in jailfor felony hit-and-run. Parnell continued to abuse Steven for years, telling the boy that his parents weren't looking for him. The Mendocino County prosecutors, acting almost entirely alone, decided not to prosecute Parnell for the sexual assaults that occurred in their jurisdiction. At the time, the concept of therapy was frowned upon, and his father insisted that he didnt need any counseling. Miller toldPeople: He was kind of a reckless kid after he came back home he wrecked a couple of cars and I talked to him about being careful, because he could kill himself. How does it feel to be "brought through the experience of feeling a deep sympathy for a family, for a mother, and then to have a sudden left turn?" In hindsight,people who knew the Stayners started to remember the quiet, withdrawn boy living in the shadow of his brotherboth when Steven was gone and when he returnedwhowas a creative, talented artist but also pulled his hair out in clumps and as he got older and had trouble forming relationships with women. Sandra Hawkins, a family friend, toldPeoplethat Kay stayed strong during the abduction but was totally crushed after learning of Stevens death. kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell, who sexually abused him. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Stayner was abducted in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. All rights reserved. Cary would have trouble with the law well into his adult life. At his funeral on September 20, a 14-year-old Timmy White was one of the pallbearers. 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. Hes free.. "I've never been this angry. 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. [] Everything has changed. Shockingly, Parnell allowed Steven to go to school. By Natalie Finn Apr 21, 2022 7:00 AM Tags. The driver, Antonio Loera, drove off, leaving Stayner helpless on the rain-soaked highway. But the family has since dealt with several tragedies along the way, including Steven's death and his older brother's incarceration for murder. But by then he was too afraid of being physically harmed by Parnell to run away. "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. Cary Stayner, Steven's older brother, was behind the Yosemite murders that rocked the small farming town of Merced, California in 1999. Stayner considered doing it on three different occasions. He was bullied by other children at school for being molested and eventually dropped out. Steven was persuaded to get intothe car, whereKenneth Parnellwas waiting. Together they had two children, and he moved to work with child abduction groups, making appearances for various groups who search for missing children. of revisiting thatunfathomable part ofhis childhood. The memorable title came from thepolice'sfirst encounter with the teen, who was reluctant to talk, but said, "I know my first name is Steven. Would I have been better off if I didn't? I don't know sometimes if I should have come home. They stopped the car and Murphy got out. He [Steven] got on with his life but he was pretty messed up,Stevens sister said in 2007. Who are Steven Stayner sisters? Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Spouse. The next night, Parnell told Steven he had called his parents again, and just as the previous night, they said he could stay over. During this time, he had grown very fond of his pet dog Queenie, a Manchester Terrier; Parnells mother has given the dog to Parnell. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1393983e62ce48 After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. On December 4, 1972, he was walking home from school when he was spotted by Kenneth Parnell and his friend Ervin Murphy. The boy, who was in the Santa Rosa Boys Club with Steven, wouldnt be so easy. Steven Stayner was a typical 7-year old boy. The docuseries focused heavily on the miniseries and featured appearances by both Corin Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews. [24] In a 2007 interview, Stayner's sister said that her brother did not seek counseling because their father said Stayner "didn't need any". Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped at the age of 7, became a national hero after helping another child escape from abuse. Steven was declared a national hero, and within days made an appearance on Good Morning America. There, he told the host, David Hartman, that it felt great to be home, that his parents didnt change that much, and regarding his brother and sisters, they changed a lot. Both claimed they knew nothing of the sexual assaults on Stayner. Parnell passed himself off as Stayner's father, and the two moved frequently around California, living in locations including Santa Rosa and Comptche. After performing a background check, they discovered this wasnt his first offense he had been convicted in 1951 for sodomy. Even though missing fliers circulatedall over the place, including some of the schools Steven attended, no one evercame forward to say they recognized him. Realizing how the young boy would suffer at the hands of his captor, Stayner decided to return Timmy to his parents. [27] At the time of his death, Stayner was living in Merced and working at a pizza shop. But her strength is waning now. Steven ultimately shared that Parnell had done a very good job convincing him that his family didn't miss him, pretending to talk to his mom on the phone in front of him to get permission to let him stay, and telling the boy a judge had awarded him custody. The morning of March 2, 1980 Parnell was arrested. ", Kay said in an interview, per CNN, "He came back different, very different. Ten years after Stayner's death, the city of Merced asked its residents to propose names for city parks honoring Merced's notable citizens. She later insisted she hadno idea that"Dennis"wasn't Parnell's real son, that he even had a birth certificate for the boy. Steven Stayners miraculous story of escape from his kidnapper in 1980 garnered national headlines at the time. He was bullied, teased, and his sexuality was always called into question. Learn how your comment data is processed. Although he was sentenced to seven years, he only served five. Steven's death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayner's mental health and well-being. ", 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. "My older brother . 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. Despite his refusals, since he was just a few blocks from home, Steven finally gave in and accepted the ride. Unfortunately, he was never charged with the sexual assaults on Steven, or any other boys, as they had occurred outside the jurisdiction of the Merced County prosecutor, some even outside the statute of limitations. Both actors reflecton the stranger-than-fiction chain of events inCaptive Audience, as well asread Steven and Cary's own words from interview transcripts. Although Stayner was dead, his testimony at Parnell's earlier trial was read to jurors as evidence in Parnell's 2004 trial. 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. [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. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. I am fourteen years of age. Parnell had been with a woman named Barbara Mathias for a period of one and half years, during which they reportedly forced Stayner into sexual activities at least nine times. But this time hes the one who is staying strong for Kay., Delbert mourned the tragedy but expressed relief in the certainty of death. Although an almost four-year age gap separated the two brothers, with Cary being the eldest of all five siblings, they seemed incredibly close. At the time, Parnell was convicted for kidnapping and false imprisonment. For two weeks Steven watched Timothy suffer. This case just breaks my heart And the whole story about his big brother, too. 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. Steven, hoping to spare another child his fate, had sabotaged so many kidnappings. All about his family, Was Dave Hollis Sick? As he was walking home from school on December 4th 1972, he was approached by a man named Ervin Murphy claiming to be a representative of the church who was looking for donations. Steven Stayner escaped Kenneth Parnell when he was 14 years old. 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. Stayner began to drink frequently, and was eventually kicked out of the family home. He had been a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy for five years, according to thePress Democrat, and was survived by his wife and two children. On the show, Kay stated that the couple always planned on having a family. [8], Parnell molested Stayner the first night at the cabin. In the 1970s, they constituted Cary and Steven, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner. He had problems adjusting because, with Kenneth, there were no rules; he was used to drinking and smoking. The connection, once people realized it was indeed the same family, feltlike a punch to the gut. Hehad been working as a maintenance man and living at Yosemite's Cedar Lodge,where the trio were staying. 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. Talking remotely toGood Morning Americaon March 14, 1980, Steven,his mom and dad on either side of him, said it was "great" to be back, but his siblings had "changed a lot. 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. 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. 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. Dnde ver Entfhrt: Der Fall Stayner? Your IP: Steven Stayner was the middle child of five siblings living with their parents in Merced, CA. Article continues below advertisement I always looked very closely in hopes of spotting Steven.". Despite his circumstances, he did well among his peers, and even became known as an all-around happy person. On Sept. 20, 1989, Steven Stayner was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle without a helmet in the rain. Originally published January 20, 2007 at 12:00 am. However, the young boy could not take advantage of those opportunities as he was reportedly unaware how to summon help. After they were unable to locate White's home, they went to a police station. Dimmock explained. They were last seen alive Feb. 15 eating dinner at the hotel restaurant. Five hundred people attended his funeral, at which 14-year-old Timmy White was a pallbearer. Cary had been interviewedearly on in the investigationa massive undertaking involving local and federal authoritiesand ruled out as a suspect. Aged seven, Stayner, a California native, was abducted by child molester Kenneth Parnell. Jody emotionally described how she and Stayner planned to visit their favorite restaurant after he got home. It wasn't, but when Cary didn't show up for work the next day, authorities put out an APB andthe FBI arrested him at a nudist colony in Wilton, Calif. (He was wearing shorts when agents found him sitting in the camp restaurant. 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. Stayner looked forward to raising his children, Ashley and Steven Jr, with Jody. What Did 'AGT: All Stars' Winner Aidan Bryant Get? When he didnt make it home a few hours later, the family went to the police. Third of five children, he had an older brother and three sisters. Steven Stayner was a typical 7-year old boy. So much tragedy surrounding this case. Cary at 6, watching television from the couch. This is the hardest thing she has ever had to face, and she just cant talk to anybody. Parnell then drove a confused Stayner to his cabin in nearby Catheys Valley instead. I know my first name is Steven, he told the police. Where is he now spends much his! But executing him is not going to bring them back.". Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. "The worst thing that could possibly happen, happens to them," Dimmock said. During the years Steven was missing, Cary's life continued, but it was never the same. That would havemade Cary 7 when he first had such a fantasy, when Stevenwas 3 and still several years away from being kidnapped,a trauma that couldn't help butaffect the whole familyand which certainly was invoked when it came time to mount a defense. Meanwhile, Steven was undergoing unthinkable sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of Parnell. Sadness engulfed the community as people mourned a life blighted with tragedy. [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. At 14 years old, Steven was reunited with this parents, and became a national hero overnight. Parnell was subsequently found guilty of taking Steven as wellhe wasn't charged with child sex abuse or any other molestation-related counts in either caseand sentenced to seven years in prison. When Parnells mother gifted him a dog, he gifted it to Steven. He told Steven he was a minister, and asked if his mother would like to make a donation to the church. In late 1989, Steven was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle home from his job as a pizza delivery man when a car pulled out of the driveway just ahead of him. ", Kay told the jury of her surviving son,"Very seldom did he get into trouble. But she said it wasnt the brother she remembers. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. I guess seven years changed him, too. Kay also talked about the effect Stevens return had on the family, He came back different, very different. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. Born on April 18, 1965, Steven Stayner was the third of five children born to Delbert and Kay Stayner. 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. 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. He was a good student, a good artist, and he was very lovingIf his dying would bring these people back, I'd say do it. All three episodes ofCaptive Audience: A Real American Horror Storyare streaming now on Hulu. The alleged driver of the car was later identified by witnesses. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. He barely knew his parents, and his parents scarcely knew the teenager whod returned home. The world is a crazy place, full of unknown dangers. Steven Stayner's Kidnapping, Cary Stayner's Horrific Crimes and One Family's Unbelievable Story The new Hulu docuseries takes an intimate look at this tragic, terrifying and touching saga. Under false pretenses, Cary entered their room and sexually assaulted both girls. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". He was not kept in captivity, and in the following years, was enrolled into a number of schools where Parnell identified himself as his father. He could be disarmingly paternal, but also beat and sexually abused the child. Insisting to police that he "wasn't mistreated the boy clearly has conflicting thoughts about his captor," the article notes. Returning home, Steven Stayner felt that his parents were still treating him as their seven-year-old child, and had trouble adjusting as he no more had the freedom to smoke, drink, or do whatever he wanted. "It was outrageous. I know my first name is Steven, I'm pretty sure my last is Stainer [sic], and if I have a middle name, I don't know it. Those sorts of comparisons have been used a lot in these two brothers and I started to think, is it more complicated?". Dena. Steven passed away an hour after the accident at Merced Community Medical Center. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He then violently murdered all three, according to History.com. 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. [38] Timmy White, then a grown man, was subpoenaed to testify in Parnell's criminal trial. ", Though the ready assumptionwas that Steven's sadly short lifehad been defined by his troubles, Jody said he'd been "a very happy man" of late, and they'd been living "a normal life with two beautiful kids.". He didnt complain. When he didnt return home from school that day his parents went to the police. [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. This caused Parnell to believe Stayner lacked the means to be an accomplice. He was held by his abductor 38 miles (61km) away in Mariposa County, California, and later in Mendocino County, California, until he was aged 14, when he managed to escape with another of Parnell's victims, Timothy White. Third of five children, he had an older brother and three sisters. Steven later admitted to sabotaging the efforts. [7], After Stayner agreed, a white Buick driven by Parnell pulled up, and Stayner willingly climbed into the car with Murphy. In 1981, Parnell was tried in two separate trials, one for each boy. As for Kenneth Parnell, five years in prison wasnt enough to reform him. Cary pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for killing Armstrong. 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. Parnell created a new identity for Stayner, giving him the new name, Dennis Gregory Parnell, but retained his original middle name and his original date of birth. Claiming full legal custody of Steven, Parnell changed his name, calling him Dennis Gregory Parnell, allowing him to keep his real middle name. While he still blamed himself for his abduction, starting a family helped him cope with his past, and he began interacting with child abduction groups and provided advice to children on the topic. He was 35 years old. In 1981, Parnell was tried and convicted of kidnapping both White and Stayner in two separate trials and was sentenced to seven years in jail, even though he was released on parole after five 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. "A lot of attention went to Steven we all got a little jealous," says one of the Stayner sisters in Hulu's upcoming docuseries Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story. Steven's father, Delbert Stayner, died on April 9, 2013, at his home in Winton, California. I dont know sometimes if I should have come back home. Particular attention was paid to how the events impacted the life of Cary Stayner. He had a pretty sad life.. My dad was on a mission trying to find his son, she said. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home.". 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. While they were lovingly raised among almond groves and peach orchards by Delbert and Kay Stayner, their lives in the farming town of Merced were unfortunately in dangerous proximity of a monster. Adjusting to post-abduction life was no easy task for Steven. Timmy White and Steven Stayner during a press conference. His accomplices, Ervin Murphy, and Ronald Sean Poorman were also convicted, though on lesser charges, claiming they knew nothing of the sexual assaults. But the children in the family kept their feelings to themselves and didnt discuss their emotions. Steven told him she would probably want to, and the men offered him a ride 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. [7] Unbeknownst to Stayner, Parnell's cabin was located only several hundred feet from his maternal grandfather's residence. A woman named Barbara Mathias moved in and lived with them for eighteen months. In 1999, Carole Sund, her teenage daughter Juli, and Juli's friend Silvina Pelosso stayed at Cedar Lodge, where Cary worked as a handyman. The abductor abused Steven and planned to use the boy to abduct more victims. White, despite losing touch with Steven and remembering little about his brief abduction, was a pallbearer at Stayners funeral. [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 agreed to let them search his truck but balked when they wanted to look in his backpack, wondering if Armstrong's head was inside. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. My dad said he didn't need any. Would I have been better off if I didn't?". In early 1989, he helped in the production of a miniseries on his life, 'I Know My First Name is Steven', which was initially broadcast on NBC in May that year. By the time she got there, the 7-year-old was nowhere to be seen. 162.211.29.130 I think my last name isStayner.". 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. The retired TV host rarely leaves his home due to illness, Everything We Know About Vanessa Hudgens Parents, Who is Charlie Kirks wife? Steven was held captive and sexually abused by his abductor 200 miles away in Mendocino County, California until he was 14. He named the dog, a Manchester Terrier, Queenie. "This is really so phenomenal, for a child to be gone seven years and to be found alive," the boy's mother, Kay Stayner, told the reporters who flocked to Merced, Calif., on March 2, 1980, to cover the joyous, unlikely conclusion tothe family'sordeal. 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