When 14-year-old Steven Stayner turned up at a police station, more than seven years after he was kidnapped while walking home from . Steven Stayner biography timelines. Steven Stayner Death Obituary: On April 23rd, 2022 Todeath.net received news about the passing of Steven Stayner through a Social Media post. convicted of kidnapping both boys and sentenced to seven years of state prison time. Parnell worked at a nearby lodge, and on Dec. 4, 1972, he convinced co-worker Ervin Murphy to accompany him into Merced, per ABC News. "For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. On several occasions, Parnell encouraged Stayner to help him lure another boy into the home. 2. Mr. White was 5 years old when he was kidnapped in 1980 by Kenneth Parnell, a convicted child molester. "Working at Cedar Lodge gave Cary access to his beloved Yosemite," Rowlands said. This includes a 9-year kidnapping and a serial killing pic.twitter.com/WgWQCdDk7h, may queen (@syanarchy) February 19, 2020. 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? Nobody can hurt him now. And they searched. 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. The incident was declared a hit-and-run after the car sped away, leaving Stayner on the highway with severe injuries (via The Spokesman-Review). The cause of his death is still unknown at this time. molesting an 8-year-old boy in Bakersfield, California in 1952 when he kidnapped Stayner. 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. 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. While working at the Yosemite Lodge, Kenneth Parnell befriended his coworker Ervin Murphy. He had been under hospice care for some time. He was convicted of kidnapping 7-year-old Steven Stayner as the boy walked . Stayner grew up in Merced, California, near Yosemite National Park. By daybreak the following morning, Parnell had been arrested. Steven Stayner died in 1989. Delbert Stayner Cause Of Death Delbert Stayner died on 9 April 2013. He was kidnapped when he was a child but was eventually able to escape after seven years. The Truth About The Kidnapping Of Steven Stayner, California Department of Corrections/Wikipedia. He is now 59 and on death row in San Quentin State Prison, according to his prison records. And if I didnt take care of it now, it would just get worse,'" Duke said. 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. As reported by The Famous People, both boys were reunited with their parents on May 2, 1980. Stayner died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24. Hang out with friends or skateboard," Purdy told ABC News. 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. Hours after Steven Stayner reported Parnells crimes, he was arrested and convicted of kidnapping. After serving in the Army, Del worked at several sawmills and then moved to be employed in the canning industry. Steven Gregory Stayner died in a motorcycle accident on September 16, 1989, in Merced, California, United States. Steven Stayner Death: How Carys Stayners Brother Died, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. A third brother, Cary Stayner, is seen in a ball cap in the background between his brothers Steven and Delbert. MERCED . ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. In 1999 a proposition was put forward to rename several local parks in the Merced area to honour outstanding citizens of the city. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people. Meanwhile, his captors had renamed Steven as Dennis Parnell and he was enrolled in schools as Parnells son during seven years of abduction and sexual abuse, as reported by the LA Times. (Stayners helmet had been stolen two months prior, and he hadnt replaced it.) 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. Not only was Steven able to explain to police what happened to him and Timothy, he was also able to tell them his real name was Steven, not Dennis. . The harrowing true account of Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped by a perverted pseudo-priest and his lackey during the 1970s. Shulze, of Oak Park, California, earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the 2020 and 2021 cross country seasons, as well as 2021 for track. Thankfully, they were unable to follow through with the kidnapping attempt. In 1981, he was convicted of kidnapping both boys and sentenced to seven years of state prison time. While investigators were checking into Parnell's past, the 1951 sodomy conviction came to light, although at the time Stayner insisted that Parnell had not sexually abused him.[11]. Stayner was considered a hero for saving White from years of sexual and physical abuse. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. In 2004, 72-year-old Parnell was sentenced to 25 years to life after an informant told police he expressed interest in buying a four-year-old boy for $500. Cookie Notice According to The Famous People, Murphy offered to walk Stayner home, as he wanted to ask his mother for a donation. Stevens father, Delbert Stayner, struggled in the aftermath of his sons vanishing like everyone else in the family. He was kidnapped. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, "everyone was smiling, there was a lot of jubilation, but if you look in the background, there's something worth noting, and it's Cary in his baseball cap, and he's not smiling at all," according to Flynn. He was held by his abductor until he was 14, when he escaped with another of Parnell's victims, Timothy White. 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. Now I had to compete with a brother and three sisters. sibling. One relative described child sexual abuse as like a family sickness because it had been going on for so many generations. Three weeks before Christmas 1972, the course of Steven Stayner's life would change forever. Steven Gregory Stayner was a well-known kidnapping victim from the United States. You have the other brother who's left at home. He was in the background always.". He was 35. 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. He briefly attended counseling but instead considered talking to reporters as his form of therapy. What Was The Cause Of Death For Steven Stayner? . Although Parnell was a convicted child predator, Murphy was described as "simple-minded," and somewhat naive. ", Steven also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the tragic abuse he had endured. Her father is abduction-victim-turned-hero Steven . Parnell, who was in hospice care, died of natural causes at 9:10 p.m. Monday, according to the department of corrections. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. "He was kind of a quiet guy. 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. In addition to her fathers unwanted advances, one of Stayners sisters said that Cary started peeping on her and inappropriately touching her when she was ten. To me thats guilt plain and simple. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. Stayner lived as Parnell's "son" for seven years, during which he was repeatedly sexually abused. Stayner and his wife were high school sweethearts, the article said. In 1985, Stayner married Jody Edmondson in Atwater, where the two were living with their two children at the time of his death. On April 18th, 1965, he was welcomed into the world by his parents, Delbert Stayner and Kay Stayner, in Merced, California, in the United States of America. "I wa. At the time, Stayner had been missing for more than seven years. Here is all you want to know, and more! However, he was convicted in Utah and was not known as a criminal in California. He sexually abused Stayner repeatedly until Stayner fled in 1980 when he was 14. Later that year he married again and had another daughter. However, he only served five years of his sentence. I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their 7-year-old, he told Newsweek in 1984. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in a vile act that would shake the family forever. He was convicted of both kidnappings and served five years of his seven-year prison sentence. But Stayner had issues with readjusting to family life, with a tumultuous teenagehood. The Stayners were in the news yet again after Cary, Stevens older brother, confessed to murdering four women, including two teenagers. Stayner and Parnell pretended to be a son and father (via the Lodi News-Sentinel). However, the jury decided otherwise. And if I didnt take care of it now, it would just get worse, Lori Duke, Stayners high school girlfriend, told ABC News. The driver was later caught (per LA Times). Sean Poorman, Stayner's schoolfriend who abetted Parnell in the White kidnapping, was sentenced to a term in a juvenile work camp. Cary Anthony Stayner (born August 13, 1961) is an American serial killer and the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. On the afternoon of December 4, 1972, 7-year-old Steven Stayner was walking home from school in Merced, California, when he was approached by a man passing out religious pamphlets. Age at Death: 24. He was spunky. I always looked very closely in hopes of spotting Steven. On the show, Kay mentioned that Del would often drive around looking for freshly dug ground because he thought Steven was dead. However, his brother Cary also suffered throughout the entire ordeal. As reported by The Famous People, Parnell dated a woman named Barbara Mathias for a period of time. Then he took matters into his own hands. When Stayner was 14, Parnell kidnaped another boy, 5-year-old Timmy White. Privacy Policy. According to the psychiatrists report, Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, was ordered into therapy for molesting his own daughters. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. Parnell had lured the child through use of a deputy sheriff's badge he bought at an army-navy surplus store. In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agents Relentless Pursuit of the Nations Worst Predators. 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. Timothy White died of a pulmonary embolism in 2010 at the age of 35. But tragedy would strike Stayner one last time. He also conscripted Stayner into aiding him in kidnappings, but Stayner had always failed to grab the targeted child to the point Parnell stopped using Stayner as an accomplice, berating him for being an "incompetent". Parnell remained incarcerated until his death in 2008 at the California Medical Facility, where he died of natural causes. According to People Magazine, on September 16, 1989, Steven was heading home on his motorcycle from his job delivering pizza when a "car pulled out of the driveway of a migrant-labor camp along the highway." Steven was only 24 but was married with two children: Ashley (3) and Steven Jr. (2). Witnesses later recognized the alleged driver of the automobile. Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Storypremiered on Thursday (21 April) and features interviews with Stayners mother and, as he survived the terrible ordeal, his son and daughter. Kenneth Parnell was ultimately convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy to steal a child. Unfortunately, the entire incident was part of an elaborate plan to kidnap the boy. 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. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". I Know My First Name Is Steven: With Cindy Pickett, John Ashton, Corin Nemec, Luke Edwards. number of children. Hulus Captive Audience tells the tragic story of two Stayner brothers: Steven, who was kidnapped by a pedophile as a child, and Cary, who later became a serial killer. ET on ABC, Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. 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. Cary Stayner will forever be known for marring Yosemite's reputation as a peaceful retreat with the brutal murders of four innocent women. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. and our Star Original Captive Audience - A Real American Horror Story aired on Hulu with all 3 episodes available immediately on the release date of April 21, 2022.[18]. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! The two brothers of the Stayner family are both famous, both tied to the wonder of Yosemite National Park, and both knew unspeakable horror. Over the years, Parnell had numerous jobs and he and Stayner moved often. As Steven got older and entered puberty, Parnell's sexual interest in Stayner waned and Parnell sought a new boy to "build his family". dewiki Steven Stayner; When Steven Stayner returned home, all he really knew about himself was his first name he wasn't even sure how his last name was spelled. 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. 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. He sustained fatal head injuries while on his way home from work when his motorcycle collided with a car in a hit-and-run accident. "Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, 'Your parents, I just spoke to them. Parnell was convicted of two counts of kidnaping and sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison in February, 1982, after an 18-day trial in Hayward. Currently, Cary, 60, is being held in San Quentin State Prison on death row. Parnell, 76, died at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville on Monday, corrections officials said Tuesday. Birthday: April 18, 1965. Both men were convicted. 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.