"We tried to keep quiet and not upset our parents.". But he was pretty messed up and never got any counseling. [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. ", Kay told the jury of her surviving son,"Very seldom did he get into trouble. ", Kay said in an interview, per CNN, "He came back different, very different. seen in Montana, according to our information three sisters. It would have been a lot different if this man who hit him stayed. [13], For a period of eighteen months, a woman named Barbara Mathias lived with Parnell and Stayner. I got put on the back burner, you might say," Cary told J.P. Miller, a filmmaker who wrote a screenplay about Steven's abduction. "I've never been this angry. The alleged driver of the car was later identified by witnesses. "[25], Stayner underwent brief counseling but never sought additional treatment. [38] Timmy White, then a grown man, was subpoenaed to testify in Parnell's criminal trial. [7], After Stayner agreed, a white Buick driven by Parnell pulled up, and Stayner willingly climbed into the car with Murphy. Steven Stayner's parents were left with many questions when their 7-year-old son vanished into thin air in 1972. ), "None of the women were sexually abused in any way,"Cary told KBWB's Ted Rowlands, who goes over the surrealinterview inCaptive Audience,after admitting that he was guilty of all four murders. He had a pretty sad life.. [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. Stevens parents, Kay and Delbert, were on a camping trip when they learned of the passing. He [Steven] got on with his life but he was pretty messed up,Stevens sister said in 2007. The next day, Steven was told that his parents had given him up, that they couldnt afford so many children (Steven was one of five children), and they didnt want him anymore. 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. Cary pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for killing Armstrong. Steven's father, Delbert Stayner, died on April 9, 2013, at his home in Winton, California. However, the young boy could not take advantage of those opportunities as he was reportedly unaware how to summon help. Steven Stayner escaped Kenneth Parnell when he was 14 years old. When 14-year-oldSteven Staynerturned upat a police station, more than seven years after he was kidnapped while walking home from school, it felt like a miracle. He literally said, I was not going to let that child go through what I had already been through. All along, there was the assurance that his story would be made into a movie. The docuseries focused heavily on the miniseries and featured appearances by both Corin Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews. He waited until Parnell went to work, then took Timothys hand and ran. Steven Stayners incredible story features in the captivating Hulu crime dramaCaptive Audience. He barely knew his parents, and his parents scarcely knew the teenager whod returned home. The morning of March 2, 1980 Parnell was arrested. Kay and Delbert Stayner married in 1960 and had five children together. Murphy, for helping kidnap Stayner, and Poorman, for helping kidnap White, were convicted of lesser charges. Children. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. 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. Hereturnedto school, where he was always an object of curiosity. I know where Stevies at now., Read Next: Bonny Lee Bakleys death The accusations behind her unsolved murder, Is Bob Barker still alive? Ive never been this angry. Shortly before his death, Steven had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't know my true birthdate, but I use April 18, 1965. Sartell testified about the toll that the 1972 kidnapping of younger brother Steven took on the family. Boy that was one looooong article! According to Stayner, Mathias, along with Parnell, raped him on nine occasions at the age of nine. At the time, the concept of therapy was frowned upon, and his father insisted that he didnt need any counseling. 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. Claiming full legal custody of Steven, Parnell changed his name, calling him Dennis Gregory Parnell, allowing him to keep his real middle name. I know my first name is Steven, he told the police. They approached a police station shortly after midnight. 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. Cary was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002 for the murders of four women in 1999. In an interview with Newsweek, Steven said, I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their 7-year old. [32] Screening rights were sold to a number of international television companies including the BBC, which screened the miniseries in mid-July of the following year; later still, it was released as a feature-length movie. Both claimed they knew nothing of the sexual assaults on Stayner. A cabin that sat several hundred feet away from his grandfathers house. . Now I had to compete with a brother and three sisters. Parnell continued to abuse Steven for years, telling the boy that his parents weren't looking for him. Stevens drivers license had been suspended, and didnt want to risk an accident in the company truck, so he declined the offer. Parnell shifted from one place to another for work, often took Stayner with him, but later sometimes left him alone and unguarded. 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. Steven Stayner got married to Jody Edmondson in 1985. Stayner looked forward to raising his children, Ashley and Steven Jr, with Jody. [7] Unbeknownst to Stayner, Parnell's cabin was located only several hundred feet from his maternal grandfather's residence. Kay was elated to have her son back. Jody emotionally described how she and Stayner planned to visit their favorite restaurant after he got home. 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. 2023 E! 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. On Sept. 20, 1989, Steven Stayner was riding his new Kawasaki motorcycle without a helmet in the rain. They were last seen alive Feb. 15 eating dinner at the hotel restaurant. He was about 14 years old and had been kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell, who sexually abused him. (There was some impressively stiff competition that year, sothe best miniseries honorwent toWar and Remembrance, which also beat outLonesome Dove. While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. So, on December 4, 1972, Kay was supposed to pick him up from school but had stopped to pick something up from Delbert. During the years Steven was missing, Cary's life continued, but it was never the same. However, he was not charged for sexual assault as the prosecutors believed they were 'protecting' Stayner from the social stigma of male sexual abuse. Steven died nine years after he returned home. Both actors reflecton the stranger-than-fiction chain of events inCaptive Audience, as well asread Steven and Cary's own words from interview transcripts. 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. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Luck was not on his side, however, and at 4:55pm, three miles away and driving under the speed limit, he rammed a car that had pulled into the street just ahead of him. Stayner's parents fear losing another son. "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. He was third of five children of his parents and had an elder brother Cary and three sisters. Cary would have trouble with the law well into his adult life. 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. "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. During this time, he was working at Pizza Hut and later joined 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'. 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. [1] He had three sisters and an older brother, Cary. [15] Mathias later claimed to have been completely unaware that "Dennis" had been kidnapped. We had hope, faith, and kept busy. But Stevens life back in the safety of his home was difficult. She reported him topolice and he got the maximum sentence due to California's three-strikes law. Dimmock explained. [17], On March 1, 1980, while Parnell was away at his night security job, Stayner left with White and hitchhiked into Ukiah. But why doesn't my dad hug me anymore? 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. He had sustained a fracture at the back of his skull. He also convinced the little boy that his parents could not afford raising so many children and as such did not want him anymore. Stayner had a relaxed upbringing as his captor not only allowed him to roam freely wherever he wished to go, but also allowed him to start drinking at a very early age. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1393983e62ce48 She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a B.A. April 22, 2022 Steven Stayner's miraculous story of escape from his kidnapper in 1980 garnered national headlines at the time. "But he was pretty messed up and he never got any counseling. Both Poorman and White testified for the prosecution at his 2004 trial. 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. kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell, who sexually abused him. This caused Parnell to believe Stayner lacked the means to be an accomplice. 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. April 20, 2022 Steven Stayner became a household name in 1980 when he returned home after being kidnapped about seven years earlier. Stayner revealed later that he had intentionally sabotaged these failed kidnappings. 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. Murphy, who was instructed to distribute gospel tracts to school boys, approached Steven Stayner, claiming to be a church representative and asked him if his mother would be willing to donate anything to the church. Parnell used Steven in his next attempts to take a boy, but none were successful. Despite the severe trauma that he dealt with when he lived with his kidnapper, Steven made a life for himself, marrying and having children. Dnde ver Entfhrt: Der Fall Stayner? 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. [39] 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. Initially wanted as an eyewitness, Cary was confronted by police in July of 1999, and ended up confessing to all four murders. So, if youre wondering where she might be today, heres what we know. Cary had been interviewedearly on in the investigationa massive undertaking involving local and federal authoritiesand ruled out as a suspect. He died on April 1, 2010 from a pulmonary embolism. Timothy, back home with his family, adjusted well, and things returned to normal. 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. Cary saw the attention that his brother received after returning home and their relationship was never the same, according to TIME. Seven-year-old, Steven Stayner lived with his parents, Kay and Delbert and his three sisters and an older brother in the small Californian city of Merced. Parnell bounced from one job to another, some requiring him to travel and leave Steven home alone. 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. Born on April 18, 1965, Steven Stayner was the third of five children born to Delbert and Kay Stayner. He even had a regular babysitter for awhile, a single mom namedBarbara Mathias, who ended up moving in with them for nine months. Although he was sentenced to seven years, he only served five. 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. But why doesn't my dad hug me anymore? He was bullied, teased, and his sexuality was always called into question. Steven later admitted to sabotaging the efforts. 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). He was raising hell at school and causing trouble with the law but things started to change when he met Jody Edmondson. [9] Parnell began raping Stayner thirteen days later, on December 17, 1972. Timmy White and Steven Stayner during a press conference. Timothy James White (November 1, 1974 - April 1, 2010) was an American man who was abducted in 1980 by pedophile Kenneth Parnell, and held a few weeks before he was rescued by fellow child captive, 14-year-old Steven Stayner, who escaped and guided the 5-year-old to safety. But by then he was too afraid of being physically harmed by Parnell to run away. The Mendocino County prosecutors, acting almost entirely alone, decided not to prosecute Parnell for the sexual assaults that occurred in their jurisdiction. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". Shockingly, Parnell allowed Steven to go to school. Under false pretenses, Cary entered their room and sexually assaulted both girls. My dad was on a mission trying to find his son, she said. [24] In an interview with Newsweek shortly after his escape, Stayner said, "I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their 7-year-old. [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. I don't know sometimes if I should have come home. I always looked very closely in hopes of spotting Steven.". As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Cary Stayner, Steven's older brother, was behind the Yosemite murders that rocked the small farming town of Merced, California in 1999. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Cary was 11 years old at time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. He died on April 1, 2010, at age 35 from pulmonary embolism. [25], In 1985, Stayner married 17-year-old Jody Edmondson,[2] with whom he had two children: a daughter Ashley and a son Steven Jr.[26] He also worked with child abduction groups, spoke to children about personal safety, and gave interviews about his kidnapping. [41][42] Nearly five months later, on August 28, 2010, a statue of Stayner and White was dedicated in Applegate Park in Merced. Parnell, a sex offender, molested him the very first night, and began raping him thirteen days later, on December 17, 1972. While at school, Steven never revealed to anyone that he had been kidnapped. So, today, at the age of 59, Cary Stayner is incarcerated at the San Quentin State Prison. He didnt complain. 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. For the sexual assaults carried out in Mendocino County, prosecutors chose not to prosecute. Third of five children, he had an older brother and three sisters. "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. In high school, Cary was known for being creative, but he couldn't escape Steven's story. Even though missing fliers circulatedall over the place, including some of the schools Steven attended, no one evercame forward to say they recognized him. [17][18], By daybreak on March 2, 1980, Parnell had been arrested on suspicion of abducting both boys. Steven told him she would probably want to, and the men offered him a ride home. At his funeral on September 20, a 14-year-old Timmy White was one of the pallbearers. He said, Whats dying? like so much had already happened to him, what was dying compared to that?. During this time, he had grown very fond of his pet dog Queenie, a Manchester Terrier; Parnells mother has given the dog to Parnell. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. He also seemed angry at the driver who fatally crashed into him and ticked off by the light sentence given to Parnell, a free man at the time. Once more details emerged about his ordeal, some kids teased him about being molested. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. He named the dog, a Manchester Terrier, Queenie. For two weeks Steven watched Timothy suffer. Jody said (perThe Spokesman-Review): Im very, very, very angry. He was 35 years old. That statement later became the title of a book and movie. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Stayner was abducted in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. It really made me think about shifting sympathies. The boy, who was in the Santa Rosa Boys Club with Steven, wouldnt be so easy. Kay Stayner never gave up hope that her son would return home safely, and she was glad to see it become a reality. [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]. Parents today are very protective of their children, and for good reason. But this time hes the one who is staying strong for Kay., Delbert mourned the tragedy but expressed relief in the certainty of death. 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. More than 450 peopleturned out for Steven's funeral and Timothy White, the boy he saved, wasa pallbearer. Investigator Pat Lunney said, Merced was the lead police department, and so they really mounted a large effort to search. 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. Steven Stayner testifies about his abduction in 1972 by Kenneth Parnell and his seven years in captivity in this 1981 photo. Cary at 6, watching television from the couch. Would I have been better off if I didn't? The family avoided watching the 10 p.m. news, and any mention of Steven on TV would make their father cry. But the family has since dealt with several tragedies along the way, including Steven's death and his older brother's incarceration for murder. For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. "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. 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 . "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. I guess seven years changed him, too. The next day, on March 2nd, both the boys were reunited with their respective families and Parnell was arrested. Steven was held captive and sexually abused by his abductor 200 miles away in Mendocino County, California until he was 14. He could be disarmingly paternal, but also beat and sexually abused the child. He and her son Lloyd played together. It was the first day in the 2 1/2-month trial that any members of Stayners immediate family have shown up. Steven Stayner's incredible story features in the captivating Hulu crime drama Captive Audience . 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. According to The Berkeley Daily Planet, the then 11-year-old felt responsible for his brother's disappearance and felt forgotten by his parents, who were consumed by their son's kidnapping. ", 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.''. At 14 years old, Steven was reunited with this parents, and became a national hero overnight. On March 1, 1980, the boys left the one-room cabin where Parnell was keeping them in the remote coastal town of Manchester (pop. Count everyone affiliated with the movie, including Nemec and Todd Eric Andrews, who played Cary at 18, as being floored by what happened. In the early '80s, the story of Steven Stayner's childhood abduction and rescue riveted the nation. 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. Of course Cynthia Sartell knew him; he was her older sibling. He had problems adjusting because, with Kenneth, there were no rules; he was used to drinking and smoking. The attempt was a failure. The FBI acknowledged at the end of March that, while they were looking closely at a few men who (unlike Cary) had criminal records, no arrests or charges were "imminent.". At odds with his father, Steven was eventually kicked out of the house. And so Steven made it home, Timmy was returned to his parents, and two families could breathe again. Parents Del and Kay, brother Cary and his three sisterswelcomed him back into the fold, but readjusting wasn't easyfor any of them. However, Stayner skillfully sabotaged Kenneths plans. He fell in love. "How does that change the way we think about responsibilityand does it bring us into an uncomfortable place?". On March 1, 1980, after two weeks, Steven had had enough. By the time she got there, the 7-year-old was nowhere to be seen. Jody was last seen in Montana, accordin Stayner's parents proposed that one be named "Stayner Park". 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. 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. 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. [10] After Stayner told Parnell many times during that first week that he wanted to go home, Parnell told Stayner that he had been granted legal custody of the boy because his parents could not afford so many children and that they did not want him anymore. 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. Selena is the entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. 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. On Dec 4, 1972 at age 7, he was abducted in California by Kenneth Parnell. Things were pretty rough for a while, bouncing from one job to another, some would say wandering aimlessly. 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