He was kidnapped. Steven's parents were devastated by their son's disappearance and the lack of witnesses or any evidence in the case. "Steven could have grown up normal happy and healthy and Cary still wouldve been a serial killer. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, was accused of sexually abusing his daughters, and Rinek wrote sexual abuse went back at least five generations in the family. In addition to participating in the abuse of Stayner, she attempted to help Parnell kidnap a boy who was a member of the Santa Rosa Boys' Club. 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. He had been under hospice care for some time. Parnell remained incarcerated until his death in 2008 at theCalifornia Medical Facility, where he died of natural causes. Steven Stayners parents were left with many questions when their 7-year-old son vanished into thin air in 1972. Im not sure there is any direct cause and effect," Flynn said. He was 35. The cause of his death is still unknown at this time. I suspect this death is what caused Cary to snap, too, so theres more lives ruined because of the hit and run driver. Former reporter Ted Rowlands said, "Stayner had a new father figure who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist.". Parnell was tried for kidnapping Stayner and White, but not for sexual abuse. Stayner was lured into the vehicle and abducted. And it wasn't that he was just a loner, he was a bit of a creepy loner," Flynn said. By this point, Cary Stayner was suffering. He later said, I never stopped looking, every time I saw a crowd on TV or a picture of a lot of people in a magazine. Steven Stayner (April 18, 1965 - Sept 16, 1989) was a kidnapping victim. He also felt more directly responsible. Stayner was stolen on December 4, 1972, in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. After White had been with Stayner and his captors for 16 days, Stayner realized he needed to save White from the same abuse he had endured (via the Los Angeles Times). 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. Stayner died in 1989 of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.[12]. Stayner, who was held captive by Parnell for seven years, died in a 1989 motorcycle crash. I Know My First Name Is Steven: With Cindy Pickett, John Ashton, Corin Nemec, Luke Edwards. As he never had any rules, he rebelled when his parents forbade him from drinking alcohol and smoking. Then he took matters into his own hands. Parnell was convicted on February 9, 2004, on the charges of attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation, even though no child had been targeted. Unable to avoid the collision, Steven hit the driver's side of the vehicle. He was not wearing a helmet because someone had stolen it from him two months prior (via the Los Angeles Times ). Steven Gregory Stayner was born on April 18, 1965 in Merced, California, to Delbert and Kay Stayner. I yelled at him a lot. According to another report, Del was ordered to undergo therapy because he molested his daughters. Steven Stayner Death - Obituary, Cause Of Death. He was 79 years old, and from what we can tell, the cause of death has not been made public. Like Steven, Timothy also died very young. He loved his brother. Steven was 24 years old at the time of death. By daybreak the following morning, Parnell had been arrested. They no longer want you,'" investigative journalist Pat LaLama said. ", "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. He found someone else to help him find another boy, only this time he was caught and he was sent to prison again -- where he died in 2008.". While they never gave up hope, the ordeal took a toll on the whole family. However, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. He was not wearing a helmet because someone had stolen it from him two months prior (via the Los Angeles Times). 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. A year later, he was sentenced to life, which was, at the time, the harshest sentence handed down under the the "three strikes" law. In the years after Steven vanished, Del spent considerable time looking for anything that would lead him to his son. Authorities had already interviewed him once before about the other three murders, but at the time he hadnt raised any red flags. I was disappointed however on some of the inconsistencies, misspellings, and grammatical errors. Stayner left a substantial amount of evidence in and around Armstrongs cottage, but police initially started searching for him because his vehicle had been seen near her place and they thought he would be a "natural witness to interview," Rinek said. You know, hung out with him, played with him., Martin Purdy, a friend of the brothers, remembered Cary as a "nice guy.". By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years. Watch: The Truth Behind Our Obsession With True Crime Stories. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 - September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. My dad said he didnt need any. The press also hounded him constantly, and during Parnells trial he was bullied at school over questions of his sexuality. Steven Stayner was kidnapped when Cary Stayner was 11, Rinek wrote. Steven Stayner, who as a child was kidnaped from his Merced home and held captive until he escaped seven years later, died Saturday in a motorcycle accident, a coroner's spokesman . "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. Parnell died in 2008 at the age of 76 of natural causes in the state prison hospital at Vacaville, SF Gate reported. 2. He was kidnapped when he was a child but was eventually able to escape after seven years. I dont know sometimes if I should have come home. Hang out with friends or skateboard," Purdy told ABC News. Her father is abduction-victim-turned-hero Steven . At the age of seven, Steven Stayner was kidnapped on the afternoon of December 4, 1972 by Kenneth Parnell, who had . Stayner once told press that he vigilantly watched his kids, and they werent even allowed out on the porch unless they were in sight of him or their mom. 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. When he returned, Stayner was constantly in the public eye, and he struggled with returning to his normal life after being kept captive for seven years. Stayner waited until Parnell had gone to his night shift job as a clerk at a local motel on March 1, 1980 and, carrying White on his back, hitchhiked 40 miles to Ukiah. He loved his brother, his former calssmate, Jack Bungart, told the news outlet. Sometimes I blame myself. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Date of Death: September 16, 1989. To begin with the first one is on the cover of the book. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal.". I never recognized either one of them.". Accidental deaths are also on the rise. The Famous People reports Stayner had a difficult time adjusting to returning to his parents' home. Unfortunately, ABC News reports authorities were eventually forced to admit "there was just nothing there." On several occasions, Parnell encouraged Stayner to help him lure another boy into the home. Cary Stayner Today: Where Is He Now in 2021. According to the Los Angeles Times, by 1989 Staynerwas married with two small children and was working at Pizza Hut. But they weren't religious leaders Kenneth E. Parnellwas a convicted pedophile. Del was born in New Mexico in May 1933 and moved to Merced County, California, in 1951. The cause was a pulmonary embolism, said his stepfather, Roger Gitlin. Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story,, a Hulu docuseries that streams today, shows, the two boys bravely testified against Parnell at his trial. Accident or not, someone lost their life. The Stayners were in the news yet again after Cary, Stevens older brother, confessed to murdering four women, including two teenagers. However, Timothy could not remember his address, so Stayner took him to a police station instead. Currently, Cary, 60, is being held in San Quentin State Prison on death row. molesting an 8-year-old boy in Bakersfield, California in 1952 when he kidnapped Stayner. But for the Stayners, this seemingly closed hellish chapter of their lives turned out to be . "Kenneth Parnell stops the car and goes to a payphone, he comes back and tells Steven, 'Your parents, I just spoke to them. At the time, Stayner had been missing for more than seven years. "Still trying to get a real investigation for the death of my son Aaron Carter," she wrote. Steven died in 1989, aged 24. After two weeks of watching White cry for his family, the then-14-year-old Stayner decided that was enough. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. 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]. He had reportedly suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts but the cause of his death remains unclear. Parnell died in 2008 while incarcerated. Am I wrong? 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. On Sept. 16, 1989, Steven, then 24, was killed in a motorcycle accident while on his way home from work. The Stayner family has been shrouded in . Stayner later escaped, taking Timmy with him. "I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk. "Merced was the lead police department, and so they really mounted a large effort to search. 5h ago. 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. Cary Staynar tried to protect his younger brother and looked out for him, according to ABC News. 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. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Per the Spokesman-Review, Parnell told Stayner that his parents didn't want him anymore; he was beaten so viciously that he was afraid to run away. Steven eventually married and had two children. Three weeks before Christmas 1972, the course of Steven Stayner's life would change forever. "For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. In addition to his fraught life at home and at school, Steven, still just a teenager by this point, also had to face Parnell in court. As Parnell was working the night shift, Stayner fled the home with White in the middle of the night. Then, Del served in the US Army for four years until 1957 as a Staff Sergeant. Starcasm Staff July 2, 2021 20/20, True Crime. Like Kay, he urged the jury at Carys trial not to sentence him to death. The Truth About The Kidnapping Of Steven Stayner, California Department of Corrections/Wikipedia. He was a child who was being abused. "I think Cary after high school seemed a little lost, like he didnt know where he was going," Bungart said. He was 76. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood.". American crime victim who was kidnapped at age seven and held captive by sex offender Kenneth Parnell for seven years. He was sentenced to death in 2002 and remains on death row. "But he was unable to develop any sort of interpersonal relationships with any women.". However, Crime Investigation reports Stayner sabotaged Parnell's efforts, as he did not want another boy to suffer through the abuse he had endured. "He literally said, 'I was not going to let that child go through what I had already been through. However, that happiness was short-lived because he had difficulty adjusting back to life with his family. He was spunky. 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). Hulus latest three-part documentary recalls the devastating kidnapping of Steven Stayner, a seven-year-old boy living in Merced, California.