Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! [29][18], In early 1989, a television miniseries based on his experience, I Know My First Name Is Steven (also known as The Missing Years), was produced. Much of the testimony that the defense has tried to introduce, such as the molestation of one of Stayners sisters by their father, has been barred because of objections by the prosecution. 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. 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. Kenneth told Steven that his parents had given him away and that his new name was Dennis. She reported him topolice and he got the maximum sentence due to California's three-strikes law. 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. Jody said (perThe Spokesman-Review): Im very, very, very angry. He and her son Lloyd played together. [4], One of the few positive aspects of Stayner's life with Parnell was the dog he had received as a gift from him, a Manchester Terrier that he named Queenie. By Natalie Finn Apr 21, 2022 7:00 AM Tags. He was sentenced to seven years, but was paroled after serving five.[19][20]. When he couldn't figure out the location, he told White to head to the police station, with plans to return to Parnell's alone. Stayner and Timmy hiked to a police station 40 miles away from Kenneths cabin. His relationship with his father remained strained. While at school, Steven never revealed to anyone that he had been kidnapped. Sartell testified about the toll that the 1972 kidnapping of younger brother Steven took on the family. Although Stayner was dead, his testimony at Parnell's earlier trial was read to jurors as evidence in Parnell's 2004 trial. Cary Stayner, Steven's older brother, was behind the Yosemite murders that rocked the small farming town of Merced, California in 1999. Stevens parents, Kay and Delbert, were on a camping trip when they learned of the passing. Steven, his memory of his family fading under the strain of the trauma, took to calling Parnell "Dad" and went to class clean and neatly dressed, and otherwise showing no obvious outward traces of being held against his will. 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. I never recognized either one of them.". https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/steven-stayner-34446.php. 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. I guess I was jealous. Jurors in August found him guilty of the murders. 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. [16], As Stayner entered puberty, Parnell began to look for a younger child to kidnap. The driver, Antonio Loera, drove off, leaving Stayner helpless on the rain-soaked highway. It really made me think about shifting sympathies. Of course Cynthia Sartell knew him; he was her older sibling. He had sustained a fracture at the back of his skull. Would I have been better off if I didn't?". He literally said, I was not going to let that child go through what I had already been through. "Police say that Stayner seemed fond of Parnell, who he said 'spoiled' himStayner was defensive about Parnell in his talks with police and reluctant at first to reveal his name. Both Poorman and White testified for the prosecution at his 2004 trial. Stayner later claimed that Murphy asked him if his mother would be willing to donate any items to the church. Motivated in part by the young boy's distress, Stayner decided to return the boy to his parents. Steven eventually married and had two children. 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 . Steven was beaten and allowed to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. Awesome, cant wait to read! I was the oldest and all that. .css-lwn4i5{display:block;font-family:Neutra,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.01rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-lwn4i5:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}Jennifer Garner Debuts Daring New Look, 42 Sad Quotes to Power You Through Hard Days. Before leaving for the nudist colony . 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. Parnell allowed Stayner to begin drinking at a young age and to come and go virtually as he pleased. 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. of revisiting thatunfathomable part ofhis childhood. For seven years I have been supposedly an only child. Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. They passed the street Stevens house was on, and when he told them, the men just said that theyd call his parents, see if he could stay the night. 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. in journalism and creative writing. Great article, as always! He waited until Parnell went to work, then took Timothys hand and ran. (The other driver, Anthony Loera, actually left the scene but ultimatelyturned himself in. "I didn't socialize with him," Del said. But in 1985, when he was 20, he married 17-year-old Jody Edmondson, and they had two children,Ashleyand Steven Jr. Fatherhood seemed to rejuvenate him, and Steven started speaking out as a survivor, working with organizations that searched for missing children and visiting schools to talk to kids about safety. 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. She added, "He [Steven] got on with his life but he was pretty messed up." At his funeral on September 20, a 14-year-old Timmy White was one of the pallbearers. [43] Residents of Ukiah, White's hometown, carved a statue showing a teenage Stayner with young White in hand while escaping their captivity. "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. On December 4, 1972, seven-year-old Stayner was abducted in Merced, California, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. He also had a small, speechless role in the TV series as one of two policemen who escort his 14-year-old self to his onscreen parents. Steven Stayner spent seven years as the captive of a pedophile. At odds with his father, Steven was eventually kicked out of the house. Hehad been working as a maintenance man and living at Yosemite's Cedar Lodge,where the trio were staying. Hulus Captive Audience takes a look at this case through the eyes of the family, including interviews with Stevens children, sister, and mother. In 1999, against the wishes of the Stayner family, Echols wrote an additional chapter about Steven's older brother Cary at the request of his publisher, which then re-published the book.[34]. Insisting to police that he "wasn't mistreated the boy clearly has conflicting thoughts about his captor," the article notes. Parnell bounced from one job to another, some requiring him to travel and leave Steven home alone. He was released after five. Steven was held captive and sexually abused by his abductor 200 miles away in Mendocino County, California until he was 14. Together they had two children, and he moved to work with child abduction groups, making appearances for various groups who search for missing children. The title of the TV series and the book on Steven Stayner, 'I Know My First Name is Steven', was inspired by a line in his official police statement given after being rescued. "I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. But the family has since dealt with several tragedies along the way, including Stevens death and his older brothers incarceration for murder. 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. He said, Whats dying? like so much had already happened to him, what was dying compared to that?. Prueba a ver si Netflix, iTunes, Amazon o cualquier otro servicio te deja reproducirlo en streaming, alquilarlo o comprarlo! Dimmock credited Ashley"and her really trusting inthe weird process of going back over a story that ultimately has been told a lot of times, but digging some new things up and starting again," for helping the series come together with fresh insight from the family. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Stayner looked forward to raising his children, Ashley and Steven Jr, with Jody. 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. My dad said he didn't need any. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. "It happened to me, and I didn't want to see it happen to anybody else.". Spouse. Parnell approached with the car, and they left. ", HetoldNewsweek in 1984, "I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their 7-year-old. Despite his circumstances, he did well among his peers, and even became known as an all-around happy person. which involved killing them all and raping Lenna and her sister. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. 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. 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. I Know My First Name Is Stevenalludes to Cary, who was 18 when his brother reappeared, being jealous of all the attention Steven was getting, but there's no indication of him being seriously disturbed. 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