My son is very sick right now, the familys patriarch said while sobbing. It would have been a lot different if this man who hit him stayed. Therefore, Kay swore to raise her children that same way, without an ounce of sentimental touch or warmth, which Delbert seemed to agree with. Steven Stayner became a household name in 1980 when he returned home after being kidnapped about seven years earlier. Stayner dropped out of school and started a drinking habit that strained his relationship with his dad. Fortunately, the police spotted him as well and detained both of them, following which he revealed his identity and narrated his own story. The driver, Antonio Loera, drove off, leaving Stayner helpless on the rain-soaked highway. Then in 1980, as Stayner matured, Parnell kidnapped a younger boy, 5-year-old Timothy "Timmy" White, Following his rescue, White went on to bravely testify at his kidnappers trial when he was just 6 years old, the, White went on to have two children with his wife, Dena. He later moved with his mother, his two half-sisters, and a half-brother to Bakersfield, California, where his mother operated a boarding lodge. Kenneth Eugene Parnell was born in Amarillo, Texas[1][2] to Cecil Frederick and Mary Olive (ne Pollard) Parnell, during the region's dust bowl era during the Great Depression. Steven Stayner Biography - Facts, Childhood, Life - The Famous People Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. However, he was not charged for sexual assault as the prosecutors believed they were 'protecting' Stayner from the social stigma of male sexual abuse. He had been abducted in plain sight. He also felt more directly responsible. Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story,. Kay and Delbert Stayner married in 1960 and had five children together. 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. He was given a new identity . Over the years, Parnell had numerous jobs and he and Stayner moved often. This includes a 9-year kidnapping and a serial killing pic.twitter.com/WgWQCdDk7h, may queen (@syanarchy) February 19, 2020. By that time, Cary Stayner was already having grotesque fantasies, the agent wrote. Both boys had been victims of kidnapping. But her strength is waning now. I Know My First Name Is Steven (TV Mini Series 1989) - IMDb Kenneth Parnell is most notoriously known for the kidnapping of Steven Stayner, but he was an active child sex predator long before that 1972 abduction. As Steven reached puberty, Purnell preference for younger boys drove him to abduct 5-year-old Timothy. In Captive Audience, Ashley, who was a teen at the time, recalls following this news story very closely. But this time hes the one who is staying strong for Kay., Delbert mourned the tragedy but expressed relief in the certainty of death. As reported by The Famous People, both boys were reunited with their parents on May 2, 1980. According to the psychiatrists report, Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, was ordered into therapy for molesting his own daughters. Edward Murphy, Parnell's accomplice from the Stayner kidnapping, was sentenced to five years imprisonment and paroled after two years. Prosecutor Tim Wellman had largely argued his case before the jury by showing a slideshow of Stayner marked "1", then of White marked "2", and a blank screen marked "3" to show the nonexistent child that would have been abducted had police not been notified. [16][17] According to prison officials, Parnell died of natural causes. But Kay knew that child molestation, something she went through, was out of the question. Its a story of a happy ending turned rathertwisted. Steven Stayner Children: Ashley Stayner, Steven Stayner Jr. April 25, 2022 by John Atsu. Her battle with dementia explained, How did Dr. Charles Stanley die? Mike Echols, who wrote the manuscript for the series, later published a book with the same title in 1991. This is the hardest thing she has ever had to face, and she just cant talk to anybody. Kenneth Parnell - Wikipedia So, if youre curious about where she might be today, heres what we know. However, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. Steven Stayner's Kids: Where Are Ashley and Steven Jr. Now? - Distractify Cos Ive not until about an hour ago and its definitely one for the books. Being a mother, we assume Kay continues to miss her sons, but likes to keep it private, as made clear on her Facebook account. But seven years later, he returned home to his family. Steven Stayner's grave./Steven Stayner. He told The San Jose Mercury News that watching his children play was 'like having another childhood - the childhood I didn't have.' "Steven was bravely going about reconstructing his life," JK Miller said. Parnell shifted from one place to another for work, often took Stayner with him, but later sometimes left him alone and unguarded. First Look: New Hulu Docuseries Explores the Stayner Family's - People Stayner was taken to Catheys Valley. On March 1, 1980, two weeks after Timothy White was abducted, as Parnell went on duty at his night security job, Steven Stayner left the house with Timmy and hitchhiked a ride to Ukiah. Steven, wearing no helmet and riding with an invalid license, suffered severe head injuries. Following his brother's death, History reports Cary worked as a handyman at a lodge near Yosemite National Park. ABC 20/20 is digging into the case on a new episode, which airs at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 2, 2021. He fled on foot along with White, a journey that thrust the two kidnapping survivors into the national spotlight once they got to safety. Steven Stayner Death: How Carys Stayners Brother Died, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. During this time, he had grown very fond of his pet dog Queenie, a Manchester Terrier; Parnells mother has given the dog to Parnell. However, little did she know that her uncle was the murderer. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. She added, He was very proud of who he was. However, the young boy could not take advantage of those opportunities as he was reportedly unaware how to summon help. In the shadow of the Yosemite National Park in California, in the secluded farming town of Merced, the Stayner family resided in a lower-middle-class area classified as Betty Street. Bill Balestra said of Stayner, who was . He was just very well-grounded, for a person that had gone through what he had gone through. In the years after Stevens death, it was mentioned on the show that Jody remarried. While Jody said her husband did blame himself in some ways but ultimately seemed at peace with everything. He said, Whats dying? like so much had already happened to him, what was dying compared to that?. Thankfully, Steven rebuilt his life after wedding Jody Edmondson. A few years later, Steven got married and had two childrenbut at 24, having already been robbed of his childhood, Steven was robbed of his life when a hit-and-run driver killed him while he was riding his motorcycle home. Both Kay and her husband confessed that they were not the best parents even when Steven returned feelings were still never discussed. However, his brother Cary also suffered throughout the entire ordeal. After he failed to find Timmy's parents, he decided to lead the young boy into the police station to get help, as he was not attempting an escape for himself. The Merced Police Department launched an extensive investigation and search effort. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. We were kind of on our own, Sartell said. In addition to assisting in the production of a miniseries based on his experience, Stayner became an advocate for preventing child abduction and helping victims of abuse. Parnell had lured the child through use of a deputy sheriff's badge he bought at an army-navy surplus store. Soon after, Parnell reached there, driving a white Buick, which Stayner got into willingly, along with Murphy, but instead of his home, he was taken to a cabin in nearby Catheys Valley. Parnell died in 2008 while incarcerated. Stayners parents withdrew emotionally after Steven went missing, Rinek wrote. Sister Tells of Stayner's Troubled Childhood - Los Angeles Times Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Years after Timmy White was rescued by fellow kidnapping survivor Steven Stayner, he became a sheriff's deputy. Parnell went on to tell Stayner that his parents couldn't afford to keep him any more, that a judge had given Parnell legal custody of him, and that his new name was "Dennis". Slater was selected from many competing sculptors to sculpt the life size full-figure portraits of Steven Stayner and little Timothy White. Its final this time,he said. However, they ran out of time. In the 1970s, they constituted Cary and Steven, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner. For eight years, he abused Stayer while posing as his legal guardian and moving around California with him.