Cary Stayner
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| Cary Stayner | |
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| Background information | |
| Born: | August 13, 1961 |
| Penalty: | Death |
| Killings | |
| Number of victims: | 4 |
| Span of killings: | February, 1999 through July, 1999 |
| Country: | U.S. |
| State(s): | California |
| Date apprehended: | 1999 |
Cary Stayner (born August 13, 1961) is an American serial killer currently on death row for the 1999 murders of four women in Yosemite, California. Stayner's victims were Carole Sund, her daughter Julie, Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso and park employee Joie Armstrong.
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[edit] Early life
Stayner's younger brother, Steven, was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell in 1972 and held captive for more than seven years before escaping and being reunited with his family. Stayner would later say he felt neglected as his parents grieved over the loss of Steven.[1] When Steven escaped and returned home in 1980, he received massive media attention; a true crime novel and TV movie were made about the ordeal. Steven died in a motorcycle accident in 1989. The following year, Cary Stayner's uncle, with whom he was living at the time, was murdered.
Stayner attempted suicide in 1991 and was arrested in 1997 for possession of marijuana and methamphetamine, although the charges were eventually dropped.
[edit] Crimes
In 1997, he was hired as a handyman at Cedar Lodge in El Portal near Yosemite, where, between February and July 1999, he murdered four women. He was initially questioned when his first three victims were found, but he was not seriously considered as a suspect. When the fourth body was found in July, however, he was questioned again and arrested by FBI Agent Jeff Rinek at Laguna del Sol nudist resort in Wilton. His truck yielded evidence linking him to the victim. He eventually confessed to all four murders.
Stayner claimed after his arrest that he had fantasized about murdering women since the age of seven.
[edit] Sentencing
Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers citing a family history of sexual abuse and mental illness, manifesting itself not only in the murders but also in Stayner's request for child pornography (in return for his confession[2]) and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He was nevertheless found sane and convicted of four counts of first degree murder by a jury in 2001. In 2002, during the penalty phase of his trial, he was sentenced to death. An appeal is pending. Stayner is housed on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California.
[edit] Publicity
Amid the nationwide publicity the case received, the FBI was heavily criticized for not arresting Stayner before he murdered his fourth victim. There is also concern among some law enforcement officials and forensic science specialists that Stayner did not commit the murders by himself.[3] To date, no one else has been charged in connection with the murders.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ True Life Crimes - A collection of crime stories of some of the most famous and fascinating true crimes in history and modern times. Serial killers, murders, kindappings, crimes of passion and much more
- ^ Crime Library article on Stayner
- ^ CNN - Motel handyman charged in Yosemite sightseer killing - October 21, 1999
