Serial Killer Cary Stayner #truecrime

Cary Stayner

Over the course of several months, a series of horrific crimes would shake the area around the Yosemite national park to its core. Cary Stayner was an absolutely evil piece of trash that worked at a motel near the entrance to the park where visitors from all over staying there between days of hikes up to the waterfalls. He would use the Cedar Lodge as his personal hunting ground, taking at least 4 lives between February and July of 1999, with 3 of them on his first attack. His methods and desires were absolutely repulsive, with his victims suffering through unbelievable cruelty at the edge of Stayners knife.

Cary Stayner did not have an idyllic childhood, with his own brother being the victim of a disgusting crime. He was born on August 13 1961 to Delbert Foy and Kay Stayner in Merced California. The family had 5 children- 3 daughters and 2 sons. They would be unaware when one of their sons, Cary, was mistreated by his uncle Jesse Stayner. Perhaps this horrible early experience led the boy to be isolated and fueled his violent fantasies.

The family would be devastated when on December 4, 1972 Cary’s 7 year old brother, Steven, was abducted by a man named Kenneth Parcell as he walked home from Charles Wright Elementary School. The child predator would routinely do disgusting thing to young Steven. Parcell would hold the boy for several years until at age 14, Steven and another captive named Timothy White escaped from the house in Mendocino county they were held in.

While Steven was gone, Cary would say he felt like he was ignored as his parents grieved his younger brother. This would be compounded when his brother reappeared with the he whole world seemingly focused on Steven as books and later television series were made detailing his experience.(I know my name is Steven pic?)

Meanwhile Cary was showing signs of psychological issues. Starting at only 3 years old- he was diagnosed as having a condition called trichotillomania which is characterized by pulling out your own hair. He would also say that he had begun fantasizing about kidnapping women and doing horrible things to them as young as 7 years old.

In school, he was noted as intelligent, but the bald patches he had as a result of his condition led to bullying and harassment from his peers. He found some acceptance through drawing cartoons for his high school paper and was voted the most creative in his graduating class.

But instead of transitioning into a career as a cartoonist, Stayner would work what were effectively labor jobs installing windows. His violent fantasies continued and considering their nature, it is hard to believe he was inactive until the crimes which he was convicted of occurred.

The first potential victim of Stayner eas a 28 year old woman named Pattie Hicks. She had moved to Merced from Washington state after a failed marriage to join a religious group that would turn out to be a cult led by a man named Donald Gibson. When Hicks tried to leave the cult after Gibson was convicted of assault regarding disgusting acts with some teenage boys and rumors of similar activities against the women in his cult.

To be fair Cary’s connection to this case is not strong. But when Pattie Hicks went missing, she was last seen on her way to Yosemite National park in 1982. And on June 28th a severed arm was found among the trees. After repeated fruitless searches, a skull was found in 1988. It was not until 2021 that DNA testing was able to confirm the remains were those of Pattie Hicks.

Again; the connection is not strong- Stayner is said to have known Gibson and even attended his 1981 trial for being a child predator. Some believe that Stayner had retaliated on behalf of the cult leader, but it should be noted that Henry Lee Lucas confessed to the crime, but what didn’t he confess to?!

The television series based on Steven Stayners abduction story was scheduled to be released in 1989, but that same year Steven would pass away in a motorcycle accident leaving behind a wife and 2 kids. And instead of mourning his brother, Stayner again despaired how Steven was the center of attention as he had throughout much of his childhood.

Another aspect of his childhood would also rear its head in the form of his Uncle. In 1990, Cary was living with the predator who had touched his as a child. But Jesse would not last long with his nephew around. That year he would be blasted with his own shotgun. The crime was never solved though Cary is suspected, paticularly due to the history between them.

The next decade was a rough period for Stayner. He would attempt to take his own life in 1991 by running his car in the garage to cause carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1997, Cary would also be arrested for selling weed, but in 1999 he truly came apart and gave in to his most evil urges.

At the time he was working as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge hotel just 15 minutes from Yosemite. The hotel was frequented by visitors to the park, but Cary did not interact much with the guests. At most he would stop in the bar for a quick drink or bite to eat, but all that changed in February of 1999.

A woman named Carole Sund had brought her 15 year old daughter Juliana and a 16 year old Argentinian exchange student named Silvina Pelosso to see the sights and enjoy nature. The 3 we’re staying at the hotel on February when they caught Stayners eye. He went to their room saying he needed to fix a water leak.

Once inside, he attacked, strangling Carole with a rope before assaulting the 2 teens. He would also shoot Silvina after doing horrible things to her. But he took more time with Juliana. He loaded the girl and 2 bodies into their rented car and left the hotel to drive to lake Don Pedro in Moccasin. There he continued the assault before eventually slashing her throat.

The 3 women were reported missing, and police descended on the Cedar Lodge. They interviewed Cary, but he presented as a clean cut guy without a violent history and so they did not focus on him. Caroles wallet would be found in Modesto where Stayner had left it to throw police off his trail and the city had no shortage of potential suspects.

A month later on March 18, a passion driver saw Carole’s rented Pontiac in a secluded area near the town of Long Barn. When police arrived the next day they found charred remains stashed in the trunk. On the 25th, a note was sent to
Police which included a map with a location marked that was an hour away from where the car was found.

There was also a message that said “We had fun with this one.” When police arrived at the place marked on the map, they found the remains of Juliana. The nature loving community of Yosemite was changed forever as residents of the surrounding towns watched for the monster that lived among them.

But the triple homicide would not be the last horror that would occur that year. Joie Armsteong was a 26 year old naturalist living in a cabin in the Foresta area of Yosemite. On July 22 1999, she was discovered with her head removed.

Witnesses saw a car parked outside Armstrongs cabin that was traced back to none other than Cary Stayner. FBI agents John Boles and Jeff Rinek found him living in a nudist colony in Wilton and arrested him. Under questioning he not only admitted to the homicide of Armstrong but also the triple homicide from months earlier.

Because the crime against Armstrong happened in federal land, Stayner was tried in federal court. In his first trial, the creature plead guilty to avoid execution and during sentencing apologized for what he had done, saying "I wish I could take it back, but I can't," he said. "I wish I could tell you why I did such a thing, but I don't even know myself. I'm so sorry. I wish there was a reason. But there isn't. It's senseless." For this crime he was given a life sentence.

For the triple homicide, Stayner entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers cited the horrible things he endured at the hands of his uncle as a child and his obsessive compulsive nature. This attempt failed and he was found guilty on August 27, 2002 and sentenced to death. Since his trial, Stayner has been housed in San Quentins death row.

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