In 1972, 7-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped by convicted child molester Kenneth Parnell. After being held captive for 7 years, he escaped, and Parnell went to prison--for only five years. Steven's story was told in the 1989 TV movie I Know my First Name is Steven.
In 1999, three Yosemite tourists were found dead, and then a Yosemite nature guide was found beheaded. Several months later the killer
was caught. It was Cary Stayner, Steven's older brother. He offered a confession in exchange for child pornography, claiming that if he had had access to child pornography, he probably wouldn't have committed the crimes.
(He didn't receive the pornography, but confessed anyway.)
Four weeks ago, Stayner was
sentenced to death, though under California law it will be automatically appealed.
Meanwhile, last friday, Kenneth Parnell (now 72 and living in Berkeley) was arrested for allegedly trying to
buy a child.
UPDATE 2003-01-09: He seems to have confessed. Yikes.
This story of the Stayner family and Kenneth Parnell seems to have no end. I have been searching for this man since I learned that he only served 5 years for what he did to Steven. Did you know that he even ran a babysitting service out of his home in Berkley? Maybe now, he will finally get what he deserves. He should have never been released from prison to start with. Wonder how many other boys he has done this to since Steven. He just finally got caught. Makes you think, doesn't it.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to this asshole, parnell????
ReplyDelete> Whatever happened to this asshole, parnell????
ReplyDeleteGood question. Googling his name doesn't bring up anything more recent than January, when he was arrested and confessed. I suppose he's in jail now. Dunno.
asshole parnell should be killed in a prison by other mothers!!
ReplyDeleteHow can he possibly have gotten away with all this??? only 5 years for all he did? I am sure Steven died because of psychological problems, driving too fast, taking drugs, caused the accident.
ReplyDeleteIs it true he ran a baby sitting service out of his home?
I agree!Even though Stevens motorcycle accident was not his fault, having psychological problems from abuse would not help the situation. Parnell does not deserve any chances. He is incurable! In the State of New South Wales in Australia it is now a criminal offence for a person convicted of a serious sexual offence to even apply for a job in a child minding centre.
ReplyDeleteSteven , I'm so sorry for what you had to endure. (GOD takes care of people like Parnell). Hopefully he will get what he SHOULD have coming to him. >> in the worst way possible! R.I.P. Steven
ReplyDeleteI am so confused about Cary, he turned into teh killer. I saw the lifetime movie and the whole cary being a killer part now confuses me....someone pls explain why cary is addicted to chil porn and why he killed people?!?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteI think that Mr. parnell is gonna get it and he doesn't even know it.. just like poor little steven. I know my first name is steven shows all the creepiness and grossness that is in the world, and im sorry but i am revolted by older brother cary's latest actions. One would think that after knowing about little stevens screams in the night, that Cary would not be into child porn, but to each their own i guess.
ReplyDeleteSteven I am so sorry....
Annie- I think you are taking a movie for more than its worth. I mean, a movie can't pinpoint all of the details. The movie portrays steven as a young boy who is lost. I think that is the main point the movie is trying to get across, and also the horrors of sexual abuse.
ReplyDeleteWhoever was the killer in the movie seems to be irrelevant- the lifetime movie does what it was there to do.
-Lizzy
Although I have NOT seen the Lifetime movie, that is totally irrelevant because Cary did go and kill 4 women (though I have not heard the part that he asked for child pornography). Infact, I JUST heard of this whole thing within the last week when I picked up the book (I am a true crime book nut). The book mentions nothing about Cary asking for child porn.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know if anyone knows anything about the Stayner parents. It seams very suspect to me that Parnell is now being tried for trying to "buy" a boy but he "snatched" Steven off the street in 72?
ReplyDeleteHe reportedly told Steven that his parents "couldn't afford to raise him anymore"
Now that Cary has turned out to be a pedophile ( which could be the result of a vampiric effect ) I want to know if anyone has really checked out the parents. Perhaps Steven was really sold?!?!? I just wonder.... did all the perps pay in this one?
Kenneth Parnell was convicted of three felony charges for attempting to buy a boy for $500 last year. (He was convicted on Febuary 9, 2004)
ReplyDeleteI have felt so hurt for Steven and so shocked by Cary. What I can't understand about peadophiles is that they believe they have some sort of natural right to take sexual gratification from someone without considering the other's feelings or mental health. I fancy guys I see around, like any adult, but if he's got a girlfriend or doesn't fancy me then I have to accept that, I don't believe I can force someone to relieve my sexual needs. It wouldn't mean anything anyway if the other person didn't want to share a physical experience with me, mentally I'd feel awful. There was soemthing I did once to a guy, nothing nasty in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense because I didn't want him - he was hurt. The guilt from that lives with me to this day and it was half my life ago. I don't know how these people live with themselves. I also feel disturbed by psychiatric clap-trap of parent blaming and trying to say at Cary's trial that Steven molested his own children. What an awful thing to say, has his children actually said ths? I know there is a popular theory that sex-abusers were abused themselves but, very often, it is usually men abusing girls not about women abusing boys; so if most victims are girls, how come most abusers are men?
ReplyDeleteDon't know how to answer that one, Julia. I first watched "I Know My First Name is Steven" a long time ago....when i was in elementary school.....and i still remember the movie.....at least watching the movie...to this day. I don't know...maybe for some reason it has just been there in the back of my mind haunting me or something for reasons i'm not aware of. In any case...i just read in the newspaper today about the Parnell guy wanting to buy a boy for $500, and it got me thinking about the movie and the story again. Poor Steven, i had no idea he had died already.....but i really doubt that he molested his own two children. And his older brother doing those things?? Are their parents still alive?
ReplyDeleteActually, Parnell only served 3.5 years, and got out "on good behavior." He was given 7 years for kidnapping Timmy, and 1.5 years for kidnapping Steven. He was never charged with any of the over 3,000 sexual assaults on Steven,or any of the other boys (friends and acquaintances of Steven's) who were reportedly sodomized by him. This was decided by Mendocino County's lead investigator after he recieving detailed accounts of 87 specific incidents of sexual abuse reported by Steven and dictated by Merced police, and receiving at least a dozen more sworn statements from other boy victims as well as scores of pornographic pictures that had been taken of Steven and several of his friends by Parnell. Instead, the lead investigator, Finn decided to keep the evidence locked up in his own PERSONAL FILE CABINET, and reported to his boss that there was really no evidence, and he didn't think it fair to subject Steven to questioning of his horrific abuses! The Merced police department was outraged, and pressed the issue, but since the crimes were out of their jurisdiction, they had no power to do anything about this. It is a true shame and a real slap in the face to Steven that the legal system refused him the justice he deserved, letting Parnell off the hook for raping Steven all those years. If Finn really wanted to protect Steven, he would have pursued and punished that monster pedophile to show Steven that we took his pain and suffering very seriously. Those specific 87 sexual assaults that Steven so bravely recounted would have meant a life sentence for Parnell, and safety for the future children that Parnell ended up contacting upon his release. (He worked at a school for troubled boys, and babysat for local kids upon his release.) As far as Cary Stayner, it seems he has had very serious psychiatric issues dating back to his early childhood before Steven was even taken, and so it is no wonder he ended up cracking. And as far as Steven abusing his own kids, they were only 2 and 3 when he died, and Steven's wife has had nothing but positive, loving things to say about him. He himself expressed extreme worry over letting his kids out of sight, being very fearful that they could be hurt. While children who have been chronically sexually abused, especially from pre-puberty tend to have serious sexual issues, most do not become pedophiles, and if Steven did do anything to his children, I'd say it's a result of this trauma and that some good counseling would likely help him since he has displayed tremendous genuine concern and protective efforts towards other would-be victims in the past. (FOr example, a neighbor noted that Steven started cutting school every day once Timmy was kidnapped, and Steven later recalled that he was afraid if he left Parnell alone with the 5 yr old, the child would be raped.) WHy are people saying he abused his kids?! Based on what???
ReplyDeleteI think it is really sick that people(if that is still what we call them) accuse Steven od abusing his children, as far as I am concerned that was never an issue. As for the brother Cary if you read the transcripts of his statment to the FBI you would be devestated, think about the families, what about the stayner family. I am positve that they never imagined any of these issues when they had children. Do you? Do you think your child will go missing and be molested for seven years? Do you think your other child will be a murderer? Come on people have some compassion for the families. What kind of people are in this world now? Have we all become Monsters? If monsters wil no compassion is what we have become all I have to say is god save humanity!
ReplyDeleteI think you all are very SWEET to of said all of those things.. But i believe that you guys really are looking at a different point of view. Parnell was only sentenced 5 years because it was the 80's! If this was to happen now he would of gotten at least 30 years. They also had found that he did not "harm" steven. Even tho he raped him, he still didnt do any harm to him. I am not siding with parnell in any way.
ReplyDelete