Episode 2: In the Shadow of Yosemite - Part 2: Cary Stayner
In March 1999, the brutal triple murders of a woman and two teenage girls rocked the small towns dotted throughout the Sierra Nevada foothills in California. The previous month, the Yosemite Valley had become the scene of a massive search and rescue operation to find Carole and Juli Sund and their companion, Silvina Pelosso. Within two weeks, their case was upgraded from missing to presumed murdered. By the end of March, authorities had recovered all three bodies, and an FBI-led taskforce was assembled to catch those responsible. Authorities had several strong suspects in custody and were moving forward with charges, confident that they had the guilty parties behind bars. It would take another gruesome death for them to refocus their attention on the actual perpetrator. That man was Cary Stayner.
Context
Cary Stayner was the older brother of Steven Stayner, a 7-year-old boy, who had been abducted and held captive for more than seven years by convicted child sex offender, Kenneth Parnell. If you haven’t already listened to In the Shadow of Yosemite - Part 1: Steven Stayner, you can listen to it here. Was Cary Stayner destined to become a serial killer? Was this development inevitable, regardless of whether Steven had been taken or not? We just don’t have answers to these questions.
Carole & Juli Sund & Silvina Pelosso
We can’t tell Cary’s story without telling those of his victims.
Carole Sund was a 42-year-old mother of four children. Her oldest daughter Juli was 15 years old. Sund, along with her husband, Jens, had adopted three younger children, Jonah, Gina and Jimmy. Together, Carole and Jens ran a realtor business, with Carole managing several properties, including shopping centres.
Silvina Pelosso, a 16-year-old Argentinian foreign exchange student and family friend, was staying with the Sunds for a three-month period. Carole had planned a short trip for the older girls, and the trio left their home on Friday 12th of February 1999 and took a flight from San Francisco, before renting a red Pontiac Grand Prix car. They continued east to Yosemite National Park, before checking into the Cedar Lodge, on the western slope of the park.
On Monday, Carole, Juli and Silvina followed an established hiking trail, and trekked into Yosemite National Park. That afternoon, they ate at the motel restaurant and rented Jerry Maguire from the service desk. This was the last verified sighting of the group. Carole’s husband Jens waited in San Francisco, but none of the group turned up. On Tuesday the 16th of February, Jens contacted the police, who soon discovered that the rental car had not been returned. The rental company confirmed that no one had contacted them to extend the rental agreement.
Local police theorised that Carole, Juli and Silvina didn’t leave the park, and that they had somehow gotten lost on one of the many hiking paths. Staff at Cedar Lodge claimed that nothing was out of place in the room, and that there was no sign of suspicious activity. After Carole, Juli and Silvina were reported missing, police questioned motel employees. Four days after the women disappeared, Carole’s wallet was found intact, dumped off a highway in Modesto, three hours away from where their bodies would eventually be found.
Cary Stayner’s Background
Cary Anthony Stayner was born on the 13th of August 1961, in Merced, California. He was the oldest son of the Stayner family. Cary was 11 years old when his younger brother Steven was abducted by convicted sex offender, Kenneth Parnell. In 1980, when Steven returned to his family, Cary was 17. Cary participated in a series of audio interviews with screenwriter JP Miller, along with Steven and other family members as research for the television miniseries based on Steven’s life. In one such interview, Cary admitted that when Steven returned after his abduction, the two brothers didn’t really get along. He said that suddenly, ‘Steve was getting all these gifts, getting all this clothing, getting all this attention’.
In the days after Steven’s return, while Steven and his father Del spoke to the assembled media, Cary, wearing a baseball cap, stared at his brother, before turning his head away from the spectacle and exiting the frame. Journalist Stephen Flynn tells us that ‘everyone was smiling, there was a lot of jubilation, but if you look in the background, there's something worth noting, and it's Cary in his baseball cap, and he's not smiling at all’. Rowlands tells us that there is ‘nothing to suggest that Cary was all that thrilled to see his brother’. He adds that while the two boys shared a room, they didn’t get along. He suggests that some of the tension came from Steven, as he ‘didn’t understand the rules that he was now expected to live by’.
In the aftermath of Steven’s death in 1989, Cary turned to drugs to help him cope. In 1990, Cary was living with his uncle, Jessie ‘Jerry’ Stayner, a dispatcher at a trucking company, who was murdered during a burglary at his residence. The killer shot Jerry three times using his own shotgun and left him for dead. Cary later found his body and reported the crime. Speculation in the years since have suggested that there was no burglary, and that it was in fact, Cary, who shot and killed his uncle. After Cary’s arrest in 1999, police reopened the investigation into Jerry’s murder to see if he may have been involved in this crime. No charges were ever levied against him for the death of Jerry Stayner; however, rumours have persisted over the years that Jerry was Cary’s first victim.
At some point in the mid-nineties, Cary was demonstrating symptoms of mental illness, and had what he described as a ‘nervous breakdown’. Mark Marchese, a childhood friend of Cary’s describes how Cary told him that he ‘felt like jumping in a truck, driving it through the shop and killing the boss and killing everybody in the office, and then torching the place’. Marchese told him that he needed to go to a doctor, but, according to Marchese, ‘instead of seeking mental health treatment, he moved to Yosemite’.
In March 1997, Cary was arrested and booked into Merced County Jail on drug offences, but charges were never filed, and he was released a few days later. Sometime after this, Cary began working at the Cedar Lodge, a motel in El Portal, California, located at the entrance of Yosemite National Park.
Police Investigation
March 1999: In the four weeks since Carole, Juli and Silvina had been missing, police, family members and volunteers conducted coordinated searches of the area in and around the lodge, and further into Yosemite National Park. The search parties implemented ground searches, as well as utilising searches on skis and by helicopter. By late February, authorities were no closer to solving the disappearance. FBI agent Nick Rossi said at the time, that ‘we have not yet uncovered evidence to allow us to determine conclusively whether this was a tragic accident or a criminal act.
On the 19th of March, police discovered Carole’s burnt-out rental car and removed it for forensic examination. It would be several days before dental records confirmed that the badly burnt bodies found in the truck were those of Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso. Authorities believed that whoever committed this crime was familiar with the terrain and was local to the area, as the burnt-out rental car had been hidden off a spur road used by locals to dump old washing machines, cars and other large appliances. Local residents were convinced that this crime was the work of multiple assailants.
The taskforce specifically looked at convicted sex offenders and those with a history of violence in the area. They focused on a group of meth dealers in Modesto, all of whom had prior criminal records. After initial inquiries, four suspects emerged. These men were ordered to testify before a grand jury in Fresno, California in April 1999, although no charges were levied against them. On the 25th of March, authorities received an anonymous map directing police to Juli’s body, along with the phrase ‘We had fun with this one’ written on it. By late June, the FBI had reviewed the suspect testimonies and were confident that they had those responsible for the murders in custody.
Joie Ruth Armstrong
Joie Ruth Armstrong was born on 20th December 1972. Joie lived in an isolated part of Yosemite National Park, in a cabin known as ‘the Green House’ in the Foresta community. This was a staggered group of cabins and shacks used by park workers, dotted throughout the park. In July 1999, she was 26 years old. She was a nature guide who worked for the Yosemite Institute, leading nature tours for children and adults. The fact that her death occurred in, and her body was found in a national park made this a federal case.
Joie disappeared on Wednesday 21st July 1999. When police searched her cabin, they found signs of a struggle. It was clear that foul play was involved. Tyre tracks that did not belong to Joie’s vehicle were found leading up to the cabin. A park ranger reported that he had picked up a hitchhiker the night before, in the area between Foresta and the Cedar Lodge. The hitchhiker had told the ranger that his jeep had broken down.
Park rangers discovered Joie’s body the morning after her disappearance in a clearing beyond a campground, approximately 800 metres from the cabin. Authorities wondered if this gruesome murder could be related to the triple murder that had shocked the communities in Yosemite Valley just five months previously.
Authorities began interviewing witnesses and canvassing the area around Foresta. A park ranger and sheriff’s deputy soon spotted a jeep matching the witness’s description parked near a stream. The jeep’s owner was sunbathing nearby on the rocks. The man they questioned was Cary Stayner. He was now a viable suspect.
The park ranger who had picked him up on Wednesday night identified him from a photograph. After this, Stayner returned to Cedar Lodge, packed belongings, and fled to nudist colony 260 km away in Wilton, near Sacramento. Two days after the murder, Cary was located and taken into custody for further questioning.
Confession
Stayner confessed on three separate occasions. Firstly, to two different FBI agents, and finally to a journalist. Ted Rowlands approached him in jail, and to his surprise, Stayner agreed to be interviewed. Rowlands says that Stayner immediately began asking about potential movie deals and other opportunities to capitalise on his story. Rowlands tells us that Stayner wanted the same treatment from the media that his brother had received. He suggests that Stayner ‘wanted the world to take note’.
Stayner was eager to talk and confessed to all four of the murders. In his taped confession with the FBI, Stayner admitted to struggling with violent sexual fantasies for at least thirty years. On Valentine’s Day 1999, Stayner stalked four girls staying at the Cedar Lodge, with the intention of killing them, but once again, didn’t follow through, as they were in the company of a man. The next night, he encountered Carole Sund and the teenagers, and proceeded to assault and kill them, before dumping their bodies where he thought they would never be found.
Joie Armstrong Confession
On the 21st of July, Stayner was driving through Foresta, when he had a chance encounter with Joie Armstrong. He claims to have engaged Joie in conversation and noticed that she was packing up her vehicle and preparing to leave, and he realised that she was alone. According to Stayner, he pulled a gun on Joie and forced her into the cabin, telling her he was just going to rob her. Joie fought fiercely against her attacker, both in the cabin and once she was transferred to Stayner’s vehicle. She dove headfirst out of the window of Stayner’s moving truck, determined to escape. She ran as fast as she could away from her abductor, but he pursued her. When he caught up with her, he tackled her to the ground and dragged her deeper into the woods, before killing her.
Trial & Sentencing
In September 2000, federal prosecutors agreed to a plea deal, partly based on the wishes of the Armstrong family, who had stated that they could not bear to hear about the details of their daughter’s death in a trial. Stayner pleaded guilty to premediated first-degree murder, felony first-degree murder, kidnapping resulting in death and attempted aggravated sexual abuse resulting in death. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In May 2002, Stayner’s attorneys entered a not guilty by reason of insanity plea in preparation for the Sund-Pelosso trial. The defence team alleged that Stayner’s confession was coerced and that he was so delusional at the time of the killings that he was unable to form intent. Stayner faced first-degree murder charges, with the death penalty on the table, if convicted. His lawyers wanted the charges reduced to second-degree murder, where the death penalty would not be an option.
On the 22nd of July, the jury heard Stayner’s taped confession played in court. In it, they heard Stayner offer to confess if the FBI promised to give the reward money to his family, and if they also provided him with child pornography, specifically crime scene photographs of children.
Stayner’s defence team argued that he had a history of mental illness, trauma resulting from his brother Steven’s kidnapping and from his own victimisation as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. They cited his marijuana addiction, as well as his belief in Bigfoot as being contributing factors to his insanity plea. Prosecutors deemed these factors to be irrelevant.
They cited the deliberate steps Stayner had taken to stalk his victims and hide the bodies, not to mention the planned misdirection, of planting Carole Sund’s wallet in Modesto, and sending the note with the map to authorities to ensure that they found Juli’s body, while also obscuring his own involvement.
Victim Impact Statements:
While the Armstrong family did not want to pursue the death penalty, the Sund and Pelosso families pushed for it. Carole Sund’s mother, Carole Carrington said that she’s horrified when she thinks of ‘what happened in that room’. Francis Carrington stated that he had ‘never seen anything that’s so close to black and white and evil and good as Stayner and our children’.
Cary Stayner was found guilty of first-degree murder and ultimately sentenced to death for the Sund-Pelosso killings. After sentencing, he was moved to San Quentin State Prison, where he is housed on death row. As of the time of publishing, he remains on death row.
Conclusion
Cary Stayner was a disturbed child and even an even more disturbing adult. Was Cary Stayner destined to become a serial killer? Did this simmering rage lie dormant in him for decades, just waiting to erupt? Did Steven Stayner’s abduction and subsequent return factor into this in any way? Were there other victims that authorities have never been able to connect him to?
Journalist Stephen Flynn believes that Stayner never spoke to anyone about the effect that Steven’s abduction may have had on his crimes and that he is ‘not sure there is any direct cause and effect’. He suggests that even if Steven had not been abducted, ‘Cary still would’ve been a serial killer’.
This is a tale of two brothers, born into the same household, yet the trajectory of their lives would take them to very different places. Steven Stayner stands as testament to the fact that we are not defined by our life experiences, no matter how adverse they may have been. We have the power to shape our own stories. While the Stayner family may forever live in the shadow of Yosemite, Steven’s legacy will live on.
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