The bodies of Carole Sund and Pelosso were later found burned beyond recognition in the trunk of Carole Sunds rental car. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. CNN - FBI: Handyman confessed Yosemite murder - July 26, 1999 Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. Because we all, in law enforcement, when we look at somebody whos killed someone else, we think to ourselves at least I do that that face was the last thing our victim saw before they died. When it came to the interrogation of Stayner, Rinek said they had to calm him down. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Cary was questioned but never charged. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Getting Started | Contributor Zone . Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26, a German native who grew up in California, was found Thursday near a stream running by the housing area where she lived near Crane Flat in the west end of Yosemite. Make sure that the file is a photo. Silvina Pelossos mother, Raquel, said, I just cannot understand how so many peopledidn't realize that maybe (Stayner) was the man since I heard that he was interviewed some time ago. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. What were you feeling? Still, the Bureau intensified its search, recruiting the use of more high-tech equipment and air support. While Steven was a freshman at Mendocino High School, some 300 miles to the south, his older brother Cary was an upperclassman at Merced High School. Stayner, 39, was sentenced in November to life without parole for Armstrong's July 21, 1999, beheading. 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"He has entrusted in me the gift of his confession, and it is my obligation to show him that Im worthy of it," Rinek said. Correspondent Don Knapp contributed to this report, Co-workers say Yosemite suspect not known for violence, FBI arrests motel worker in Yosemite murder, FBI questions man after Yosemite naturalist slain, Slain Yosemite visitors fund offers reward in other death, All 3 missing Yosemite sighteers identified, officials say, Yosemite Online : The Yosemite Association. Tell me what you did?' cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. I was at a girlfriend's house, and I guess it's this girlfriend and her two daughters that were my original intended victims," Stayner told the agents during his interrogation. I was the oldest and all that. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. . Neither the head nor the murderer has ever been found. How can one family, contain two completely contrasting children? "Who would go into an FBI office and ask two FBI agents to see child pornography? Family members linked to this person will appear here. At that time, the Bureau stated that, while no one had yet been charged, it felt that those responsible for killing the three women at Yosemite were already behind bars. Joie Armstrong, a NatureBridge educator at Yosemite National Park in 1999, was a bright light to all who knew her. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. There was Armstrong's solar-heated shower and the garden that she proudly nourished with water that she carried in heavy buckets from a nearby creek. Many local residents were convinced that no one person could have created so much horror, "'The logistics of it say it had to involve more than one person, said Letty Carolyn Barry, owner of the Yosemite Rosebud Lodge, west of Cedar Lodge. By this point, Cary Stayner had a couple of nervous breakdowns. Yosemite West, Mariposa County, California, USA. Larry Duane Utley, 41 an associate of Dykes and Larwick, first picked up during a March parole sweep. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. And now so had Joie Armstrong. According to an affidavit, during an interview with FBI agents, Stayner "made statements to the agents in which he admitted killing Joie Ruth Armstrong" last Wednesday. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. There was an error deleting this problem. More than a thousand leads, they confessed, produced nothing. Among other things, the FBI Laboratory has found hairs in vacuum sweepings taken from Room 509 and possibly body fluid stains on a blanket (and) a latent palm print from the window sill. Stayner then detailed the murders of Carole Sund, Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso. He demanded that his parents be given the reward money, that he be incarcerated at a prison near his parents home, and, to Stayners detriment, that he be given a large cache of child pornography. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. Cary Stayner was jealous of his brothers fame and their relationship soured after that, as did his relationship with his Steven-obsessed parents. Ive never seen anything thats so close to black and white and evil and good as Stayner and our children, said Francis Carrington, the father of Carole Sund and grandfather of Juli. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. In the water several feet away, they discovered her head, which officials said had been removed from her body. 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. It was both heartbreaking and a joy to walk through the green cabin with white trim that so brightly reflected the 26-year-old naturalist's life, one family friend said. Cary Stayner became emotional discussing how his brother had been held captive for so long, while his abductor was only sentenced to seven years in prison. On the way to his police interview he confessed to a detective in the car to murdering Joie Armstrong, describing the brutal killing "as if he was reading a soup label," said John Boles, another FBI agent on the case. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. And this time I want to hear, 'Tell me what the victim perceived. The Yosemite Murders - CBS News To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. This is a carousel with slides. I felt he was in pain and suffering, and I felt that what he was doing by telling these stories was a good thing for him and it was a good thing of course for the victims families to know," Rinek said. The FBI has also called Stayner the prime suspect in the murders of three Yosemite sightseers who disappeared in February. Through the media, authorities alerted the public to be on the lookout for Stayner. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. He also exhibited some behaviors that made others uncomfortable, including, as he later admitted, exposing himself to his sister's friend. But when they found the decapitated body and head of 26-year-old naturalist Joie Ruth Armstrong, they were led to one man: 37-year-old handyman Cary Stayner. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. But unbeknownst to them, the real killer, Cary Stayner, was still working at Cedar Lodge, living on the premises and was an active member of the community. "It becomes clear to me that he's just this big emotionless monster, and Joie comes across as heroic 'cause she was a fighter. Try again later. Armstrong, a naturalist at the Yosemite Institute, was slain near her Yosemite cabin last Wednesday. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. Once the three of them got back to the field office, Stayner was ready to reveal the naked truth. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. The 38-year-old then proceeded to confess to not only Joie Armstrongs murder, but the murders of Carole, Juli, and Silvina. The murder of Armstrong is being pursued in federal court because the killing occurred in a national park. There is a problem with your email/password. Joie Ruth Armstrong - IMDb On February 12, 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli 15, and Silvina Pelosso 16, left their home in Eureka, California to go on vacation in the area near Yosemite National Park in the same state in the United States. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. Marshal from the Fresno County Jail in Fresno, Calif., Aug. 6, 1999 on his way to an arraignment in federal court. Please try again later. "Now, we had been going through, not details, but the emotional impact this had on him. Are you sure that you want to delete this flower? Though hundreds of FBI agents, California Highway Patrol officers, and National Park Service rangers had combed Yosemites rugged backcountry with dogs and helicopters for weeks afterward, it was a lone hiker who eventually found them. The motel is in El Portal, California, at the western edge of Yosemite. The complex is located in a fairly wooded area with a few large meadows. As part of the interview, Rinek said he used his deliberate interrogation technique of getting confessions, which involved making the subject go through the event three times from various perspectives. It shows Don Pedro Reservoir, and its about forty miles away from where the car was found.". I was literally trying to get my mouth going to hear that again to make sure I had heard what he said," Rinek recalled. He then carried Juli to a vista point near Lake Don Pedro, pledged his love, and then cut her throat as the sun rose. See the latest list of Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, See more StrangeOutdoors True Crime Stories, The horrific rape and murder of Sophie Louise Hook whilst camping in her Uncle's garden, The miracle rescue of Alan Lee Phillips at Colorados Guanella Pass - the man who turned out to be a serial killer, The chilling story of Thomas Lee Dillon - the Ohio Outdoorsmen killer, https://casefilepodcast.com/case-161-the-yosemite-sightseer-murders-part-1/, https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/stayner-cary.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner, https://abcnews.go.com/US/steven-cary-stayner-tale-brothers-horror-heroism/story?id=60529944, https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/me-timothy-white10-2010apr10-story.html, https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a26040174/cary-stayner-steven-yosemite-murders/, https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/july-25-1999-cary-stayner-arrested-murder-yosemite-60263995, https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-recalls-moment-family-learned-target-1999-yosemite/story?id=60364987, https://www.theunion.com/news/local-news/stayner-sentenced-to-death/, Tagged: The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, Carole Sund yosemite murders, Juli Sund yosemite murders, Silvina Pelosso yosemite murders, Cary Stayner yosemite murders, Yosemite park murders, Joie Ruth Armstrong, StrangeOutdoors.com Terms of use/Cookie notice/Privacy Policy, Sign up now for a one-time fee for access to over 55 exclusive member articles, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders and the two faces of evil, Exclusive members-only articles on StrangeOutdoors.com, The Yosemite National Park Sightseer Murders, The miraculous escape of the Brazilian and German backpackers at Salt Creek in South Australia, Robert Hansen Butcher Baker - the Alaska Serial killer who hunted his victims in the wilderness, The shocking unsolved Keddie Cabin murders, The disturbing death of Fiona Torbet in the Scottish highlands, The unsolved Williams and Winans camping murders in Shenandoah National Park, The real Wolf Creek - The Backpacker Murders in the Australian Outback, The disturbing story of David Shearing and the Wells Gray Park camping murders, The mysterious death of Carol Laughlin in Yosemite National Park, The frightening case of the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, The mysterious Koh Tao - Death Island in Paradise, The disturbing disappearance of the Beaumont children on Glenelg Beach, The Kamloops Triangle - The British Columbia murders and disappearances, The Delphi hiking murders - Abigail Williams and Liberty German, The Peter Falconio disappearance in the Australian Outback, The unsolved murder of Scott Lilly on the Appalachian trail, The disturbing case of James Jordan - The Appalachian Trail Murderer.