But he was pretty messed up and never got any counseling. He later surrendered in Tijuana, was returned here and has been arraigned on felony hit-and-run and manslaughter charges. Or as Stayner said in a May interview promoting the movie of his life: They dont go out unless I go with them or theres someone outside watching. Steven was repeatedly sexually abused and was encouraged to kidnap other children for the paedophile once he hit puberty. By then, he was working with children about keeping safe, worked alongside child-abduction charities, and had made several public speeches about his experience with Parnell. His parents, however, found that their sunny, obedient 7-year-old had become a tough 14-year-old who liked to smoke, drink, hitchhike and party as late as he pleased. At the age of 20, Stayner married his 17-year-old girlfriend Jody Edmondson, and in the next four years they had two children, Ashley and Steven Jr. At the time of his death, he was working in a pizza shop in Merced, CA, and worked with groups that searched for missing children. Steven, in a rarity for a kidnapped child, made his way back to his family after eight years of living under an assumed name and identity given by his groomer and attacker Kenneth Parnell. But reporters, said those close to Stayner, also were part of the problem. Jody Edmondson Steven was declared a national hero, and within days made an appearance on Good Morning America. There, he told the host, David Hartman, that it felt great to be home, that his parents didnt change that much, and regarding his brother and sisters, they changed a lot. But, spoke a sister, Jody C. Stayner, he wouldnt quit and continued to shove until the past did indeed begin to retreat. Of a quiet boy who tended a fallen owl and liked to ride dads tractor on their almond ranch near Snelling. On Valentines Day 1980, a fresh Parnell captive, 5-year-old Timmy White, was brought home. Stayner He also later told Newsweek in a 1984 interview: "It was my do-or-die chanceand I also would be coming home for doing something positive.". He was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison in February 1982 after a sensational 18-day trial in Hayward. Steven later admitted to sabotaging the efforts. Not wearing a helmet, Steven crashed into the side of a car that pulled out of a driveway without looking and sustained fatal head injuries. In 1985, Stayner married Jody Edmondson in Atwater. How to workout your Hips! Knowing Steven wouldnt get him someone, Parnell bribed one of Stevens teenage friends, Randall Sean Poorman, to help with the promise of drugs and cash. I know where Stevie's at now.". At the time, the concept of therapy was taboo, even though Steven had clearly gone through unendurable physical and emotional distress. Parents today are very protective of their children, and for good reason. The driver of the car--identified by officers as Antonio Loera, an employee of a tomato-packing company--fled the scene. It says: Going Home. , Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Hollywood writers strike over streaming pay after talks fail, Review: White House Plumbers reenacts the mishaps of Watergates operatives for laughs, Get ready for the 2023 Met Gala: Heres when, and how, to tune in live, Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon blasted at White House Correspondents dinner, Tom Jones review: PBS Masterpieces latest period drama is laid-back and enjoyable. He had tried to get Stayner to help him, but Stayner deliberately sabotaged the kidnappings. Stayner, accompanied by Kay Stayner, his mother, testified before the Ways and Means Committee of the State Assembly on one bill that would increase penalties for kidnaping children, and another requiring parents to have their children fingerprinted. They had two children together. When Steven repeatedly "failed", Parnell roped in a local boy to kidnap Timmy White. Claiming full legal custody of Steven, Parnell changed his name, calling him Dennis Gregory Parnell, allowing him to keep his real middle name. The captor relocated him to Mendocino County, California, after holding him prisoner 38 miles (61 kilometers) away in Mariposa County, California. I dont know sometimes if I should have come home. When Parnell was tried and sentenced. On March 1, 1980, when Steven Stayner was only 14 years old, he and another victim of Parnells, Timothy White, were able to flee the house together and get away. What was going on inside . The action you just performed triggered the security solution. When Kenneth Parnell was finally caught, it was discovered that Steven and Timmy's kidnaps were far from his first attempt at stealing young boys. I was basically an everyday kid. Under the assumed name of Dennis, Parnell had groomed Steven from the age of seven into an assimilated new life, which included a pet dog and learning to drive. A small family group attended his funeral service. By the sixth grade he had been beaten, smoked marijuana, got drunk on cheap whiskey and been thoroughly manipulated into believing his parents didnt want him. The officer said the car had pulled out of a private driveway and crossed in front of Stayner, who then ran into it. And if I didnt take care of it now, it would just get worse, said Lori Duke, Stevens girlfriend, who only knew him as Dennis. ), Michael J. . She is a reporter for the Merced Sun Star whose interviews with Stayner became a small friendship. WebHe married 17-year-old Jody Edmondson in 1985 and together, they had two children, Ashley and Steven, Jr. At this point, Parnell had already served a four-year prison sentence for sodomizing a young boy two decades earlier, and for the next seven years he would keep Stayner captive, submitting him to regular abuse. Kenneth Parnell, who was known to sexually abuse children, abducted Steven Stayner on December 4, 1972, when Stayner was only seven years old and living in Merced, California, in the United States of America. He also made a cameo appearance in the show, which was watched by 40 million people. He went back to sharing a room with his older brother Cary, and the two didnt get along. See Rather than see Timmy suffer the same fate he had, Steven waited until Parnell was at work, and hitchhiked them both to a police station. He expressed an interest in law enforcement but did not apply for work with any police department. A cabin that sat several hundred feet away from his grandfathers house. limit, he rammed the car that, said California Highway Patrol investigators, pulled into the street ahead of his cycle. Altogether, Parnell was sentenced to seven years and was paroled after serving five. Timothy, back home with his family, adjusted well, and things returned to normal. He was the victim of a hit-and-run while he was travelling home on his motorbike. I guess seven years changed him, too. Stayner--in the expressed belief that repeating his story would sustain awareness of child abductions--never refused an interview. He was returned home by March 1, thanks to Steven's plan to get them out of the house while Parnell was at work. photos, My dad said he didnt need any.. He took a job at a local Pizza Hut, and on Saturday, September 16, 1989 a heavy rain fell. Steven Stayner was a typical 7-year old boy. Because thats what happened before.. But in an unimaginably tragic turn of events, Steven died that September at the age of 24. Captive Audience spends the first two of its three episodes telling the story of Steven, who was abducted, held captive for seven years and subjected to psychological and sexual abuse. On February 14, 1980, in Ukiah, California, they were successful when Poorman found 5-year old Timothy White walking home from school. She is also an accomplished sculptor. Steven Stayner and Jody Edmondson - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos Boy that was one looooong article! While he still blamed himself for his abduction, starting a family helped him cope with his past, and he began interacting with child abduction groups and provided advice to children on the topic. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. Jody Edmondson However, changes in state law mean it's unlikely he will actually receive the lethal injection. Steven became a representative of the fact that, hey, missing children can come home, noted Hawkins. She declined to comment to reporters, however, after Loera was sentenced. Stayner had a walk-on role as a Merced police officer in the NBC miniseries, which was broadcast May 21-22. After Steven made the miraculous escape and returned home to his parents in Merced, California, he was the center of media attention. The 1965-born genuine legend died inopportune at the time of just 24 years of age, which drove Jody to independently bring up their children. I dont know sometimes if I should have come back home. 'Captive Audience': Who Was Steven Stayner and What Happened Stayner described those difficulties in a 1984 interview with Newsweek magazine: I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their seven-year-old. Jody Edmondson and Stayner married in June 1985, after dating On September 16, 1989, Stayner was riding his motorcycle on his way home from his job, when he collided with a driver coming out of a nearby migrant labor camp. I pinned the pregnancy on him and he believed me. The heaviest, they believe, was the making of the miniseries. Erika Vranizan Associate Attorney [email It was shown in May as a television miniseries: I Know My First Name is Steven.. 'Dennis' was then forced to endure years of sexual assault before being put to work to steal other children. Twice he was ordered out of the house. It was a In Captive Audience, it was implied that he committed the acts in order to get attention like Steven. Of course there would be a television movie. With Parnell he had led an undisciplined life style with a single man, smoking and drinking . Things were pretty rough for a while, bouncing from one job to another, some would say wandering aimlessly. Then he met Jody Edmondson, and in 1985, when he was 20 and she 17, they married. Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including sexual assault on minors that some readers may find upsetting. He said felony hit-run charges were planned. Steven's efforts to save Timmy, the captor of his tormentor, plus the end of his own eight-year-mystery proved to be front-page news for media outlets across California.