He is currently in his 60s and still on death row while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Stevens death, along with the death of his uncle soon afterward, reportedly had a serious impact on Cary Stayners mental health and well-being. The issue of whether his confession was coerced seemed to be resolved when on July 24, the court heard the recorded demands that Stayner made to the FBI agents that he wanted to be satisfied before he would give them his confession. Some who knew Cary were shocked at his arrest. ", The FBI was reluctant to finger Stayner because, they, and many others, did not believe that Stayner acted by himself, given the brazen killing of the three women in the Cedar Lodge Motel and the disposal of the bodies. He died in jail in 2008 at the age of 76. Agents had interviewed Stayner, a handyman at the Cedar Lodge where the tourists had stayed, and later dismissed him as a suspect. Over the next few weeks, a task force including FBI agents and law enforcers from four surrounding counties, arrested several known sex offenders, drug users, and ex-convicts with a record of violence from within a 75-square-mile area between Modesto and Sonoma. Cary Stayner was sentenced Thursday to die for committing three murders near Yosemite National Park in 1999. Special agent Maddock said, "During the last 24 hours, we have developed specific information linking Stayner (also) to the Sund-Pelosso murders.". Cary Stayner confesses to killing four innocent women in 1999: Part 9 Two FBI agents were eating pizza with Stayner when he suddenly admitted he murdered Joie He was also angry about how his truck had been searched. Out of respect for his family and the victim's family, we don't want to say anymore." In his capacity, Stayner performed technical and housekeeping duties, everything from fixing electrical and mechanical breakdowns to delivering extra towels and bedding to guests. Stayners father, Delbert Stayner, said his son was deprived of a fair trial by a kangaroo court and a judge who ignored defense arguments. He had a long criminal record and had been questioned extensively by the FBI. It was the last time the women were seen alive. They had been hosting Silvina, who was a foreign exchange student from Argentina and a friend of Juli's, She was spending three months with the family. One of those arrested, and later released, was Cary Stayner, who worked at the Cedar Lodge as the handyman. On February 15, the ladies hiked into Yosemite National Park on one of the many trails. Initially, the police didn't have any solid leads as to who killed them. The death-penalty trial of Cary Stayner was moved from Mariposa County to Santa Clara County, CA. "I remember going out one night after Steve disappeared and wishing on a star that my brother would come back home," Cary reportedly told Mike Echols, author of the book I Know My First Name Is Steven. But seven years later in February 1980, Steven miraculously reappeared. Knives were used in the slayings and the weapon suspected in Ms. Armstrong's death was recovered.". By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. He had talked his way into the room under the guise of fixing a leak, and then sexually assaulted both girls and brutally murdered Carole Lund and Silvina Pelosso in the room. His attempt was foiled when other people were at the house at the time he was planning to commit the crimes. "He had a great personality," said Lori Duke, who dated Steven in high school but knew him as Dennis. I never did tell anybody about it, but I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. | Upon release, the FBI warned him not to leave El Portal. The judge said there was overwhelming evidence against Stayner and that the devastating emotional toll justified execution. Agents arrived at the scene early on the 19th and upon opening the trunk, investigators found two charred bodies. 'I try to stay strong because I know that's what you'd want your baby to be, but, Mommy, I don't want you to leave me.'". Carole and her husband, Jens, 43, owned a realtors business in the Stockton area. Chief James Maddock said he himself questioned whether the Bureau could have done anything to prevent Armstrong's killing. After graduation from Merced (California) High School, Stayner worked as a window installer at a glass company. | He received the death penalty for killing four women, three of whom had been staying at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner was employed as a handyman. He also struggled in high school where he was bullied for the abuse he had endured. He usually ate lunch and dinner at the motel restaurant. He was a good student, a So while Parnell was at work, Steven ran away with Timothy, and the two hitchhiked to a police station in Ukiah, California. Cory gets emotional as she describes how he fell through the cracks of familial or institutional care. In 1997, Stayner got a job as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge, seven miles from the gate of the national park, where he worked for 2 years before the murders.. At that time, Steven had been forced to endure sexual abuse by his kidnapper, whom he finally turned in to the police. 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. Eugene "Rufus" Dykes, 32, also of Modesto and Larwick's half-brother was arrested in March. Cary Stayner, also known as The Yosemite Killer, was convicted nearly 20 years ago in the murders of four people in 1999 while he was working as a hotel On March 1, 1980, Steven waited until Parnell was at work and then fled the house with Timothy. It then came out that Steven had been kidnapped by Parnell, who had been sexually abusing Steven while also posing as his father and forcing him to go by the name Dennis Parnell. But when Parnell kidnapped another young boy, this time 5-year-old Timothy White, Steven knew he couldnt let another child be subjected to the abuse and torment he had faced for years. Then all of a sudden it's gone. The other Sund children believed their mother and sister Juli would be returned. I got put on the back burner, you might say," Cary told J.P. Miller, a filmmaker who wrote a screenplay about Steven's abduction. The FBI Laboratory has also found possible bodily fluid stains on a bed sheet taken from her residence. Steven was told his new name was Dennis Parnell and was enrolled in school. He denied any role in the Yosemite slayings. Because of the discovery of Sund's wallet in suburban Modesto, police, and FBI searched "the logical routes in and out of that spot, interviewing homeowners and business owners and others who may have seen them." "The only time Steve would kill anything like a fish is because we were gonna eat it. They no longer want you.. Cary looked out for Steven, according to Cary Stayner's former classmate Jack Bungart. Cary was 11 years old at the time, and deeply upset about his brother's disappearance. The California Highway Patrol verified the car's license plate as the Sunds rented vehicle and immediately notified the FBI. ", Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner in the baseball cap in the background. However, there were warning signs during his younger years. All of its been bad, Delbert Stayner said of his familys life. Then there was another murder. WebCary Stayner was convicted of the 1999 Cedar Lodge Killings near Yosemite National Park. On days off he would escape to Laguna Del Sol, a nudist colony in Sacramento County. Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. Stayner, 38, has been charged with murder in the July 21 death of naturalist Joie Armstrong. Police found her car in front of her cabin, packed for the trip. At a press conference outside the Stayner house, everyone was smiling, but Cary in his baseball cap wasnt smiling at all. They lived in the farming town of Merced, California, the Gateway to Yosemite. When she did not appear as planned, her would-be host had phoned the park. He was known to take refuge in nearby Yosemite, where hed drive up and get lost in nature. In a voice that seemed relieved to be unburdened from its depth a long-kept secret, Stayner blurted, "I am guilty. You know, hung out with him, played with him.. ", Steven Stayner with his kidnapper Kenneth Parnell. It was then that Steven's nightmare began as Murphy brought him to Kenneth Parnell, a known pedophile. Caroles parents, Francis and Carole Carrington, appeared on the Good Morning, America TV show, to ask for the prayers of Americans and their help in locating their daughter and the children. "'Deep in my heart I know something my mind does not want to learn,' said Gina,13. The police reckoned that the killer of the three women was someone familiar with the county given the location of the Pontiac. The interview was conducted off camera and reported Monday on the late news. Larwick, who grew up in Tuolumme County near where the bodies of Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso were found, was jailed on March 16 after he allegedly shot a Modesto police office. It was not animated or digitally created; a stunt driver put the truck into a full controlled jackknife in front of the camera. He befriended a co-worker named Ervin Murphy to assist him in the abduction. In this, he calmly reviewed how he strangled 16-year-old Silvina Pelosso in the motel bathtub and how he sexually assaulted Juli Sund for hours before brutally cutting her throat. Although most of the stains were likely to include Armstrong's blood, Stayner was observed to have a laceration on his hand during his interrogation, and therefore may have been cut and bled during the attack. Parnell worked at the Yosemite Lodge, located about two hours away from the Stayner home. For four weeks, police, family, and volunteers searched the area in and near Yosemite National Park by helicopter, foot, and skis. "And I did that almost every clear night from then on until Steve finally came back home. By Friday, July 23rd, Stayner, in the meantime, had disappeared from the area, by the time agents came to arrest him. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story,'" There was a movie made about his brother, Steven Stayner, and he wanted the same and for the world to take notice. On Saturday, July 24, FBI agents announced at a press conference that a man was in custody on strong suspicion of murder and that a "significant announcement" would be made shortly. Cary always wore a hat because he was compulsively pulling his hair out. He has been questioned about any involvement. Cary, the motel handyman and champion underachiever who was arrested at a nudist colony, said in a jailhouse interview that voices told him to kill Carole and Juli Parnell, along with Murphy, took Steven to a cabin in Catheys Valley, where he was brainwashed to believe his parents no longer wanted him. By the time Steven was 14, he had been abused and manipulated by Parnell for seven years and Parnell and Steven together realized that Steven was growing up and that he was no longer going to be controlled by Parnell and they would need to find someone else that they could sexually abuse. On Dec. 4, 1972, Steven, 7, was walking alone to his familys home in Merced, California, when he was coaxed into the car of convicted child rapist Kenneth Parnell, who was posing as a minister. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Teresa Kay Gray, 36, of Modesto. I went to ask if Cary wanted to talk, reporter Ted Rowlands said. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. "Privately, some members of the Sund-Pelosso task force were saying the same things to the media. Acting on a tip from a caller who was worried about the whereabouts of his friend, Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26, park rangers found her decapitated body on the morning of July 22, 1999. Four hikers visiting Yosemite National Park had been brutally murdered, and Cary Stayner had confessed to the crimes. ", FBI sources claimed that he had already confessed his guilt during the Saturday evening interrogation. He walked naked and and smoked pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. Vacuum sweepings were taken from inside Joies house, where Stayner claims to have bound her with duct tape, yielded hair evidence. "Its difficult for me to picture what Cary has done and knowing Steve because their personalities are completely opposite," Duke, Stevens former girlfriend, said. The hire car company confirmed that Carole had never returned the rented Pontiac, nor told them that they were extending their agreement. On Monday, July 22, the court heard Stayners taped confession, which he had given to FBI agents. You could see that he wanted to play and be with kids and be normal. Cary Stayner went from being the brother of child abductee Steven Stayer to a full-blown serial killer. When Steven didnt return from school that afternoon, his parents sounded the alarm. He was sentenced to seven years in prison but only served five, less time than he held Steven captive. Curtis Cousin Eddie Smith Claims Alex Murdaugh Made Him A Fall Guy, Morgan Doughty Filed A Lawsuit Against The Murdaugh Family, Buster Murdaugh Testified For The Defense At His Fathers Double Murder Trial, Randy Roth From 'A Rose For Her Grave' Is Still In Prison, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Robyn Lively is a step sister of Blake Lively. The dramatic story was told in the 1989 television movie, I Know My First Name Is Steven.. Or certainly, nothing noticed by his colleagues at the motel. Ken Parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. Upon examination by the FBI Laboratory, some items have yielded trace evidence. You have the other brother who's left at home. The FBI task force investigating Yosemite issued a federal warrant for her arrest after she failed to appear in Stanislaus County drug court in June. 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. Whites stepfather, Roger Gitlin, said White died April 1, 2010, of an apparent pulmonary embolism. The Cedar Lodge hired him as a handyman in 1997 and gave him the use of a small apartment on the top floor. Stayner said he thought he had gotten away with the earlier crimes, but could not resist the urge to kill Armstrong after he struck up a chance conversation with her. Arrested on an unrelated drug charge, he has been questioned about the Yosemite case. Emotionally, Cary Stayner had a tough time during his childhood. Then Carole's wallet turned up in Modesto, which included money and credit cards. It seemed as though he had a compulsion with trying to get close to women or be sexual with them, but he was unable to develop any sort of interpersonal relationships with any women. Im just horrified when I think of what happened in that room, what my daughter felt when she realized she was in serious trouble, said Carole Carrington as she asked the judge to sentence Stayner to death. Despite this, he never appeared to behave lewdly nor perversely in public. Billy Joe Strange, 39, an El Portal parolee who worked at the Cedar Lodge lounge and restaurant, where the murdered women were last seen. Stayner said to investigators I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. He abandoned the group's rental car with the bodies of Carole and Silvina inside, returning two days later to burn the evidence and retrieve the wallet, which he dumped in Modesto to confuse authorities. The Sund family's worst fears were confirmed when a hiker wandered onto the site of a burned-out red 1999 Pontiac, hidden off Highway 108, in the Stanislaus Forest region on March 18. By mid-April, those who had been arrested were ordered to testify in front of a grand jury in Fresno, California. They were looking for the missing red 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix as well as the women. Very seldom did he get into trouble. Maria Ledbetter, 24, of Modesto, an admitted methamphetamine addict and former girlfriend of Dykes, about whom she was questioned extensively. After the fourth murder, the FBI went looking for Cary Stayner to interview him, but initially as a witness. That same day, Stayner allowed himself to be interviewed by a reporter from KNTV. For FBI agent Jeff Rinek, it was the climax of a Then on March 25, Juli Sunds body was discovered near Lake Pedro in Tuolumme County. 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, 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. He was buried Thursday in the town of Newhall, where he had worked as a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy. Concluding the interview, he addressed the victims' families: "I am sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were. Goofs In 1999, Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli Sund, 15, and Juli's friend, Silvina Pelosso, 16, went missing while visiting Yosemite Park. Jeffrey Wayne Keeney, 32, of Modesto. Its manager had seen a story on television, recognized Stayner's photo as one of his guests, and notified the FBI. And in 1999, the Stayner family was back in the news but this time, for a less than positive reason. In February 1980, Parnell decided to kidnap a new victim. The new three-part Hulu docuseries Captive Audience explores the tragic story of the Stayner family specifically the fraught lives of their two sons, Steven Stayner and Cary Stayner. I never recognized either one of them.". Something was clearly very, very wrong. When Cary Stayner was questioned by FBI agents, he immediately confessed to the four Yosemite Park murders and provided a detailed accounting of his crimes. But by the middle of March, their hopes faded. The inn staff claimed that when they cleaned the room the next morning, they had detected no evidence of foul play or anything that made them suspicious. He paid a local kid to ride with him to the town of Ukiah, California and he told to go and find him a boy. He was charged with attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation in 2004, that he was sentenced to 25 years to life. It was discovered beyond a campground adjacent to her living quarters in the Foresta community, a group of 30 cabins for use by park workers. I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. 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. The initial suspicion was that they may have wandered off the main hiking paths and got lost in the park. Cary, as the older brother, had a very strange relationship now with his younger brother, Steven, who was getting all of this attention and who was a different person, former KNTV reporter Ted Rowlands told ABC News. After Steven said his mother would be interested in donating, Murphy offered to take the boy home. 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. Part of TV News Archive. Items included in the Television News search service. He told Hartman that his parents "didnt change that much," but his brother and sisters, "they changed a lot. Cedar Lodge, 9966 CA-140, El Portal, CA 95318. They then headed out for Cedar Lodge in El Portal on February 14, which is located on Yosemite's western slope. According to Special Agent Christopher Hopkins , both the FBI's Evidence Response Team and the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office collected items of potential interest from Room 509 at the Cedar Lodge Motel, the room in which Stayner sexually assaulted Juli Sund and Silvina Pelosso and murdered both Carole Sund and Silvina. Had no interest in girls, had no interest in people, he was just a creepy loner. Cary was off anybody and everybody who met him will tell Sandy Cox, whose husband owned the window company where Stayner worked for in Atwater, says, "We've known Cary since he was a little boyIt just doesn't match up. ", Stayner's apartment was searched later in the day and the authorities discovered evidence that linked him to Armstrong's murder. Against the odds, he flourished there. The American Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots released an episode on the Stayner case titled "Cary Stayner The Cedar Lodge Killings". [29] In 2018, the Reelz channel aired an hour-long documentary about the murders titled Yosemite Park Killer. "Thats when I told him, 'You need to go to a doctor, Cary.'" Steven later said in an interview, I returned almost a grown man, and yet my parents saw me at first as their seven-year-old. Quotes I guess seven years changed him, too. "Her mother, sisters, and a family friend had been missing for a month by the time Gina Sund read her poem in front of a thousand or so people who gathered in Modesto," writes Time. Crazy Credits He was arrested in May on an unrelated crime charge but was soon released. Previously, the defense had maintained that the FBI had coerced the confession. The FBI also seized clothing stained with blood from her body. The trio stayed at the lodge in February 1999, during which time Cary talked his way into their room, where he sexually assaulted and murdered all of them. | Cary Stayner, the serial killer convicted in the grisly murders of four women near Yosemite National Park, is born on August 13, 1961. Shortly after Stevens death, an uncle with whom Cary Stayner was very close was shot and killed in a home they shared together. Im so proud of the way Carole and Juli lived, and Im so ashamed of Stayner.. Steven Stayner had a new father figure, and it was Kenneth Parnell, who by day, was his father, and by night, was his rapist. Kenneth"Soldier" Stewart, 24, a former cellmate of Dykes who was charged with attempted murder. The brothers, four years apart in age, shared a room, but didnt get along, Steven didn't understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. 5-year-old Timothy White walking home from school and they quickly snatched him. Parnell was convicted on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges. Steven Stayners fame was short-lived. Convicted in 1978 for rape and robbery, he was jailed on March 14 for failing to register as a sex offender. One brother was subjected to just unspeakable horror for years, but by all appearances, he was a happy-go-lucky, jovial kid with a girlfriend. I want a movie-of-the-week made about my story. There was a movie made about Steven Stayner. She also happens to have a front row seat to two true crime narratives in her own family. During the session, an unexpected event occurred. Decades later, Stevens older brother, Cary Stayner, made headlines when he was arrested and convicted of the serial slayings of four females. "I'm confident we've done everything that could be reasonably done.". "He stated 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," friend Mark Marchese said in 1999. Management found him a hard worker and honest. What followed turned out to be one of the most shocking crimes in both National Park and American history, involving a man whose family had already been involved in a notorious crime, literally the two faces of evil. The Stayner family was made up of two brothers, three sisters, and parents Kay and Delbert. Steven was a national hero. Stayner was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Joie Ruth Armstrong. Darrell Gray Stephens, 55, Strange's roommate. Four men were considered the main murder suspects in the initial inquiries. He did feel, however, that the FBI spared nothing to investigate the earlier killings. Michael "Mick" Larwick, 42, of Modesto, part of a vagabond group of methamphetamine drug users and friends centered in the Modesto area. I guess I was jealous. The revelation came in a six | Jens had scheduled to meet them at the San Francisco airport that evening on his way to Arizona, to where the others were to accompany him. This time, agents detained him and forced him to answer more questions. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Then he took action. Stayner, clad in a red jail jumpsuit, bowed his head but showed no emotion as Judge Hastings sentenced him to death three times, once for each murder, after returning to the courtroom. The Bureau relocated its headquarters from Yosemite to Modesto at this point and, on February 28, twelve days after the women's disappearance, hinted that was is no longer treating the Sund incident as a missing persons case, but as murder. "I've struggled with that issue for the last 24 hours and continue to do so," he confessed. The two hitchhiked to Ukiah, California. Stayner's father, Delbert, admitted that he thinks son Cary may have suffered a trauma at age 11, when younger brother Steven, then seven, was abducted in 1972, disappearing for eight years. Her mother had been dating him and he had decided to kill them on Valentines Day. Local police and Yosemite Park Rangers began to search the area where the missing three were last seen. Steven told the police what happened to him and Timothy and he was also able to tell them his real name was Steven, not Dennis. The car was hidden off a spur road where locals dump old refrigerators, cars, and washing machines. He said, I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. A woman named Lenna learned in 1999 that her mother, her sister and her had nearly been murdered by Cary Stayner. Soundtracks. How can one family, contain two completely contrasting children? It was dark when they arrived and Timmy could remember where he lived so they went to the police station. WebCary Stayner, the handyman at their hotel, confessed after being arrested for beheading another victim, female nature guide Joie Armstrong. In 2002, Cary Stayner was convicted of first-degree murder on four counts and sentenced to death. He was convicted of four brutal murders in 2002. In his interview, Stayner claimed that hair from his body was left on the bedspread in their motel room, but he returned later and changed the bed. By the end of June, the FBI had reviewed the testimonies and the evidence linked to the suspects in custody. The two brothers of the Stayner family are both famous - one experienced horror in the hands of a child molester, Steven, and the other, Cary, the serial killer in Yosemite. On December 4, 1972, at the age of seven, Steven was approached after school by Edward Ervin Murphy, who claimed he was collecting money for the church. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "(A witness claimed that) Stayner was angry about authorities seizing his backpack after he was questioned earlier that day. 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. By the end of that evening, the FBI felt it had gathered enough evidence to arrest Cary Stayner for murder, Sunday morning, they rushed him to Fresno to officially lodge a complaint, then to Sacramento on Monday where he was put before the courts.