The story of the Stayner family is one of the most harrowing and tragic I have ever heard. Thank you for spotlighting Steven, who is often treated as an interesting footnote to his brother’s monstrosity.
The first time I heard about this case was in 2015 and it stayed with me. I still think about Steven and Timmy's case from time to time, it's a shame that their kidnapper lived more than both. Great video Georgia!
I grew up in this town, my cousins were Steven’s age going to the same elementary school as him. His family lived around the corner from my grandma. What happened to Steven broke our town’s heart. There is a statue of him in Applegate Park.
I have heard this story many times before and it never gets easier to hear 😢💔 Steven went through such hell on earth while he was with Kenneth and then more hell after he came home my heart breaks for him every time I think about it 😭😢 I’m glad he was able to find some happiness in the last few years of his life ❤ and he was the definition of a TRUE HERO ! He saved Tim from the hell he went through…. Steven will NEVER be forgotten 🩷 RIP Steven and Tim 🫶🏻🥰
Although it is amazing that he was reunited with his family, they still let him slip between their fingers. He NEEDED therapy/counseling. He NEEDED professional help with the trauma he endured.
Fr like I'm sorry it's hard to feel bad for them when they FINALLY got their child back, which most parents of the missing never get, just to treat him like shit (not provide help for his deep mental wounds) & kick him out. Way to make him feel like he still had a family 🫠
@@ick.zosted Because there were family secrets that his parents wanted to keep hidden - Stevens father, uncle, and maternal grandfather were sexual predators.
Wow, a two parter from Georgia, this is a massive treat 💕 You always find cases that even as an avid true crime consumer, I have never heard of. And after finishing this episode, I can’t believe I’ve never heard this story. I’m on the edge of my seat for part two!
You should look into the Shawn hornbeck case that's the case I grew up with when I was a kid and then I heard about this case and the similarities are so eerie
Steven was one month younger than me, and my childhood best friend was born on April 18, 1965- same day as he was. The brainwashing element was so much less understood then, with the Patty Hearst case exemplifying how little empathy or comprehension we had. I remember wanting to sympathize with her after she'd taken part in a filmed bank robbery- I was nine or ten- and being corrected by adults: far worse than the armed robbery, she'd spoken ill of her father on a forced recording! I wonder how my adult advisers would have done after even just a few days blindfolded in a closet, being tormented and terrorized. That attorneys could try to shift responsibility onto Steven- from the age of seven!- or ignore the sexual abuse is just stunning, but that was the world that was. And the best remedy for what happened to a child was, of course, not talking about it. Rest in peace, Steven and Timmy.
Oof, that's so sad. I can't imagine being a tiny baby like that and thinking your parents just threw you away like garbage. I was abused as a child around the same age, and the only thing that got me through each day was knowing that my mother loved me. Without that... I don't think I would have survived.
I really like how you covered this one. I’d heard about Steven’s case before but never knew he was related to the Yosemite killer. I’m half way through your video on the Yosemite killer but had to come back to let you know how well I thought you covered this one. Thank you Georgia! It flowed very well
I am not even a minute in. I was not going to watch this one because I have heard of this story many times now. But I went to watch the more recent video you uploaded and realized it was about his brother. I also knew about that aspect, but I have never seen that covered on its own, and certainly never as a separate-but-connected story to this one, so I had to bop on over to watch this first one.
This one was so sad!!!! What an incredible incredible human being he was. Even if he did drink to cope the fact that what happened to him didn’t turn him into a bad human being is just absolutely incredible. I was hoping he was still alive so that I could send him some kind words. Eagerly awaiting part two. Side note: even though this was so sad and his beautiful life was cut short, maybe he was an angel meant to save that little boy. And once he found happiness in his life, God wanted him back ❤
I also want to point out the fact that between the 70's and 90's when all these child abductions where happening, there were so many happening alll across the country and we were aware of them, kids were on milk carton, in daily newspaper circulars, in the post office, on the news, and our parents never seemed concerned at all, sent us out to play for hours on end full days even, left us home alone unattended, they never seemed to consider that it could happen to us. Is absolutely mind boggling to me! It wasn't until the mid to late 90', early 2000's parents started saying you can't play outside without supervision and organizing playdates so kids could play with each other with supervision. Actually when I had my daughter in the early 2000's and a mom asked about setting up a play date for our girls I had to ask her what a play date was. Had never heard of it before but I was fully on board! And from then on I was a play date mom.
Glad you dove into Steven’s sad, heroic case. I will be watching this evening in the US. There’s another case (that spanned much larger) that hasn’t been mentioned in over a decade. The names have been lost to me, but I hope to find in some of my older media posts.
This is one of the stories that got me into true crime. I live about 2 hrs from here. Both brothers have such opposite lives. I remember watching news footage when Steven came home, and Cary was in the footage. Mind boggling
I remember watching "I know my first name is Steven" as a kid. It always stayed with me. Maybe even more so than I thought, maybe subconsciously, because I started going by Kay in high-school (my name starts with a K) and then my son's middle name is Gregory and if I had a second son his middle name would have been Timothy. I don't even think I had remembered that from the movie or mini series as I was probably only 7 when it aired. The creep factor chills I got from watching this video.
I can't believe I've never heard this story before, that was absolutely heart-breaking. I hate the double injustices of the kidnapper serving such a short sentence, followed by both Steven and Tim dying so young.
I grew up in Modesto, CA. I remember when Steven escaped, as Merced was very close to us. I was 7 at the time, and remember all the moms becoming terrified of predators. I was very sad when Steven passed away so young. And then his brother Carey became the Yosemite killer. Those crimes felt very close to us at the time.
I have lived in Merced when Cary killing and while they were hunting for him. I met him i(Cary) n passing at the local mall. A few months before the three women went missing. I shook his hand and I got chills. I got goosebumps. It was about 100 degrees outside.
True. What an amazingly sad story. Steven escaped, had a hard time resettling into his old life and died young in a motorcycle crash🙁 His brother became a serial killer. I remember the old TV movie they made about Steven..." I Know My First Name is Steven" it was huge in the US at the time
Unfortunately, in Mendocino County, there is not a great mental health system. A lot of people don't know is that his abductor also had a live in girlfriend or spouse. His story was really a sad one. So many things gone wrong. Though most people were on his side kids can be real jerks. Cary was a sadistic killer and it appears that though the trauma might have had some effect on him with his parents dealing with the abduction and his own place in the family, that kind of sadism and murder I think is more a of an organic defect and he needs to stay forever incarcerated. He would do it again. I do not believe it was all nurture, but a lot of nature in his case. I hope anyone who ever taunted Steven experiences deep remorse.
I’ve seen a video about Steven’s story before but I just had to watch another one. Tragedy from beginning to end but what a brave young man! On a side note I saw a random clip of a TV show a while ago and it showed a you boy called Stevie Parnell, turns out he had been kidnapped as a young child and now as a teen the kidnapper had done it again and Stevie saved them both. I’d seen Steven’s story years ago but didn’t even put it together the TV show was basically showing his story. Even down to colouring the children’s hair to try and disguise them.
idk whether to be more sad or angry, I cannot believe that piece of shit only spent 9 years in jail??? and both of the boys died incredibly young, after surviving through this ordeal :(
The father SAed least one of the daughters; the mother allowed her father, who had SAed her as a child, to live with the family, and the father's brother was a known predator whom Cary was often sent to stay with.
I don't know why, but I was sure you had already covered this case. It is a fascinating case and unbelievable that one family has been through so much.
I remember when all this unfolded and it's such a tragic haunting case before we even get to Cary's part. Honestly I probably wouldn't have watched it if it was another channel because it's so dark. The treatment of gays back then was abominable and all of the anti bullying protocols we have now were non existent. It was seen as character building, just like the suck it up trauma philosophy. When it all happened, the prevailing belief was that "well he's home, he should be fine now." There's reasons Gen X is so fucked up and the story of the Stayners is an excellent case in point.
Look into it a little deeper and you'll see that the parents had darker and more sinister reasons for denying Steven and his siblings mental health care. Then you'll get more of an idea of what happened with the older son.
7 years yet poor Steven will suffer for the rest of his life. How is it he actually kidnaps a child and abuses him and gets 7 years yet an attempt got 25 years! He should of got that for the actual kidnap and abuse. Shocking!
@@AleksandraLempart-s3v Cary was also sexually abused, he was disturbed from an early age, and his parents did nothing about it. The family was full of sexual predators - the father, the grandfather, the uncle, etc.
Steven was failed by every single person in his life, from his own family to teachers, classmates, his girlfriend, everyone. It's absolutely tragic.
The story of the Stayner family is one of the most harrowing and tragic I have ever heard. Thank you for spotlighting Steven, who is often treated as an interesting footnote to his brother’s monstrosity.
The first time I heard about this case was in 2015 and it stayed with me. I still think about Steven and Timmy's case from time to time, it's a shame that their kidnapper lived more than both.
Great video Georgia!
I Know My Name is Steven was a made for TV movie that I remember so well when I was a kid. So sad that Steven got free then died young.
I grew up in this town, my cousins were Steven’s age going to the same elementary school as him. His family lived around the corner from my grandma. What happened to Steven broke our town’s heart. There is a statue of him in Applegate Park.
I have heard this story many times before and it never gets easier to hear 😢💔 Steven went through such hell on earth while he was with Kenneth and then more hell after he came home my heart breaks for him every time I think about it 😭😢 I’m glad he was able to find some happiness in the last few years of his life ❤ and he was the definition of a TRUE HERO ! He saved Tim from the hell he went through…. Steven will NEVER be forgotten 🩷 RIP Steven and Tim 🫶🏻🥰
Although it is amazing that he was reunited with his family, they still let him slip between their fingers. He NEEDED therapy/counseling. He NEEDED professional help with the trauma he endured.
Exactly. They 100% neglected their children and failed them in more ways than one.
Fr like I'm sorry it's hard to feel bad for them when they FINALLY got their child back, which most parents of the missing never get, just to treat him like shit (not provide help for his deep mental wounds) & kick him out. Way to make him feel like he still had a family 🫠
@@ick.zosted Because there were family secrets that his parents wanted to keep hidden - Stevens father, uncle, and maternal grandfather were sexual predators.
Wow, a two parter from Georgia, this is a massive treat 💕 You always find cases that even as an avid true crime consumer, I have never heard of. And after finishing this episode, I can’t believe I’ve never heard this story. I’m on the edge of my seat for part two!
You should look into the Shawn hornbeck case that's the case I grew up with when I was a kid and then I heard about this case and the similarities are so eerie
Steven was one month younger than me, and my childhood best friend was born on April 18, 1965- same day as he was. The brainwashing element was so much less understood then, with the Patty Hearst case exemplifying how little empathy or comprehension we had. I remember wanting to sympathize with her after she'd taken part in a filmed bank robbery- I was nine or ten- and being corrected by adults: far worse than the armed robbery, she'd spoken ill of her father on a forced recording! I wonder how my adult advisers would have done after even just a few days blindfolded in a closet, being tormented and terrorized. That attorneys could try to shift responsibility onto Steven- from the age of seven!- or ignore the sexual abuse is just stunning, but that was the world that was. And the best remedy for what happened to a child was, of course, not talking about it. Rest in peace, Steven and Timmy.
So glad to catch this one relatively early on! Thank you for all your amazing work with these stories, Georgia!
Oof, that's so sad. I can't imagine being a tiny baby like that and thinking your parents just threw you away like garbage. I was abused as a child around the same age, and the only thing that got me through each day was knowing that my mother loved me. Without that... I don't think I would have survived.
I really like how you covered this one. I’d heard about Steven’s case before but never knew he was related to the Yosemite killer. I’m half way through your video on the Yosemite killer but had to come back to let you know how well I thought you covered this one. Thank you Georgia! It flowed very well
Incredible and incredibly sad one. Thank Georgia!
So tragic 😔 Can not wait that you share part 2 with us next week, thank you Georgia 🌹
I am not even a minute in. I was not going to watch this one because I have heard of this story many times now. But I went to watch the more recent video you uploaded and realized it was about his brother. I also knew about that aspect, but I have never seen that covered on its own, and certainly never as a separate-but-connected story to this one, so I had to bop on over to watch this first one.
This one was so sad!!!! What an incredible incredible human being he was. Even if he did drink to cope the fact that what happened to him didn’t turn him into a bad human being is just absolutely incredible. I was hoping he was still alive so that I could send him some kind words. Eagerly awaiting part two.
Side note: even though this was so sad and his beautiful life was cut short, maybe he was an angel meant to save that little boy. And once he found happiness in his life, God wanted him back ❤
wow what a rollercoaster of a story! i can’t believe that they both survived so much to only die young
I also want to point out the fact that between the 70's and 90's when all these child abductions where happening, there were so many happening alll across the country and we were aware of them, kids were on milk carton, in daily newspaper circulars, in the post office, on the news, and our parents never seemed concerned at all, sent us out to play for hours on end full days even, left us home alone unattended, they never seemed to consider that it could happen to us. Is absolutely mind boggling to me! It wasn't until the mid to late 90', early 2000's parents started saying you can't play outside without supervision and organizing playdates so kids could play with each other with supervision. Actually when I had my daughter in the early 2000's and a mom asked about setting up a play date for our girls I had to ask her what a play date was. Had never heard of it before but I was fully on board! And from then on I was a play date mom.
This is one of the first cases I was obsessed with
Oh wow I'm glad you covered this. I'd watched the documentary on it on Disney+ and it broke my heart. It's such an insane and sad story.
Thank you so much for putting in the care and effort these cases deserve. So glad there is a pt. 2.
Glad you dove into Steven’s sad, heroic case. I will be watching this evening in the US. There’s another case (that spanned much larger) that hasn’t been mentioned in over a decade. The names have been lost to me, but I hope to find in some of my older media posts.
Thank you again! ❤
cant fathom how a human begin can throw out a child after having it taken away for almost a decade.
The parents were evil. I'll leave it at that, as I've replied to many comments on here.
This is one of the stories that got me into true crime. I live about 2 hrs from here. Both brothers have such opposite lives. I remember watching news footage when Steven came home, and Cary was in the footage. Mind boggling
Such a tragic short life, poor Steven 😔
I remember watching "I know my first name is Steven" as a kid. It always stayed with me. Maybe even more so than I thought, maybe subconsciously, because I started going by Kay in high-school (my name starts with a K) and then my son's middle name is Gregory and if I had a second son his middle name would have been Timothy. I don't even think I had remembered that from the movie or mini series as I was probably only 7 when it aired. The creep factor chills I got from watching this video.
Unbelievable!
I can't believe I've never heard this story before, that was absolutely heart-breaking. I hate the double injustices of the kidnapper serving such a short sentence, followed by both Steven and Tim dying so young.
I grew up in Modesto, CA. I remember when Steven escaped, as Merced was very close to us. I was 7 at the time, and remember all the moms becoming terrified of predators. I was very sad when Steven passed away so young. And then his brother Carey became the Yosemite killer. Those crimes felt very close to us at the time.
Keep em coming girlie!!
Your sweater is so pretty ❤
Blimey Georgia, absolutely tragic case. Steven though, what a hero!
I have lived in Merced when Cary killing and while they were hunting for him. I met him i(Cary) n passing at the local mall. A few months before the three women went missing. I shook his hand and I got chills. I got goosebumps. It was about 100 degrees outside.
True. What an amazingly sad story. Steven escaped, had a hard time resettling into his old life and died young in a motorcycle crash🙁 His brother became a serial killer. I remember the old TV movie they made about Steven..." I Know My First Name is Steven" it was huge in the US at the time
What a sad story! 😢
Unfortunately, in Mendocino County, there is not a great mental health system. A lot of people don't know is that his abductor also had a live in girlfriend or spouse. His story was really a sad one. So many things gone wrong. Though most people were on his side kids can be real jerks. Cary was a sadistic killer and it appears that though the trauma might have had some effect on him with his parents dealing with the abduction and his own place in the family, that kind of sadism and murder I think is more a of an organic defect and he needs to stay forever incarcerated. He would do it again. I do not believe it was all nurture, but a lot of nature in his case. I hope anyone who ever taunted Steven experiences deep remorse.
The parents are the reason Cary is the way he is. Sexual abuse was normalized in the family and goes back generations, as does mental illness.
So tragic, truly
I've never been this early before and now I don't know how to wait for part 2..... 😂🤣
I know my first name is Steven …. That was the name of the movie about his life I remember watching this with my mom as a kid
Woooooow this was so interesting but so heavy. I think I just need to sit quietly for a bit now. Still looking forward to part 2, though!
Such a very sad story.
I’ve seen a video about Steven’s story before but I just had to watch another one. Tragedy from beginning to end but what a brave young man!
On a side note I saw a random clip of a TV show a while ago and it showed a you boy called Stevie Parnell, turns out he had been kidnapped as a young child and now as a teen the kidnapper had done it again and Stevie saved them both. I’d seen Steven’s story years ago but didn’t even put it together the TV show was basically showing his story. Even down to colouring the children’s hair to try and disguise them.
This case is so heartbreaking & infuriating. Everything about it is so unfair.
Good Evening from Michigan 💙
idk whether to be more sad or angry, I cannot believe that piece of shit only spent 9 years in jail??? and both of the boys died incredibly young, after surviving through this ordeal :(
This poor family. They've been through so much, it's really not fair!
The father SAed least one of the daughters; the mother allowed her father, who had SAed her as a child, to live with the family, and the father's brother was a known predator whom Cary was often sent to stay with.
Well presented
Learning that the boy Steven saved died of a stroke in his 30's was such a gut punch to this case.
I don't know why, but I was sure you had already covered this case. It is a fascinating case and unbelievable that one family has been through so much.
The parents don't deserve sympathy. They were abusive and neglectful, in more ways than one.
I remember when all this unfolded and it's such a tragic haunting case before we even get to Cary's part. Honestly I probably wouldn't have watched it if it was another channel because it's so dark. The treatment of gays back then was abominable and all of the anti bullying protocols we have now were non existent. It was seen as character building, just like the suck it up trauma philosophy. When it all happened, the prevailing belief was that "well he's home, he should be fine now."
There's reasons Gen X is so fucked up and the story of the Stayners is an excellent case in point.
Look into it a little deeper and you'll see that the parents had darker and more sinister reasons for denying Steven and his siblings mental health care. Then you'll get more of an idea of what happened with the older son.
Poor boy!
7 years yet poor Steven will suffer for the rest of his life. How is it he actually kidnaps a child and abuses him and gets 7 years yet an attempt got 25 years! He should of got that for the actual kidnap and abuse. Shocking!
Wow sad all around 😢
I was so confused, who is Sean? I don’t think you mentioned him before Tim’s abduction
This case is so surreal. If I remember correctly, I thought that Cary would’ve gone on to be a serial k either way.
The time Parnell served is laughable. What is this world we live in????
His parents kicked him out 🤯🤯🤯
Molester was only given 7 years 🤯🤯🤯
What a horric story and journey for him ❤❤❤❤❤
Horrific
I ca not believe these pathetic sentences for these vile perps So sad the lack of understanding and resources for Steven when he rejoined hiss family
One brother is a hero on brother is a murder
❤
Cary was so jealous of Steven that he became serial killer is a ridiculous notion. But it looks like its sadly true
@@AleksandraLempart-s3v Cary was also sexually abused, he was disturbed from an early age, and his parents did nothing about it. The family was full of sexual predators - the father, the grandfather, the uncle, etc.
It's not. There is far more to it.
This is so unrelated, but I thought you were around my age 😂 (I'm 21)