EP. 137 CALIFORNIA - THE YOSEMITE SERIAL KILLER: Cary Stayner

In last week's episode, we discussed the tragic story of Stephen Stainer, a little boy who was kidnapped on his way home from school by a pedophile named Kenneth Parnell. Stephen was held in captivity for seven years, and then, in 1980, his kidnapper abducted another little boy named Timmy White. And it was then when Stephen decided that he was going to save Timmy's life and bring them both to a police station. If you haven't listened to last week's episode, make sure you go back and listen because Stephen Stainer was considered a national hero.

Not only did he help put a pedophile in prison, but he also saved five-year-old Timmy White. And finally, after seven long years, Stephen was reunited with his family. Video from that day shows Stephen hugging his parents. He also hugs his older brother, Cary. Back in the 1980s. Everyone watched with tears in their eyes as the brothers were reunited.

It was one of those rare true crime stories that had a happy ending, or so they thought. In 1999, a serial killer would take the lives of four women near Yosemite National Park. And the investigations into their deaths would lead investigators to a man named Cary Stainer. Soon enough, the Stainer family was right back into the spotlight, and everyone in America learned that a national hero's older brother was the infamous Yosemite serial killer.

A plot twist that no one expected. So this is the story of Cary Stainer. I'm Courtney Brown and I'm Colin Brown, and you're listening to Murder in America.

In 1980, it had been seven whole years since the Stainer family had seen their missing son, Stephen. For Dellen K. Stainer, Stephen's parents, a piece of their heart had been missing, too. But still, for every Christmas, they would buy Stephen presents, even though they would remain unopened underneath the tree.

After seven years, they likely figured Stephen would never come home, which was a hard pill to swallow. But they still held on to that small glimmer of hope that he was out there somewhere. Over the years, Stephen's case would heat up, the Merced Police Department would get leads, only for them to fizzle out. It was a constant cycle of disappointment and unanswered questions.

In 1975, a man at a mental facility admitted to killing Stephen, but it ended up being a false confession. Then, another year, a man came into the police station and said that his brother was responsible for Stephen's disappearance. He said that his brother kidnapped Stephen, killed him and then dismembered his body. Now, this man actually worked with his brother. They owned a grocery store together, and he said that his brother put Stephen's remains in the grocery store's sewage system.

So the investigators searched the entire sewage system around the grocery store, but, alas, there was no body. As it turns out, the brothers had a falling out and the man lied, wasting a ton of time and resources throughout that ordeal. The Stainers went through all of the emotions, thinking that Stephen was dead, only to find out it was a lie. Kaye Stainer would even speak with the media, saying, I know there's a 50-50 chance that Stephen is dead. And at any time, they could come say, Well, we found him, it's not good, but we found him.

I pray that if he is dead, please let us know, because this not knowing is enough to drive you insane. For seven years, the Stainers lived in a constant state of unrest. And more than anything, they just wanted answers, and those answers would come on March 1st, 1980. It was a Saturday at 3 a..m and the entire Stainer family was asleep when they were suddenly woken up by a phone call. When Del answered the phone, it was the Merced Police Department informing him that they had some information regarding his son.

Now, at first, they thought the call was regarding their oldest son, Kerry, who was camping at Yosemite at the time. I guess they thought Kerry had gotten in trouble or something, but no. The Merced police said that the call was about Stephen, their missing son. Del suddenly felt a lump in his throat. This could either be really bad news or really good news.

Luckily, it was the latter. The officer informed Del that a boy had come into the police station claiming to be Stephen Stainer, and they had reason to believe he was telling the truth. Del would later say that he wept upon hearing the news. Immediately after this, he called his son Kerry and told him to get home because his little brother was finally found. 18-year-old Kerry Stainer quickly got in his car and drove back to Merced.

He couldn't believe it. The last time he saw Stephen was when he was 11 years old, and now they could finally be reunited. Now, the police informed their family that they wouldn't be able to see Stephen for a couple more hours. But the Stainers were excited in fact, Kerry, along with his sisters, actually ran through their neighborhood, telling everyone the good news. Later that day, hundreds of people flooded the Stainers front lawn, including a sea of reporters who were there to capture Stephen's first moments back with his family.

As Stephen hopped out of the police cruiser, the Stainers eyes filled with tears, he was finally home. Kerry quickly ran over to his brother and embraced him as dozens of reporters snapped pictures of their reunion. All was right in the world and they had seven years of catching up to do. After Kerry hugged his brother, Del and Kay quickly ran over to embrace their son.

The reporters even cried while they captured this beautiful moment. But strangely enough, as they took their pictures of the parents reunited with their missing son, they also captured something else. Eighteen-year-old Kerry was standing off in the distance and although there was a slight smile on his face, there was also deep sadness in his eyes. For seven years, his family had slowly been destroyed by his brother's disappearance. And although he was happy to have Stephen home, there was also a little bit of resentment. Unbeknownst to everyone, Kerry Stainer had a darkness within him, a darkness that started at a young age.

In 1980, he was known as Stephen Stainer's older brother, but decades later, he would be known for something else a serial killer. Kerry Anthony Stainer was born on August 12, 1961, in Merced, California, and he was Del and Kay's firstborn child. After him, they would go on to have four other children, including Stephen and their three sisters. And like we mentioned in last week's episode, they all had a good upbringing.

But Kerry faced some challenges pretty early on in his life. In fact, at just three years old, he started pulling out his hair and would later be diagnosed with trichotillomania, which is where people pull their hair out sometimes to cope with anxiety. And after Kerry's siblings were born, it got even worse. Being the firstborn son. He wanted a good relationship with his father. But Del and Stephen seemed to have a closer relationship. Like we mentioned, Stephen would follow his dad around everywhere.

He was like his little shadow, and there were times when Kerry felt like he had to compete for his dad's attention. But one thing that Kerry and Del really bonded over was their monthly camping trips. Del was a very hard-working man. But he loved the outdoors, so every month he would drive his family to Yosemite, where they would spend the weekend in the wilderness.

It was only about an hour away and Kerry absolutely loved these trips. Like his dad, he found a lot of happiness out in nature and it was a way for him to bond with his family. These younger years were the happiest years for the Stainers before their lives were completely turned upside down. Now, like we mentioned, Kerry Stainer would eventually become a serial killer, and like we do with every killer. We like to take a look into their childhoods to kind of give us an idea of where they came from.

The Stainer family would go on to face such severe trauma with Stephen's disappearance. So, if anything, you would think that that likely had to do with the person Kerry would later become. But interestingly enough, Kerry claimed to have homicidal thoughts years before Stephen's kidnapping. In fact, he claimed that the first time he thought about killing someone was when he was just seven years old. Kerry said that one day he and his mom went to the grocery store.

And as they were checking out, he began daydreaming about shooting the female cashier with a gun. This was the first time he ever had a violent fantasy, but it definitely wouldn't be the last from here on out. Kerry claimed that he frequently thought about abducting and murdering women around Merced. Sometimes these fantasies involved older women, but other times it was children his own age. One day, he was in his front yard when he saw his neighbor playing across the street.

Kerry said that he was only eight years old, but he couldn't stop thinking about how fun it would be to abduct the little girl and keep her in an underground bunker. He also fantasized about all the things he would do to her while she was in captivity. This is incredibly disturbing, especially considering how young he was and the fact that these exact fantasies about abducting someone would one day happen to his younger brother, Stephen. Just a few years later.

Now, Kerry did have some really horrible things happen to him before Stephen's kidnapping, he was really close with his uncle Jesse, who was his dad's brother. Kerry would go over to his house pretty frequently to spend the night with his cousins, but one night, his uncle asked Kerry to sleep with him in his bed. Disturbingly, earlier that afternoon, Uncle Jesse had shown him pictures of naked women and now he was asking his nephew to get into bed with him.

And sadly, that night, Kerry would be molested by his uncle, and this was a very confusing experience for him. He loved his uncle, but he also knew what he did was wrong. Kerry also grew up in a home where talking about that kind of stuff was frowned upon, so he kept it to himself. And even if he wanted to tell his parents about what happened with his uncle, it wouldn't be easy because shortly after Kerry was molested, his family would face a devastating loss.

On December 4th, 1972, Kerry Stainer would come home from school, where he found his mother in a panic. Have you seen your brother? she asked, but neither Kerry nor his three sisters had seen Stephen. For the next few hours, their family would frantically run around Merced trying to find him.

But they came up with nothing. He was gone, vanished on his way home from school. That night, the Stainer family came to a horrifying realization that Stephen had been kidnapped as an 11-year-old. This was incredibly traumatizing for Kerry.

Not only did he lose his brother, but he also had to watch as his parents completely lost themselves. For months, Kay Stainer could barely even function. Although she didn't have many outbursts. It almost seemed like she disassociated. She mostly stayed in her room and it was difficult for her to tend to her other children. Dell, on the other hand, handled it a lot differently than his wife.

He would cry, often completely consumed in his grief. He also took some of his frustrations out on his other children. For 11-year-old Kerry, it felt like his entire world had turned upside down. Stephen was all anyone could ever think or talk about. He lost his brother, his parents and all sense of normalcy.

His dad even stopped taking them on their monthly Yosemite trips, one of the few things that brought Kerry joy. Instead, his parents dedicated all of their time to searching for his little brother. Kerry would often find his dad sitting in Stephen's room sobbing, Sometimes Dell would just sit there staring at the wall, smelling Stephen's clothes. There was one room in the house where Stephen had scribbled his name on the wall.

And one day, Kerry erased it and his dad went into a rage. He didn't mean any harm by it, but he got in huge trouble and after a while, Kerry started to feel resentment towards his little brother. He always knew that Stephen was his dad's favorite child, and even now, with him gone, Stephen still got all of Dell's attention.

Kerry felt neglected he would even go outside and pray to the stars that his brother would one day make it back home. Mostly because he just wanted their lives to go back to normal, even in school, Kerry was known as Stephen Stainer's older brother. He couldn't seem to escape the tragedy that marked their family.

It was like their entire identity was attached to Stephen's kidnapping. And it's at around this time when his tricholomania got even worse. Soon enough, Kerry had bald spots all over his head that he would be bullied for, so from here on out, he was often seen wearing hats. Now, despite all the struggles that he faced, Kerry actually did pretty well for himself while he was in high school.

He played baseball, worked for the school's newspaper, made really good grades, and became a really talented artist. He would do these caricatures for people in school and he was really good at it. But as for the social aspects of school, that's where Kerry lacked. He was conventionally attractive, but he was also kind of awkward, especially with women. Upon seeing him. Girls would want to come up and start conversations, but as soon as they did, they were uninterested.

Kerry had a way of making women feel uncomfortable, something that would stick with him throughout his life. Kerry was well aware that women didn't like him. He wanted to have a girlfriend, but he couldn't seem to figure them out. So to cope with these frustrations, he would often drive out to Yosemite and journal. Yosemite was the most beautiful and peaceful place on Earth.

But if you were to have looked at his journal, his work was anything but peaceful. While Kerry was out there, he would draw these naked women in violent situations. It was clear, just by looking at his drawings, that he was really struggling and soon enough he would begin acting out. Like we mentioned, Kerry had three younger sisters who always brought their friends around, and they had a bunch of female cousins.

And anytime the girls would come around, Kerry would go out of his way to try and see them naked. He would just burst into the room unannounced. When they would shower, he would peek through the windows trying to get a glance. One time, he even tried videoing his cousins while they were naked. It was a known thing that if you were going to the stainer's house, Kerry would try to see you without clothes on.

When he was 16 years old, his sisters had some friends spend the night. And while they were sleeping, Kerry snuck into the room and began touching their breasts. The friend eventually woke up and started yelling at Kerry to get out, and he did, but moments later he came back into the room completely naked.

And this is a pattern that you'll see throughout Kerry's life. For whatever reason he loved being naked, he and his friends would go streaking. He was known to skinny dip and sunbathe naked. He just really liked it. Now, despite being molested by his uncle Jesse, Kerry spent a lot of time with him.

His uncle would let him smoke weed, and it was kind of a way for him to escape the emotional heaviness back at home. He also spent a lot of time at Yosemite National Park on March 1st, 1980. That's exactly where Kerry was. He had spent the day hiking, skinny dipping and hanging out with friends. When suddenly he got a call from his dad, and that call was life changing.

His brother, Stephen Stainer, had been found after Kerry rushed home to be reunited with Stephen. He was met with a crowd of people in his front lawn, and although he was happy that Stephen was back, he also couldn't help but feel resentful towards him. For seven years, his entire life had revolved around Stephen. And now that he was home, his parents were doting on him. Reporters were constantly around taking pictures of him and he was getting all the attention.

And again, even more so now. Kerry felt like his life revolved around his little brother, and, to make matters worse, Kerry and Stephen didn't necessarily get along. After Stephen came back home, the brothers had to share a room, so naturally, they would butt heads. But as Stephen opened up to his older brother about his life while he was in captivity, Kerry felt a little jealous.

While Stephen was gone, he was popular in his schools. He had a lot of friends and he even had girlfriends, something Kerry was never able to get. It seemed like Stephen was perfect.

He was the perfect child, he was a national hero, and Kerry was just his awkward older brother. Even further, it seemed as if Stephen was able to get away with a lot more since he had been gone for so long. His parents went easier on him and were less strict, but Kerry still had to follow all the rules. If the brothers ever got into fights, they would always side with Stephen.

And once again, Kerry felt neglected. Now. By the time Stephen finally returned home, Kerry was 18 years old, about to graduate high school in his senior year. He was voted most creative and he had a lot of potential to go on and do great things. He was smart, creative, outdoorsy, and everyone in his life really encouraged him to go to art school after graduation. But that's not what Kerry wanted for himself.

Instead, he would continue to live with his parents. He smoked a lot of weed and never really applied himself for work. He would find odd jobs here and there, but nothing ever satisfied him. And it's at this time in Kerry's life where he was really trying to find some meaning and purpose. Like many young adults do. Kerry started learning about different subjects and he got really into astrology.

There was one astrologist in particular that he really liked, named Nostradamus, who talked a lot about Armageddon. And throughout his research into all of this, Kerry began imagining a world full of death and destruction. Which was scary because he already had very violent and dark thoughts to begin with. Eventually, his thoughts got so dark. He decided to reach out to a psychiatrist and from there he was officially diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He also started taking medication for it.

But the only problem was when he took the medicine, the violent dreams about abducting and murdering women stopped, which he didn't like. Those fantasies had been a part of him since he was 7 years old, and he didn't want them to stop, so eventually he stopped taking the medicine. At this point in Kerry's life, he was still living with his parents and little brother, and things weren't working out, so he finally decided to move out.

But he didn't really have anywhere to go, so it's here where his uncle Jesse offers him a room at his house. Now you would think that this would not be a good living situation for Kerry, considering his uncle molested him when he was younger, but he decided to take him up on the offer. Surprisingly, he actually liked his uncle, and Jesse even got him a job installing windows around town.

So for a while, things were actually going well for Kerry, that is, until his family entered the spotlight once again. Sadly, in 1986, Stephen and Kerry's dad, Del, was accused of molesting his daughters. As you can imagine, when this news hit the media, everyone was disgusted, especially considering Del's own son was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a pedophile.

For years, the Stanards had been a respected family within their community, but with these accusations, that obviously changed. And then, three years later, their family would face another devastating loss when Stephen Stanard was killed in a motorcycle crash. A tragic end to an already heartbreaking story.

And with everything that happened over the last decade, it seemed as if the Stanard family was cursed. And then, in December of 1990, their family would face another tragedy, this time involving Uncle Jesse. On the day after Christmas, the 42-year-old was found shot to death in his home. He had been shot in the head with his own shotgun.

But investigators determined that it was not a suicide. Jesse Stanard had been murdered now. Kerry was living with him at the time, so authorities did look into him as a possible suspect, but apparently Kerry had a good alibi. Ultimately, the Merced Police chalked it up to a robbery gone wrong.

But years later, after Kerry's crimes were revealed, many people believed that he could have been responsible. Considering Jesse molested him when he was younger, it's possible that Kerry had a lot of pent-up anger towards his uncle and then eventually killed him. But there was never enough evidence to prove it. Following Jesse's death, many people in Merced were convinced that the Stanards had a curse on them. There was Stephen's kidnapping, Kerry being molested, Del molesting his daughters, Stephen's death, and now this.

The Stanards had been through a lot and for the next five years, Kerry lived under the radar. He did his best to stay out of the media and at any chance he could, he made his way out to Yosemite to escape reality. By 1995, Kerry Stanard was 33 years old and he was struggling. He even vented to a friend about how he was mentally spiraling. He said that he almost felt manic.

In one moment he would be fine, and then the next he was filled with rage. Soon enough, this inner turmoil would manifest into violence. While he was at work, one day, he became filled with rage. So much so that he started punching this piece of lumber over and over and over again. At the end of it, when Kerry finally came to, there was blood everywhere.

His co-worker had come over to help him, but he was still filled with rage. In fact, he said aloud that he wanted to get into his car and drive through his work building, killing everyone inside. Hearing this, his co-worker was understandably afraid, and he told Kerry that he needed help. In Merced, there was this mental health facility and the co-worker actually convinced him to go. Kerry would speak to the professionals there, who urged him to stay and talk with a group about everything he was going through, but Kerry wasn't interested.

Group therapy was the last thing he wanted, so he left. It's clear that Kerry was spiraling and he didn't want any help. He also felt stuck in his life. The town of Merced was suffocating him. It's where everything had gone wrong in his life.

So it's here where he decided to pack up his things and move to the only place that brought him happiness, Yosemite National Park. Near the park was a place called Cedar Lodge, where people would stay when they came to visit. And luckily for him, they were in need of a handyman, so Kerry applied for the job and was quickly hired onto their team. It seemed like the perfect job for him, even more so because he was able to rent a room above the lodge's restaurant.

And after a few weeks, Kerry really grew to love it. The staff was welcoming, he found some friendships among his co-workers, and he was doing what he loved. While living near his favorite place on Earth, he even became more social. Kerry would go out to dinner and movies with his co-workers, and on the weekends, when he wasn't working, they would all skinny dip and smoke weed in the park.

For the first time in Kerry's life, he felt serenity, but even with this newfound peace, Kerry still had those dark, violent fantasies. And unfortunately, with this new job, he was constantly around. Women and children who would come to Cedar Lodge on vacation, Kerry would watch them as they swam in the lodge's pool, and dark thoughts would consume him. Which brings us to February 12th, 1999..

That morning, in Eureka, California, 42-year-old Carol Sund and her 15-year-old daughter Juliana woke up excited for the week ahead. The mother and daughter were going to take a trip to Yosemite along with Juliana's friend, 16-year-old Silvina Peloso. The trip was actually going to be a goodbye gift for Silvina, who had been staying with the Sund family in the United States. Silvina was set to leave the U.S on March 3rd to go back to her hometown of Cordoba, Argentina.

And Carol thought that Yosemite would be the perfect ending to her stay, After all, Yosemite has some of the most beautiful sights our country has to offer. So Carol had been planning this trip out for months and had mapped out their entire vacation. She even printed out the details of the trip and pinned it on the family's fridge. Now, although this trip was technically for Silvina, the person who was the most excited about it was Carol.

Four generations of her family had grown up in California, and they always made time to visit Yosemite. She even honeymooned there with her husband of 21 years, named Yen Sund, back in 1978. Carol and Yen spent the first night of their honeymoon at Yosemite's Awani hotel before deciding to camp outdoors for the remainder of their stay. For them, spending time out in nature was healing, so that's why Carol was so excited about this trip with her daughter and Silvina.

Now, during the trip, they would make one detour. You see. 16-year-old Julie was a sophomore at Eureka High School. In that week, she had a cheerleading competition in Stockton at the University of the Pacific, which happened to be along the way. In addition, Julie was also interested in touring the college campus to see if that's where she would want to go after graduation. So it was perfect.

The three would attend the cheer competition. They would then spend the weekend in the beautiful Yosemite National Park. And then, before leaving, they would go back to the university for the guided tour of the campus. They had everything planned out to a t, However, this trip would not go as planned.

Carol Evan Carrington's son was born on April 25, 1956.

She was the third of five children, and her parents, Francis and Carol Carrington, were very wealthy. They had a successful family business in real estate. So, naturally, Carol decided to get her real estate license when she was 21 years old. But she was very independent and she wanted to find success without her parents help.

In 1978, Carol met a young man named Jens Sund, and the two were married a few months later. According to Jens, Carol never even wanted children because her main goal was to dominate the real estate world. However, in 1983, Carol became pregnant, and from there everything changed. Julie's son was born on September 21, 1983, and Carol was in love. Being a mother was her favorite thing in the world, and soon enough, her focus went from real estate to advocating for children's rights.

In fact, less than a year after giving birth to Julie, Jens and Carol adopted their first son, Jonah, followed by the birth of another daughter they named Regina. Then, in 1989, they adopted another son named Jimmy. Carol went from not wanting kids at all to having a full house, and she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Carol's son was an angel.

When she wasn't doting on her own children, she was helping the less fortunate. Carol was on the board for the Council of Adoptable Children, advocating for kids who had been abused and neglected. She also worked with non-profit agencies, including Butler Valley, Inc. which is a group home that helps developmentally disabled adults. And she worked with Eureka's Special Advocate program, where she helped review child welfare records and make sure children weren't put in abusive homes. She was a force to be reckoned with in the best way possible. Like her mother, Julie's son was an active and determined girl.

Her father, Jens, would say that at just six months old, Julie had somehow gotten out of her crib and crawled all the way over to their bedroom. And from there, she was constantly on the move. As she grew up, it was obvious that Julie was a naturally talented musician. She had played piano for seven years, violin for five, and had recently started teaching herself how to play the guitar. Julie was also very friendly and popular at Eureka High School.

And like her mom, she was determined to make a difference in the world. Julie even established an awareness group called Girls Against Violence after two of her friends had been raped at knife point. She was a really good person with good morals, and because of that, people were drawn to her, including 16-year-old Silvina Peloso. Now, the story of how these two became friends is really cool, and it actually has to do with Julie's mom, Carol.

In 1973, Carol traveled to Argentina during her senior year of high school for a student exchange program called Youth for Understanding. And while she was there, Carol got really close to an Argentinian girl named Raquel, even after Carol left Argentina. She and Raquel stayed in contact over the years, and they even got pregnant at the same time. Both Julie and Silvina were born in 1983. And with their moms being friends, they always knew that one day they would be friends too, and they would.

Silvina would end up coming to the United States in 1998 for a student exchange program. And, of course, the son's family would sponsor her and take care of her while she was here. It was a really exciting experience for everyone. Julie and Silvina quickly became good friends, and she was really enjoying her time here in the U.S now. Silvina was described as a shy, reserved teenager, but she was also very mature for her age. She enjoyed roller skating and dancing to the Spice girls and new kids on the block. And her whole goal for life was to one day study biology at a university in Argentina.

However, that would never happen. The goodbye trip that Carol had planned for Silvina would end up being the last trip she would ever take. All because they would cross paths with Carrie Stainer.

On February 12, 1999, Carol, Julie and Silvina flew from Eureka's McKinleyville airport into San Francisco. Once they landed, they rented a Red Pontiac Grand Prix and from there they made their way to Stockton for Julie's cheer competition. And once it was over, the girls were so excited to get to Yosemite to start their fun weekend. Before they arrived, they stopped at a costco to stock up on snacks and camping equipment, and then finally they were ready. It was Valentine's Day, February 14, 1999, when the three pulled into the parking lot of Cedar Lodge.

It had been snowing that day, so they were ready to check into their room and get settled in. The room that was assigned to them was on the southwest corner of the lodge, and it was perfect. The room was big, warm, and it came with cable and a VCR, which the girls were excited about because the lodge's gift shop offered VHS rentals. Now, the following morning, Carol, Julie and Sylvina had a busy day ahead of them and they started it with a hike. That morning. They were all dressed in blue jeans, sweatshirts and windbreakers.

It was cold out, but the weather was beautiful, with clear skies and sunshine. Along their hike, Carol snapped several pictures of the girls. They looked so happy standing in front of the beautiful Yosemite falls. Later that day, they would go to the Curry village. Another picture was taken of the girls laughing as they attempted to gracefully ice skate.

It had been a really fun and memorable day. The rest of their evening was spent souvenir shopping, sightseeing and eating food. By the time they were finished, the three of them were exhausted. They were also kind of sad that their trip was coming to an end. The following day. They planned to go back to Stockton for Julie's tour at the university. And from there, they would drive to San Francisco, where Carol's husband Jens, would meet them.

So while they were resting in their room for a bit, Carol called her husband to make sure everything was still in place for their travels the following day. The phone call was quick, only lasting about four minutes. And after they hung up, the trio walked to the gift shop and rented a movie before they walked over to Cedar Lodge Restaurant to eat dinner. Julie and Sylvina ordered cheeseburgers, and Carol got a veggie burger. At 7.35 p..m. Carol paid the bill, which was $21.13, and from there, the restaurant staff would watch as the trio left the restaurant to make their way back to their room.

But little did anyone know this would be the very last time that Carol, Julie and Sylvina would ever be seen alive. Earlier that day, Carrie Stainer was walking around the Cedar Lodge hotel when he spotted a red pontiac sitting in the parking lot. The car was parked outside of Carol's room, and it caught Carrie's eye because it was the only car there. Curious, Carrie began looking through the lodge's windows to see who drove the car. And suddenly he spots two teenage girls and a woman. Inside room 509, Carol, Julie and Sylvina were watching TV, completely unaware of the monster lingering outside of their room.

Seeing that the girls didn't have a man with them, Carrie began thinking about the dark and violent things he could do with them. For years, these thoughts had been nothing but a reoccurring fantasy, and now there was an opportunity to act on them. And Carrie Stainer decided to take it. At around 10 p..m, he grabs his toolkit and approaches room 509. Considering he was the handyman at the hotel, he would use this to gain entry into their room. So he knocks on the door and announces himself.

Moments later, Carol would crack open their door, peering out into the hallway. Hi, I'm maintenance, I'm here to make a quick repair in the bathroom. At first, Carol was a little apprehensive to let him in. She hadn't seen any problems with their bathroom and it was late. But Carrie assured her that it was just a quick fix and he would be in and out in no time.

So from here, Carol lets him inside. Upon entering the room, Carrie did go into the bathroom and pretend to dig through his toolkit, but instead of grabbing tools, he would grab his gun. Carrie then walks back over to Carol, Julie and Sylvina, brandishing his weapon. The girls are terrified, but Carrie assures them that this was just a robbery and if they comply, no one will get hurt. From here, he grabs duct tape out of his bag and binds all three of them by their wrists and ankles.

He also gags them so they can't scream for help once they were secured. Carrie places Julie and Sylvina in the bathroom, and he turns his attention to Carol, who was lying helplessly on the bed. And right then and there, he grabs a rope out of his bag, places it around Carol's neck and strangles her. It would take several minutes. Killing her wasn't as easy as he imagined it would be. But once he was sure she was dead, Carrie would pick her up and carry her lifeless body to the pontiac. Parked outside, he was able to place Carol in the trunk without anyone noticing. And from there, he returned back to room 509 to finish what he set out to do. Over the next hour or so, Carrie would sexually assault the teenage girls. But it wasn't going as planned.

Sylvina cried the entire time and she wouldn't comply with his demands. In Carrie's fantasies, the women always did what they were told, but it wasn't working out that way. So from here, he brought Sylvina into the bathroom and he strangled her with the same rope that had been used on Carol. And just like he did before, he then carried Sylvina's body out to the car and placed her in the trunk back in the room. Julie didn't even know that her mom and friend were dead, and because she was complying with Carrie's demands, he wouldn't kill her just yet. Over the next hour, Julie continued to be sexually assaulted, but Carrie was getting frustrated.

Throughout his life, he had struggled with erectile dysfunction and on this night he couldn't keep an erection, so after hours of trying, he decided to give up. With Julie still bound on the bed, Carrie began to pack up all of their belongings. He wanted to make it look like they checked out and left on their own. When he was finished, he loaded their bags into the pontiac and returned back to the room.

Carrie then wrapped Julie up in a pink blanket and carried her outside to the car. After putting Julie in the passenger seat. He started the pontiac and took off down the road. It was well after midnight as the two made their way through the old Gold Mine towns nearby. And then, finally, after about an hour of driving, Carrie stopped at the Don Pedro Reservoir overlook and he pulled Julie from the car. He would carry her through a desolate trail, far away from the highway. And once they were deep enough into the wilderness, he put her down and sexually assaulted her once more. Carrie would later admit that he wanted to keep Julie alive, but he knew he couldn't.

So it's here when he pulled out a knife and slit her throat. He chose this method because he actually liked Julie and he thought that it would be a quick and painless death. But that wouldn't be the case. In fact, it would take several minutes for Julie to die. Sadly, while she was lying there, bleeding out, Carrie said that Julie motioned for Carrie to shoot her in the head. She made a gun shape with her hand and pointed it at her temple, begging her attacker to put her out of her misery.

But instead, Carrie just watched as she choked on her own blood. Soon enough, the life would leave Julie's eyes. Her body slumped over, and from there, she rolled down a hill into some brush below. After Julie's murder, Carrie quickly ran back to the pontiac and left the scene with Carol and Sylvina's bodies still in the trunk. He eventually ended up in a remote area where people were known to dump trash.

Surely he could leave the car here for now? He ended up finding a dirt road off the beaten path and started driving towards the dump site. But along the way, his car got stuck on an old tree stump and Carrie was forced to leave the vehicle and flee the area. It was now close to dawn and the sun was beginning to rise as he walked down the highway to a convenience store. Once there, he called a cab to take him back home, and he paid for the cab using the stolen cash he took from Carol's wallet.

As Carrie Stainer made his way back home, he thought about the next steps. He knew he would have to come back to the area in a couple of days to set the pontiac on fire. Carrie was actually a true crime fan, so he knew that fire was a good way to destroy evidence along this drive. He also couldn't ignore the way he felt inside. Killing Carol, Sylvina and Julie made him feel better than he ever had before, and he couldn't wait to find another victim.

The following evening, on February 16th, Carol's husband, Jens, anxiously waited at the airport with his three young children. Carol, Julie and Sylvina were supposed to meet him there, but it was now 10 p..m. and there was still no sign of them. And with each passing minute, he grew more and more unsettled. Carol was a very punctual woman and it wasn't like her to change plans without warning anyone, but Jens kept telling himself that everything would be fine.

Maybe there was some bad weather and they had to change flights from here. Jens would make his way back home, but by the following morning, Carol, Julie and Sylvina still weren't back. They hadn't called either, so he starts calling around to everyone. He called their friends, Carol's parents, but, alas, no one had heard from them. So his next phone call was to the Cedar Lodge, where the trio had stayed over the weekend.

Jens would speak with Gary and Dolores Cole, the couple who operated the lodge. And they told him that Carol and the girls never checked out of their room, but all of their belongings were gone. So they figured they just left, which is pretty common most people don't usually check out, they just leave now. One of the cleaners did go into room 509 and they found a bag containing t-shirts and souvenirs. But they figured it was just left behind by mistake since all of their other stuff was gone. Now, following this phone call, Jens doesn't really know what to do from what he could tell the girls and Carol had left.

The pontiac was gone, their luggage was gone and they were nowhere to be seen. So the next call is to the University of the Pacific. Like we mentioned, Julie was supposed to tour the campus after their Yosemite trip, so Jens called to see if they made it there. But, according to the university, they were a no-show. So with nowhere else to turn, Jens realizes that it's now time to call the police and report them missing. But by the time the Mariposa County Sheriff's Department was learning of the girls disappearance, Cary Stainer was already back at the scene, destroying evidence.

He drove his car out to the remote junkyard with a gallon of gasoline. And while no one was around, he opened the trunk and doused Carol and Sylvina's bodies with gas. He also poured it throughout the pontiac to get rid of any physical evidence he may have left behind. And with that, he lit a match and threw it into the car while the pontiac erupted in flames. Cary quickly fled the scene and made his way to Modesto, about an hour away. At the time, there was a lot of crime in this city, and it was also home to a large number of sex offenders.

So while he was driving through town, Cary would throw Carol's wallet into the middle of an intersection. He hoped in doing so, it would throw the investigators off course. Maybe he thought the police would look into the sex offenders here instead of looking into the employees at the Cedar Lodge hotel. But back near Yosemite, on the following day, February 18th, a full search was underway for the three missing women. Flyers were posted all around the EL portal, and news stations from around the area were quick to report on their disappearance.

Carol's husband, Jens, and members of his family also made the trip to Yosemite to help in the search. And in the beginning, everyone thought that the girls likely got into a car accident and were stranded somewhere off the road. During the winter months, the roads leading to and from Yosemite can be dangerous. So a huge search was conducted along the route they could have taken, but sadly, they wouldn't be found.

Then, on February 19th, investigators would get their first big break in the case. About 90 miles outside of Yosemite National Park, a Modesto High school student found Carol's son's wallet at an intersection in downtown Modesto. It seemed as if Cary's plan had worked. Investigators were thrown a curveball and they even set up headquarters right there in Modesto.

Dozens of detectives and two search dogs also arrived in Modesto to scour the area for additional evidence. However, nothing turned up. It's also on this day when Carol's husband, Jens, had to make the devastating phone call to Sylvina's parents. Her mom, Raquel Peloso, had been a longtime friend of their family, and that call would forever change her life.

Sylvina's parents quickly made their way to the U.

S. But everyone was still holding on to hope that the girls would be found alive by Saturday morning. Carol's parents, who were wealthy real estate agents, spoke with the media and offered up $250,000 for any information regarding the whereabouts of Carol, Julie and Sylvina. They also hired private investigators and they chartered private planes to help aid in the search, and this only brought more attention to their cases.

Here was this wealthy, prominent family offering up a ton of reward money in a case with three missing women. America eats that kind of stuff up soon enough. Carol, Julie and Sylvina's faces were broadcasted on news outlets across the country. And by the next morning, the Cedar Lodge hotel was flooded with a sea of reporters covering the case. Sylvina's parents spoke with a few of them outside, telling the media quote.

At this point in the investigation, the Mariposa County Sheriff's Department and the Modesto police were at a dead end. There were no leads, no forensic evidence and no suspects, and without anywhere else to turn, the F.B.I. was brought in. They also opened up a tip line for anyone that had information, and they got a lot of calls about possible sightings of the girls. They also had people calling in about seeing their red pontiac near Modesto.

But all of the tips led to dead ends. On February 26th, FBI agent James Maddock addressed a crowd of reporters, stating I've told the families that you have to consider that the longer it goes on, there's a likelihood they're dead. It was something no one wanted to hear, but it's what everybody knew deep down. It was now two weeks into their investigation, and every day 110 people searched in and around Yosemite, but every day they came up with nothing.

And the longer they went without finding them, the more they figured that foul play was likely involved. And like with the investigation, the FBI started right there, at the source, with the employees at the Cedar Lodge hotel. Believe it or not, Cary Stainer was one of the first people interviewed in their investigation. The FBI was interested in the people who lived there on site.

But sadly, Cary didn't raise any red flags. He had worked at the Cedar Lodge since August of 1997 as the hotel's handyman, and throughout his time there, he never had any issues. In fact, the staff said that Cary was very reliable, kind and trustworthy. When investigators looked into his past record, he did have a marijuana charge from a couple years back.

But other than that, he was squeaky, clean, plus he was the older brother of national hero Stephen Stainer. He couldn't have been the killer. Cary Stainer had successfully evaded suspicion, and investigators moved on to other suspects. There were actually other employees at the Cedar lodge that the FBI followed around for months, thinking they were responsible for the girl's disappearance.

One man was even arrested for a parole violation and another had his trailer raided. The FBI was confident that one of these men were responsible. They just didn't have enough evidence to make an arrest. And that's because those men were innocent and the real perpetrator had slipped right through their fingers. Cary Stainer felt on top of the world, knowing that he had fooled federal agents. But that feeling wouldn't last forever, because on March 18, 1999, Carroll's red pontiac would be found.

That morning, a carpenter named Jim Powers was target shooting in a remote area off Highway 108. When he came across a burned out car, Jim couldn't help but study the vehicle. It had been burned so hot that it was essentially a metal shell of a car. But in the trunk, Jim noticed a familiar shape, and as he got closer, it was clear that there were two burned bodies in the trunk. So from here, he called the California Highway Patrol.

As investigators got to the scene, they confirmed that there were two sets of human remains in the trunk. They had suspicions that it was two of the three missing women, but they were so badly burned they couldn't tell right away. In fact, investigators would later say that the fire had reached 2,000 degrees and burned up to 25 feet in the air, singeing the trees and branches that surrounded it. The paint on the car had liquefied, the tires were blown out and the license plate was burned off. But after some testing, they discovered that the car was indeed the missing red pontiac that Carroll had rented in San Francisco.

Interestingly enough, there was one thing found inside the car that somehow hadn't been damaged. It was the undeveloped roll of film from their Yosemite trip. Investigators quickly got it developed, thinking that maybe the girls took a picture of their killer, but sadly there was nothing. The only pictures taken were of happy times.

The photos were released to the media. And in all of them, Julie and Sylvina were smiling and having fun on what would be their very last day on Earth, making it all the more eerie. And by that Monday, everyone's fears were confirmed when dental records proved that the bodies in the trunk were a 42-year-old Carroll Sund and 16-year-old Sylvina Peloso. But the main question now was, Where is Julie? Her family was still holding on to hope that she was alive somewhere being held captive, and the search for her continued. By now, this case was huge.

Everyone was talking about it and everyone had their own theories on what could have happened. For the employees at the Cedar Lodge, this case was all they could talk about, especially since the women were last seen at their hotel. Carey even talked with his coworkers about how monstrous a person has to be to commit such a heinous crime. And every time he discussed the case, his ego would grow. He loved the fact that he was fooling everyone.

So much so he even decided to toy with the FBI and write them a letter. But Carey was smart. He actually paid a miner to spit in a cup for him so that he could seal the envelope without it being traced back to him. Then, on March 24th, 1999, an anonymous letter arrived at the FBI headquarters in Modesto. We had our way with her.

And behind the letter, there was a map that would lead investigators directly to Julie's son's body, which is pretty crazy. Carey Stainer wanted them to find Julie, but he truly thought that he would get away with this. He even added We had our way with her instead of I.

Thinking he would throw the investigators off, and for a while he did. After receiving the letter, the FBI made their way to the location on the map and, sure enough, it led them directly to Julie's body. She had been partially hidden under a poison oak bush.

And there was significant decomposition her legs were still bound at the ankles, and her arms were folded neatly across her chest. There was also evidence of sexual assault, but sadly, because of the decomp, there wasn't a lot of physical evidence to work with.

But they did find pink carpet fibers. those fibers came from the blanket Carey had wrapped her in that night. While the investigators worked their crime scene, Yen's son received the devastating news about the discovery of Julie's body. It was the outcome that no one wanted.

On March 28th, Carol and Sylvina's parents arrived at the location where her body was found, along with 200 other people who came to show their support. Julie's father, Yen's, decided to skip the event. He had no desire to go where his young daughter's body had been found. Instead, Yen's decided to hold a press conference in his hometown of Eureka. And it was there where he told the media that he had just finished writing the obituaries for his wife and daughter. Something no one should ever have to do.

He admitted I'm dealing with emotions that I've been told to expect, yet when they happen to me, they are completely unexpected. It is bizarre and unusual. In early April, the funerals for Carol and Julie's son were held at the Sacred Heart Church in Eureka, and over 1,000 people showed up. Reporters camped out in the parking lot, all wanting to get the perfect picture of the grieving family. It was reported that two cameramen even got into a fight trying to get a picture of Carol's parents.

During the ceremony, over two dozen people spoke, including Carol's 13-year-old daughter Regina. She had written a poem to her mom that read Late at night, I await your return. But deep in my heart, I know something my mind doesn't want to learn. What is this thought? even I do not know.

Soon, the running river will become solid snow. I shiver at the thought of what I might have to see. Whether or not my mother will be at a time when I need my mother's touch. Most all I see of her are pictures nailed to a post. When it's time for bed, I rock myself to sleep. With memories of you held tight in my heart, memories that I will always keep. Each day that you are gone, a part of me has gone with you.

If you are never to return, it'll seem like I am gone, too. 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 back. In Cordoba, Argentina, 16-year-old Silvina Peloso was laid to rest on April 27th.

Hundreds of people had traveled from all over to attend her funeral at the Nuestra Senora de Rosario church. The wooden casket that held her body was covered in her favorite flowers, and following the ceremony, she was laid to rest inside of the Cuco family vault. A friend of the family would tell the media through tears They didn't deserve it, they didn't deserve anything. Those two girls were the sweetest girls in the world. But now that all three victims had finally been laid to rest, everyone had one burning question.

Who killed them? Sadly, the F.B.I. wasn't making any progress. In fact, they were going in the complete opposite direction. Since Carol's wallet had been found in Modesto, investigators were confident that that's where they'd find their killer or killers. With the letter sent in to the police, they were also looking into the fact that this may be the work of a group.

So the FBI began searching through all of the sex offenders and violent criminals in the area. And they eventually landed on. Two half-brothers, Michael Larwick and Eugene Dykes. Both brothers had a violent criminal past, including some sex crimes, so they were being investigated by the FBI. Unfortunately for them, neither of the two had an alibi for the night of the murders, and one of them actually lived near the site where the pontiac was found. So the FBI brought the brothers in for questioning. Michael would completely deny any part in the murders, but, surprisingly, his brother Eugene admitted that he helped kill the three women.

Even further, the FBI would raid their home and cars. And, believe it or not. They found pink carpet fibers inside of the brothers car that was a perfect match to the fibers found on Julie's body. So, to the FBI and the media, their case was closed. These were their killers, and in June of 1999, the authorities announced that the charges would be handed down shortly.

And with this, everyone felt a huge sense of relief. Finally, these monsters would be put in jail where they belong, but unbeknownst to everyone. They got the wrong guys. It's still unclear to this day how those pink carpet fibers ended up in the brothers car. But Carey would later admit that he acted alone, and it's assumed that Eugene Dykes offered up a false confession. But with the brothers in jail, Carey Stainer was delighted. Unlike most serial killers who want the recognition, Carey was actually relieved.

The pressure of getting caught was gone, meaning he was free to kill again. By July of 1999, it had been five months since the son, Peloso, murders, and with their accused killers in jail. Everyone in the area had moved on with their lives. People weren't looking over their shoulders anymore, and Carey Stainer would take advantage of this. 26-year-old Joey Ruth Armstrong was known as a creative, free spirit who was passionate about protecting the environment. Joey's father was in the Air Force and back in the 1970s he was stationed in Germany.

So that's actually where Joey was born on December 20, 1972.

Unfortunately, her parents would divorce when she was only three years old, and from there she was raised by her mother, Leslie. At first, Joey and her mom lived in Sonoma County, California, but they would eventually move to Orlando, Florida. And that's where Joey would grow up, until she finally moved back to California to attend Chico State University. While in college, Joey would receive a bachelor of science degree in parks and Natural Resource Management. She wanted to become a teacher, but her main passion in life was nature and the outdoors.

In her free time, Joey was always outdoors. She had recently accomplished a life goal of hiking Mount Shasta, and at night she slept suspended on the air on the edge of a mountain. It was terrifying, but also exhilarating. Her mom would later say that even at a young age, Joey always had her eyes set on Yosemite National Park. She thought it was the most beautiful place in the world.

So in December of 1998, she was really excited when she was offered a job near Yosemite as a naturalist teacher. At the time, she was living in a cabin with her boyfriend, Michael Raffaele, in the town of Foresta. Many others in her profession lived in this area, too, and Joey was really happy. She had a small vegetable garden outside of her home and was known to tap dance in her hiking boots for her students. According to her mother, Leslie, Joey always did everything with a little bit of flair.

On the evening of July 21, 1999, Joey found herself alone at the cabin for the very first time. Her boyfriend, Michael, had gone out to take his students on a wilderness trip. And her other roommate was out for the night as well. So to pass the time, Joey decided to spend a few days with her friend, who lived on the coast. That night, she packed her bags and loaded them into her white Toyota truck before leaving. She called her boss's wife, Sunny, to let her know she was going to stop by to drop off some paperwork.

But little did she know she would never make it there. Because as she was loading up her truck, Carrie Stainer was watching her from a distance now. Carrie had been coming to the town of Foresta for years. Back. When he was in high school, he had been camping out there and he swore he saw Bigfoot. So over the years, he came back, hoping to see the creature again.

But this time, as he was driving through town, he spotted a young girl outside of a cabin. It was 26-year-old Joey Armstrong. Carrie decided to pull over his car and watch her as she loaded her things into her vehicle. And after a few moments, he realized that she was all alone. Soon enough, his dark, violent fantasies consumed him.

And it's here where he gets out of the car, walks over and introduces himself. Carrie had never been good at talking with women, but he realized if this girl was going to talk to him, he had to turn on the charm. Joey was a nice girl. She didn't realize that the man in front of her was a serial killer. He seemed friendly.

Carrie went on to ask her if she had ever seen Bigfoot out there, and Joey politely carried on the conversation. But she also had places to go. So after a few minutes, she kindly told him that she had to get going and she turned her back to grab the rest of her things. But before she knew it, Carrie pulled out a gun and pressed it up against her back. Do as I say, and you won't get hurt, he said as he led her into the cabin.

Once inside, Carrie pulled out his roll of duct tape and he bound her, just like he did with Carol, Julie and Sylvina. Once she was secured, he carried Joey out to his car and placed her in the passenger seat. His original plan was to take her somewhere where he could rape and kill her, but it wouldn't be that easy. Joey Armstrong was a force to be reckoned with.

As Carrie drove them down the road, she kicked and screamed and squirmed around in the front seat. It soon became clear that she was not as compliant as his other victims. Somehow, Joey was even able to roll down the window and jump head first out of the moving vehicle. She knew if she didn't get away from this man, he was going to kill her. After jumping out and hitting the ground, Joey takes off, running towards the woods.

Carrie then slams on his brakes and runs after her with a knife in hand. And when he finally caught up to Joey, she fought like hell. He even tried to threaten her by putting the knife up to her neck, but she put her chin down, blocking it and she continued to fight once again. Things were not going according to plan.

Throughout Carrie's fantasies, the women in his mind always complied with what he wanted, and Joey was doing everything but that. So, in a rage, Carrie takes his knife and he cuts her throat right there in the woods. There was so much force behind the cut, it actually cut Joey's head completely off.

And for a moment, as her blood seeped into the dirt, all of Carrie's frustrations left. Seeing the life leave Joey's eyes as he cut off her head made him feel like he was in control once again. He even thought about keeping her head as a trophy, but he ultimately decided not to. If he ever got caught with it, he would surely go to prison, and that meant he would never be able to kill again.

So from here, Carrie leaves Joey's body in the forest, and he throws her head into a nearby stream. He then gets back into his car and drives away, covered in her blood, as Carrie drove down the road. He wasn't happy with how things went about. The kill was messy and a ton of evidence was left behind. He planned on coming back the following day to clean up and cover his tracks, but for now, he just needed to get out of there.

But as he was leaving the town of Foresta, Carrie's car breaks down. It was the worst possible moment to be having car troubles, especially since he was covered in his victim's blood. So Carrie quickly cleans himself off and starts walking down the road. Eventually, he would flag down a park ranger who gave him a ride home back to Cedar Lodge. That night, Carrie planned out his next move.

The following day, he would get a ride back to Foresta, fix his car and then clean up the crime scene. He also vowed that he would never get that messy with the kill ever again. But unbeknownst to Carrie, Joey Armstrong would be his last victim. Later that night, Joey's friend, who she was supposed to stay with that weekend, began to grow concerned. It was now 3 a.m and Joey was supposed to be at her house hours ago and it wasn't like her to not call if she was going to be late.

So the friend decided to call the police to do a welfare check. The next morning, on July 22nd, at around 7 a...m. The police arrived at Joey's cabin and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Both of the doors to Joey's cabin were wide open and there was music blaring throughout the house. And although there were no obvious signs of a struggle, there was a broken pair of men's sunglasses lying on the floor. They were bent and crushed, as if someone had stepped on them.

Another concern the officers had was that Joey's truck was still parked in front of her home and it was packed with luggage as if she was about to leave. But Joey Armstrong was nowhere to be found. Following her disappearance, locals in their community came together to help look for her. And at around 1.30 p...m. the searchers would stumble upon a horrifying sight the mutilated body of Joey Armstrong. She was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. One of the searchers, Dr.

Desmond Kidd walked closer to the body and almost gagged at the sight. Joey was found inside of a drainage ditch and had defensive wounds all over her body. It was clear that she had put up a hell of a fight, but the most gruesome part of all was that Joey's head was missing. And soon enough, the FBI was making their way into town. And over the next few hours, they would go door to door, asking the locals if anyone had seen anything suspicious.

One man would come forward, claiming to have seen a blue-on-white international scout SUV parked near Joey's cabin. So from here, they issued a be on the lookout bulletin in hopes of locating the owner of the vehicle. And lucky for them, it didn't take too long to find it. At around 4.30 p..m. two park rangers spotted a similar vehicle parked on the shoulder of 140 near the Merced River. There wasn't anyone in the car, but nearby, they would find its owner sunbathing naked.

It was Kerry Stainer. The park rangers approached the nude man, who quickly threw on his clothes. Kerry admitted that the blue Scout SUV was his. But when they asked if he had been in the town of Foresta lately, Kerry denied ever going there. He also remained calm and answered all of their questions, so it appeared as if he had nothing to hide. He even told them that they could search his vehicle.

So they did. Inside, they found a backpack full of items including a harmonica, a corona beer, sunflower seeds, an X-acto knife, eye drops, a polaroid camera, and a novel called Black Lightning. Interestingly, the novel was a murder mystery about a fictional serial killer who stalked and murdered women in Seattle, Washington. But other than that, they found nothing, so they were forced to let him go. Meanwhile, back at the crime scene, investigators had finally located Joey's head only 40 feet from where her body had been found.

According to them, when they finally found it, she was staring up at them, submerged at the bottom of a spring-fed pool. But luckily, unlike with the murders of Carol, Julie and Sylvina, there was a ton of evidence at this scene, including a unique set of tire impressions that the killer left behind. The investigators were able to determine that every single tire on the killer's car was different and had its own unique pattern. Which would definitely help them narrow down their suspect. And by this point, more people in the area had come forward with information. Two people had actually seen a man matching Carrie's description driving through town.

They also claimed that he was in that black Scout SUV. So hearing this, the investigators want to speak with Carrie once again. By now, they're confident that he's their killer. The following day, they pay him a visit at Cedar Lodge, where again, Carrie denies involvement in Joey's killing. But before leaving, this time around, they take pictures of his tires.

And as soon as they leave, Carrie begins to freak out. He knows that it's only a matter of time until they discover his secret, so it's here where he starts packing his things to skip town. The following day, the investigators in Joey's case got confirmation that the tire impressions at the scene were a perfect match to Carrie Stainer's tires. So they went back to the Cedar Lodge to speak with him, but they knocked and knocked and he wasn't there.

Carrie Stainer had skipped town, he ended up driving to a nudist resort called Laguna del Sol. He was known to come here from time to time and he figured it would be the perfect place for him to lay low, so he set up a tent on their campgrounds. But by then, media outlets across the state of California had plastered Carrie's face, name and license plate number all over the news.

On the afternoon of July 23rd, Carrie went to the resort's restaurant to get some dinner. And while he was there, he struck up a conversation with one of the bar's patrons, named Janet. Janet had actually met Carrie in the past when he had visited the resort, so they spent the next few minutes catching up. He even mentioned to her that things were getting pretty weird in his life and he wanted to get out of the area.

But Janet didn't think anything of it. After her meal, she went back to her room and turned on the TV to relax a little. But suddenly flashed across her screen was Carrie Stainer's face. The FB.I. was looking for him in connection to a murder, so Janet immediately calls the police and tells them Carrie's location.

By that next morning, FBI agents made their way to the resort and blocked off the entrance. At around 9 a..m. Carrie walked into the resort's restaurant to eat some breakfast, and he casually read the newspaper as the FBI swarmed in upon approaching Carrie. They informed him that he wasn't under arrest, but they did need to speak with him immediately, and with that, he was finally taken away.

After putting Carrie in the patrol car, an FBI agent struck up a conversation with him. And he asked Carrie if he was related to Stephen Stainer, the boy he was kidnapped in Merced. Carrie told him, Yes, he was his older brother now. Usually, Carrie didn't like talking about Stephen, but on this day he didn't mind. He even teared up while talking about the traumatic story of his little brother. It's unclear whether or not these tears were authentic, or if he just wanted sympathy.

But as Carrie made his way back to the police station, the news of his capture was spreading all over California. His mother, Kaye Stainer, told the Sacramento Bee I have no idea what's going on. As far as we know, they only wanted to question him after he didn't show up for work. I have no idea why he didn't show up for work. She truly had no idea what her son was capable of.

During his initial interview, Carrie denied murdering Joey Armstrong, but when investigators turned up the heat, Carrie made a shocking statement. He told the FBI agents that he would confess to all four murders under three conditions. The first was that he wanted to be in a prison close to his family. The second was that he wanted his parents to receive the $250,000 reward money that was offered in his first three murders.

But his third condition was the most shocking of all. At first, Carrie was a little apprehensive to even tell the investigators what it was. But he finally admitted that he would confess to everything if the FBI agents could bring him a stash of child pornography. He knew that the FBI cracked down on child porn and they had files of it in their evidence room, and he wanted to see it now. Obviously, the FBI is not allowed to give serial killers child porn.

So they tell him no, which is good, because soon after this, Carrie would end up confessing anyway. The FBI agent brought him pizza and had a heart to heart with him about how good it would feel to get everything off his chest, and Carrie agreed. From here, he walked the investigators through all four murders. He also said that voices had been telling him to kill the women and that he had been having violent homicidal thoughts.

Since he was seven years old, the urges became so strong, he said he eventually gave into them. At times, during his confession, Carrie would break down, sobbing. At other points, he would draw caricatures of the F.BI agents, something he was known to do throughout his life. And at the end of it, he said, Quote I'm sorry their loved ones were where they were when they were.

I wish I could have controlled myself and not done what I did. Once the confession was finished, Carrie Stainer was arrested on four counts of murder. And as news spread throughout California, many people were shocked, one employee at the Cedar Lodge admitted. Quote It's really amazing to me. Carrie was really mellow and laid back.

I guess he didn't let anyone else into that other world. End quote. Carrie would await trial at the Fresno County jail. And while he was there, he wrote a letter to a newspaper telling them that he was going to sell his story and write a book. Or maybe even make a movie out of it.

Saying quote I want you to get a hold of some producers in Los Angeles. I want a movie of the week made about my story. It seemed as though Carrie was still living in his little brother's shadow. After Stephen Stainer came home. A TV series was made about his life and it was pretty successful. Carrie wanted that for himself, but Carrie's story was far different than his brother's.

Stephen Stainer was a hero, Carrie was a monster. Now, he did say that he would donate all of the money from his book or movie to the victim's families. But in all honesty, it seems like Carrie just wanted his five minutes of fame. He wanted the attention that his brother got, but that wasn't going to happen.

Now, interestingly enough, Carrie's parents, Dell and Kay Stainer, were very supportive of their son, and they believed he was innocent. Even after he confessed. Dell would later tell the media. The Carrie, we know, is not capable of these crimes. We love you Carrie. You will always be loved by your family now. His mom, Kay, would later say that if her son was responsible for these murders, then it must have been some sort of quote psychiatric thing. As Carrie suffered from OCD as a child.

After Carrie's arrest, women started to come forward with bizarre interactions with Carrie Stainer. First, there was the cab driver who drove Carrie back to El Portal the morning after the son, Peloso, murders. 30-year-old Jenny Paul had picked up Carrie on the morning of February 16th at the Sierra Village Market. She noted that he was dressed casual and was carrying a backpack when he hopped into the back seat. He told her that his friends had left him stranded in the area and he was trying to get back to El Portal to get to work on time.

The drive Jenny mentioned to Carrie wasn't going to be cheap since he was nearly 80 miles away from the location. But he said that was fine. And from there, they took off, Jenny said. Carrie kept nodding off in the back seat due to sheer exhaustion, but when he was awake, they mostly made small talk. However, as they made their way into Yosemite Valley, Jenny started to feel uneasy about her passenger.

Something about him just creeped her out. He was now fully awake and pointed out a location in the distance and told her he had spotted a bigfoot there. A few years earlier, she told him that she didn't believe in Bigfoot, and he said, Well, you should, because it's real. Another woman, Hollywood agent April Rocha, told Daily Variety that she also had an encounter with Carrie at the Cedar Lodge. Her encounter was actually right before Joey Armstrong's murder.

It was after 10 p.

M When April and her daughter were soaking in the Cedar lodge's hot tub, believing they were alone. The two started singing, but a few moments later, she heard a male voice say that she had a lovely singing voice. And he asked her what room they were staying in. April lied and told the man she didn't remember the number before quickly climbing out of the hot tub and going back to her room.

April would later identify the man as Carrie Stainer. And she said that at that moment, something inside of her told her that this man is dangerous. And luckily, she listened to her gut because Carrie had a thing for mothers and daughters. In August of 1999, Joey Armstrong's family cremated and buried her at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Sebastopol, California. It was a private ceremony and the media was not invited. Leslie Armstrong spoke about her daughter, saying Joey was so full of life and had so many interests and passions, and she went for everything.

Shelton thought she wasn't good enough and therefore couldn't do things well. So she studied and pursued and worked out and tried, and just in trying to do her best, I believe she excelled in just about everything. When her mom found out that Carrie Stainer was trying to get a movie made about the crime, she was pissed. She didn't want a movie made, she didn't want a book written.

She didn't even want a trial, in fact, for Joey's case. Her family asked the prosecutor if they could just make a plea deal giving Carrie life in prison instead of the death penalty. This would save them the heartache of a difficult trial, reliving their deepest trauma. Plus, California doesn't even execute people anymore, so they didn't really see the point. Carrie would ultimately accept this plea and pled guilty to Joey's murder in September 2000..

However, for Carol, Julie and Sylvina's families, they were fully ready to go full throttle. They didn't think that life in prison was a good enough sentence, and they wanted their day in court, which would finally come. In 2002. For their murders, Carrie Stainer would plead not guilty by reasons of insanity. The defense argued that Carrie did kill the three women, but that he was insane. They also brought up the fact that there had been generations of pedophilia in his family, as well as a long history of mental illness.

Carrie would be evaluated by psychiatrists for this trial, and they would ultimately determine that he had obsessive compulsive disorder, a mild form of autism. And they also saw signs of schizophrenia and a psychotic disorder. Now, in some cases, these disorders combined can lead people to do bad things. But it was determined at trial that Carrie was very calculated. Both before, during and after the murders. He stalked his victims, cleaned up the crime scenes, he made multiple attempts to throw off police. He even hired someone to spit into a cup so he could seal the envelope and send it to the FBI.

All of these things are not the work of someone who is insane. So, on August 27, 2002, Carrie Stainer was found guilty of three counts of first degree murder. Judge Thomas C. Hastings sentenced Carrie to death three times, once for each murder. Judge Hastings admitted. The circumstances of this case are horrendous and devastating.

After the verdict was read, the family members of Carol, Julie and Sylvina were relieved with the outcome as they had been waiting nearly four years for justice. Yen's son admitted He tortured my daughter. I know he has no trouble killing little girls in the middle of the night. I just wish he would step up and take his punishment now. And with that, Carrie Stainer was brought to San Quentin's death row.

Interestingly enough, just recently, in 2019, a woman named Lena came forward with a story about her mother. A woman who had previously worked at Cedar Lodge as a waitress, in 1998 and 1999.

Lena was a young girl when she and her sister met Carrie Stainer. In an interview with 2020. She recalled that she loved when Carrie came over because he always bought new beanie babies for them during their time with Carrie. She admitted they never felt unsafe around him. He was extremely nice and even taught them how to properly dive into the pool.

At Cedar Lodge, she stated My sister and I both wanted to be the best at it. It feels like it was so long ago that you forget it even happened, and feels like almost like a dream or a movie that you watched. After. She learned that Carrie had been arrested for murdering four innocent women in the summer of 1999. She said that she was extremely upset and cried because he would no longer be a part of her life. However, things took a dark turn when the FBI arrived at their house shortly after the murders to speak with Lena's mother in private.

It revealed to her that during Carrie's interrogation, he had admitted that they were his initial victims. On three separate occasions. He had planned to murder Lena's mother and then rape and murder her and her younger sister. Today, Lena still can't believe that she was almost a victim, but believes that if Carrie hadn't been caught, he would have most likely gone on to kill more women. Lena admitted that she kept the story private for 20 years due to her own conflicting emotions. She said He was just our friend.

I loved Carrie, my sister, and I adored him. My sister and I. Would be walking up the driveway and we'd see Carrie's stainer coming up in his scout and jump in the truck. And he'd give us a ride up to our house. Today, she said she can't forgive Carrie for what he did, but confessed that she had a hard time. Thinking. He was a monster, which is wild, considering she was supposed to be one of his victims. And that is where our story ends.

Carrie Stainer currently sits on San Quentin's death row with over 700 other inmates, making it the largest death row in the United States. But sadly, Carrie Stainer will likely never be executed. California hasn't executed someone since 2006, and Governor Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019, completely dismantling San Quentin's death chamber. Vicki Waters, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said. Quote We are starting the process of closing Death row to repurpose and transform the current housing units into something innovative and anchored in rehabilitation. End quote.

And although rehabilitation is a positive thing, it feels wrong that Carrie Stainer will likely get to live out his life. When Carol, Julie, Sylvina and Joey's lives were cut short, all four women were good people who innocently made their way over to one of America's most beautiful and peaceful locations, Yosemite National Park. And although the majestic waterfalls and beautiful canyons are still breathtaking, Yosemite will forever be tainted by the four women who brutally lost their lives at the hands of the Yosemite serial killer.

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Slash inAmerica. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. And now let's get back to our story.

Hey everybody, it's Colin here. Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode of Murder in America. So this is officially our last episode of the year. Courtney and I are taking a two-week break here at the end of the year to celebrate the holidays. My birthday, I'm turning 27, so yeah, what a crazy, incredible, wonderful year that we've had here with the podcast.

We cannot thank each and every one of you guys enough for what you've done for Courtney. And I I mean, it's just crazy. Thinking of how big the show has grown in just a couple of years, and how many hundreds of thousands of people are out there listening to the show every week. So yeah, we just want you guys to know how much we love and are just so appreciative of each and every one of you. And we just want everybody out there to have the best holiday season possible.

We have some incredible things planned for 2024, stuff that we can't announce yet, but we've been working on behind-the-scenes planning. And yeah, next year is going to be an absolutely crazy year. But for the last time, we just want to say, thank you guys for listening, thank you for making 2023 such an amazing year. And now let's move on to 2024. And yeah, we've got some really big things in store, but we'll catch you next year.

Sounds weird to say.