Crime, Conspiracy, Cults and Murder - Ep. 5 | Steven Stayner | The Most INSANE Kidnapping Story In History

Episode Date: October 20, 2024

Steven Stayner was just 7 years old when he was kidnapped and held captive for years. In a shocking turn, he eventually escaped and helped save another child. This episode uncovers the heartbreaking and heroic story that captured the nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crime. I don't, I don't have a second camera here. I'm gonna, I'm gonna try something else. One sec. Uh, Crime, conspiracy, cults, serial killers, and murder, all things that I love to consume, and I know you do too,

you sick-minded, intellectual, beautiful freak. In today's video, we are going to be discussing the disappearance of Stephen Stainer. And this has to be one of the craziest stories I think I've ever told on this channel. Typically, when we cover crime-related topics, It ends up with the person either being found, dead, or missing forever. However, this story has a very unique twist.

It involves tragedy and heroism, and it details a story of one family just trying to live a normal life after blow, after blow. So let's get into it. Obviously, I want to address, I'm in Canada right now. I do not have my usual setup, but it's kind of cozy in here, isn't it? This is my old office, but I put all my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my fun fine. that I've found in a fireplace.

So we have a little cozy Canadian true crime session right now. Just had to say that. Also, I apologize for the audio again. I don't have any of my proper filming equipment. So if it sounds like ass, it sounds like ass. So I apologize in advance. Let's get into it.

So who is Stephen Stainer? Stephen Gregory Stainer was born to parents Delbert and Kay Stainer on April 18, 1965. In Merced, California. He had three sisters, and one older brother. And the Stainer family would live a relatively normal life until December 4th, 1972, when everything would change. This family would seemingly never get any reprieve for the rest of their lives. So on Monday, December 4th, 1972, 7-year-old Stephen Stainer was on his way home

after school when a stranger approached him. The stranger claimed to be a man named Irvin Edward Murphy, who said that he was a church representative and asked local people if they would be willing to donate to the church. Stephen said that his mother would be willing to, and this led Irvin to ask where he lives so he could get his mother's information. And when Stephen told him where he lived, that's when a white Buick would pull up beside them. Stephen would willingly crawl into the back seat and this began the traumatic tale of Stephen Stainer. So once Stephen was in the car, he would be driven to a cabin in Kathy's Valley, which was about half an hour northwest of Merced. And unbeknownst to his family, he would be held captive here within proximity to his own

grandfather's home. Now, it is important to know that Murphy was not working alone. He was actually working with another person. Kenneth Eugene Parnell. Kenneth was a troubled man to say the least, having a rough youth and spending many years in prison before kidnapping Stephen. When he was five, Kenneth's father, Cecil Frederick Parnell, walked out on his mother and his three siblings. And following this event, Kenneth would begin a string of crimes, including car theft, arson, leading to spending many years in juvenile detention. He's just warm it up at this point. Just warm it up. In a newspaper written about Kenneth, it says, he has shown a peculiar tendency to search for trouble and punishment, reported Dr. Richard D. Lowenberg, a psychiatrist who examined Parnell in

1951 at the behest of the Kern County Superior Court, and Kenneth would also exhibit strange behavior throughout his life. When he was four-year-old, he would try to remove his own teeth with his fingers, despite them not even being loose. I can't even imagine how hard that would be. I don't even like to think about that. I don't even like to think about that. Like, move on, moving on. And around the age of eight or nine, he shot himself in the abdomen and jumped off the roof of a barn onto a wooden plank with hundreds of nails sticking out of it. This guy likes pain, okay? What do you call that? What do you call that? I feel like I should know this. I think I looked it up. A masochist. He's a fucking masochist at nine years old. And in 1951 when he was 20 years old, Kenneth would lure an eight-year-old boy with a retired deputy badge. He just had lying around from a thrift store.

portraying himself as a police officer, which guys just love to do that. Ted Bundy did it. Who else did it? Kemp or maybe? I don't know. There's a handful of them. He would then severely S.A. the young boy and he would get sentenced to four years in prison. But then he would escape and then he would be brought back to serve the rest of his term. So as you can see, Kenneth was very much not well from the beginning. So it is no surprise that he would continue to be a fucking terrible person for the years to come. Irvin had met Kenneth at a resort at Yosemite National Park.

where they were coworkers. Kenneth would be a nighttime janitor, perfect job for a psycho-kidnapping asshole, and it is unclear what Ervin's job exactly was. However, while working, Kenneth was able to convince Irvin to help him to abduct children so he could, quote, raise him in a religious-type deal. What? I keep wanting to look to my left. I keep wanting to look over there and say, what? But you're not, what? I'm just going to do that if I want a second angle from now on. And when friends and family were asked to describe Irvin, they said, quote, who knew him, saw him as a trusting, naive, and simple-minded man. What a great description of somebody.

If somebody called me a trusting, naive, simple-minded woman, I'd be offended, to be honest. And Kenneth clearly took advantage of Irvin, giving these qualities. And Kenneth was the one driving that white Buick that abducted Stephen. And it was also his cabin in Kathy's Valley that Stephen was taken to. So Irvin would be left on the sidewalk when Kenneth and Stephen took off in the Buick. And the very first night that Stephen was captive, he was unfortunately, essayed by Kenneth. And roughly two weeks later,

he would be essayed regularly by Kenneth. Stephen obviously wanted to go home. He's just a scared little kid at this point. I hope this guy's fucking... I hope these guys fucking rot in hell for this. But his captor would tell Stephen that his parents had given him legal

custody to be his parent and that they basically just didn't want him anymore. So I can't even imagine what that would do to a little child, like psychologically. The First night they had said they called my parents and said it was all right that I stayed tonight. The second night they said that they had called him again and said they that I could stay another night. Then um when I went to went out and came back and said that he went to court and got in possession of me

and said that I was his. And eventually Kenneth would change Stephen's name to Dennis Gregory Parnell and he would also enroll him into numerous schools while in captivity. just to remain normal looking to the rest of society. And Kenneth would move around California for years. And he would hold down various jobs, leaving Stephen at home alone a lot. He also would allow Stephen to drink at a very young age.

And also, he let Stephen freely leave whenever he really wanted to, but he would always come back. Steven stated that he could have left at any point, really, but he just didn't know where to get help. And a random woman named Barbara Mathiest lived with Stephen and Kenneth for about a year and a half while they were in a Santa Rosa area. And during that time, Barbara Clemsie,

that she had no idea what was happening and fully assumed that Kenneth and Stephen were father and son. Allegedly. And what is even more strange is that Stephen would tell interviewers that in 1975, Kenneth would instruct Barbara to lure a young boy into their car just outside Santa Rosa Boys Club. But the kidnapping attempt would be unsuccessful. Womp, womp, sounds like it's not a legend anymore, Barbara. But yeah, I find it really hard to believe that Barbara was completely clueless of what was going on between Kenneth and Stephen. Despite Stephen calling Kenneth dad, it should have been obvious by his body language that Stephen was not comfortable with Kenneth ever, and that the two were not related because they didn't look alike either. Plus who the fuck would be willing to go along with a kidnapping of a child just so nonchalantly, especially if the person was instructed to do so. It's in my opinion that she knew what she was doing and she knew what the fuck was going on.

I've been told that you called him dad. How long before you started calling him dad, do you have any idea when that started? Um, that started about a week after my abduction. What were your thoughts during the seven years about your parents? Did you think about them? And if so, what went through your mind? Um, through the seven years, I don't remember what went through my, but I thought of my parents very often. But Stephen would have to suffer for years in captivity. Traveling around with Kenneth while being violated by him regularly, it had to be just absolutely torturous and miserable. However, in early 19th,

1880, Stephen would see and take an opportunity. March 1st, 1980, 14-year-old Stephen would finally escape of the grasp of his captor and get the help he so desperately needed. But he wasn't alone. As sickening and disgusting as it sounds, Kenneth grew less interested in Stephen as time went on. Almost as if he doesn't like boys after they hit puberty. Because, you know, he's a pet... Parnell and Steven together realized that that Stephen was growing up and that he was no longer going to be able to be controlled by Parnell.

Parnell wanted another kid. So once Stephen hit puberty, Kenneth started to go out and look for younger boys to kidnap and basically replace him. Furthermore, as Stephen got older, Kenneth would start to use Stephen to abduct younger boys, which reminds me of a movie I really like because it was really well done with Angelina Julie, The Changeling, which I'm wondering now is that? I was based off a different case, never mind. But The Changeling, very interesting movie, similar premise. He used boys, this guy used boys to abduct other boys, and then he would like, I'm not going

to give it away. You should watch it. Anyway, let's continue. So, at this point, he's using Stephen to do what Irvin did to Stephen. Did that make sense? But I think that makes sense. But anyway, each time it was unsuccessful because Stephen would basically purposefully sabotage the attempt every single time.

Props to Stephen. And this led Kenneth to start resenting Stephen. However, in February 1980, Stephen and a friend, Randall Porman, would kidnap a five-year-old boy named Timothy White in the city of Ukiya, California. So on the night of March 1st, Kenneth would leave for his job as night's security as he usually did. And this basically meant that Stephen and Timmy were now alone. However, as mentioned previously, this wasn't abnormal at all. It happened all the time. But Stephen would grab Timmy and they would hitchhike into nearby Yucaya, where he would try to find Timmy's house. So after searching for a while, he couldn't, so ended up going to a police station.

And when questioned, Stephen would say, quote on quote, I know my first name is Stephen. And this line would become infamous after he was brought home and the media coverage began to look into the case. I know my first name is Stephen. And that became the title of a book. It became a television movie and it made Stephen famous. Seven long years ago, a youngster in California vanished.

Everyone thought he was dead at this point. He'd rescued another boy. This is Stephen today. He is holding five-year-old Timothy White. Who could make this up? Every television network, every magazine cover, every movie executive, there wasn't anyone, not interest. So on March 2nd, Pernail would be arrested from his job and be charged with abduction. And luckily, both children would be reunited with their families. And Parnell would, thank God, be convicted of two counts of kidnapping.

So he was sentenced to seven years and parole after five. What? It's just not enough time. It's just not enough, not even close. He kidnapped a child and did awful things to him for years. I don't understand the justice system, I guess. I don't know. Because Parnell would not be charged for essay that occurred in Merced County since he was apprehended in Mendocino County.

And he was outside of the Statue of Limitation. So I guess that makes sense, but still kidnapping is only seven years, especially for the length of time that he had Stephen. Like, are you fucking kidding me? Irvin Murphy and Randall Porman would be convicted of lesser charges for aiding in kidnapping of both children. And Stephen would recall that Murphy was extremely kind to him when he was first held captive and told investigators that he believed that Murphy was as much a victim as he was. Which, like, it's hard because I understand to a certain degree, like, maybe the same thing happened to Irvin.

I'm not even sure. We're not sure. Like, that happened to Stephen. He was groomed and then made to kidnap people. And it's just that Stockholm syndrome. Like, when you're a child, they're so easily moldable, you know, and easy to take advantage of, unfortunately. I don't know. I don't know how to feel about like Irvin Murphy and stuff.

I do think that he was a victim, absolutely. But yeah, I mean, you gotta know what's right and wrong. You know, you see other kids not doing that. You'd think it's like not good to do. But then I understand also that you're horribly afraid of Kenneth. So anyway. But the case of Steven Steiner is a very traumatic yet brave tale of a boy who persevered through horrible conditions

while saving another from the same fate. The car pulled up and I got in and they passed the road that I was that I lived on. I had told them that that was the road I lived on. They said that we'll just call your parents see if you can stay the night. Were you afraid? Not that much. I was a little bit.

And the case would absolutely blow up on the news and attract lots and lots of media attention, leading to Stephen and Timmy gaining some fame. So as soon as Stephen was returned to his family, he actually began to touring around the nation to different morning shows and numerous interviews in front of his family home, which I can't even imagine that, like after going through that as a kid still, like he's 14 and then having to do all that,

like what a fucking nightmare. So over the past seven years, Stephen had been living in the shadows, just yearning to escape. But now that he's free and was thrust into the spotlight, it kind of became unavoidable. And on Good Morning America, Stephen was asked if his parents had changed it all.

If he recognized his siblings and things like that, all while his lawyer was present. And while it was great to have Stephen back home, He really, really struggled to get back into normal life. He was used to being an only child, first of all, so having to share a room with his brother, Carrie, and share things with his other siblings, was just relatively a new concept for him.

People believed that his siblings were happy to see him. However, it was believed that Kerry, his older brother, wasn't too keen on sharing a room with him. But if you look in the background, there's something worth noting, and it's Carrie in his baseball cap, and he's not smiling at all. And when Stephen returned to school,

he was absolutely ostracized by his peers. not only because cameras constantly surrounded him, but the public knew that he had been taken advantage of by an old fucking freak. So his peers would question his sexuality and even infer that he enjoyed it. Like, kids are so fucking cruel. And I know it was like a different time. I mean, kids still do that even now. But oh my God.

Like, I can't even imagine the life. Like, that life is insane. Like, so much sympathy goes out to him and his family and everything. Like, I can't even imagine. This would obviously cause Stephen to drop out of hype. school and start drinking, leading to a very strained relationship with his father, who would inevitably kick him out of his home. And in an interview with Newsweek, Stephen told reporters that his father would refuse to hug him once he was home and that the cameras were away,

which is so fucking sad. You would think that after losing your child for seven years, you'd show a little bit of compassion. But his father is almost as much as a heartless monster as Parnell, in my opinion. Stephen would say in an interview, I returned almost a grown man and yet my parents saw me at first as their seven-year-old. After they stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all over again, it got better. But why doesn't my dad hug me anymore? I guess seven years changed him too.

So sad. So Stephen would continue dealing with reporters and cameras for years and years after the trials. But in 1985, he would get married to a 17-year-old named Jody Edminson, and he would have two children, Stephen Jr. and Ashley. His family would live in Merced, California, the place where he was abducted,

and he would work at a pizza shop. And on the side, Stephen would work with a child abduction group, basically, to aid in the search for missing children and prevent more from disappearing. So basically, he's a fucking saint. However, on September 16th, 1989, on his way home from work, Stephen's motorcycle would collide with Antonio Leray's car, and it would kill him almost instantly. So once again, the Stainer family would lose their child in another tragic event. Except this time, it was not only his parents who lost a son. It was siblings who lost a brother, a wife who lost a husband, and two children who lost a father. And shortly before he died in 1989, a two-part miniseries would be released with the title,

Know My Name is Stephen. And the plot would detail Stephen's entire story, including him getting abducted to him arriving at the police station with Timmy White and so on. And following his death, a book would be written by author Mike Eccles of the exact same name. So all this media would basically immortalize Stephen and his story. However, the city of Merced wanted to honor him even further. So in 2010, the city would reveal a large bronze statue with Stephen standing holding Timmy White's hand, leading him away from the cabin. Stephen's story was heroic and tragic at the same time, and the statue will forever remind

passerbyes of his struggles and his yearning for a normal life. But most of the attention that Stephen was receiving was leaving the siblings feeling neglected by their parents. I mean, he had been missing for seven years, so it's not unimaginable that the parents would put all this attention on him when he came back after being abducted. While his other siblings would be able to deal with it, Carrie, on the other hand, would And he would grow incredibly spiteful and then gain some of his own media attention in the years to come. And this is where the crazy twist of events comes in.

While Stephen's story was abruptly ended by tragedy, Carrie, the lesser known Stainer brother, was about to write his own. One far darker than anyone else could have ever imagined. He would become the Yosemite killer. Yeah. What the f***? On a sightseeing trip to Yosemite, Carol's son, her daughter Julie, and their friend Sylvina Paloso vanished in February of 1999. Weeks later, Carol and Sylvina's bodies were found in their charred rental car down a cliff.

We have recovered two bodies from the trunk of the vehicle. But where was Julie? The killer sent the FBI this hand-drawn map with a chilling message. We had fun with this one. So when Stephen disappeared at seven years old, his older brother Kerry, who was 11 at the time, was completely distraught. He was the big brother and lightly felt guilty that he couldn't protect his younger brother. And Stephen's kidnapping would haunt Carrie for

years and years to come. And when the book, I know my first name is Stephen came out, Eccles would quote Stephen saying, I remember going out one night after Steve disappeared and wishing on a star that my brother would come back home. I did that almost every clear night from then on until Stephen finally came back home. I never did tell anyone about it. But I remember wishing on a star that my little brother would come back home. Sounds sweet, right? Well, he's a fucking murderer. So, less sweet. And this became such a ritual for Carrie that he continued doing that even after Stephen came home. Even though Stephen had came home, he would still go out every single night. He would walk several blocks away. He would pick a star and begin to repeat the wish that Stephen would return home

before he would remember that Stephen was home and he was safe. So he would then thank the star instead. Again, sounds really sweet until you find out he's a fucking murderer. What? What? A sad fact about Carrie's childhood after Stephen was rediscovered was basically that he was overshadowed by Stephen and had essentially been left behind. He was only 11 at the time, so he really still needed guidance. But everything became about Stephen. They would withdraw emotionally from Carrie and they would just put their sole focus into finding Stephen. And then when Stephen was found, they would put their soul focused into all the media attention that was happening into how he was doing and everything. And Delbert, the father, would swing between two versions of himself, one that was consumed with slewery.

slide and depression and one that would solely focus on finding Stevens. So like, I can't imagine being a sibling at that time just and watching your parents just basically implode from the inside out and not parenting you because they're so focused on that. Like, I obviously have sympathy there as well, but less because he inevitably became a killer. Anyway, so the children that they did have were neglected in favor of the child that they lost. And Kerry would have unique gifts and talents that his parents wouldn't see because the spotlight was on the missing Steven. While he attended Merced High School,

he would actually be nominated as the most creative student, with many believing that he would actually become a graphic artist and cartoonist when he got older. And he also played baseball where he was positioned in the outfield, which I was too. Not that I wanna have any qualities, you know, similar to a killer or anything,

but I just thought that'd be interesting little fact about me, left field was my position. So, anyway. But Kerry was a very quiet and reserved individual, potentially feeling like his feelings or opinions weren't valued from his family because they were more focused on the child that they lost. But he was also described as one of the nicest people

you could meet and was rarely bothered by anything, like he didn't really have any anger issues or anything like that. So Kerry would be 18 by the time his brother came home. Basically a man standing on his own merits and probably fully accepting that he would never see his brother again, but his brother would come into the picture again, thus thrusting Carrie back into the shadows. But of course, Kerry was glad that Stephen was home, of course,

even thanking the stars that, he had wished countless times for his brother to come back. But Stephen was home and with that came the media firestorm yet again. Stephen would just come home, he would come home a hero, basically. And neighbors who lived near the Stainers for about 20 years were called Stevens' return home, basically made Carrie just return to being the brother. Michael Coleman specifically would live next to the Stainers for about 20 years and would tell S.F. Gate, quote unquote, when Stephen came home, Carrie was put back on the shelf.

He was in the background always. And Victoria Florist Tatum, another longtime neighbor, told S.F. Gate. Carrie was very frustrated at all the publicity Stephen was getting. I think Carrie wants as much attention as Stephen got. And he would. And he would. Victoria. Victoria...

Propheise that a little bit, I think. Sound like Rick Grimes when I said that, I think. I think of the dead all the time. Carl, get back. I'm rewatching the Walking Dead. And Carrie's alienation and internal turmoil were compounded by his brother's untimely death in 1989. Just as Steven seemed to be finding a sense of normalcy in life. Stephen again would die in a motorcycle accident and through the death was tragic, but it only

furthered to solidify Stevens' like hero fame even after he was dead. And this would leave Kerry to just grapple with his own feelings of inadequacy and emotional distance from his family. So the alienation and loss at his home could have been what made Carrie want to move in with his uncle, Jesse Stainer. So in 1990, while Carrie and Jesse were living together, Jesse would be found in his home dead from one gunshot. The murder was investigated, but the killer was never found.

Who it was. And when the murder of Carrie's uncle Jesse was reported in the newspaper, it would be Stephen Stainer's name that was used in the headlines, not Cary's. Carrie's name would not be mentioned at all in the article. It would say, Stephen Stainer's uncle murdered. He really poking the bear media. And Carrie, who had to be a very,

found work in multiple trades jobs, such as moving, worked for a long time as a glass cutter, where he'd fix broken windows and installed new ones. And at one such job, he'd be working with a long-time friend, Mike Marchese. Marquise? Probably Marquise. Sorry. Who found him punching plywood until he bled and just kept going. Carrie had told Mike that he's basically having a nervous breakdown and that he wanted to drive into work and kill everyone there and then torch the place. Just a big red flag right there, if you ask me. Following this incident, Carrie would become a handyman at Cedar Lodge in El Portal on Highway 140, heading towards Yosemite National Park.

We're getting there. We're getting to the, yeah, we're getting there. And City Lodge is positioned in an absolutely beautiful area surrounded by mountains, and it's isolated due to the National Park's proximity. How convenient. And this was basically a peaceful place for everyone, and Carrie could enjoy the beautiful mountains and would often smoke a little pot while sunbathing naked.

I don't know why we know that information, but we do. And the tranquility would persist until 1999. When Carol's sonned, her daughter Julie, and Julie's friend, Sylvina Paloso, went missing along with Carol's 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. And the search for these women would be the largest ever mounted in Yosemite at any time. According to, at the time, FBI agent Jeff Riddick handling the case.

And after several weeks, all three women's bodies would unfortunately be discovered. Carol's car would be discovered 60 miles away from the lodge, having been set on fire with two bodies in the trunk. And Julie would be discovered about 40 miles away from the burned out car after investigators received a letter in the mail containing a roughly drawn-out map area. Investigators get a break. A letter in the mail with a crude map showing an area about 40 miles from where the burned car was found. Earlier this afternoon, investigators discovered the body of a homicide victim.

Body of 15-year-old Julie's son was identified earlier in the week. And a group of ex-cons would come into the sites of investigators. Michael Roy Larwick and his half-brother Eugene Earl Dykes were the top suspects at the time. Dykes had multiple convictions on gun, drug, and sigual charges. And Larwick, whose child at home was near the abandoned torched car, allegedly shot at a police officer trying to pull him over days after the vehicle was discovered. So they would obviously be taken into custody and questioned about these three women's murders. Larwick denied killing anyone saying that they had the wrong guy, basically.

But it's understandable why federal agents would think that they had the man responsible, given all the connections, basically. Considering that Larwick's criminal history included assault and other essay and attempted manslaughter, and even an arrest where he would be found with a fucking rocket launcher, but Larwick would even offer to submit a polygraph test, and he would also offer his DNA to clear his name. He would be quoted on saying, I ain't got nothing to do with this. I've done a lot of things.

I'm no angel, but you've got the wrong. He's a piece of shit. I don't know. I have no sympathy for him, but it's, I mean, you know, he didn't do it clearly. And investigators would naturally have the wrong guy, which would become apparent when Joey Armstrong disappeared in July of 1999, five months after the first three killings. 26-year-old Joey Armstrong, a naturalist working at Yosemite living on the west side of the park. And at her cabin, police would find signs of struggle. And her decapitated body would be found half a mile away with her head just floating in the water near And investigators would find lots of evidence at Joey's crime scene. And Kerry Steiner's car was very distinct. We'll show a picture of it here.

Very non-incognito, you know? And it had been seen at the area during the times of the murder. So he was initially brought in as a witness to see if he had seen anything suspicious. And he had been found at a nudist colony after another person recognized him as a person of interest to investigators and called the authorities. But at this point, Kerry still wasn't suspected of committing the crimes. And the investigators were actually familiar with him after having questioned him after the first three murders. They just basically wanted to ask him questions at this point. So when FBI agent Jeff Riddick finds him at a nudist colony, they find it odd that he raises his hands above his head.

Like, way to give it away, dude. What the fuck? Carrie was not treated like a suspect at all. Like when he was being questions, he and two other agents were eating fucking pizza. And that's when he began to spill his guts and tell the investigators that he could give them more information about Joey Armstrong and more. Carrie would confess to Jeff Renick while alone that he killed Joey Armstrong as well as Carol, Julie, and Sylvina. And Jeff Renick has actually written a book about it titled, In the Name of the Children in FBI Agents' Relentless Pursuit of the Nation's worst predators. And in this book, he details the time he spent with Carrie Stainer and the

horrifying request he made during his confession. That connection ultimately got Stainer to confess to killing Joey Armstrong. But before admitting to killing the sightseers, Reynock says Stainer tried to negotiate. He wanted images of young girls, his family to get the reward money, and to end up in a federal prison near his family. Reynick recalls asking him to pick one. What's the one thing?

It's the one thing only, and he chose the pornography. So for Kerry's confession, he established conditions for his continued cooperation. He wanted his family to get the reward money for discovery of the women. that he killed. He also wanted to be placed in a prison close to his family.

And finally, he wanted images and videos of the young girls. And he actually thought that they would give these things to him if he dangled the confession in front of the investigators' faces. This guy couldn't be a bigger P.O.S. I can't even like the audacity, the audacity of this piece of shit monster butt motherfucker. My God.

But investigators would tell him that he could pick one of the things that he wanted so much. And he would choose the images of the little girls over the money for his family and the proximity to his family. It's a fucking nightmare. What? And of course, he would confess after not receiving the photos,

as Jeff Rinnick would tell him of the catharsis that he would feel if he did confess. And there might have been also, which I think is a big, a big possibility that he just wanted to seize any sort of spotlight or fame from these crimes, given that the spotlight was taken away from him so many times from his brother so many decades ago. And Kerry would claim that these inclinations of death and murder would predate Stevens

kidnapping when he was as young as six and even seven years old. He would be 37 at the time of apprehension, so he had avoided succumbing to these desires for about three decades and may continue to fight these demons today as he sits on death row, which I'm sure he does. So why might have Kerry finally given in after so long? Perhaps it was inevitable. But a psychiatrist that evaluated Carrie for his defense team, the Stainer family, experienced extensive abuse and mental illness.

Stephen had been kidnapped by a PDF aisle, but he wasn't the only one that suffered these abuses. Stephen and Kerry's father, Delbert, had been ordered into therapy after essaying his own daughters. And even Carrie himself would begin peeping in on his sister, and even touching her inappropriately when she was only 10 years old. And Carrie had even become a victim of S.A. from his own uncle, Jesse Stainer, mere months after Stephen's disappearance.

And if you remember, Jesse was killed by a gunshot. So after Carrie Stainer was convicted for those other murders, Jesse Stainer's case would be reopened. So history of S.A. in the Stainer family seemingly went back generations, which is horrific, making the fact that Stephen would be kidnapped by somebody that committed the same abuses, a cruel, cruel twist of fate in a very unfortunate irony. Carrie seemed so normal throughout his childhood and throughout his adulthood, and even his friends didn't suspect him of doing anything like this.

It just goes to show that you never know when somebody's hiding a very dark side to them, and that deep-seated trauma can manifest when you least expect it. So the story of the Stannier brothers is intriguing for many reasons. their childhoods and how they ended up in adulthood offer a compelling example of the nature versus nurture concept, which I always talk about during most of the true crime deep dives that I do. Both brothers endured trauma, yet their paths led entirely different directions. Stephen would become a symbol of resilience and strength, while Kerry became a serial killer and a cautionary tale. Stephen's abuse was a seven-year-long nightmare, where his abuse could be

nightly at the hands of his captor. And when he emerged from captivity, he was a hero for his rescue of a young boy, and he was able to function well enough to find a wife and even start a family. And Kerry faced trauma that had similarities, yet some differences to Stevens. He was allegedly abused by his uncle, someone he should have felt safe and protected by.

And grappling with this just compounded the emotional vacuum left by his brother and his parents neglect. It left him isolated in his own way, just as Stephen was. But unlike Stephen, Kerry never really received any sort of public attention or support that may have helped

process these feelings of neglect and rage. Perhaps Carrie's life could have had a different outcome if he was treated like an equal and was supported by his siblings and his parents. That said, if his statements of his very dark inclinations predated the abduction of Stephen and his abuse are factual, then perhaps it was inevitable. And one could speculate that Stephen was somehow motivated by the spotlight that he had gained to make an effort more towards having a normal life, basically. Versus Kerry, the one in the shadows, didn't have the same fire lit beneath him

to pursue that kind of normal life. So I think the greatest shame and honestly, one of the cruelest ironies of this whole story is that Stephen, a boy who saved another young boy from the abuse that he suffered for so many years, was the one who had his life cut short. With so much in his future, Kerry, the brother who would go on to murder for women

lives to this day. And though it may be on death row, he got to breathe the pleasures that life offered for 37 years. And though now in prison continues to create his art. So that about wraps up this story. Very, very crazy case. I was reading about it. I can't even remember.

I think I was in the Bell's Reddit or something. I just, I couldn't believe it. So I hope you got something out of the video today. You know, another cautionary tale, if you will. You know, be careful out there. Obviously, my heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims, obviously. I also want you guys to know that I do donate part of the proceeds of these videos to victims' families and to help people as well. Because I think that's important.

I think it's important to tell stories and to keep them alive. But I also think it's important to get back. So I just want to let you guys know that. And also, let me know what else you guys want to see in the comments down below. I know I've been doing a lot of the true crime deep dives lately. Let me know if you want to see more. If you've been really liking them, it seems like you guys have been liking them based off of all the comments and views that you guys, are giving them.

But let me know if you want to see other stuff too. I'm always open to everything. So until then, I will see you, a beautiful face in the next video. All right. Bye.