I Know My First Name Is Steven

I remember this mini-series from a long time ago but never knew the true story it was based on. Hulu has a docuseries up about it I was watching so I googled some details around it. Just tragedy all around

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Steven Gregory Stayner (April 18, 1965 – September 16, 1989) was an American kidnapping victim. On December 4, 1972, Stayner, age 7, was abducted in Merced, California by child molester Kenneth Parnell. He was held by his abductor 200 miles away in Mendocino County, California until he was 14, when he managed to escape with another of Parnell's victims, Timothy White.

Stayner died in 1989 in a motorcycle accident while riding home from work.

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So the guy was raped for 7 years of his life and tragically died at the age of 24

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Timothy James White (November 1, 1974 – April 1, 2010) was an American boy who in 1980 was abducted by pedophile Kenneth Parnell, and held for several weeks before he escaped with Steven Stayner.

White later became a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy in 2005. Like Stayner, he gave lectures to children about his experience and the dangers of kidnapping. In 2004, Parnell was tried for human trafficking and attempt to kidnap a child, and White was summoned to testify. Also summoned was a full-grown Sean Poorman, who reacted with shock, not having seen White since the 1980 kidnapping. The two spoke briefly and hugged, White having forgiven Poorman.

He married Dena and had two children with her: a daughter Hannah and a son Lukas.

White died April 1, 2010, from a pulmonary embolism.

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He was held for 16 days before they escaped and had a normal life until dying at 35

And as if Steven's parents haven't already suffered enough it turns out that their other son is a serial killer

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Cary Anthony Stayner (born August 13, 1961) is an American serial killer and the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. He was convicted of the murders of four women between February and July 1999: Carole Sund, her teenage daughter Juli Sund and their teenage traveling companion Silvina Pelosso, and Yosemite Institute naturalist Joie Ruth Armstrong.

The murders occurred in Mariposa County, California, near Yosemite National Park. Stayner was sentenced to death for the four murders, and is still on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California

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Just cursed all around but the worst part is that the PoS rapist and kidnapper Kenneth Parnell lived until 76 and only spent 5 years in prison for the kidnapping

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Parnell was tried for kidnapping Stayner and White, but not for sexual abuse. He was convicted of both kidnappings and served five years of his seven-year prison sentence. Edward Murphy, Parnell's accomplice from the Stayner kidnapping, was sentenced to five years imprisonment and paroled after two years. Sean Poorman, Stayner's schoolfriend who abetted Parnell in the White kidnapping, was sentenced to a term in a juvenile work camp. Barbara Mathias, Parnell's girlfriend who lived with him and Stayner for some time, was never charged with any violation and cooperated with authorities in Parnell's trials.

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He was later convicted again but he was already 71 so he did die in prison but it seemed too little too late

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In January 2003, Parnell was arrested again after trying to coerce his caregiver into buying him a four-year-old boy.[8] Parnell was, by this time, 71 years old and in ill health, suffering from diabetes and emphysema, plus other ailments brought on by a stroke that he had suffered earlier, requiring near 24-hour-a-day nursing care in his cluttered apartment in the 2600 block of Mathews Street in Berkeley.

The caregiver, Diane Stevens, was aware of Parnell's past and cooperated with police in setting up a sting operation that would lead to his arrest. According to Diane Stevens' testimony, Parnell requested that the child have a "clean" rectum, indicating sexual intentions.[9] He paid $100 for a birth certificate and had $400 on his person for the completion of the transaction when he was to receive the child on January 3, 2003. Parnell was arrested that day,[9] subsequently telling authorities "I wanted a family".

Parnell was convicted on February 9, 2004, on the charges of attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation, even though no child had been targeted. The prosecution successfully argued that sexual aids and pornography found in the apartment, along with Stevens' own testimony, were enough to prove that Parnell's intentions were criminal in nature. Parnell was sentenced to 25 years to life under California's "three strikes" law.

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