Cary Stayner
Serial Killers

Cary Stayner Net Worth

Cary Stayner was born in Merced, California in 1961 and is a convicted American serial killer. He is known as the "Yosemite Killer" for murdering four women in Mariposa County between 1999 and 2002. His brother Steven was kidnapped when he was 11, and he believed his parents neglected him due to their grief. He also claimed to have been sexually abused as a child. In 1997, he began working as a handyman at a motel in El Portal, and after the discovery of the remains of his first three victims, suspicion did not fall on him. However, when the murder of his fourth victim was linked to a car traced back to him, he was apprehended and charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death in 2002.
Cary Stayner is a member of Serial Killers

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Serial Killer
Birth Day August 13, 1961
Birth Place Merced, California, United States
Age 62 YEARS OLD
Birth Sign Virgo
Other names The Yosemite (Park) Killer
Criminal penalty Death
Conviction(s) First degree murder, 4 counts
Victims 4
Span of killings February 1999–July 1999
Country United States
State(s) California
Date apprehended 1999

💰 Net worth: $1.4 Million (2024)

Cary Stayner's net worth is estimated to be $1.4 million in 2024. However, it is important to note that Stayner is infamously known as a serial killer in the United States. He gained notoriety for committing a series of murders in California during the late 1990s. Stayner's horrific crimes sent shockwaves across the nation and his case remains a haunting reminder of the darkness that exists within society. Despite his criminal past, Stayner's net worth indicates his financial status, but it is overshadowed by the disturbing actions that have defined his life.

Biography/Timeline

1972

Stayner was born and raised in Merced, California. His younger brother, Steven, was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell in 1972, when Cary was 11, and held captive for more than seven years before escaping and being reunited with his family. Cary Stayner would later say that he felt neglected while his parents grieved over the loss of Steven.

1979

When the decapitated body of the fourth victim Joie Ruth Armstrong was found, eyewitnesses said they saw a blue 1979 International Scout parked outside the cabin where Armstrong was staying. Detectives traced this vehicle to Stayner. This caused Stayner to become the prime suspect in the case. FBI agents John Boles and Jeff Rinek found Stayner staying at Laguna del Sol nudist resort in Wilton, where he was arrested. His vehicle yielded evidence linking him to Joie Armstrong. During his interrogation, Stayner confessed to the four murders as well as to sending the map for finding Juli Sund's body.

1980

When Steven escaped from Parnell and returned home in 1980, he received massive media attention; a true crime book and TV movie, both titled I Know My First Name is Steven, were made about the ordeal. Steven died in a motorcycle accident in 1989. The following year, Stayner's uncle Jesse, with whom he was living at the time, was murdered. Stayner would also later claim that his uncle molested him when he was 11.

1991

Stayner is reported to have attempted suicide in 1991, and was arrested in 1997 for possession of marijuana and methamphetamine, although these charges were eventually dropped.

1997

In 1997, Stayner was hired as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge motel in El Portal, just outside the Highway 140 Arch Rock entrance to Yosemite National Park. Between February and July 1999, he murdered two women and two teenagers: Carole Sund; her daughter, 15-year-old Juli Sund; their travel companion, 16-year-old Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso; and Yosemite Institute employee Joie Ruth Armstrong, 26, a naturalist. The first two victims, Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso, were found in the trunk of the charred remains of Carole's Pontiac rental car. The bodies were burned beyond recognition and were identified using dental records. A note was sent to police with a hand-drawn map indicating the location of the third victim, Juli Sund. The top of the note read, "We had fun with this one." Investigators went to the location depicted on the map and found the remains of Juli, whose throat had been cut.

1999

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. Cary Stayner was sentenced to death for the four murders, and remains, as of March 2018, awaiting execution on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California.

2001

Stayner pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. His lawyers claimed that the Stayner family had a history of sexual abuse and mental illness, manifesting itself not only in the murders, but also his obsessive-compulsive disorder, and requested to be provided with child pornography in return for his confession. Dr. Jose Arturo Silva testified that Stayner had mild autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and paraphilia. Stayner was nevertheless found sane and convicted of four counts of first degree murder by a jury in 2001.

2002

In 2002, during the penalty phase of his trial, he was sentenced to death and thereafter entered housing in the Adjustment Center on death row at San Quentin Penitentiary in California. Stayner remains on death row as of June 2016, though San Quentin's gas chamber has been dormant since a 2006 judicial action called California executions to a halt over perceived flaws in process (and a more recent ruling by federal Judge Cormac Carney ruled that state’s death penalty unconstitutional because of legal issues raised by the penalty's disuse).

Some Cary Stayner images

About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.