0:08

Hey, Shannon. Hey, Tanya.

0:10

How are you? I'm doing pretty good.

0:12

How are you today? I

0:14

am loving my hair growth

0:16

that I've had with my

0:18

hair vitamins, as you

0:20

can tell. Oh, it looks

0:23

long. Thank you. It is

0:25

so thick. It is

0:27

really thick at my occipital bone. That's right.

0:29

It's my occipital bone because

0:31

I know a little cranial

0:33

anatomy from beauty school. You

0:36

got any plans this weekend? Oh,

0:39

just visiting family on Easter.

0:42

Nice. Yes, it is good Friday

0:44

today. Holy week,

0:46

Passover week. Yeah, how about

0:48

you? Same. Same.

0:51

Going over to Miss

0:54

Paz and having a

0:56

nice brunch. Nice. Maybe

0:58

have a mimosa. Ooh,

1:01

I like that. Celebrating the

1:03

Rids and Lord. Yes,

1:05

exactly. Well, I have a

1:07

story this week. It is part one

1:09

of two. They're not like, I'm

1:11

going to tell you half the story

1:13

though, but it's about brothers. Okay.

1:17

One brother story and then part two

1:19

will be the other brother story. Okay.

1:21

And before I get into it, I just

1:23

would like to remind everyone to hit

1:25

the subscribe or follow button on whatever app

1:27

you're listening to. And Shannon,

1:29

have you ever heard of

1:31

the Stainer brothers? I

1:34

have not. Okay. Well, you are

1:36

in for a wild ride today.

1:38

I was right down my popcorn.

1:40

Yes. So on December

1:42

4th, 1972, Kay

1:44

Stainer stopped at the pharmacy to get

1:47

a prescription. on the

1:49

way to picking up her seven -year

1:51

-old son, Steven, from school. The

1:53

step took longer than she expected, and by

1:55

the time she made it to the

1:57

school, Steven wasn't there waiting for her. She

2:00

followed the route she thought that he would take

2:02

to walk home, but she didn't see him. Steven

2:05

had been known to just dilly

2:07

-dally like on his way home,

2:09

so it was a couple

2:11

hours after he was expected to

2:13

arrive that Kay and Steven's

2:15

father, Delbert, began to worry. You

2:17

know, it's 1972. You know

2:19

what I mean? At the time, the

2:21

Steiner family lived in

2:23

Merced, Merced, California, California. I think I'm saying

2:25

that right. And in 1972,

2:27

Merced was a secluded

2:29

farming town. The fields of

2:31

almonds and peaches the farmers

2:34

tended grew only 70 miles

2:36

from Yosemite National Park. The

2:38

Steiner's had five children. There were

2:40

three girls and two boys. Stephen

2:43

was the third right in the middle. He

2:46

was a quiet boy who enjoyed

2:48

riding on his dance tractor on

2:50

their almond ranch. How

2:52

about that, an almond ranch? No,

2:54

that's so quaint. Sounds fun,

2:56

right? He'd once helped

2:58

heal an owl, so they

3:00

had an owl on their property. Oh my gosh. Stephen

3:04

and Dowell, his father, had a very

3:06

close relationship. He was known for

3:08

being quite sensitive and somewhat of a

3:10

loner, but he had started getting

3:12

into trouble at home. Dell was

3:14

going to be the one to

3:16

have to punish Stephen for writing his

3:19

name on the garage door when

3:21

Stephen came home. But Stephen never

3:23

came through their front door and

3:25

his parents never painted over that spot

3:27

on their garage. The flyers

3:29

that would paper, Merced

3:31

and the surrounding areas said,

3:34

quote, missing juvenile, Stephen

3:36

Gregory Stainer, male, Caucasian,

3:38

age seven, date

3:40

of birth, for

3:42

1865. He was

3:45

four foot eight, 60

3:47

pounds, light brown hair.

3:50

The hair is shaggy and collar length,

3:53

brown eyes, missing sense

3:55

12, 472 from

3:57

this city. That's

3:59

what the poster said. Right. And today, crazy

4:01

enough is the 18th of April.

4:03

I was just thinking it's the

4:05

last day of Aries. Yeah, crazy.

4:09

So Steven was on his way home like

4:11

I said from school when he was last seen. He

4:14

was last seen wearing a tan coat, blue

4:16

jeans, multi -colored flower shirt with

4:18

a zipper in the front. Steven

4:21

had never ran away in the past. This

4:23

may be a case of foul player kidnapping. Any

4:26

information on the above

4:28

juvenile, please contact Sergeant Moore,

4:30

Merced Police Department." The

4:32

family heard nothing from these

4:34

posters. So on the

4:36

afternoon of December 4th, Steven was

4:38

walking home. along Highway 140. He

4:41

was just a few blocks from

4:43

his house when he was approached by

4:45

a man named Edward Irving Murphy

4:47

who said he was a church minister. Murphy

4:50

was passing out religious flyers and

4:52

asking for donations. The boy

4:54

agreed that his mom would probably want

4:56

to give something to their church so the

4:58

minister asked Stephen if he would take

5:00

him to his house to speak to his

5:02

mother. Stephen agreed, and a

5:04

white Buick with another man

5:06

inside named Kenneth Parnell pulled up.

5:09

In a televised ABC interview, Stephen said

5:11

that he had declined the ride

5:13

several times, but after being pressured by

5:15

the two men, he gave in

5:17

and climbed in the car. Kenneth

5:20

Eugene Parnell was born in

5:22

1931 in Amarillo, Texas. Growing

5:24

up in the Dustwell era of the Great

5:26

Depression and having been abandoned by his

5:28

father at a young age, His mother

5:30

moved him and his three

5:32

half -siblings to Bakersfield, California, where

5:35

she began running a boarding house. Known

5:38

to the police as a juvenile delinquent, he

5:40

would be in and out of their

5:42

custody for different crimes from arson to car

5:44

theft. At 18 years old,

5:46

he married 15 -year -old Patsy

5:48

Jo Dorton in 1949. Not

5:51

two years later, she had given birth to a

5:53

daughter. Within that same year,

5:55

Parnell acquired a sheriff's deputy's badge

5:57

at a military surplus store. He

6:00

approached an eight -year -old boy who he

6:02

took to a remote area, where

6:04

he sexually assaulted and raped the child. So

6:07

he's a child molester, obviously. The

6:09

following year, he was arrested and sentenced

6:11

to four years at San Quentin Prison. In

6:14

a later interview, which took place

6:16

in the year 2000, during another

6:18

run -in with the law, Parnell attempted

6:20

to excuse the 1951 crime, saying

6:22

he needed to, quote, find another

6:24

outlet, end quote, because his wife

6:26

had been pregnant at the time.

6:29

I can't fucking believe that he, you

6:31

know, yes, I can. You know what?

6:33

Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for showing your

6:35

cards. You dumb fuck, you

6:37

pig. Just an absolute pig, right?

6:41

In 1957, his divorce from

6:43

Patsy Joe being finalized, he

6:45

married again, so these lucky

6:47

ladies. Shortly after, however,

6:49

he found himself in prison again,

6:51

serving six years for armed robbery in

6:53

Grand Larsonie in Utah. While

6:55

he was serving time for these crimes, his second

6:57

wife filed for divorce. When

6:59

Parnell was hired at Yosemite National

7:01

Park in the early 70s, he

7:03

met janitor Edward Irvin Murphy. So

7:06

Edward Murphy was described as naive

7:09

and quote unquote simple -minded, possibly

7:11

having a learning disability or a

7:13

low IQ. Murphy

7:15

said that Parnell told him he

7:18

was an aspiring minister and thought

7:20

that he was simply helping Parnell

7:22

find and save a little boy. He

7:25

said Parnell told him he wanted to

7:27

raise the child in a religious

7:29

home. So when Parnell asked him to

7:31

go hand out gospel pamphlets, it was

7:33

not out of the question in his mind.

7:35

According to Stephen, Murphy had

7:38

been kind to him. Stephen

7:40

believed Murphy was also being manipulated

7:42

by Parnell. It appears

7:44

that Parnell and Murphy didn't

7:46

have much contact after

7:48

the 1972 kidnapping. So

7:50

after hopping in the car, Stephen thought that

7:52

they were taking him home. But they

7:54

continued driving past the turns, eventually stopping where

7:56

Parnell got out of the car and

7:58

went to a pay phone. When

8:00

he returned to the car, he told

8:02

Stephen he'd spoken to his parents and

8:04

they had given permission for Stephen to

8:06

stay the night with the men. I

8:08

hate him. I'm just thinking of the

8:11

naivete of just the decade of 1972. And

8:13

an adult told you that

8:15

this happened. You are well inclined

8:17

to believe. Why would

8:19

anyone lie to you? Right. Why

8:21

would anyone harm you? And you wouldn't think

8:24

like, well, how'd they get my phone number? Adults

8:26

just know things. Yeah. Adults are to

8:28

be trusted. Right. Terrible.

8:31

Yes. Parnell took

8:33

Stephen back to his small cabin

8:35

in the Kathie's Valley. I'm

8:37

sorry. Just 25 miles away from

8:39

his home and only several

8:41

hundred feet away from his maternal

8:43

grandfather's house. That first

8:45

night, Stephen was molested. In

8:47

that first week, Stephen asked many times

8:49

to go back to his family, but

8:51

Parnell told Stephen. that he'd contacted his

8:53

mom and dad and they couldn't afford so

8:56

many kids. They didn't want him anymore.

8:59

Yeah, I know. Days later, he told

9:01

Stephen he'd been granted legal custody of

9:03

him by the courts. Parnell

9:05

told the boy he was no longer

9:07

Stephen Stainer. His name was Dennis Gregory

9:09

Parnell. He was to call Parnell

9:11

dad. Two weeks into his

9:13

abduction, Parnell began raping the

9:16

seven year old boy. The

9:19

Merced Police Department took the lead

9:21

on the investigation. There was a

9:23

large search effort that took place,

9:25

but there was no evidence to

9:27

speak of, no witness sightings, no

9:29

tracks to follow, a street -by

9:31

-street canvas was conducted, roadblocks

9:33

were set up, people were

9:35

interviewed, all to no avail. It

9:37

was as though Stephen had just disappeared

9:40

into thin air. Over

9:42

the following seven and a

9:44

half years, Stephen

9:46

would be enrolled in

9:49

several schools in Mendocino

9:51

County and Santa Rosa

9:53

as Dennis using his real date

9:55

of birth. The first school

9:57

he enrolled in, Kiwana Elementary

10:00

in Santa Rosa, failed to

10:02

request his records, missing a chance to

10:04

identify Dennis as the boy that

10:06

at the time all of California was

10:08

looking for. Stephen

10:10

was publicly raised as Parnell's

10:12

son. While perpetrating horrific sexual

10:14

abuse on the boy, within

10:16

whatever shack, cabin, cheat motel, or

10:19

trailer they were living in at

10:21

the time, Stephen never

10:23

spoke a word about the regular abuse

10:25

he was suffering. Around

10:27

1975, Kenneth

10:29

Parnell began a relationship with a woman

10:32

named Barbara Mathis. The relationship

10:34

lasted 18 months and she eventually

10:36

moved in with Parnell and Stephen.

10:38

At age nine, Steven was

10:40

raped on nine occasions by

10:42

Parnell and Mathis together. Oh my

10:46

gosh. People are so fucking sick. They

10:48

are. Mathis claimed to

10:50

have not known that Steven had been

10:52

kidnapped, but during their time together, claiming

10:54

it was on Parnell's direction, she attempted

10:56

to lure another young boy into a

10:58

vehicle. And this attempt wasn't a

11:00

success. By the time he reached

11:03

the sixth grade, Steven had been beaten, regularly

11:05

smoked marijuana, gotten drunk

11:07

on whiskey, came and went

11:10

from home as he pleased, and had

11:12

been thoroughly swayed into believing his family

11:14

and Merced didn't want him. His

11:16

attendance at school was sporadic, but he enjoyed

11:18

being part of the football team. It

11:21

was said that Stephen had a great personality

11:23

and desire to make friends. He

11:25

was described as spunky by Laurie

11:27

Duke, a high school girlfriend. Friends

11:30

of Stephen said he wouldn't invite them

11:32

into his home, but they would come

11:34

by sometimes staying outside. At

11:36

one point, he got drunk and complained that he wanted

11:38

to go back to his family. When

11:40

friends suggested he go home to his dad, he

11:42

said, no, my real family. And

11:44

they just didn't understand what he meant. Pernell

11:48

would often have jobs that required him to

11:50

leave Stephen at home alone for long periods

11:52

of time. As an adult, Stephen

11:54

stated he knew he could have used the

11:56

long absences to run, but he didn't know

11:58

how to go about reaching help. Later,

12:01

we learned that Stephen's family had

12:03

sent missing persons flyers to some

12:05

of the schools Stephen attended but

12:08

no one recognized him. Parnell

12:10

had dyed his hair when he first took

12:12

the boy but over time as Stephen got

12:14

older he simply didn't look the same. Stephen

12:17

had sporadically questioned what

12:19

he'd been told about his parents not wanting

12:21

him during the years he spent as

12:23

Dennis Parnell. He would sometimes look

12:25

through newspaper articles and TV reports to

12:27

see if his family was looking for

12:29

him. But when he didn't find

12:31

anything, he felt it reinforced the lie

12:33

he'd been told by Parnell that he

12:36

wasn't wanted. For all

12:38

the horrors Parnell inflicted upon

12:40

Stephen during his relative captivity, the

12:42

one grace he provided the boy

12:44

was a little Manchester terrier

12:46

puppy Stephen named Queenie. The dog

12:48

was a gift from Parnell's mother to

12:50

Parnell. According to all

12:53

accounts, she had no idea Stephen

12:55

existed during the time he was

12:57

being held all those years. I can't

12:59

believe that. I know. I can't. I

13:01

know. In 1979,

13:04

14 -year -old Steven was a freshman

13:06

at Mendocino High School. His

13:09

older brother, Carrie, was an

13:11

upperclassman 300 miles away at Merced

13:13

High School. And we

13:15

will talk about Carrie in our next episode.

13:18

So Steven was growing up. He was becoming

13:20

more difficult for Parnell to control. And

13:23

he was going through puberty. His

13:25

shoulders were broadening. His voice was

13:27

getting deeper. And Parnell decided he

13:29

wanted another kid. He could have

13:31

control over. And attraction to

13:33

Stephen kind of waned like Stephen was

13:35

just no longer as tight probably because

13:37

he wasn't a little boy. Right. Right.

13:41

Parnell had tried to use Stephen in

13:43

attempts to kidnap other children on multiple occasions,

13:45

but all those attempts were unsuccessful. While

13:48

Parnell believed that Stephen lacked what

13:50

he needed in an accomplice,

13:52

Stephen later said he purposefully sabotaged

13:54

the attempts. On February

13:56

13, 1980, Parnell

13:59

enlisted the help of 14 -year -old

14:01

Sean Porman, an acquaintance

14:03

of Stevens from high school. Porman

14:05

was promised marijuana and cash in exchange

14:07

for being a willing accomplice in

14:10

scouting a male child for Parnell to

14:12

kidnap. During testimony, Porman

14:14

said on that day

14:16

Parnell had driven into Yuccaia,

14:18

California, about an hour

14:20

away. The teenager noticed a small

14:22

boy playing outside his home. Porman

14:24

approached the boy and grabbed him.

14:27

Although the boy struggled and fought, the teen drug

14:29

him to a waiting car with Parnell inside. The

14:32

boy was five -year -old Timmy White. Returning

14:34

home, Parnell died Timmy's blonde hair,

14:36

a dark brown, and told him his

14:38

new name was Tommy. The

14:41

following day, Valentine's Day, Stephen walked

14:44

into his home and found Parnell

14:46

waiting there for him to introduce

14:48

him to his new younger brother. Timmy

14:51

was crying and asking to go home. Parnell

14:53

had began grooming the boy the way

14:56

he did to Stephen, telling him his

14:58

parents didn't want him anymore. Reminding the

15:00

teenager of his own experience of feeling

15:02

alone with no one to protect him,

15:04

Stephen later said, quote, I couldn't see

15:06

Timmy suffer. I just didn't think it

15:08

was right for him to have to go

15:10

through the same thing that I did. He really

15:12

didn't have to. There was someone there who

15:14

could stop it. End quote. I

15:17

think he was talking about himself. Confiding

15:20

in his girlfriend, Lori Duke, He

15:22

told her everything that had happened. In

15:25

a later interview, she stated, quote, he literally said,

15:27

quote, I was not going to let that

15:29

child go through what I had already been through.

15:31

And if I didn't take care of it

15:33

now, it would just get worse. And

15:35

in March, 1980, Parnell was

15:37

working as a night clerk at

15:39

the Palace Hotel in Yukaya, planning

15:42

to begin training and working security

15:44

for the hotel. He had

15:46

also taken on a second job, working

15:48

as a caretaker on a ranch.

15:50

and he was provided free housing living

15:52

in a one shack in a

15:55

remote and isolated area of Port Arena.

15:57

Timmy had been with them for 16 days

15:59

when on March 1st, 14 -year -old

16:01

Steven finally saw the opportunity to

16:04

escape while Parnell was away at

16:06

work. In a 1984 interview

16:08

with Newsweek, Steven said, quote, it was

16:10

my do or die chance, and

16:12

I also would be coming home for

16:14

doing something positive, end quote.

16:16

Parnell left for work the evening of

16:18

March 1st, After he had gone, Steven

16:20

and Timmy walked hand in hand out

16:23

of the shack and hitchhiked 40 miles

16:25

into Yuccaia. Steven had wanted

16:27

to return Timmy home, but it

16:29

was dark and the young boy couldn't remember

16:31

where he lived. When he realized they

16:33

weren't going to find Timmy's house, Steven

16:36

took the boy into the Yuccaia police

16:38

station. Initially, Steven had

16:40

no intention of walking into the station with

16:42

Timmy. He wanted to send the boy

16:44

in and just run away, still partially convinced

16:46

that he wasn't wanted by his family

16:48

back in Merced. The scared little

16:50

boy convinced the teenager to walk up

16:52

to the authorities with him. Sitting

16:55

down to write a statement, Steven would

16:57

explain the kidnapping of both him and

16:59

Timmy telling the police, quote, I know

17:01

my first name is Steven, end quote. This

17:04

moment became what was considered one of

17:06

the most remarkable moments of the

17:08

story, becoming the title for an eventual

17:10

book and made for TV movie. He

17:13

stated, quote, I think my last

17:15

name is Stainer, unquote. At

17:17

this point, Stephen did not detail the

17:19

sexual abuse he suffered at the hand

17:21

of his captor. By sunrise

17:23

on March 2nd, Parnell had

17:25

been arrested on suspicion of abducting

17:27

both boys. At 1 a

17:29

.m. before Parnell had even been arrested, Stephen

17:32

was reunited with his parents, surrounded

17:35

by hundreds of neighbors, media,

17:37

and law enforcement, Dell

17:39

approached Stephen in a big

17:41

hug. Kay was close

17:43

behind. Media coverage of that

17:46

moment included Stephen holding his

17:48

Manchester Terrier Queenie and his parents

17:50

embraced him. Yeah, I know.

17:52

I don't even remember the story. But

17:54

when you said it was probably a

17:56

made for TV movie, I'm sure I

17:58

saw it. Yeah. And the title, I

18:00

think my name is Stephen. I think I kind

18:02

of remember that. That does ring bells. Yeah. He

18:05

became a national hero appearing on Good

18:07

Morning America within days of coming home. He

18:10

told the host that it felt great to

18:12

be back with his family, although he didn't

18:14

recognize his siblings much after being gone for

18:16

the long seven and a half years. While

18:19

the media was painting the family reunion

18:21

in a heartwarming glow, the reality

18:23

was far different. While

18:25

Stephen kept the sexual abuse private

18:27

while writing his statement, The

18:29

police had run a background check

18:31

on Parnell and came across

18:33

his 1951 sodomy conviction. Stephen

18:36

continued to deny anything had happened

18:38

to him until a search of Parnell's

18:40

things uncovered lewd pictures of a

18:42

young Stephen in his possession. Upon

18:45

being questioned, the truth came out and

18:47

shortly after the media became informed. Stephen's

18:50

parents had enrolled him in high school within

18:52

days of his return and as news

18:54

of the abuse began to circulate, the teenagers

18:56

of the school began to bully the

18:58

victim. Asking questions

19:00

about why he wouldn't run away earlier. Did

19:02

he enjoy it? Was he gay? Being

19:05

teased about the molestation and rape

19:07

led him to eventually drop out

19:09

of school and sent him into

19:11

an ever -deepening depression. The

19:13

transition home was also very difficult. Far

19:16

from being the seven -year -old who went

19:18

missing, the five -foot -ten teenager barely resembled

19:20

the boy who was taken. He

19:22

had gone from having no rules and no

19:24

siblings to living with four siblings sharing

19:27

a room with his older brother who he

19:29

didn't recognize and who didn't recognize him, being

19:31

expected to respect the authority of

19:34

people who cared was difficult, as

19:36

was no longer being allowed to smoke,

19:38

drink, do drugs, stay out late, etc.

19:41

Regarding the changes, he said, quote, I

19:43

returned almost a grown man and yet

19:45

my parents saw me first as their

19:47

seven -year -old boy. After they

19:49

stopped trying to teach me the fundamentals all

19:51

over again, it got better. But why

19:53

doesn't my dad hug me anymore? I

19:55

guess seven years changed him too. Everything

19:58

has changed. Sometimes I blame

20:00

myself. I don't know. Sometimes if I

20:02

should have come home, would I

20:04

have been better off if I didn't? End

20:07

quote. It's so sad.

20:09

It is heartbreaking. And,

20:11

you know, in the 80s

20:13

and like there's no therapy to

20:15

even set him up to

20:18

go back to school after being

20:20

gone for seven fucking years.

20:22

I hope we're doing better as

20:24

a people. Yes. Right. I

20:26

don't know how mental health is

20:28

not your first and foremost because

20:30

that's the filter that I'm going to

20:33

live my life through. Right. So

20:35

the healthier my filter is,

20:37

my mental health, that's your

20:39

first priority, not fucking math.

20:42

I know. I'm just, yeah, I know. I'm

20:44

surprised we're not all fucking serial killers, okay?

20:46

Honestly. I'm just surprised any of us

20:48

came out. I don't know. It's just, you

20:50

know. Came through to my fifties. Yeah. Maybe

20:54

I'm hoping well, you know, till

20:56

the end. Yes. Whenever that might

20:58

be. Whenever that might be. But

21:01

I have no prison term. Yeah.

21:03

I know. I've never been a cult.

21:06

I've never been arrested. I've

21:08

never served time. Right. I want

21:10

to keep it that way. Yes.

21:12

I don't want to have to prove myself in

21:14

the yard. Shit like

21:17

that. You know. Oh,

21:19

this poor guy. Oh, my gosh.

21:22

That is just crazy. For

21:24

everybody involved, his parents, his

21:26

siblings, him. Yeah, what

21:28

a horrible, all those

21:30

years, seven years,

21:33

seven years. Those are nightmare

21:35

years for him, that he's in

21:37

survival mode. Absolutely.

21:39

It's going to be different for

21:41

whatever you're surviving. Yes.

21:43

Yes. So, his

21:45

sister Corey said, quote, he got on

21:48

with his life, but he was pretty

21:50

messed up and he never got any counseling.

21:52

My dad said he didn't need

21:54

any end quote. So, yeah,

21:57

that's the attitude in those 80s,

21:59

right? Yeah, love 1984. Yeah,

22:01

my mom, just be happy. What's the problem?

22:04

Just be happy. Why are you depressed? Aren't

22:06

you happy? Just be happy. Just be,

22:08

oh, okay. Oh, there it is. Thank

22:10

you. Thank you, mom. Thanks. I had

22:12

no idea it was so simple. Yeah,

22:14

oh. Yeah, the epiphany. I am a

22:16

drama queen, apparently. All right. So

22:21

Stephen refused to disclose

22:23

all the details of the sexual abuse

22:25

he endured from Parnell. Eventually,

22:27

he was kicked out of the family home,

22:29

and his relationship with his father would

22:32

remain damaged for the rest of his life.

22:34

Quote, I never reached out to talk

22:36

about it with my parents, and they never

22:38

pushed to find out. Thinking

22:41

back, a close relative said he was lucky to

22:44

survive his teens, saying there was times he

22:46

spoke of suicide. In June

22:48

1981, Parnell was convicted of

22:50

the abduction of Timmy White

22:52

and sentenced to seven years.

22:54

Seven whole years for that. In

22:57

December of 1981, almost nine years

22:59

to the day after Stephen had been

23:01

taken, Kenneth Parnell was put on

23:03

trial for the abduction of Stephen. Stephen

23:06

would testify against his captor, and

23:08

the entire trial was televised,

23:10

including his testimony. Though

23:12

he was regularly sexually abused, molestation

23:14

charges against Parnell were dropped when

23:17

a court ruled the statute of limitations

23:19

had expired. While he

23:21

was sentenced to another seven years

23:23

for Stephen's kidnapping, the laws

23:25

in California at the time allowed

23:27

sentences for multiple convictions to be

23:29

served concurrently, rather than consecutively. Due

23:31

to the concurrent sentencing laws, Parnell

23:33

would only serve an additional 20

23:35

months in prison for the kidnapping

23:38

and false imprisonment of Stephen. In

23:40

addition to the sentence he was

23:42

serving for the crimes against Timmy, and

23:44

he was paroled in 1985. That

23:47

is just such a

23:49

gross, terrible, yes, of

23:52

justice, miscarriage of justice.

23:54

Very much, yes. Murphy?

23:57

And poor man. Remember, poor man was

23:59

the kid that was one of Steven's friends

24:01

at high school that helped us kidnap

24:03

Timmy and Murphy was the guy that

24:05

lured Steven. Right. We were convicted of

24:07

lesser charges, both claiming they knew nothing

24:09

of the sexual assaults on Steven. Murphy

24:12

was sentenced to five years of which

24:14

he served just two before being released. Poor

24:17

man served his time in a juvenile work camp.

24:19

And I don't know how much time he

24:21

served. I couldn't find that information. Right. At

24:24

20 years old in 1985, Stephen

24:26

married 17 -year -old Jody

24:28

Edmondson. Jody stated, quote, he was

24:31

very proud of who he was. He

24:33

was just very well -grounded for a person

24:35

that had gone through what he had gone

24:37

through, quote. The couple went on

24:39

to have two children, a daughter named Ashley

24:41

and a son named Stephen Jr. Although

24:43

he continued to blame himself for what happened in

24:45

some ways, he seemed to have found peace. Having

24:48

a family helped, and his mom Kaye said

24:50

he was a great father. Stephen

24:52

did work with child abduction groups, worked

24:54

with groups that search for missing

24:56

children, and spoke to kids about personal

24:58

safety along with giving interviews about

25:00

his kidnapping. With a

25:02

growing family, he and his wife had some

25:05

financial struggles, and so he began working

25:07

as a consultant for the miniseries, I Know

25:09

My Name is Stephen, to make some

25:11

money. He also made a cameo

25:13

appearance in the show, which was watched

25:15

by 40 million people in May 1989. While

25:18

Stephen never seemed to get the help he

25:20

needed, he used to say, quote, why pay

25:22

a psychologist $100 an hour to sit and

25:24

talk out a problem when I've been talking

25:26

to reporters for nine years? It's a good

25:28

substitute, end quote. Media

25:30

also seemed to be part of the

25:33

problem though. The story was regurgitated

25:35

incessantly. He expressed the belief that

25:37

repeating the story would sustain awareness

25:39

of child objections and he never

25:41

refused an interview. But he

25:43

seemed to believe that eventually the reporters would

25:45

just get everything they wanted. and

25:47

that he could finally be left alone, but they

25:49

never did. They just kept pounding him. Animals.

25:52

I know. September 16, 1989

25:54

was a particularly rainy

25:56

night. As he was leaving work to

25:58

drive home from his job at Pizza Hut, his

26:01

manager suggested that he drive the company

26:03

truck home that night to be safer.

26:05

Stephen reminded the manager that he had a suspended

26:07

license, and if he were to get into

26:10

an accident, it might not look good for the

26:12

franchise. He declined the offer

26:14

and got on his motorcycle to head home.

26:16

Just three miles down the road, he

26:18

collided with a driver coming out of a

26:21

nearby migrant camp. Stephen was

26:23

not wearing a helmet and died

26:25

within an hour of head injuries. He

26:27

was only 24. Oh

26:30

my gosh, so

26:32

young. The

26:34

driver, Antonio

26:36

Loera, maybe,

26:39

fled the scene in the hit and

26:41

run and was later identified by witnesses.

26:44

Found later, he surrendered in Tijuana,

26:46

Mexico. He was sentenced to

26:48

three months in prison for the accident,

26:50

but was found not guilty of vehicular

26:52

manslaughter. 500 people

26:54

attended Stephen Stainer's funeral

26:56

on September 20th. 14

26:58

-year -old Timmy White was a pallbearer. I

27:01

know. my gosh. I know. His

27:04

sister Corey said, you can say he

27:06

had a rough life, but it didn't

27:08

even last long enough to see where

27:10

it would have gone, end quote. Jody

27:13

Stainer, a young 20 -year -old widow,

27:16

remembering his pain said he's not hurting

27:18

anymore. Nobody can hurt him now. In

27:21

what a prosecutor described as

27:23

the would -be last hurrah of

27:25

an aging pedophile, Kenneth

27:27

Parnell in 2003 at over 70

27:29

years old and in a

27:31

wheelchair attempted to convince his former

27:34

caretaker sister to deliver a

27:36

four -year -old boy to his Berkeley

27:38

apartment for $500. Noia's

27:41

history she went to the police instead. Parnell

27:43

was arrested in charge with conspiracy

27:46

to steal a child. Timothy

27:48

White, now a grown man, was subpoenaed to

27:50

testify at his criminal trial. And although

27:52

Stephen was dead, his prior testimony was

27:54

read to the jurors as evidence. In

27:57

this case, the prosecutor said that

27:59

with the three strikes law,

28:01

Parnell could face life in

28:03

prison while his criminal history was focused on

28:05

by the prosecution. The defense tried to

28:07

convince the jury to not focus on

28:09

the past, saying, quote, what happened 30 some

28:11

years ago doesn't help us here today, unquote,

28:15

claiming his past history of abducting

28:17

other children was somehow irrelevant. His

28:20

lawyer stated that Parnell would never

28:22

consider what he did a kidnap. He

28:25

simply wanted to raise an abandoned boy.

28:28

Mm hmm. Well, they'll praise it anyway. Got

28:31

lawyers sometimes, right? You're

28:34

hilarious, those lawyers. Those lawyers spinning

28:36

that pile of shit. Bullshit. That one's

28:38

a fucking punch in the throat.

28:40

Sometimes the shit that comes out of

28:42

their mouth, like, what does this

28:45

have to do with? The answer

28:47

is everything. And

28:49

we all know the answer is

28:51

fucking everything just because you pose it

28:53

as a question doesn't make. How

28:55

dare you? Yeah. And he's a child

28:57

molester. And I'm going to

28:59

always be a child molester. Absolutely.

29:02

That's why. Yes. So,

29:04

pushing back, the prosecution warned that Parnell

29:06

had been a lifelong predator, noting

29:08

that Parnell asked the woman for a

29:10

child, quote, with a clean bottom, end

29:12

quote, indicating a disturbing purpose. They've

29:15

stated, quote, the defendant is a

29:17

danger at any age. The defendant is

29:20

a threat to children of any

29:22

age, end quote. The following

29:24

year, Parnell was convicted and sentenced to 25

29:26

years to life in prison by a judge

29:28

who called him, quote, a poster child for

29:30

the Three Strikes Law, end quote. Kenneth

29:33

Eugene Parnell died in 2008 at

29:35

the age of 76 at

29:37

the California Medical Facility in Vacaville

29:39

of Natural Causes. Timothy White

29:41

would later become a deputy in

29:43

the Los Angeles County Sheriff's

29:45

Department. However, he

29:47

died on April 1, 2010 at

29:50

the age of 35 from a

29:52

pulmonary embolism. Nearly

29:54

five months later in late August,

29:56

a statue of Stainer and

29:58

White was dedicated in Applegate Park

30:00

in Merced. The residents

30:03

of Yukaya carved a

30:05

statue showing a teenage stainer with

30:07

a young white in hand while

30:09

escaping their captivity. And

30:12

that's the end of the story.

30:15

Tonya, that is more bitter

30:17

than sweet. I know.

30:19

What a heartbreak. It is. No

30:22

matter who you are in the

30:24

story, Stephen, except

30:26

fucking for Kenneth. Yeah.

30:29

That pig, right? Oh my

30:31

gosh. I was like, I

30:33

hope this motherfucker is gone. I know

30:35

it's the 80s and when I kind of

30:37

jumped ahead when I saw that he

30:39

had died, I was like,

30:42

good. Yeah. Good.

30:45

I feel like why

30:47

did he get to live for

30:49

76 years while Steven got

30:52

24? 76. And

30:54

poor Timmy got 35. It's

30:56

like. I don't know like I

30:58

don't know or sometimes this fucking nasty as

31:00

child molester got to live for 76

31:02

years And you know, yeah, some of it

31:05

was in prison where he belonged but

31:07

him only getting seven years I don't

31:09

understand that just as a as

31:11

a moral compass. Yeah the laws

31:13

Seven years for that what you've

31:15

done to that boy you we've

31:17

all been children You know what

31:19

he you know the scar you

31:22

you don't maybe know but you

31:24

know it was awful Yeah,

31:26

to tell him like not only

31:28

molest him. OK, like that's

31:30

horrific. But to tell him his

31:32

family didn't want him and they

31:34

oh, they just can't afford you anymore.

31:36

So, you know, they just said, fuck

31:39

you, I guess. Right. That's

31:41

more emotional scars on top of

31:43

the emotional scars that you're in.

31:45

Yes. It's just fucking evil to

31:47

do that to a child with

31:49

your ill intention. Why else do

31:51

you. The sad part is why

31:53

else do kids get taken? Yeah.

31:56

So if they've been gone, yes, check

31:59

out the background or he's establishing

32:01

it right now. Right,

32:03

right. It's a sad, sad,

32:05

sad. But I'm glad that you brought

32:07

it because now part two's got

32:09

me wondering because this seems to wrap

32:11

everything up. Yeah. Oh,

32:15

there's Stainer. Who was the boss? Yeah,

32:17

Carrie Stainer. Just a boiler

32:19

alert. Yeah, it's about Carrie Stainer.

32:21

So if you heard of

32:23

them, you know it's coming. So

32:26

anyway, my friend, well, thank

32:28

you all for listening to this week's episode.

32:30

Yes. And thank you,

32:32

Shannon. And if you

32:34

could please, before you stop listening

32:36

this week, hit the subscribe or

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everything. covered really all the business. So.

33:11

Until our next episode, my friend. All

33:13

right. You have a wonderful weekend.

33:15

Happy holidays, everybody. Everywhere.

33:18

Yeah, talk to you soon, my love. everybody has a

33:20

great one. So I will see you next time. See

33:22

you. Bye.