He saved not only himself: the story of an escapee from captivity (10 photos)

Steven Stayner was just seven years old when he failed to return home from school in late 1972. December 4 marked the beginning of his years of captivity.





On his way home from school that day, Steven ran into Ervin Murphy, who was handing out church brochures. The man approached the boy and asked if he had any old things that could be donated. Steven happily said that his mother would surely find something for the church, and Ervin offered to give the first-grader a ride in his car.

The driver of the car was 41-year-old Kenneth Parnell, for whom Stephen found the little victim.

Murphy himself was mentally retarded and completely subordinated to Parnell, looking for boys for him.

"Daddy"



Stephen was taken 40 kilometers from his home. He was raped on the very first night. The boy cried a lot in the first days, asked to take him to his mom and dad, but Kenneth told him an extremely convincing story that his parents abandoned him. And now it was he, Kenneth Parnell, who became his official guardian.

In the past, the man had already served time for child molestation, but as soon as he got out, he decided to commit a new crime. Now he wanted to start a family and gave Steven a new name - Dennis Gregory Parnell. And he began to call him his son.





Parnell and Steven

Surprisingly, he even managed to get his "son" into school, and at home Steven was subjected to sexualized violence almost daily, pumped full of drugs, all kinds of sleeping pills and alcohol. Kenneth and Stephen traveled a lot and the rapist did not keep him locked up, essentially, but the boy was sure that he simply had nowhere to go. His parents "abandoned" him and the only one left was his "daddy" Kenneth.

Running is impossible, staying



Stephen spent seven years side by side with his rapist. The boy grew up and Parnell began to lose interest in him. Kenneth was sure that it would be easy for him to find a "new son" with Stephen's help, because children trust children. But the 14-year-old boy tried to interfere with his "daddy" as best he could, perhaps not even fully understanding why. After all, he barely remembered his life before meeting Parnell, but he understood that what was happening to him was wrong.



On February 14, 1980, Parnell grabbed five-year-old Timothy White. At that moment, Stephen was already completely resigned to his fate, but he definitely did not want to see his "little brother" go through everything that he had to go through.

The plan matured quickly and already on March 1, while Parnell was working as a security guard on the night shift, Stephen decided to escape, taking Timothy with him.

The children were able to get to the town where the boy lived, but he could not remember the address of his house. Stephen decided to go to the police station. He wanted to send Timothy alone and leave himself, but a cop on duty noticed them in time and immediately recognized Timothy White. Stephen had no choice but to tell their story.

7 years of hell and only 7 years in prison



The very next day, Kenneth Parnell was captured. And here there are big questions for the judicial system: for systematic rape (and even a repeat offence under a similar article) Parnell was given only seven years. And after five years he was released on parole. A couple of years later, the man again ended up behind bars, only this time for armed robbery.



The story became very famous. The criminal was interviewed many times, in one of which he stated that he did not consider himself a pedophile at all. Then he said that the first time he raped a child, because his wife was pregnant and, you see, could not have sex with him. Yes, Parnell was married, twice, and in each marriage he had one daughter.

In 2003, the old and sick 71-year-old Parnell gave $500 to a nurse so that she would bring him a "clean boy." The nurse reported it to the police. The police conducted an operational experiment. Parnell gave the money for the boy and was arrested. During the arrest, he kept saying: "I want a family."

Under the law of three mistakes, he was given life in prison for the third time. He died in prison in 2008.

Stephen



What happened to the boy who grew up in an atmosphere of sexualized violence for seven years and was able to save not only himself, but also the next victim?

Parnell did not forbid (and even encouraged) his "son" to smoke, drink, and generally do whatever he wanted. And when he returned home, he was treated the same way as the seven-year-old Stevie who disappeared once. What is also scary is that the boy's father categorically denied the fact that Steven needed psychological help: "My son is fine!"

"After they [my parents] stopped teaching me the basics, everything got better. But why doesn't my dad hug me anymore? Everything has changed. Sometimes I blame myself. Sometimes I don't know if I should have come home. Would I have been better off if I hadn't?"



His classmates bullied him, so much so that Stayner simply stopped studying. And he turned to alcohol, which he "saved" himself with during the years he lived with Parnell. Because of this, his relationship with his father, which was not so great to begin with, deteriorated completely, and he kicked him out of the house. His mother remained silent.

Death

In 1985, 20-year-old Stayner married 17-year-old Jody. The marriage produced two children. Stayner drowned out his unprocessed trauma by working in search teams. He looked for kidnapped children and conducted conversations with minors about personal safety. He did not refuse interviews and talked about his experiences, trying to protect his children and telling parents about the importance of being more attentive. The only thing he always kept silent about was rape. This topic was strictly forbidden.



In September 1989, Steven Stayner died in a motorcycle accident. He was 24 years old.

Almost five hundred people came to the funeral. Timothy White, who was 14 at the time, was among those who carried the coffin. The coffin with the body of the one who saved him from hell. And the one who could not find support when he got out of there himself.