It was December 4th 1972 & 7 year old Steven Stayner was making his way home from school in Merced,California. Suddenly two men in a car pull up beside him, lure him inside & he was driven miles away . In that moment his whole life was about to change as he was ripped away from his family & friends by an evil paedophile who would spend years abusing & brainwashing his young victim . It was only when Steven had grown too old for convicted sex offender Kenneth Parnell that the pervert abducted a new innocent little boy to victimize . Determined to not let another childs life be destroyed, Steven decided to bravely take this opportunity & finally escape. Carrying little 5 year old Timothy White on his back he flees into the night, saving them both in the process, becoming an overnight celebrity & Americas new hero . He was reunited with a family who believed they’d never see him again, including his teenage older brother Cary who little did the Stayners know was harbouring sick, murderous fantasies from a very young age. You would think Steven could live happily ever after considering everything he’d survived. Sadly the story does not end there & even more tragedy awaits him. Today’s case takes so many shocking twists & turns including incredible heroic moments & utterly tragic twists of fate …

This is episode 47 Steven Stayner

Crime talk timestamp: 8:18 mins

Trigger Warning* Contains topics of child & sexual abuse.

Sources: Wikipedia, Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, The Independent, Crime & Investigation UK, New York Post, oxygen.com

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