Kenneth Parnell
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Eugene Parnell was an American
convicted sex offender
, known infamously for his kidnapping
of seven-year-old Steven Stayner
in Merced
, California
.
, during the region's fabled dust bowl
era during the Great Depression
, to Cecil Frederick and Mary Olive (Pollard) Parnell. He later moved with his mother, his two half-sisters and a half-brother to Bakersfield, California
. Parnell was raised mostly without his father, who abandoned the family when he was six. He spent much of his adolescence in and out of juvenile hall and mental institutions.
In March 1951, Parnell was arrested for sodomizing
a young boy, as well as impersonating a police officer (Parnell had used a fake deputy sheriff's badge he purchased from an Army-Navy surplus store); he was convicted of the crime in 1952, and sentenced to almost four years in prison. While receiving treatment at Norwalk State Hospital, he cut a lock from a clothes room window and escaped, staying free until February of the following year, when he was finally apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico
.
In a January 15, 2000, interview with East Bay Express
journalist Katy St. Clair, Parnell said that he kidnapped and molested the boy because his wife was pregnant and that he "had to find another outlet." Parnell claimed to have been married three times, but only two records of his marriages are known to exist. He married Patsy in 1950, who gave birth to their daughter the following year. They divorced in 1957. Later that year, Parnell married Emma, a woman 10 years his senior. She too gave birth to a daughter soon after their union.
He denied in that same interview having been sexually abused himself, although Mike Echols
' book I Know My First Name is Steven, says Parnell was indeed molested at the age of 13 by a boarder in a rooming house his mother owned in Bakersfield.
More than a decade after the sodomy case, Parnell went back to jail for armed robbery in Utah
. While he was in prison, his second wife filed for divorce. Parnell claimed to have married a third and final time in 1968. As of February 2008, no records have been found substantiating Parnell's claim of this union.
with the help of Edward Ervin Murphy, a co-worker at the Yosemite Lodge
where Parnell worked as a night auditor
. Parnell went on to tell Steven that his parents couldn't afford to keep him anymore, that a judge had given Parnell legal custody of him and that his new name was "Dennis."
On February 14, 1980, Parnell abducted five-year-old Timmy White from a Ukiah, California
, street, with the help of Sean Poorman who was an acquaintance of Steven's.
Steven Stayner died in 1989 of injuries sustained in a motorcycle
accident.
, plus other ailments brought on by a stroke
he 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 the child have a "clean" rectum
, indicating sexual intentions. 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.
"I wanted a family," Parnell told authorities after his arrest.
Parnell was convicted on February 9, 2004, on the charges of attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation, even though the child in question was nonexistent. 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
.
Prosecutor Tim Wellman said that Parnell "was looking for one last hurrah. One last Steven Stayner, one last Timmy White."
, Parnell died of natural causes. He had been under hospice
care for some time.
. In 1991, a true crime book by Mike Echols of the same name was published, the manuscript from which the screenplay had been adapted.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
convicted sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
, known infamously for his kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of seven-year-old Steven Stayner
Steven Stayner
Steven Gregory Stayner was an American kidnap victim. Stayner was abducted from the Northern California city and county of Merced, California at the age of seven and held until he was 14, when he escaped and rescued another victim, Timothy White, in 1980...
in Merced
Merced, California
Merced is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 78,958. Incorporated in 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council-manager government...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Early life
Parnell was born in Amarillo, TexasAmarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, during the region's fabled dust bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
era during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, to Cecil Frederick and Mary Olive (Pollard) Parnell. He later moved with his mother, his two half-sisters and a half-brother to Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. Parnell was raised mostly without his father, who abandoned the family when he was six. He spent much of his adolescence in and out of juvenile hall and mental institutions.
In March 1951, Parnell was arrested for sodomizing
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
a young boy, as well as impersonating a police officer (Parnell had used a fake deputy sheriff's badge he purchased from an Army-Navy surplus store); he was convicted of the crime in 1952, and sentenced to almost four years in prison. While receiving treatment at Norwalk State Hospital, he cut a lock from a clothes room window and escaped, staying free until February of the following year, when he was finally apprehended in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
.
In a January 15, 2000, interview with East Bay Express
East Bay Express
The East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
journalist Katy St. Clair, Parnell said that he kidnapped and molested the boy because his wife was pregnant and that he "had to find another outlet." Parnell claimed to have been married three times, but only two records of his marriages are known to exist. He married Patsy in 1950, who gave birth to their daughter the following year. They divorced in 1957. Later that year, Parnell married Emma, a woman 10 years his senior. She too gave birth to a daughter soon after their union.
He denied in that same interview having been sexually abused himself, although Mike Echols
Mike Echols
Walter Harlan "Mike" Echols was an American author who wrote several books, mainly dealing with child sexual abuse...
' book I Know My First Name is Steven, says Parnell was indeed molested at the age of 13 by a boarder in a rooming house his mother owned in Bakersfield.
More than a decade after the sodomy case, Parnell went back to jail for armed robbery in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. While he was in prison, his second wife filed for divorce. Parnell claimed to have married a third and final time in 1968. As of February 2008, no records have been found substantiating Parnell's claim of this union.
Child abductions
On December 4, 1972, Parnell abducted Steven StaynerSteven Stayner
Steven Gregory Stayner was an American kidnap victim. Stayner was abducted from the Northern California city and county of Merced, California at the age of seven and held until he was 14, when he escaped and rescued another victim, Timothy White, in 1980...
with the help of Edward Ervin Murphy, a co-worker at the Yosemite Lodge
Yosemite Lodge at the Falls
The Yosemite Lodge at the Falls is a lodging accommodation, in western Yosemite Village, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, California, located at 9006 Yosemite Lodge Drive.The Lodge is one of only two lodging options in the valley that encompasses only hotel...
where Parnell worked as a night auditor
Night auditor
A night auditor is a person who works at night at the reception of a hotel. They typically handle both the duties of the front desk agent and some of the duties of the accounting department...
. Parnell went on to tell Steven that his parents couldn't afford to keep him anymore, that a judge had given Parnell legal custody of him and that his new name was "Dennis."
On February 14, 1980, Parnell abducted five-year-old Timmy White from a Ukiah, California
Ukiah, California
The average high temperature is 73.5 °F . Average low temperature is 46.1 °F . Temperatures reach 90 °F on an average of 65.6 days annually and 100 °F on an average of 14.4 days annually. Due to frequent low humidity, summer temperatures normally drop into the fifties at night. Freezing...
, street, with the help of Sean Poorman who was an acquaintance of Steven's.
Arrest
Refusing to let the boy suffer the abuse he had been enduring himself for so long, Stayner waited until Parnell had gone to his night-shift job at a local motel on March 1, 1980. After Parnell left, Stayner, carrying Timmy on his back, hitchhiked to Ukiah, where his intention was to return Timmy to his home and then 'escape' himself (still believing that Parnell had legal custody of him). Unable to locate Timmy White's home, he took the boy to the Police Department where the truth of what had taken place over the last seven years slowly came to light. By daybreak the following morning Parnell had been arrested, and while checking into Parnell's past, his record of the 1951 sodomy conviction came to light, although at the time Steven insisted that Parnell had not sexually abused him.1981 trials
Parnell was tried for kidnapping both Stayner and White, but not for the sexual abuse he inflicted upon Stayner. He served five years of his seven-year prison sentence. His accomplice from Steven's kidnapping served two years of a five-year prison sentence; the Ukiah minor who helped kidnap Timmy White served time in a juvenile facility.Steven Stayner died in 1989 of injuries sustained in a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
accident.
2004 convictions
In January 2003, Parnell was arrested again after trying to coerce his caregiver into buying him a four-year-old boy. Parnell was, by this time, 71 years old and in ill health, suffering from diabetes and emphysemaEmphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
, plus other ailments brought on by a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
he suffered earlier, requiring near 24-hour-a-day nursing care in his cluttered apartment in the 2600 block of Mathews Street in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
The caregiver, Diane Stevens, was aware of Parnell's past and cooperated with police in setting up a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
that would lead to his arrest. According to Diane Stevens' testimony, Parnell requested the child have a "clean" rectum
Rectum
The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
, indicating sexual intentions. 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.
"I wanted a family," Parnell told authorities after his arrest.
Parnell was convicted on February 9, 2004, on the charges of attempting to purchase a child and attempted child molestation, even though the child in question was nonexistent. The prosecution successfully argued that sexual aids and pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
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
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
under California's "three strikes" law
Three strikes law
Three strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...
.
Prosecutor Tim Wellman said that Parnell "was looking for one last hurrah. One last Steven Stayner, one last Timmy White."
Death
Parnell remained incarcerated until his death. According to prison officials at the California State Prison Hospital in Vacaville, CaliforniaVacaville, California
Vacaville, California is a city located in the northeastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Solano County. The city is nearly half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80. It sits approximately from Sacramento, and from San Francisco...
, Parnell died of natural causes. He had been under hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
care for some time.
Media adaptations
Stayner's life with Parnell was documented in the 1989 TV miniseries I Know My First Name Is Steven (also released as The Missing Years). Parnell was portrayed (in an uncredited role) by Arliss HowardArliss Howard
Arliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
. In 1991, a true crime book by Mike Echols of the same name was published, the manuscript from which the screenplay had been adapted.
External links
- http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/27125/