Yosemite Suspect Apologizes, Seeks to Aid Victims’ Families

The motel handyman suspected in the murders of four women in the Yosemite area says he’s “truly sorry” for the pain he has caused and wants to sell the rights to his story to compensate the families of the victims.

Not long after Cary Stayner’s arrest, he reportedly said he would like to see his life turned into a television movie. His younger brother, Steven, was the subject of a book and TV movie after being kidnapped as a child and sexually abused for seven years before escaping.

“I realize that the money would be little consolation for the loss of their loved ones, but until the jury, judge and executioner fulfill their role in this matter, it’s all I have to offer,” said Stayner, who faces the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of last month’s slaying of Joie Ruth Armstrong.

Stayner, 38, allegedly confessed to killing Armstrong, 26, a naturalist who worked at Yosemite National Park, and to slaying Yosemite sightseers Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juliana, 15, and their Argentine friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, in February.

In a letter to the Fresno Bee from his cell in the Fresno County Jail, Stayner wrote: “I would like to say how deeply sorry I am for all the pain and sorrow I’ve brought upon so many people. Not only the Sunds, Pelossos, Carringtons and Armstrongs but my fellow employees at Cedar Lodge, the community of El Portal, the people of Argentina, and all those across the nation who felt the sorrow of my victims’ families.”

FBI agents, who are still investigating the sightseers’ deaths and have yet to file charges in that case, want to see the letter. “It could be a very important piece of evidence,” FBI Agent Nick Rossi said.

The letter was a response to a letter to the editor by a Fresno resident that the Bee published Aug. 11.