# Late obit: Kenneth Parnell (Stephen Stayner's kidnapper) from January **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490 "2008-04-15T20:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/1 "2008-04-15T20:20:38Z")
[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/22/BAV2UJOJN.DTL](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/22/BAV2UJOJN.DTL) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/2 "2008-04-15T20:37:44Z")
I hope there is an afterlife and this disgusting creature is in the bowels of Hell. The damage he did on this earth is totally and utterly unforgivable. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/3 "2008-04-15T20:58:20Z")
What a sad life Steven Stayner had. It kills me that this guy got to die of old age. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/4 "2008-04-15T22:12:34Z")
What shocks me is that he was ever let out on parole after kidnapping a kid and holding him captive for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/5 "2008-04-17T12:17:24Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] What shocks me is that he was ever let out on parole after kidnapping a kid and holding him captive for so long. [/QUOTE] The laws back then were very bad about this type of crime. Five years was the max the judge could give someone who had kidnapped and held a child for seven years. This case was one that got the damn laws changed, and today Parnell would have served a much longer term. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/6 "2008-04-17T13:13:26Z")
Thanks for posting this. I remember the TV movie based on this story. The guy who played Parnell was incredibly creepy. It’s a fascinating, depressing story, especially given the circumstances surrounding Steven’s brother [Cary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner). That poor family. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/late-obit-kenneth-parnell-stephen-stayners-kidnapper-from-january/445490/7 "2008-04-17T13:31:42Z")
While true crime writer Ann Rule tends to avoid high profile cases (with the exception of Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgeway), she is hoping to do a book on Steven and Cary Stayner, with a hope to understanding the whole mess. I think this is a classic case of how criminals do not affect just the victim, but the whole family. When Parnell committed his hideous crime, it was still illegal for the families of victims to speak before sentencing, on the idea it might prejudiced the judge!