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The Yosemite Murders

Dennis McDougal

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Apr 30, 2011 Kelly rated it really liked it

In 1999, Cary Stayner killed four women just outside of Yosemite National Park. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this case is that Cary was the older brother of Steven Stayner, the kid who was kidnapped in 1972 and remained missing for 7 years until escaping and returning back home. A well-known TV movie was made from a book written about Steven's experience, called I Know My First Name Is Steven. Sadly, in 1989, Steven died in a motorcycle accident at age 24. The following year, Cary an In 1999, Cary Stayner killed four women just outside of Yosemite National Park. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this case is that Cary was the older brother of Steven Stayner, the kid who was kidnapped in 1972 and remained missing for 7 years until escaping and returning back home. A well-known TV movie was made from a book written about Steven's experience, called I Know My First Name Is Steven. Sadly, in 1989, Steven died in a motorcycle accident at age 24. The following year, Cary and Steven's uncle was killed in a still-unsolved murder. And nearly a decade later, Cary Stayner became a serial killer.

There was a long period of lagging during the first half of this book, during which I almost decided to just skim the rest of it. I'm glad I didn't, though, because the book totally redeemed itself during the second half. The beginning of the book focuses on the lives of the victims and their families, and even devotes 8 whole pages to one of the funerals (which I found incredibly boring!). Then the author moves on, in excrutiating detail, to cover a bunch of trashy meth addicts who were suspects in the killings. FINALLY, in the latter half of the book, things pick up. McDougal gives an interesting account of the Stayner family history, beginning with when they were kids and Steven was kidnapped and subsequently returned home. He then moves on to describe Cary's personality, how he was caught for the murders of all 4 women, and the events that occurred shortly thereafter. McDougal finished writing the book in November of 1999, so it doesn't cover the trial and sentencing, which came a couple of years later.

All-in-all, I found the Stayner family history far more interesting than the Yosemite murders, and I'm glad McDougal devoted a good bit of the book to the this (which is why I gave it the 4 stars). We never do really learn, though, what drove Cary to kill these four women, other than a vague hypothesis that he was simply the product of a disfunctional family. ...more

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