Charges Filed in Tourist Slayings

SACRAMENTO —  Three months after he allegedly confessed to killing a trio of Yosemite tourists, a 38-year-old motel handyman was charged Wednesday in a case that baffled the FBI for months and captured national attention.

Cary Stayner now faces a possible death sentence if convicted of killing Eureka resident Carole Sund, her 15-year-old daughter, Juliana, and Silvina Pelosso, 16, a friend visiting from Argentina.

The charges were filed by prosecutors in mountainous Mariposa County, where the three women were last seen Feb. 15. They vanished at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal, a small community near Yosemite National Park’s western entrance.

Stayner, who is being held at Fresno County Jail, already faces trial in federal court for the slaying of Joie Armstrong, a 26-year-old Yosemite naturalist beheaded near her home inside the park July 21.

On Wednesday, relatives of the Sunds said they were surprised by the timing of the new charges, which were delayed as agents tried to determine whether Stayner had help.

Carole Carrington, mother of Carole Sund and grandmother of Juliana, said in a statement that she and her husband, Francis, were “somewhat relieved” that the case was going forward and are “hopeful that justice will be done.”

Quin Denvir, federal defender for California’s eastern district, said he expects the federal case against Stayner to go forward before the state trial. He would not comment on the new charges against Stayner, who has not yet been appointed an attorney in state court.

But one source close to the case said it is likely that Stayner would attempt an insanity defense.

Sund, a 42-year-old businesswoman, and the teenagers vanished while staying at the Cedar Lodge, where Stayner worked.

The handyman was interviewed at least twice by the FBI in El Portal, but was not considered a suspect until July when Armstrong was killed.

Upon his arrest, Stayner allegedly confessed to authorities and a TV reporter that he stalked the trio at the motel and then made up a story about a plumbing problem to get into their room.

He told investigators that he torched their rental car several days later along an overgrown logging road. One of the bodies was dumped elsewhere. Stayner allegedly said he tossed Sund’s wallet onto a Modesto street to throw investigators off his trail.

For months, the FBI overlooked the handyman and instead focused on a loose-knit group of prison parolees in Modesto. Agents said one suspect made incriminating statements, and they found blanket fluff in his vehicle that matched fibers found on Juliana Sund’s body.

FBI officials declined to comment on the charges filed Wednesday, but did say that they are continuing to investigate Stayner’s past.

“We’ve made some headway, but we’ve found nothing that would indicate he has been involved in any other crimes,” said Joe Sheehan, an FBI spokesman. “That avenue of investigation remains open.”

Authorities allege that the three murders occurred during the commission of other felony offenses, including burglary, robbery, attempted rape and firearms violations. These special circumstance allegations make Stayner eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

An attorney for one of the parolees initially targeted by FBI agents said Wednesday that investigators should formally clear his client.

“They owe him an apology,” said Tim Bazar, public defender in Stanislaus County. “And they owe the public an explanation of how they went so wrong on this investigation for so long.”

Stayner told authorities he acted alone and did not know any of the parolees targeted by the FBI.