Viewers can never get enough of true crime, and the BBC has recently added Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, a three-part series that has a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.

The documentary originally landed on Hulu back in 2022, and it focused on the 1972 abduction of Steven Stayner, who eventually returned eight years later, saving another child in the process. The case gripped the United States, and in 1989, a miniseries was released on the kidnapping.

However, the case had another dark turn, as Steven’s older brother, Cary, became a serial killer, with at least four known victims.

The series has been a hit since it arrived on BBC iPlayer, with the show managing to break into the streamer’s Top 10, sitting in eighth position. At the time of writing, the three-part series is currently in fourteenth position.

WATCH: See the trailer for Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story

Reaction

When the documentary first aired, it was much lauded by critics. It has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Richard Roeper in the Chicago Sun-Times remarked: “Captive Audience is a well-crafted, three-part documentary series.”

One fan said: “I thought it was overwhelming enough as it is! It’s heavy and unreal. To think that a family could endure what it has is incredible. I am exhausted,” while a second commented: “This was a very interesting deconstruction of a true crime obsession that held attention of an entire nation due to the pursuit of the story. The filmmakers enmesh real footage with interviews from the family as well as those who participated in the manipulation of their story like the writers and actors of the fictional miniseries.”

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The documentary was praised by fans

A third posted: “Great storytelling of a tragic family. Producers did an excellent job of focusing on the important pieces. This is a family that goes from one traumatizing blow to the next. My deepest sympathy. I particularly liked having actors who portrayed the subjects in film reading the lines. Very well done it.”

Meanwhile, a fourth noted: “I loved this story and the way it was told. It is not often in true crime that we get to see the family and friends and how their lives have been impacted by the crime. Seeing the daughter speak about Steven as well as how the movie impacted her childhood was incredibly insightful.”

What happened to Steven Stayner?

On 4 December 1972, a then seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell. The kidnapping took place in Merced, California, with Kenneth holding Steven 38 miles away.

Kenneth lied to Steven that his parents no longer wanted him and that he had been granted legal custody of the child. Kenneth would molest and rape Steven on numerous occasions, and started enrolling him in local schools. Kenneth and Steven regularly moved around California, and while Kenneth’s work sometimes meant that he left Steven alone, as the child was unaware of how to summon help, he never escaped.

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Steven (left) was credited with rescuing Timothy

When Steven became a teenager, Kenneth sought a younger child to continue his abuse, eventually kidnapping five-year-old Timothy White on 14 February 1980. Weeks later, Steven and Timothy escaped, heading to a police station.

Kenneth was arrested a day after the boys broke free and served five years in prison for kidnapping; he wasn’t tried for child abuse charges. In 2004, he was arrested and charged with attempting to purchase a child and with attempted child molestation. He died in prison at the age of 76 in 2008.

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Steven started his own family before passing away in a traffic accident

Steven’s relations with his father became strained as a result of the kidnapping and abuse, and he was kicked out of the family home. In 1985, he married Jody Edmondson, and the pair had two children. Steven eventually started working in a pizza shop and spoke at child abduction groups, as well as serving as a supervisor on the 1989 series, I Know My First Name Is Steven, a two-part miniseries based on the case.

Months after the series was released, Steven was killed in a hit-and-run accident after a car turned out in front of his motorcycle. He was 24 at the time of his death.

What happened to Cary Stayner?

Cary was Steven’s older brother and has since been dubbed the Yosemite Park Killer after he was convicted of the murders of four women. Cary has spoken about feeling neglected by his parents following Steven’s disappearance, as well as feeling overshadowed by the media attention his younger brother received when he returned home.

In 1997, Cary was working as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge motel, and two years later, the remains of 42-year-old Carole Evan Sund and 16-year-old Argentine exchange student Silvina Pelosso were discovered in a burnt-out car. Their remains were so badly burnt, they were only identifiable through dental records.

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Cary’s murders are a focal point in the documentary

A week later, police received a note with a hand-drawn map to the body of Juliana Sund, the 15-year-old daughter of Carole. Cary was interviewed by police at the time, but wasn’t considered as a suspect due to his calm demeanour and not having a prior criminal record.

Months after this, the body of 26-year-old Joie Ruth Armstrong was discovered, and Cary was linked to the murder after his car was spotted outside of the cabin where she had been staying. During a police interview, Cary admitted to all four murders. In addition, he is suspected of four other murders, including that of his paternal uncle, Jesse Stayner.

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Although California doesn’t carry out executions, Cary remains on death row

Cary pleaded guilty to premeditated first-degree murder, felony first-degree murder, kidnapping resulting in death and attempted aggravated sexual abuse resulting in death. During a sentencing hearing, he broke down in tears and said: “I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. I wish I could tell you why I did such a thing, but I don’t even know myself. I’m so sorry. I wish there was a reason, but there isn’t. It’s senseless.”

He was convicted in 2002 and placed on death row. However, the state of California, where he was convicted and is housed, hasn’t carried out any executions since 2006 due to flaws in the administration of capital punishment in the state.