The Yosemite Murders

I used to live 2 doors down from the Stayner family when they lived in Atwater, California. WOW. Del and Kay were very nice people, pretty much kept to themselves. I lived there when Steven was killed, it was SO SAD.I found the book to be quite interesting since I lived in that area. It is just too crazy to me that someone could commit such horrific crimes. My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and Cary's family. Senseless murder is just something I will never understand. I don't normally read crime stories, but read this one because of who it was about...... I will be following the trial in the newspaper.

McDougal wrote a high speed page turner alright!I couldn't put this book down! i recomend this book to people who want to know the details of this tradgic murder case. Vivid detail, and what really happend.McDougal stabs at the how,who,what,when,were,how questions and delievers answers to every question you still have, I can almost guarentee that.Not only does it focus on the 4 murders in the beautiful park, but also of Steven Stayner's child hood and what was believed what happenend.Full of facts and even colored pictures of;the 4 victims, Joie Armstrongs cabin, the hotel room the 3 were taken from, and a few more you can't find anywhere else.

This book covers a lot of detail, HOWEVER it is tastefully done. No voyeuristic and tasteless details of the victims murders and allows them their dignity. I dislike true crime books which gleefully share all the grisly details, I think it violates the victims, again, when this sort of thing is done. The author has done well on this aspect by relating only the necessary facts. It does delve into Cary's childhood which includes Steven Stayner,of course.

McDougal once again goes beyond the headlines of a tragic California crime and offers up more information on the Sund/Pelosso/Armstrong murders of Yosemite in 1999 that you will find anywhere else. "The Yosemite Murders" paints the horrifc picture of Cary Stayner, a 37-year-old good-looking slacker who confessed to the killings of four beautiful, meaningful women. This book details the 1972 kidnapping and seven year debacle of Cary's younger brother Steven. Also, McDougal digs into the Stayner background to deliver more information than we have ever read about this poor family. And whether Steven's disappearance and reemergence into a media darling had any impact on Cary's future. He also brings to issue whether or not the FBI may have committed heinous errors and led to the death of an innocent Yosemite employee. McDougal lays the case out in an easy-to-understand order that never panders to the lowest common denominator. This book is FAR from boring. It brings a very complex case into focus and is the necessary text for the federal trial against Stayner later this year. I have read approximately 3,000 true crime books, and without a doubt, "The Yosemite Murders" ranks near the very top.