Timothy White (abduction victim)

Timothy White (1974-April 1, 2010) was a California child who was abducted by pedophile Kenneth Parnell in 1980.

Seven years earlier, Parnell had snatched seven-year-old Steven Stayner as he walked home from school. As Steven grew towards adulthood, Parnell was motivated to take another small boy to fulfill his paedophilic urges and, on February 14, 1980, he abducted five-year-old Timmy from his home in Ukiah, California. Parnell intended to rename the boy as "Tommy" and pass him off as his son and Steven's brother. However, determined to not see another child suffer the systematic sexual abuse that he endured at the hands of his kidnapper, a then-14-year-old Steven sought to return Timmy to his parents.

While Parnell was working as a security guard on March 1, 1980, the boys escaped, and Steven took Timmy back to Ukiah and handed him over to the police. This event precipitated both of the children being reunited with their families. Parnell was tried and convicted of the abduction of Timmy and Steven in two separate trials. He was sentenced to seven years for the abduction of Timmy but was paroled after serving five years.[1][2] Parnell was not charged with the numerous sexual assaults on Steven Stayner and other boys because most of them occurred outside the jurisdiction of the Merced county prosecutor or were by then outside the statute of limitations.

Timmy forged a bond with Steven during the 16 days he was held in Parnell's custody and spoke favorably of how the older boy took care of him.[3] The White family maintained contact with the Stayners in the aftermath of their sons' return and, when Steven died in a motorcycle accident in 1989, 14-year-old Timmy was one of his pallbearers.[4][5]

Timothy James "Timmy" White later became a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy. He died on April 1, 2010, at age 35 from pulmonary embolism, 21 years after Stayner's death and 2 years after Parnell's death. White was survived by his wife, Dena, and two young children, as well as by his parents, stepfather, and sister.[6][7][8]

On August 28, 2010, a statue of Steven and Timmy was dedicated in Applegate Park in Merced, California.[9] Residents of Ukiah, the hometown of White, carved a statue showing a teenage Steven with young Timmy in hand while escaping their captivity.

References

  1. ↑ "Alleged attempt to buy child leads to arrest of kidnapper". CNN. January 4, 2003. Retrieved August 17, 2008.
  2. ↑ Steven Stayner, serial killer Cary Stayner's brother, was abducted for 7 years - Crime Library on truTV.com
  3. ↑ "Coming Home". Crime Library. Archived from the original on Jan 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  4. ↑ Cawthorne, Nigel (2012). Against Their Will: Sadistic Kidnappers and the Courageous Stories of Their Innocent Victims. Ulysses Press. p. 245. ISBN 1-612-43066-X.
  5. ↑ Stark, John; Adelson, Suzanne (October 2, 1989). "A Hit-and-Run Crash Ends the Life of Kidnap Victim Steven Stayner". people.com. People magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ukiah Daily Journal: Timothy White, boy saved by Steven Stayner, dead at 35". mercedsunstar.com. Merced Sun-Star. April 8, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Timothy White, victim of 1980 kidnapping, dies". signalscv.com.
  8. ↑ "Timothy White, Victim of a Notorious 1980 Kidnapping, Dies at 35". The New York Times. April 10, 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Patton, Victor A. (August 30, 2010). "Statue honors Steven Stayner's legacy". Merced Sun-Star. Retrieved March 27, 2012.

Further reading

External links

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