Captive Audience

The director later stated in an interview that despite allowing the mitigation specialist for Cary Stayner's defense statement that he found a history of abuse, mental illness, and alcoholism in the Stayner family to remain in, she chose not to address it or ask the interviewed family members about it. In reality, the series leaves out a large amount of information, including the fact that child molestation was rife in the family and the father, Delbert Stayner, was one of the perpetrators, along with an uncle, Jesse Jerrold "Jerry" Stayner, and the maternal grandfather, Robert Augustine. The uncle was murdered in 1990; the case is still unsolved. The grandfather lived near Kenneth Parnell when Steven was kidnapped in 1972.

The private investigator who was interviewed is aware, as are many other people, that despite the narrative that has been fed to the public, Cary Stayner is only guilty of one murder and was railroaded and took the fall for the actual killers (the men who were initially arrested for the crime) in the three murders for which he was sentenced to death. There was a large amount of incompetence and corruption in local law enforcement, and the trial was rigged. Kay Stayner stated in an interview after the trial that she doesn't believe Cary committed those murders either, and pointed out that without his confession, which was full of major discrepancies, the state had no case, but has never fought for her son's innocence, perhaps because she fears the family secrets coming to light again.

Referenced in Film Junk Podcast: Episode 844: The Northman (2022)