Juliana “Juli” Sund, a 15-year-old white female from Eureka, California, was one of three victims in a series of murders that shocked the nation in early 1999. Juli, her mother Carole Sund and their family friend Silvina Pelosso were visiting Yosemite National Park when they disappeared in mid-February. The group had been staying at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal, California, near the park’s entrance.
On February 15, 1999, the day of their disappearance, the three females were
last seen alive at the lodge. Investigators later learned that Cary Stayner, a 37-year-old white male who worked as a handyman at the Cedar Lodge, had targeted the group. Stayner gained access to their room by pretending to check on a water leak. Once inside, he brandished a weapon and bound the three victims. He strangled Carole Sund in the bathroom and placed her body in the trunk of their rental car. He then sexually assaulted both 15-year-old white female Juli Sund and 16-year-old Silvina Pelosso before killing them
