Although Merritt adamantly denied being at the location of the makeshift graves, he was arrested by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office on Nov. 5, 2014 and charged with four counts of murder. [2][12], On November 11, 2013, a dirt biker found four sets of human remains buried in two shallow graves in the desert near Victorville, California. By February 2016, he had gone through five attorneys. he was moved to death row on january 21, 2020, NOT executed. For years, police speculated they went to Mexica, but the McStays bodies were later found buried in the Mojave Desert in November 2013. Webdollar tree plastic candy jars with lids. There were also incisions in her bra that lead investigators to believe it was cut off, the motion states. by all accounts aloving family with no enemies,baffled investigators. Nelson is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. On Nov. 20, at a vigil where volunteers erected white crosses and released doves, Michael pondered aloud the same questions. Merritt was transferred to San Quentin State Prison until an execution date is scheduled.. It would have been impossible for the McStays to travel into Mexico with insufficient documents. And they should be. Timeline of Gabby Petito Tragedy 1 Year After Killer Brian Laundrie's Body Was Found, Calif. Man Gets Death Penalty for Killing Business Partner, Victim's Wife, Kids Before Burying Bodies, Murder, Greed and the Mojave Desert: The Mystery Behind the McStay Family Murder. Chase Merritt /edit [30] On May 4, the case was scheduled to go to trial in July 2018. On November 5, 2014, Chase Merritt, a business associate of McStay was arrested and charged with four counts of murder, after his DNA was discovered inside the McStay vehicle. Merritts trial finally began on January 7, 2019 and on June 10, 2019, a San Bernardino County jury found Merritt guilty of murdering the McStay family. Patrick McStay, Joseph's father, was informed of the discovery and phoned missing person advocate Jerrie Dean to tell her what he knew. An Um, no, Charles Merritt has NOT been put to death. [2] In April 2013, the San Diego Sheriff's Department announced that they believed that the McStays traveled to Mexico voluntarily.[18]. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. The car never returned to the home. An acquaintance of Merritt's told a San Diego reporter, "I think police should look at him and anyone associated with him. November 15, 2013 The cause of death for all of them is deemed to be blunt force trauma. Required fields are marked *. Merritt would also make a bold claim about his last contact with Joseph. June 10, 2019 Merritt is found guilty of murdering the McStay family. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. In July 2015, Merritt's defense attorney filed a request to have the case dismissed because of the wording used by the prosecution when the charges were filed. The defense now moves to exclude certain expected testimony and evidence from the prosecutions case in chief on the grounds that this evidence is not relevant, and that the onlypurposes of the expected evidence are to sensationalize the alleged crimes and inflame the passions of the jury against Mr. Merritt, according to the Nov. 20 motion. "[21][22], In 2013, Merritt acknowledged he had spent more than an hour with Joseph the day the McStay family went missing. Published on November 9, 2014 01:05 PM. Therefore, since the identities of the victims need not andcannot be confirmed by visual inspection or photograph, any photographs of the victims are not relevant to prove or refute a disputed fact.. What Happened to the McStays, Who Vanished 3 Years Before They Were Found Buried in the Desert? that one huge mistake calls into question everything youve written. This information was alarming enough for Josephs brother to call the police and report the family missing, as it was uncharacteristic of them to leave the dogs without food. In an interview with detectives just two weeks after the family was last seen, Merritt talked about his friend in the past tense. There was no apparent suspicious activity on the couples credit card accounts. November 11, 2013 A motorcyclist finds human remains in the desert near Victorville, California, 100 miles north of the McStay home. Webmcstay family autopsy photos. WebJoseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, vanished from their home in Fallbrook, California, on February 4, 2010. I would never have hurt him in any way. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Just a monster. Eddie Bachman tells American Greed. That kind of cued into us as a red flag there because I dont know how any one person could be certain and say that he was the last person that saw his best friend alive if he wasnt in fact the last person who saw him alive.. While no one has the answer, there are many leads, provided by people like Josephs father, Patrick McStay, who has complained for years that the San Diego Sheriffs Department was not treating the case seriously, and Rick Baker, who traveled the world researching his book, No Goodbyes: The Mysterious Disappearance of the McStay Family. Though it is possible that Summer was using a different name, there are no records of passports under any of her other names. amily members report the McStays missing to the San Diego County sheriff's department. April 2, 2010 The FBI joins the search for the missing family. On Thursday, February 4, the last day that the McStay family was heard from, Joseph attended regular work meetings. The McStay family of four was living a happy life, and had recently moved to a new house, which they were renovating and turning into their dream home. WebInvestigators said they traced Merritt's cellphone to the area where the bodies were buried in the days after the family disappeared and to a call seeking to close McStay's online Patrick McStay says the murder of a family of four was "all about money" By Elaine Aradillas. Merritt, who faces the death penalty if convicted, has pleaded not guilty to the crimes. Charles Chase Merritt, 62, was convicted in June of killing his former business associate Joseph McStay, 40, McStays wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3. Photos Of McStay Family Murder Suspect. "[25], On November 5, 2014, detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department arrested Merritt in connection with the deaths of the McStay family after discovering that his DNA had been recovered from their car. The familys disappearance was a shock to the investigators because there was shown no evidence of struggle at their Fallbrook home. WebIn October 2009, Joseph McStay excitedly e-mailed a friend about the house he and his wife had purchased in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook, Calif. Investigators believed that the family was tortured before they were killed. Who would brutally murder the entire McStay family? February 13, 2010 Josephs brother, Michael, goes to his siblings house and enters it through an open window to search for the family. The video, The FBI will lend their resources in Mexico, where San Diego Sheriff's investigators are focusing their search,. Winter 2009 Joseph McStay, 40, an entrepreneur who sold indoor water fountains, and his wife,Summer McStay, 43, and their sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr., move to Fallbrook, California, a community known as The Friendly Village.. The family went missing in 2010, four months after they moved into a new house in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook, California. Summer, meanwhile,spoke with her sister, whod recently had a baby. How did four people end up here in the middle of nowhere, over 100 miles from where they live? he asked. The father's parents, Patrick McStay and Susan Blake, have opened up about the murders on the second season of the Oxygen true-crime series Killer Motive, which premieres on January 23., Mystery:Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, vanished from their home in Fallbrook, California, on February 4, 2010, Tragedy: Joseph'sparents, Patrick McStay and Susan Blake, have opened up about the murders on the second season of the Oxygen true-crime series Killer Motive, In a preview clip from the episode about the McStay family, Patrick recalled speaking to his son in the morning on the day they disappeared.. Investigators and the public also focused on Merritt, the last known person to have had contact with Joseph and the first to notice his disappearance. Sheriffs investigators believe Merritt, a business associate of Joseph McStay who built custom decorative water fountains for McStays online business, killed the McStays for financial gain. Merritt is documented as writing checks totaling $21,000 on McStays business account, after McStay went missing. Prosecutors said he bludgeoned the family to death with a sledgehammer. A license plate search for the vehicle led to the discovery that the McStay's SUV had been towed from a parking lot near San Ysidro, California, right near the U.S.-Mexico border, Gone: The family was considered missing, and detectives notified Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, to be on the lookout for headin to Mexico, Can't tell: Deputies released a video of a group of people similar to the McStay family entering Mexico hand in hand through the pedestrian gate around 7 p.m. on February 8, 2010, Devastating: Joseph's parents headed to Mexico to hang flyers and search for them but never found anything, 'They actually thought that was really them going over the border on the video,' said Susan, who was skeptical but still headed to Mexico to search for her family.. In October 2009, Joseph McStay excitedly e-mailed a friend about the house he and his wife had purchased in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook, Calif. The bodies were identified asJoseph, Summer, Joseph Mateo, and Gianani McStay.. Lastly, neither party to this case is arguing or disputing that it was in fact the McStays whom were the victims in this case, according to McGees motion. [1][2] Their disappearance was widely reported by the national news media. The memorial is located about 200 feet west of Quary road and requires visitors to leave their car at Quary Road and walk east to the actual location. I don't think so, and I truly hope not. It showed a family that appeared to look like the McStays, crossing into Mexico. But hed also tell Kay during his television interview that he had definitely been the last person to see Joseph. "[22], In January 2014, Merritt said that he might write a book about the family, alleging that Summer had anger issues and that Joseph had been ill for some time with a mysterious ailment. They were dressed similarly to the McStays, and the children were wearing hats similar to ones they had been photographed in. However, a new discovery on border surveillance video changed the course of the investigation. Dan Hanke tells American Greed that when investigators examined Josephs QuickBooks account they did, in fact, discover a series of checks made out to Merritt or other vendors that Merrittowed money to that were dated Feb. 4, but the metadata stored within the computer revealed that the checks had not actually been written that day. Patrick said, "I truly believe she loved my son. Prosecutors contend, among other things, that the jury is entitled to put a face to the remains of the McStay family, and that the jury has a right to know of whom the witnesses are talking about, McGee noted in another motion the defenses response to the prosecutions opposition motion, filed on Thursday. January 25, 2018. mcstay family autopsy photosdave coulier son. After 5:47 p.m.Joseph and Summer ended all communications. Inside The Gruesome McStay Family Murder Case. Merritts cellphone was also traced to the burial site area in the days following the McStays disappearance. [27] Merritt's trial was delayed as he had repeatedly fired his attorneys or attempted to represent himself. Home U.K. The pair had met through Josephs successful decorative waterfall business, Earth Inspired Products. On February 15, eleven days after the family was last heard from, the police searched the McStay family home. [24] When asked if he thought Merritt was a suspect, Joseph's father Patrick said, "I have to have faith in Chase because I have to have faith in my son. The four bodies were identified of the Mcstays family, the husband Joseph, wife Summer, and their two children. Ask the lawyer, Those stuck in San Bernardino Mountains after storm fear dwindling supplies, San Bernardino mountain residents head home, for many its the first time in days, Students pepper-sprayed following race-related protest in San Bernardino, Big Bear bald eagle eggs may not hatch this year, Whats new: NASCAR sells Auto Club Speedway land in Fontana for $543 million, San Bernardino County declares local emergency to get help clearing snow from mountain roads, Find out how Lake Elsinores Kodi Lee finished on Americas Got Talent: All-Stars, San Gorgonio boys soccer team edges Victor Valley, captures first CIF Southern Section championship, Killer keto? 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