McSTAY FAMILY - Found Dead 4 Years After Vanishing

[HairOfTheDog]

You always do that, MS.

So, you still think you're right about your most recent assertion that Michael McStay is "the one" who killed his brother, sister-in-law, and 2 little nephews too?

Still think Rick Baker is a credible source?

Anyway, I'm very glad that this quadruple murder appears to have been solved and there may be justice for the McStays ater all.


RIP

[HairOfTheDog]

There is reportedly some surveillance video that incriminates Merritt, but police declined to give more details.

LE confirmed that this qualifies as a Death Penalty case and they are evaluating that option (they can use that as leverage against Merritt -- hopefully get him to give up all the details in exchange for taking the DP off the table).

[Midwest Spy]

I know HotD, I took a few swings at this case, but my first assertion was directed at the business partner. Later, of course, a person tries to rationalize other theories.

What an animal, taking out an entire family. Sounds like bludgeoned them. He deserves death , however even if CA sentences him, we know it takes 25+ years to carry it out.

[QueenBee]

I am at work now, and do not have time to confirm, but I think there is going to be a CNN special on this evening. 9 or 10PM Eastern, I think. Do not hold me to this, but check your local listings.

[HairOfTheDog]

I know HotD, I took a few swings at this case, but my first assertion was directed at the business partner. Later, of course, a person tries to rationalize other theories.

What an animal, taking out an entire family. Sounds like bludgeoned them. He deserves death , however even if CA sentences him, we know it takes 25+ years to carry it out.

Yeah, I like reading all of your theories and rationale. It just cracks me every time you go through a thread and bump an old post like that, you goof ball.

If the McStays were my family members, I'd prefer a confession to the crime and all of the details for a sentence of life in prison w/o parole rather than encourage prosecutors to go for the death penalty.

As you said, if a death sentence is secured after years and millions of dollars are expended in pursuit of a conviction, it takes a couple of decades before anyone gets put to death here. Merritt's already in his late 50s or early 60s, IIRC. Plus, the death penalty could easily be overturned and a death sentence would then revert to LWOP anyhow.

Anyway, I agree with you that Merritt, if guilty, is a complete animal. Bludgeoning to death a whole family to whom you've been close is barbaric -- especially to do that to the little boys.

Very interested to learn more about LE's theory and evidence, not only in regards to the motive, but also the logistics.

If Merritt killed the family in their home by blunt force, there would have been blood at the scene. But, on the surface, nothing of the sort was visible to SDPD. So, I think Merritt would have had to clean up very quickly and very well. He mighta had to paint over some of it -- the house was being repainted at the time of the disappearance.

If he worked alone, seems likely he loaded 4 bodies into his truck, drove them over an hour to the desert in Victorviille, dug graves, buried them, drove back and parked within walking distance of the house, cleaned the house to conceal the murders, then stole the McStays' SUV and planted it near the Mexican border -- all undetected. Then, he used some kind of transportation service to get back to his truck and drove off into the sunset.

Or, maybe the Mexico travel searches and Spanish language CDs were because the McStays got in over their heads in something with Merritt. They coulda been trying to get to the border when Merritt caught up with them and took them back to the house in his truck to kill them, leaving their SUV at the border?

Still so many questions.

[HairOfTheDog]

Or.....

Since SDPD apparently messed up when they said no crime had taken place at the house, maybe they messed up about no foul play associated with the SUV too.

Maybe Merritt transported the bodies to the desert in the McStay's SUV, cleaned it, planted it at the border, and then found a way back to the McStay's neighborhood to pick up his truck (and clean the house, if he didn't do that before getting rid of the bodies).

[Midwest Spy]

You know, maybe I had it wrong when I theorized Merritt could've been skimming and Joe caught him?

What if it were the other way around and Merritt was onto McStay and the family really did want to flee to Mex (as I think you just asked?) to get away from him?

To me, that would explain savagery a little better. "this guy was trying to fuck me over, I'll show him."

He may have started with Joe (in the home) moved on to his wife and of the course the kids could ID him. Sad.

Imagine Merritt though, thinking he had committed the perfect crime. As long as those bodies are never found he's essentially free.

When they were discovered last year I bet he nearly had a heart attack.

[HairOfTheDog]

Imagine Merritt though, thinking he had committed the perfect crime. As long as those bodies are never found he's essentially free.

When they were discovered last year I bet he nearly had a heart attack.

Yeah, he sure played it cool though; giving that interview to the Daily Mail soon after the bodies were found -- talking about how he was the only one who took a lie detector test and how well business was going for him and his best friend Joey.

Here's his mugshot, which was on display at today's press conference.


Charles Merritt, 57

Looks like LE considered Merritt a prime suspect right away, but he had a lot of people fooled.

I wonder when LE obtained the surveillance video that was mentioned today and whether it's footage from the McStay's neighborhood, or near the border, or near the grave sites?

Merritt was supposed to be arraigned this afternoon -- that's been pushed back to Nov. 12^th.

Updated article and pics: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...amily.html (HOTD edit: fixed link)

[Cheyne]

Well color me surprised! I had my money on the brother, Michael.

Merritt is either one cool customer or a friggin' psychopath to pass a lie detector test so easily.

I agree that if I were the family, I would rather have a full confession and guilty plea for LIP than a death penalty case. At Merritt's age, he would die of natural causes before the state would execute him anyway.

[HairOfTheDog]

I am at work now, and do not have time to confirm, but I think there is going to be a CNN special on this evening. 9 or 10PM Eastern, I think. Do not hold me to this, but check your local listings.

Thanks for the heads-up on this special, QueenBee. I hadn't seen it and found it on Youtube.

It was fascinating watching it now that an arrest has been made -- especially listening to the suspect Chase Merritt point the finger at Summer McStay.




It's easy to see why Michael McStay caused suspicion for so many. He made some decisions that definitely delayed the start of an investigation and he did withdraw money from Joey's company's account (to pay Joey's older son's child support, he explained).

Dan Kavanaugh is also interviewed in the CNN special. He was a suspect in many people's eyes -- for good reason, IMO. He was the webmaster who was withdrawing money from the company before the family was reported missing and he sold the business months after Joey disappeared. He comes across as very shady, to me.

Anyway, there was always talk that an $81k deposit paid to Joseph's fountain company was unaccounted for. That payment was for a job that Chase Merritt worked on for Joey's company before the disappearance. I wonder if this poor family was killed over money by a man with a long history of theft, burglary and fraud offenses.

Investigators say that one of the pieces of evidence leading them to Merritt was found at the grave site. They aren't revealing the nature of that evidence.

[blueberryhill]

Guess it is a moot point now, but I, too, thought there was something "off" about brother, Michael. I got that feeling after watching him on TV talking about the missing family after their bodies were discovered.
Also, LE is saying family probably never left home alive; 4 bludgeoned to death and no sign of blood. How can that be? Will look forward to when they release details of crime.

[HairOfTheDog]

Also, LE is saying family probably never left home alive; 4 bludgeoned to death and no sign of blood. How can that be? Will look forward to when they release details of crime.

The fact that the homicide investigators believe the family was killed at home surprised me more than Chase Merritt being charged with their murders.

But, when I think about it now, it probably shouldn't have surprised me.

The killer had a long time to get rid of visible evidence. No one reported the family missing for 11 days and Merritt was in direct contact with their relatives during that time -- he knew they weren't going to the McStay house. The fact that he was regarded as a friend of the family gave him a huge advantage in pulling this off, assuming he is guilty.

San Diego PD didn't have a clue what happened to the family when the McStays were finally reported missing. They didn't see any signs of forced entry or struggle, so they didn't declare the house a crime scene. When the border crossing video emerged shortly therafter, San Diego PD believed the family in the grainy video was indeed the McStays. It looked liked the McStays and the time of the crossing coincided pretty closely with the time the McStay's SUV was parked right near the border. It convinced San Diego PD that the McStay disappearance was very likely voluntary. I think the killer caught the lucky coincidental break of a lifetime when that border crossing footage was found.

Then...........when the bodies were discovered in San Bernadino county, everything changed, of course. San Bernadino PD took over the case and investigated it as quadruple homicide -- looking into everyone associated with the McStays. There was no longer any doubt that a horrific crime had taken place. It was noted early on that a futon cover from the home was believed to be unaccounted for. It could be that the bodies were wrapped, transported, and buried with that cover -- which would point back to the house as the crime scene. And/or, if one or more of the McStays were bound and buried with electrical cord or some other material that belonged to the McStay household, it again points back to the house. San Bernadino PD may have secured a warrant and searched that house thoroughly for the first time -- 4 years after the disappearance -- and found blood traces or bone fragments which were not visible to the naked eye.

I don't know about the other potential suspects in the case, but Chase Merritt had a weak alibi. He said he was watching a movie at home with his then-girlfriend. He said he didn't pick up a call to his phone from Joey's phone at that time because he was tired. In a different interview, he said he didn't pick it up because he'd already talked to Joey so many times that day. I think Chase Merritt made that call himself as a ruse -- just like he repeatedly disparaged Summer McStay and suggested that she was poisoning her husband to throw people off his track.

I'm very anxious to learn more details too.

[HairOfTheDog]

Discussion of New Developments

I watched the update to CNN's Buried Secrets documentary (posted upthread) last night. Below is the short video of CNN investigative reporter Randi Kaye talking about recent developments, theories, and such. She also describes Chase Merritt's alibi and his demeanor when she interviewed him for the documentary almost a year ago. The video includes footage from a recent interview with Joseph's father Patrick McStay as well -- interesting stuff.

[HairOfTheDog]

Suspect Chase Merritt to be Arraigned Today



I don't think we'll learn much more about the evidence at the arraignment, but we may be able to glean some information from the specific charges which will be read in court today. Merritt will plead guilty or not guilty to each.

The arraignment starts at 1:30 PST and I believe media will be allowed in the courtroom.

[Duchess]

I watched him on CNN last night. He was one cool customer. I didn't see anything at all suspicious about him, he was earnest and thoughtful and truly seemed like he had tried to help and this was after I knew he was a murdering bitch. Jesus.

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's today's arraignment (it's real quick -- Merritt pleaded not guilty to all counts) and an interview with his defense attorney, Ponce.



I think it's likely that Chase Merritt is guilty for several reasons which I'll post when I get back. But, I definitely wanna hear more evidence before I convict him in my mind.

The pre preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 20. The preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 25.

[Duchess]

I watched the DA be interviewed last night. He said they all died from blunt force trauma (in their home) but he wouldn't say what the weapon was only that it was common, something everyone would be familiar with, not sure I understand the reason for secrecy in regards to that. He also expressed confidence that they have what they need in order to get a conviction but I suppose all DA's feel that way about their case.

[HairOfTheDog]

WHERE THINGS STAND NOW

Background:
In November 2013, a motorcyclist passing through the area found the remains of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small sons in two shallow graves not far from Interstate 15 in San Bernadino County, more than 100 miles from the family’s home in Fallbrook, north of San Diego.

The family had been missing since February 2010. The coroner found that the parents and their two small boys had all been killed by blunt force trauma.

In the year since the bodies were discovered, San Bernadino PD authorities have determined that there was no evidence the family had traveled to Mexico after their disappearance, as San Diego PD had previous believed. The San Bernadino PD called the border video “unrelated” to the McStay disappearance and murder case.


San Bernadino County Sheriff John McMahon ^ said the killings appeared to be “extremely orchestrated” and carried out by more than one person back when the bodies were discovered a year ago.

However, after reviewing 4,500 pages of investigative records, executing 60 search warrants and conducting 200 interviews, investigators zeroed in on Charles (Chase) Merritt -- a business associated of Josheph McStay -- concluding he had acted alone in killing the family in their own home, San Bernadino authorities said last week.



San Bernadino County District Attorney Mike Ramos ^ said he has not yet decided whether he will seek the death penalty in what he called a “cold and callous murder of an entire family.” Ramos told CNN that authorities had been watching Merritt, closely for some time before arresting him last week. "There was no doubt in our mind this was the person that committed the murders," Ramos said. "His story is all over the place."

Authorities say they found evidence at the grave site that supports their case against Merritt.



Merritt's defense attorney Robert A. Ponce ^ spoke to reporters outside the courtroom following yesterday's arraignment where he entered "not guilty" pleas to four counts of aggravated murder. Ponce is a well-regarded private defense attorney with over 25 years of experience. Here is his website: http://www.robertponcelaw.com/criminal_defense.html

Ponce expressed sorrow for the McStay and Aranda families for the tragic loss of their loved ones and made the following statement. "I'm going to do everything that I can for Mr. Merritt, everything in my power, to be able to represent him -- do everything that I can to be able to help him in this case -- to specifically see if there isn't a way that with the tragedy that's taken place, that that tragedy not extend to him (Merritt) and not extend to his family also."

The next hearing is scheduled for November 20^th.

Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/us/mcstay-...?hpt=hp_t2
http://wgntv.com/2014/11/07/cold-and-cal...ities-say/

[HairOfTheDog]

I watched the DA be interviewed last night. He said they all died from blunt force trauma (in their home) but he wouldn't say what the weapon was only that it was common, something everyone would be familiar with, not sure I understand the reason for secrecy in regards to that.

I didn't get to see that interview -- thanks Duchess.

If LE can't positively tie the common object murder weapon to their suspect yet, they probably wouldn't want to release any more information about it than necessary -- they apparently don't have a confession.

Merritt is a criminal con man; he is adept at making up self-serving stories. If he's guilty, maybe he'll slip up in the process of developing a tale to distance himself from the yet revealed murder weapon?

Wonder if the murder weapon ties specifically to the McStays or their home?

Anybody got ideas about what common object a killer would use to kill an entire family by blunt force trauma? Lots of possibilities; all of them terrible to imagine.

[Duchess]

I'm sorta leaning towards an axe. Whatever it was, he implied that one blow would have been sufficient and while it was disturbing that he did that to adults it was downright horrifying that he did it to small children. That's not verbatim, it's just my recall.