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Thread: Joseph McStay (40) was found dead in a desert grave, along with his wife and their two young children

  1. #526
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    Wow the medium was correct!!

  2. #527
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    This is a very long article with tons of information. I snipped some just so I wouldn't repeat what Luvit posted above.
    http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...311271261.html



    He noticed Blake was cleaning the house, which “struck [him] as odd because he felt it could destroy evidence,” the search warrants say.
    As he walked through the house the Blake, the friend spotted “three things that struck him as being odd or out of place.”
    This included a missing cover for a futon in the family room area that he specifically remembered had a cover. The second was some dried up paint in one of the paint trays.
    According to the search warrants, the painter had taught Summer how to properly line a paint tray with foil to make clean-up easier because she had complained about cleaning the trays and brushes.
    Finally, the friend noticed clothes strewn all over the floor in the upstairs bedroom. The friend felt this was out of character because Joseph was not a messy person. He knew this because he had been roommates with Joseph in the past, he told investigators, and Joseph would not have left behind that type of mess.


    Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loca...#ixzz3eutJhmDH
    Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebook

    The detective states one of the clues is that the cover missing from the futon was used to wrap Joseph’s body and was found at the desert gravesite. A possible paint stain was found on Summer’s bra at the gravesite, too, that may have dripped onto her as she lay on her side at the crime scene.
    “Based on my training and experience, criminals who commit murder will typically attempt to clean the crime scene,” the detective says in the search warrants.
    “Murder committed by blunt force trauma typically creates a large amount of blood stain splatter and cast off that could be on the ceiling of a room. One of the attempted ways to clean a scene is to paint over the blood stains, though a correct forensic processing of the crime scene would still show the blood stain, the blood stain would not be visible to the naked eye. The blood stain could also be detected by forensic experts years after it was painted over,” the detective adds.

  3. #528
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    McStay family murder suspect Charles ?Chase? Merritt gets new attorneys

    > After blowing through six attorneys since his arrest 16 months ago in connection with the beatings deaths of a San Diego County family of four, Charles ?Chase? Merritt announced Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court he has retained two more attorneys.

    Rajan Maline, who carried over from Merritt?s prior defense team, and James Mcgee, a former San Bernardino County prosecutor of 12 years turned defense attorney, are now on board.

    Judge Michael A. Smith made it clear that Merritt?s indecisiveness will no longer be dealt with so leniently.

    ?I?m sure the counsel?s aware that Mr. Merritt has been pro per, he?s had prior counsel, then back to pro per. So, the court is probably not going to be inclined to change counsel easily in the future,? Smith told Maline and McGee. ?You?re both on notice that you?re kind-of on for the duration at this point.?

    Pro per is when a defendant acts as their own attorney.

    Merritt, 58, of Homeland, faces the death penalty for the execution-style beating deaths of Joseph McStay, 40; his wife, Summer, 43; and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, in Feb. 2010. He was arrested in Nov. 2014 at his place of employment and part-time residence in Chatsworth.

    Authorities believe Merritt beat the family to death in their Fallbrook home with a 3-pound sledgehammer, then buried their bodies in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert, north of Stoddard Wells Road and west of the 15 Freeway, near Victorville.

    Investigators believe greed motivated the slayings, describing Merritt during his preliminary hearing as a debt-ridden gambling addict who wrote multiple checks totaling more $21,000 on Joseph McStay?s online business account within a week of the family?s disappearance on Feb. 4, 2010. The checks were deleted from McStay?s computer once they were printed, according to court testimony.

    Merritt then allegedly went on a gambling spree, withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash from ATM machines at Indian casinos in Temecula and San Bernardino and the Commerce Casino near Los Angeles, according to prior court testimony.

    Maline said after Friday?s hearing the evidence doesn?t hold up, and the reason the San Diego County Sheriff?s Department didn?t arrest Merritt in the four years the case was in their jurisdiction was due to the lack of evidence supporting an arrest.

    Among the most glaring problems with the prosecution?s case is that it alleges Merritt killed the McStay family in their home, despite there being no physical evidence to suggest that.

    Other conflicting evidence includes the McStay?s Izusu Trooper being found at the Mexican border in San Ysidro and a video at the border that recorded footage of a man, woman and two small boys walking across the border into Mexico who matched the McStay family?s description, Maline said.

    San Diego County investigators believed the people seen in the video crossing the border, given their physical descriptions and clothing, were in fact the McStays, which is why the investigation shifted from a homicide case to a missing persons case, Maline said.

    San Bernardino County sheriff?s investigators, however, ruled out the possibility the people in the video were the McStays, Maline said. He said he believes investigators were under great pressure to close the high profile case by any means necessary.

    Maline and McGee said they can discredit all the prosecution?s evidence, both physical and circumstantial, and present evidence of their own strengthening their arguments.

    ?Forensically, this case doesn?t match the prosecution?s theory. It?s still a mystery,? Maline said. ?From our standpoint, none of this fits. They are trying to put a square peg into a round hole.?


    http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20...-new-attorneys

  4. #529
    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    It sounds like the prosecution's case might have some issues.

  5. #530
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bewitchingstorm View Post
    It sounds like the prosecution's case might have some issues.
    Nah.

    He wouldn't be playing all these games hiring attoreys and firing them to delay trial results if he didn't think they had a solid case.

    The guy giving all the negative quotes in there is a Defense attorney, his job is to throw shade at prosecution.

  6. #531
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    Rick Baker has a new McStay blog ... shocking, I know. It's called "Beyond the McStays," which is ironic, because it implies he's past all that, but he clearly isn't.

    Anyway, he's now claiming Summer was raped before she was killed. He offers no proof, naturally: https://rickbakerblog.com/2016/05/11...y-really-care/
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

  7. #532
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    Forgot to add, here's a recent story about how there's still no trial date due to Chase Merritt's lawyer-shuffling antics: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...ome-by-end-of/
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

  8. #533
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    The attorney for a Riverside County man facing the death penalty for the sledgehammer beating deaths of a San Diego County family is fighting, again, to get a private company to produce potential evidence in the case.
    Attorney Rajan Maline, representing defendant Charles “Chase” Merritt, said Friday following a brief pretrial hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court that a tech company, which he would not name, has not produced records Maline requested under subpoena.
    Judge Michael A. Smith set a hearing date on the matter for Jan. 3, in which a representative for the company in question will have to explain why they have not complied with Maline’s subpoena.
    Maline said the company was given a date in November to comply with the subpoena but was unresponsive.
    “It’s been months,” Maline said. “They have to show cause as to why they’re not complying with the subpoena.”
    Maline faced a similar problem with the telecommunications company AT&T, which failed to comply with a subpoena for records and was� ordered� by Judge Smith in July to produce them.
    Merritt, 59, of Homeland, was� arrested� in November 2014 and stands accused of the February 2010 bludgeoning deaths of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3. Prosecutors allege Merritt beat the family to death with a 3-pound sledgehammer in their Fallbrook home, then drove their bodies 100 miles away, burying them in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert near Victorville.
    Authorities believe financial gain was the motive behind the killings. Merritt was described during his� preliminary hearing� as a gambling addict who fraudulently withdrew more than $21,000 from Joseph McStay’s QuickBooks business account within a week of the McStay family’s disappearance, then went on a gambling spree at casinos in San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.
    A man riding his dirt bike west of the 15 Freeway and north of Stoddard Wells Road discovered� skeletal remains� in the area in November 2013. The remains of two adults and two children, later identified as the McStay family through dental records, were unearthed from two shallow graves. The alleged murder weapon, a 3-pound Stanley brand sledgehammer, was found in one of the graves.
    A trial date has yet to be set for Merritt, but the trial is not expected to get underway until the latter half of 2017 at the soonest. That is because Maline is defending one of four defendants in a county� public corruption case� that begins Jan. 4 in Smith’s courtroom. That trial is expected to last six months.

    http://www.pe.com/articles/county-82...g-beating.html

  9. #534
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Wow I don't think I knew he beat them with sledgehammers. Jesus fucking christ.

  10. #535
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    I can't believe that if beat them all to death in their house, there was not a single bit of evidence left there? I thought they were shot.

  11. #536
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olivia View Post
    I can't believe that if beat them all to death in their house, there was not a single bit of evidence left there? I thought they were shot.
    If he did beat them with a sledge hammer, there would be blood on the walls/ceiling/carpet. It would have either smelled strongly of cleaning products, or paint, because he would have had to paint over it.

    I also thought they were shot, which would have left evidence too. I assumed, since they were bound, that they were taken against their will, brought to the desert, and killed there.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Chelsea, if you are a ghost and reading mds, I command you to walk into the light.

  12. #537
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    I just googled cause I thought the above article had for sure made up the sledgehammer part? But it seems legit. I found this article that says joey was found with a cord wrapped around his neck - why would that need to be done if he was killed at home? I too think they were taken somewhere and killed. What a monster to sledgehammer two little kids.!?!

    http://abc7.com/news/4-year-old-mcst...n-head/786226/

  13. #538
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    Joey's dad wrote a book: http://myvalleynews.com/regional-new...ary-discovery/

    Here's a story about identifying bones found in the desert: http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/201...-and-some-luck

    A trial dates still eludes us.
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

  14. #539
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    https://www.sbsun.com/2017/12/07/def...uspects-trial/

    Summer McStay may have been raped before she was killed, buried in desert, court document says

    "The autopsy revealed all four victims died from blunt force trauma to their heads. The sledge hammer is the likely murder weapon. Investigators believe Summer was raped at the time as her pants were in the grave near her head, and her panties were in the pants as (if) they were pulled off together," according to the motion. There were also incisions in her bra that lead investigators to believe it was cut off, the motion states.


    The trial was supposed to be in September ... then November. He has a status conference hearing Jan 12.
    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

  15. #540

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    https://abc7.com/mcstay-family-murde...day--/5337081/

    Here is an Update

    McStay family murder trial: Verdict reached, to be announced Monday
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    Updated 3 hours ago
    SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A verdict has been reached by jurors in the McStay family murder trial, but the verdict will not be announced until Monday.

    Charles "Chase" Merritt is accused of killing a family of four in 2010. The 62-year-old Merritt has pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered his business partner, Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and the couple's four and three-year-old sons.

    The verdict is scheduled to be read at 10 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

    The prosecution believes Merritt murdered the family because he was being cut out of McStay's water-feature business and that he was also stealing money from the business - which McStay discovered.

    The remains of the family were discovered in two shallow graves in 2013 near Victorville. Merritt was arrested a year later.

  17. #542
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    I have a feeling they won’t convict him. I hope I’m wrong

  18. #543
    Senior Member Non_Saepe's Avatar
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    I hope you are wrong too!

    Why would they wait until Monday to release the verdict?

  19. #544
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Non_Saepe View Post
    I hope you are wrong too!

    Why would they wait until Monday to release the verdict?

    Some jurors had to leave apparently? So weird

  20. #545
    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    When are they going to announce the verdict today? I’m growing impatient.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Chelsea, if you are a ghost and reading mds, I command you to walk into the light.

  21. #546
    Senior Member Non_Saepe's Avatar
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  22. #547
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    I’m glad to be wrong for once!

  23. #548
    Senior Member AmandaJ's Avatar
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    https://people.com/crime/charles-cha...murder-family/

    A California businessman has been found guilty of brutally killing a family of four and dumping their bodies in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert.

    The verdict in the murder case against Charles ?Chase? Merritt was read in a San Bernardino courtroom today.

    Merritt, 62, was convicted of killing his former business associate Joseph McStay, 40; Stay?s wife, Summer, 43; and their two children: Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3. He could face the death penalty when he is sentenced.


    The family went missing in 2010, four months after they moved into a new house in the San Diego suburb of Fallbrook, California.

    The family?s two beloved dogs, Bear and Digger, were left behind in the backyard, and nearly $100,000 remained untouched in Joseph?s bank accounts (he ran a successful decorative-fountain business).

    The family?s car was discovered at a strip mall near the Mexican border.

    Charles Chase Merritt

    Charles "Chase" MerrittThe Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Jennifer Cappuccio Mahe/AP
    At one point, investigators wondered if the family had decided to start a new life in Mexico.


    However, three years later, in November 2013, the remains of the McStay family were discovered in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert, near Victorville.

    According to detectives, Joseph?s body was found with a white extension cord wrapped around his neck. Summer?s skull was fractured and one of their sons? heads was bludgeoned seven times, according to court testimony.

    A sledgehammer was also found buried at the site.


    The following year, authorities filed murder charges against Charles ?Chase? Merritt, Joseph?s onetime business partner.

    According to investigators, DNA allegedly matching Merritt?s was found on the steering wheel of the McStays? white Isuzu Trooper, which was abandoned near the Mexico border following the family?s disappearance.

    Merritt?s cellphone was also traced to the burial site area in the days following the McStays? disappearance.


    ? Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

    According to the San Bernardino Sun, prosecutors alleged Merritt was a gambling addict who committed the crime for financial gain and wrote thousands of dollars in checks on Josephs? business account for days after he disappeared.

    Merritt pleaded not guilty to the four counts of murder he faced.

  24. #549
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    https://abc7.com/mcstay-murder-trial...rritt/5362236/

    Here is an Update

    SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Jurors in San Bernardino County have recommended the death penalty for Charles "Chase" Merritt, two weeks after he was found guilty of murdering his business partner and the victim's family.

    After a trial that spanned more than four months, the 62-year-old Merritt was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and the couple's young sons. The jury decided the punishment for three of the four counts to be death. The fourth count, for the killing of Joseph McStay, will be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Jurors in San Bernardino have recommended the death penalty for Charles "Chase" Merritt after he was found guilty of murder in the killing of a family of four.


    The family of four vanished from their home in 2010. Their remains were found in shallow graves near Victorville three years later. Merritt was arrested a year later.

    The prosecution believes Merritt murdered the family because he was being cut out of McStay's water-feature business and that he was also stealing money from the business - which McStay discovered.
    Report a correction or typo

  25. #550
    Senior Member TupeloHoney's Avatar
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    He was officially sentenced to death last week:

    https://www.latimes.com/california/s...death-sentence




    Quote Originally Posted by Not your business View Post
    I will out think the fucking pants off of you and you would thank me for helping you out of them.

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