Read More:Nicole Berte Murder: Where is Randy Lee Bode Now? Merrit himself, the producers say, was nervous to participate since he could not control the narrative. . Family members of the victims were emotional in court during the preliminary hearing Monday. Sheriffs investigators arrested Charles Chase Merritt, 60, of Homeland, in November 2014. On Feb. 15, the family was reported missing to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. They had a loving circle of friends and family, enjoyed taking trips and watching their young sons grow and learn. No mention was made by investigators or attorneys during Merritts preliminary hearing that investigators believe Summer McStay had been raped, nor has any evidence been presented publicly to indicate that, other than what McGee included in his motion. While Summer stayed home to take care of the children, she planned to go to work soon. The caller lacked the necessary passcodeto delete the account and the customer service representative was unable to carry out his requestleaving the damaging information for investigators to discover later. Watch the horrifying tale of the McStay family murders and the controversial trial of Charles "Chase" Merritt in ID's Two Shallow Graves, set to air this May 22, 2022. While speaking to Merritt, she said. The McStay family, consisting of Joseph, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their two sons Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, were reported missing in 2010. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Nelson is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. Prosecutors contend greed is the motive for the murders. He was given the death penalty for killing Summer, Gianni, and Joseph Jr. Now, Merritt is on San Quentin Death Row. However, a breakthrough in the case came in November 2014 when the cops found Merritts DNA on the steering wheel of McStays car. On February 13, when the family hadnt been heard from in nine days, Josephs brother went to the house. Investigators discovered that neither of the familys cars had traveled to Mexico in years, so they believed that the family had not driven into Mexico during the unaccounted for four days. Selena autopsy photo. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Nicole Berte Murder: Where is Randy Lee Bode Now. This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this . Charles Ray Merritt, 61, stands trial for the murder of a couple and their two sons in San Bernardino County, California. The McStays looked like the All-American family living the dream. 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. Investigators also found a three-pound sledgehammer that they believe was the murder weapon and clothing, some of it marked with the same color paint that the McStay family had been using to paint their home when they went missing. Two Shallow Graves is a seven-part docu-series that delves into the details of the case.The premiere . On June 10, 2019, a San Bernardino County jury found Charles 'Chase' Merritt guilty of murdering the McStay family and recommended that he be sentenced to death. The remains were identified as the McStay familys and were buried in two shallow graves. While there were no signs of forced entry, it seemed like the McStays left in a hurry. 16 Rare Photos of Princess Diana. The shocking find led to even more mysteries and revealed a surprising number of suspects who seemingly had motives to go after the family, according to a new series premiering this weekend on Investigation Discovery. Everything. The man convicted of killing a California family of four and burying them in the Mojave Desert nearly 10 years ago has been sentenced to death, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael A . He seemed caught off guard, like Oh, I didnt realize I was doing that, San Bernardino County District AttorneyBritt Imes tellsAmerican Greed.. The autopsy revealed all four victims died from blunt force trauma to their heads. Jaroslav Jerry Hanel had tormented the Diamond Head neighborhood of Honolulu, HI, for years, but one day, he completely snapped and murdered landlord, Lois Cain, shot two responding police officers, and set fire to the neighborhood. Jan 18, 2020 MCSTAY FAMILY AUTOPSY PHOTOS.. Man convicted of killing McStay family sentenced to death .. SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Josephs father Patrick McStay, however, continues to be haunted by Merritts dark deeds. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, and it appeared they were tortured before they were killed. However, the rest of the family thought it was unusual for them to just leave so abruptly. There was a huge sigh of relief. Two Shallow Graves on ID is examining the tragic murders of the McStay family, who were butchered by business associate Charles "Chase" Merritt, and buried in the desert near Victorville, California, in 2010. The deaths have been ruled a homicide. Charles Merritt, former business partner of Joseph McStay, has just been found guilty of killing the entire McStay family with a sledgehammer and burying their bodies in the desert. Investigators were stumped until they came upon a distressing hint that directed them towards Charles "Chase" Merritt, a close friend and business partner of Joseph McStay's. The skeletal remains . A Family Vanishes: With Stacy Keach. So without direct evidence, then they have to show enough circumstantial evidence to convice the jury that it was me at their home and who killed them.. Nov. 17, 2013 -- The 2010 disappearance of the McStay family, whose skeletal remains were discovered in shallow graves in the California desert last week, led a former North Carolina radio host to . Dylan Eason and Isaiah Churchwell were convicted of murdering Cynthia William "Patrick" Alexander remains in prison for murder. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, and it appeared they were tortured before they were killed. The remains of Joseph Jr., 3, were so minimal that a cause of death could not be determined, San Bernardino . mcstay family autopsy, mcstay family autopsy photos, mcstay family murders autopsy, how did the mcstay family died, did they ever find the mcstay family, why was the . 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. June 10, 2019 Merritt is found guilty of murdering the McStay family. The ID series features new interviews with Merritt who, unsurprisingly, remains adamant that he is innocent as well as trial footage, interviews with legal teams and the McStays loved ones. On February 10, 2010, Josephs business partner, Charles Chase Merritt, asked the authorities to check on the family, but an officer felt nothing was amiss. and a close friend of the family falls under suspicion. Joseph McStay's business partner, Charles Chase Merritt, was eventually charged with the deaths of the McStay family after detectives found apparent evidence of desertion and, ultimately, foul play. I never knew who did it, Ms Watson says in Two Shallow Graves. There was Mrs McStays ex-boyfriend, who sent her an email just months before the familys disappearance telling the mother-of-two hed love her for ever. He lived nearby and had been arrested for threatning a neighbour and her daughter. When the partner arrived at the home, he found both dogs outside, with food in their bowls, which led them to believe that the family had gone out of town and had somebody caring for the dogs. The gift by aselin debison free sheet music. Jaroslav Jerry Hanel had tormented the Diamond Head, Huong Lee and Long Nyugen were an elderly Vietnamese couple. On the same day as they are broadcast, episodes will be available on discovery+. Summer and Joseph McStay as well as their sons Joseph Mateo and Gianni had vanished without leaving much behind in terms of clues or without really informing any of their kith and kin. When questioned about his choice of language by investigators, Merritt said he had no idea why he'd done that. There was the new husband of Mr McStays ex-wife, a man with a history of violence whod allegedly threatened to muzzle Mrs McStay and beat up her husband. Merritt insists on his innocence in the face of the prosecution's evidence, raising the question: Did Merritt murder the McStay family? Merritt was a fabricator, who Joseph had turned to to expand the custom side of his business. Credit: Find the McStay Family Facebook Page. Additionally, a family friend was helping paint the house, and left with the intention of returning on Saturday, February 6, to finish the job. He tried to deflect the cops by claiming that Summer suffered from anger issues and that Joseph had failing health. Part of the mystery was solved in November 2013 when a motorcyclist stumbled upon two shallow graves in the desert near Victorville and unearthed human remains. The authorities also found Chases DNA on the steering wheel and the gearshift handle of the McStay family car; he had claimed earlier to have never driven that vehicle. Their disappearance was widely reported by the national news media. While Joseph went to a work meeting, Summer spoke to her sister over the phone and planned to visit later. Chase went on TVand talked about his relationship with Joseph and one of the key statements that he made was something to the effect of he was definitely the last person who saw Joseph alive, San Bernardino County Sheriffs Sgt. The San Diego Sheriffs Department even posted footage of a family that resembled the McStays walking across the border to Mexico. Witnesses also testified that Merritt cashed checks written from Joseph McStay's business account days after McStay and his family vanished. About three days later, Josephs brother, Mike, got into the house through an open window and saw that the pet dogs were still at home but no sign of the family. Skip to main content. He continued to plead his innocence, and at his sentencing, he told the judge, I dont deserve this. On February 4, 2010,Summer McStay, her husbandJoseph, and their young sonsGianni andJoseph Jr.disappeared from San Diego, California. Jun 15, 2015 Merritt has said there is no direct evidence linking him to the crime scene.. In addition, security cameras for the parking lot from which the car was towed confirmed that the car had not arrived there until the afternoon of February 8, so there was four days of which the family was unaccounted for. Authorities say Merritt, a business associate of 40-year-old Joseph McStay, beat the family to death inside their residence. Merritt used the money to fuel his gambling addiction at nearby casinos, in which he lost thousands of dollars. When the family went missing, the pair began their own investigation, describing in the new series how they combed through the McStays emails and followed up any lead they could find. . 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. Given the evidence, Chase was eventually found guilty of murdering the McStay family. In 2014, he completed a fellowship at Loyola Law School's Journalist Law School program. He was joined by his defense team: three attorneys from the High Desert. In an email Thursday, sheriffs Lt. Sarkis Ohannessian declined to comment, citing the ongoing criminal case. The discovery of the McStay family's remains in November 2013 brought an end to more than three years of speculation regarding what happened to them. Joseph Sr ran a successful waterfall business in suburban California, spending every inch of spare time with his raven-haired wife, Summer, and their two young sons, Gianni, four, and Joey Jr, three. Two days later, the remains were identified as the McStay family. At that point, the investigation shifted from searching for missing persons to investigating a possible murder. From my discussions with him, thats all he does, is work on his case.. Please logout and login again. Follow the links to read about more violent crimes profiled on ID. 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.. Michaels worst fears were realized. McStay Family Car Found Near Mexican Border, The house was as if somebody just beamed them up to the Starship Enterprise, reporter Tony Shin, who covered the case for KNSD-TV, recalls in the latestepisode of, For years the familys mysterious disappearance would continue to baffle investigators until a motorcyclistriding the trails in the Mojave Desert on Nov. 13, 2013 made a, Investigators from the San Bernardino Sheriffs Department soon. He found no signs of a break-in, except for a partially open window, which he used to get into the house. Family members of the victims . Reports state that Susan, Joseph's mother, was visibly upset and described him as a "despicable, evil monster," adding that knowing how the family was murdered had made her life a nightmare. McGee stated in his motion that the identity of the victims was not in dispute, and that DNA and dental records positively identified the McStay family as homicide victims after their skeletal remains were discovered in two shallow graves in November 2013, west of the 15 Freeway and north of Stoddard Wells Road. My fear is that Im looking for two adult shallow graves and my two nephews crosses, Josephs kid brother, Michael, told the Orange County Register a few weeks after the Feb. 4, 2010, disappearance. There was finally some closure for the family, Imes says. Case 8, Dorothy Scott Furthermore, Josephs mother stated that the car had his asthma medication, and he never went anywhere without it. The defendant faces four counts of murder and the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. This led to speculation that the family may have willingly fled the country. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Prosecutors said he bludgeoned the family to death with a sledgehammer. 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. The family's disappearance had puzzled investigators, who said there . A man riding his dirt bike in the area discovered some of the remains and contacted police. It didnt take this long. Source: wikipedia | CBS News |. 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. Prosecutors pushing for the death penalty for McStay family murder suspect Charles Chase Merritt can use one family photo of the victims during trial, a . Even though Merritt was at one point representing himself, that is no longer the case. Investigators are questioning everybody, Michael McStay tells PEOPLE. Merritt has said there is no direct evidence linking him to the crime scene. SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Prosecutors say a sledgehammer was used to kill all four members of the McStay family, and the 4-year-old boy was struck seven times. Investigators believed that the family was willingly walking across the border, with no indication that they were in any distress. Joseph McStay's mother Susan Blake addresses the court during the sentencing of Charles Chase Merritt on Jan. 21, 2020 . Photo: McStay Family/ZUMA. Then began the authorities' quest to figure out who killed the loving family of four. This gave him a flexible schedule and the ability to work from home, so he could spend more time with his family. In November 2013, almost four years later, a motorcycle rider found two shallow grave sites in the desert, just north of Victorville. Police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph McStay's business partner, and intended to charge him with the murders. Pic credit: San Diego County Police. But jurors disagreed and Merritt was convicted and later sentenced to death for the slayings in January 2020. The original memorial consisting of 4 white crosses. The pair had met through Josephs successful decorative waterfall business, Earth Inspired Products. In January 2010, just days before the disappearance, the home computer was used to search for passport requirements for kids traveling to Mexico. Though it is possible that Summer was using a different name, there are no records of passports under any of her other names. Charles Ray Merritt has been named as the suspect in the murders of the McStay family in the San Diego area in 2010. Summer will be forever missed by her family and many friends. 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. However, there was raw food left out, which seemed to indicate the family left in a hurry or had the intention to come back soon after. Theres a carton of eggs on the table as if maybe Summer or Joseph were about to make some food or something and the dogs, they had two dogs, they were just left there.. In 2020, Merritt was sentenced to death following a conviction on four murder counts. SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The man accused of killing the McStays, a family of four who disappeared in 2010 and whose remains were found in 2013 in the .