McStay Family of 4 missing in So California-Missing since 2/04/10

[SuzieQ]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/04/mcstay-service-memorial-fallbrook-paddle/


A final goodbye for the McStay family
 By Teri Figueroa1:37 p.m.Jan. 4, 2014Updated6:05 p.m.


ORANGE COUNTY — Four surfers, wearing wet suits and white leis, waded into glistening water just south of the San Clemente pier Saturday afternoon.

Well more than a dozen surfers followed. On the pier above, dozens of mourners watched.

The leis represented the four slain members of the McStay family. Three years and 11 months to the day since they were last heard from, friends and family offered a final goodbye for the Fallbrook foursome, whose disappearance and deaths remain shrouded in mystery.

The paddle-out — at the same spot Joseph McStay had surfed for years — followed a church memorial service in Laguna Niguel for McStay, 40, wife Summer, 43, and their sons Gianni, 4, and Joey Jr., 3.

The family went missing February 2010. Their remains were found Nov. 11 in two shallow desert graves in San Bernardino County.

Authorities have not released their causes of death, and investigators have remained mostly mum since a Nov. 15 news conference announcing the grim discovery. No suspects have been named.

The McStays had roots in Orange County, and had moved to Fallbrook from San Clemente less than three months before they disappeared.

About 200 people, many clutching tissues and sharing hugs, turned out for the memorial at Vineyard Community Church to share remembrances of the family. Some spoke of Joseph and Summer’s adoration for each other and their children.

“There was so much love in there today,” said Susan Blake, Joseph’s mother, as she left the church service.

“I need justice,” she said. “I waited almost four years and never gave up.”

 

[SuzieQ]

http://www.760kfmb.com/story/24235590/mcstay-murder-mystery-who-is-michael-mcfadden

McStay murder mystery: Who is Michael McFadden?

Posted: Dec 16, 2013 7:54 PM EST


Updated: Dec 17, 2013 8:45 AM EST
 


By David Gotfredson, Field Producer - email

Video Report By Phil Blauer, Anchor/Reporter


LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (CBS -- It has been five weeks since the skeletal remains of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two young sons were found buried in the high desert near Victorville.

CBS News 8 investigated several people associated with the Fallbrook family that went missing in February 2010, and then was found murdered on November 11.

Michael James McFadden is the current husband of Joseph McStay's ex-wife, Heather; and the step-father of Joseph's McStay's now 17-year-old son by the first marriage.

A few months before the McStay family disappeared from their Fallbrook home on Feb. 4, 2010, Summer McStay filed a Child Protective Services complaint against McFadden, according to Joseph McStay's father, Patrick McStay.

CPS investigations are confidential, so the exact nature of the complaint cannot be confirmed.

"No one knows what the CPS report said because we're not allowed to see it," Patrick McStay told CBS News 8 in an interview from his home in Texas. "I have evidence that there were threats made, after the CPS report, to Joey and Summer."

 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/03/justice/mcstay-murder-mystery/
Who killed the McStay family?
June 3, 3014

For the latest on the McStay murders, watch "Buried Secrets: Who Murdered the McStay Family?" Tuesday, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET on CNN.
 
The McStays disappeared from their home in suburban San Diego in February 2010.
There were no signs of a struggle. No apparent plan to flee.
Nearly four years later, the mother, father and two boys were found slain in the Mojave Desert -- their bodies buried in shallow graves.
How did they get there? Who killed them?
From the beginning, the case has baffled investigators, but they aren't giving up.
Said John McMahon, sheriff of San Bernardino County, in an exclusive interview with CNN: "It is certainly my hope that at some point in the future, we'll be able to solve this, and bring the suspect or suspects to justice."

Video

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/justice/mcstay-case-five-questions/
Desert deaths mystery: Five questions about the McStay case
July 1, 2014

Editor's note: For the latest on the McStay murders, watch "Buried Secrets: Who Murdered the McStay Family?" at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday on CNN.
(CNN) -- It's been more than four years since the McStay family went missing, and nearly eight months have passed since their remains were found in the Mojave Desert.
Who would want to kill Joseph; his wife, Summer; and their two young kids, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3? How did their bodies end up in two shallow graves some 100 miles north of their home?
Investigators still have not named any suspects or persons of interest, but those involved aren't giving up.
A new detective recently joined the investigation, bringing new energy and new ideas to the table.
As the investigation continues, here are five questions that could provide clues about the case:

1. Who used Joseph McStay's phone shortly after he disappeared?
On February 4, 2010, Chase Merritt received a phone call from Joseph McStay. It was 8:28 p.m.
Chase, Joseph's close friend, picked up the phone, looked at it, and set it back down.
"I had a bunch of other things I was doing, and I was just tired," he told CNN.
Joseph ran a custom water feature business, and he often bought custom indoor waterfalls from Chase. The two talked frequently. Chase had already talked to Joseph multiple times that day, and they had also met in person for a couple of hours.
"I had no idea that something like this was going to happen," said Chase.
Was that just a regular call from his friend, or could it have been a call for help?
"There are hundreds of scenarios. I have gone over all of them in my head," he added. "Of course I regret not picking up the phone."

2. Who used Summer McStay's credit card the day she disappeared?
According to phone records, Summer McStay made a call from her home phone at 2:11 p.m. February 4 regarding purchasing herbal medicine. Financial records show her credit card was used 25 minutes later at a store in Vista, California, about 20 minutes from her home.
More...

[cubbeegirl]

 http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/11/07/sheriff-to-release-new-information-in-mcstay-family-murder-investigation/

Press conference today at 9 PS time....an arrest is being reported

[Amys Sister]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/07/justice/mcstay-case/index.html

Suspect in McStay family disappearance arrested, sheriff says
 

By Michael Pearson, CNN

updated 12:18 PM EST, Fri November 7, 2014

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update, posted at 12:17 p.m. ET]

California authorities this week arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt in connection with the deaths of the McStay family -- a southern California family of four that vanished in 2010, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Friday.

 

[Amys Sister]

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/McStay-Family-Disappearance-Missing-Family-Investigation-281913121.html

Business Partner Arrested in McStay Family Slayings

More than three years after the family disappeared in 2010, skeletal remains were found in and around shallow graves in the high desert north of Los Angeles

By  Jonathan Lloyd

Friday, Nov 7, 2014 • Updated at 9:35 AM PST


The business partner of a man whose remains were found along with his wife's and children's in the high desert north of Los Angeles has been arrested and charged with killing the McStay family in 2010, authorities announced Friday.

Charles Chase Merritt, 57, Joseph McStay's business partner, was arrested Wednesday in the San Fernando Valley community of Chatsworth "without incident," according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. McStay operated a custom water fountain business and was working on a project with Merritt when he and his family disappeared

District Attorney Mike Ramos called the slayings "cold and callous" when he announced that four murder charges had been filed against Merritt, who has a criminal record, according to the sheriff's department.

Joseph McStay's brother Michael praised investigators' work at Friday's news conference.


Images: The McStay Family


"I just wanted to see it through to the end. Joseph was a great brother, a great father. He would have done anything to protect those boys and summer," he said.

"He tried to provide work for Chase and help Chase," he said of his brother, adding of Chase: "He'll get what he's got coming to him."


When asked whether the was a break in the case that cast suspicion on Merritt, investigators said there was "no smoking gun." Investigators said they reviewed evidence provided by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department that led to the arrest.

 

[Amys Sister]

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/McStay-Family-Disappearance-Missing-Family-Investigation-281913121.html

"The investigation revealed that the victims were killed in their home, and all were victims of blunt-force-trauma, sheriff's officials said Friday."

 

"Merritt had said in an interview with the Daily Mail that he was the last person to have seen McStay."

 

[texasmom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqLES4fC7zY

Detectives Arrest Charles Ray Merritt in Connection with the McStay Family Murders: Raw Footage
San Bernardino Sheriff

Published on Nov 7, 2014
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detectives arrest Charles "Chase" Ray Merritt in connection with the murders of the McStay Family whose skeletal remains were found in the desert near Victorville, California in November of 2013.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/MqLES4fC7zY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/MqLES4fC7zY</a>

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/07/missing-mcstay-suspect-arrested/18652391/
Business partner suspect in murder of SoCal family
November 7, 2014


(Photo: McStay family)

 
San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon announced Friday that deputies arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt for the murders of Joseph, 40, and Summer McStay, 43, and their two sons, Giannni, 4, and Joseph Mateo, 3. During an afternoon court appearance in Victorville, his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday.

The skeletal remains of the family were discovered last year in shallow graves in the California desert 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles after the family went missing for more than three years. Wednesday's arrest of Merritt caps a four-year-long mystery that largely stumped investigators and family members.
 
Merritt, 57, was arrested Wednesday and transported to the West Valley Detention Center, where he was booked for murder and is being held without bail. The District Attorney's Office filed four counts of murder against him, the statement said.

The cause of death for all four was determined to be blunt force trauma. Investigators believe the murders took place at the family home in Fallbrook, about 50 miles north of San Diego. They wouldn't disclose any motives for the killings.

The McStays were last heard from on Feb. 4, 2010. Relatives said they were happy and had recently moved into a five-bedroom home. Their bank accounts contained tens of thousands of dollars.

Days later, police found no signs of forced entry at their Fallbrook home. Rotting food was found in the kitchen, and their dogs were in the backyard without food or water. Their SUV was found parked two blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border, raising suspicions that they may have fled there.

Merritt and Joseph McStay ran a fountain-making business that appeared to be doing well. Merritt's name surfaced early in the investigation when it was reported that Joseph McStay's last cellphone conversation was with his business partner. Merritt denied knowing the family's whereabouts.

After the family's remains were discovered in the desert, Merritt sat down for an extensive interview with CNN. He described talking several times with Joseph McStay the day he vanished and receiving a missed call from his business partner.

"I was tired," Merritt said, explaining why he didn't pick up the call.

Asked if he regretted not answering, he said: "Hindsight's 20/20."

[labubske]

This always made the most sense...I hope they have the evidence they need for justice for the McStays.

[Red]

Charles “Chase” Merritt Charged With 4 Counts of Murder in the Deaths of McStay Family (Joseph, Summer & Their Two Children Gianni and Joseph) (VIDEO)

ARREST FINALLY MADE IN THE MCSTAY MURDERS …

57 year old Charles “Chase” Merritt was arrested Wednesday, November 5th  in Chatsworth, California and charged in the murders of the McStay family. Merrit was charged with 4 counts of murder in the deaths of  Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small children,  4 year old Gianni and 3 year old Joseph. Merritt was a business partner of Joseph McStay’s. According to the LA Times, Merritt had a prior criminal history.  He appeared in court Friday but his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday, there was no bail was set. According to Sheriff John McMahon of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office, the cause of death of the McStay family was “blunt force trauma” and that the murders took place inside the McSaty residence in Fall Brook.

The McStay family went missing on February 2, 2010. Their remains were discovered by motorcyclist in a shallow grave between Quarry Road near Highway 15 in the Mojave desert outside Victorville, CA in November 2013.

Sheriff Office press conference
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/crime/2014/11/07/sot-mcstay-investigation-update.cnn.html

[Red]

McStay slaying suspect arrested; business partner has criminal history

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-accused-mcstay-family-killer-criminal-past-20141107-story.html

Charles "Chase" Merritt had a long criminal history, but nothing as heinous as the quadruple murders of the McStay family.

In September 2001, he pleaded no contest to second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft after being accused of stealing items from San Gabriel Valley Ornamental Iron Works.

He was ordered to serve 180 days in county jail and three years' probation, said Ricardo Santiago, spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. But it took Merritt nearly 10 years to complete probation because he didn’t pay required fees or show up for a court-ordered program, records show.

[MuffyBee]

This always made the most sense...I hope they have the evidence they need for justice for the McStays.

 

[Sister]

This is just so sad . . . another family gone because of . . . greed, perhaps, who knows for sure.
But was it really worth killing a family?
 

[Sister]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/07/justice/mcstay-case/'
Cold and callous' murders of McStay family solved, authorities say
  

By Michael Pearson, CNN
updated 7:33 AM EST, Sun November 9, 2014
     
In November 2013, the McStays were found slain in the Mojave Desert -- their bodies buried in shallow graves. From the beginning, the case has baffled investigators, but they aren't giving up.   

Who killed the McStay family?


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
 NEW: Charles "Chase" Merritt appears in court
Merritt is charged with four counts of murder in the family's 2010 deaths
Their bodies were found in the Mojave Desert in November 2013
Merritt was a business partner of Joseph McStay's, police say
 
 
(CNN) -- Almost a year to the day after an off-road motorcyclist found the remains of a California family who had vanished from their home in 2010, authorities announced Friday they had arrested the man they believe is responsible for the deaths.

Charles "Chase" Merritt is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small boys, San Bernardino County, California, District Attorney Michael Ramos told reporters at a news conference.

Merritt, 57, was arrested Wednesday without incident in Chatsworth, California, Detective Chris Fisher said.
Did a friend kill the McStay family?
 
Police say they believe the family died of "blunt force trauma" inside their home north of San Diego, but they declined to discuss specifics of the deaths or a motive.
 
 
Merritt, who was a business partner of Joseph McStay's, appeared in court Friday but his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday. No bail was set.
 
Despite finding the family's SUV in San Ysidro, California -- where it had been towed from the Mexican border -- and video surveillance that showed a family matching the description of the McStays crossing the border, authorities had no clue what happened to them until the discovery of their bodies on November 11, 2013.

A motorcyclist passing through the area found the remains in two shallow graves not far from Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, more than 100 miles from the family's home north of San Diego.
 

[Nut44x4]

 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/15/after-months-silence-prosecutors-to-make-case-in-death-family-4-buried-in/
After months of silence, prosecutors to make case in death of family of 4 buried in desert
June 14, 2015

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. –  Authorities have kept quiet for months about what drove them to charge a California man with killing a family of four and burying their bodies in shallow desert graves.

San Bernardino prosecutors on Monday are expected to finally reveal their case against 58-year-old Charles "Chase" Merritt for the murders of his business partner, Joseph McStay, the man's wife and their two young sons.
 
Merritt has pleaded not guilty. After a preliminary hearing, a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial.

Merritt's lawyer, Jimmy Mettias, says he expects prosecutors will allege his client killed the family with a sledgehammer after a business dispute. Prosecutors declined to comment.

[Sister]

http://news.yahoo.com/man-held-trial-sledgehammer-killings-california-family-003020727.html
June 15, 2015

 

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (Reuters) - A California judge ruled on Monday that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for an ex-convict to face trial in the 2010 sledgehammer killings of a family of four whose remains were found more than two years later buried in the desert.

 

[MuffyBee]

https://abc7.com/mcstay-murder-trial-charles-merritt-found-guilty-of-killing-family/5340410/
McStay murder trial: Charles Merritt found guilty of killing family
June 10, 2019

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Charles "Chase" Merritt was found guilty of murder in the killing of a family of four, who disappeared in 2010 and were later discovered three years later near Victorville.

After a trial that spanned more than four months, Merritt was found guilty in the killing of the McStay family in 2010. The 62-year-old Merritt had 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.

Merritt was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. The jury also found the special circumstance of multiple murders. Prosecutors have said they would seek the death penalty if Merritt was convicted. The penalty phase of the trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The family vanished from their home in 2010.

The remains of the family were discovered in two shallow graves in 2013 near Victorville. 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.

A verdict was reached Friday by jurors, but it was not announced publicly until Monday.

Video