Prosecutors claim he killed business partner Joseph McStay, McStay's 43-year-old wife Summer, and the couple's sons--4 year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph Jr. The McStays But there was an astonishing number of other people whod had significant run-ins with the McStays, according to the new series. In 2020, Merritt was sentenced to death following a conviction on four murder counts. Merrit wasarrested a year after the McStay familysskeletal remainswere discovered in two shallow graves, west of the 15 Freeway and north of Stoddard Wells Road, near Victorville. While Joseph went to a work meeting, Summer spoke to her sister over the phone and planned to visit later. Merritt was a fabricator, who Joseph had turned to to expand the custom side of his business. Kevin and I work a lot in true crime and talk to a lot of people whove been convicted, and Merritt knows his case inside and out every single detail in a way that Ive never experienced before.. Although Merritt adamantly denied being at the location of the makeshift graves, To learn more about the case, tune into Monday's episode of. Selena autopsy photo. At 30 seconds into the video, note the man and woman entering from lower left of screen. On Jan. 21, 2020, Merritt was sentenced to life in prison and given the death penalty. February 4, 2010, was the last day anyone could contact a member of the McStay family. After a four-month trial, nine years after the McStay killings . A new documentary series re . The missing persons flier for 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. You can also watch "The McStay Family Mystery" on Oxygen's "Killer Motive.". 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 . Joseph McStay's mother Susan Blake addresses the court during the sentencing of Charles Chase Merritt on Jan. 21, 2020 . The original memorial consisting of 4 white crosses. A 3-pound sledgehammer was found with the bodies . memorial page for Virginia Lisa "Summer" Aranda McStay (27 Dec 1966-4 Feb 2010), Find a Grave Memorial ID 120355781, citing El Toro . The authorities initially believed this was the McStay family because of a few other things that came to light. Charles "Chase" Merritt, left, reacts after being found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder of the McStay family, in San Bernardino Superior Court in San Bernardino on June 10. Publicly Merrittwho had several prior convictions on his recordclaimed to be Josephs best friend. Police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph McStay's business partner, and intended to charge him with the murders. How To Paint Citadel Miniatures Download Pdf NEW! On Nov. 20, at a vigil where volunteers erected white crosses and released doves, Michael pondered aloud the same questions. Then began the authorities' quest to figure out who killed the loving family of four. So, lets find out what happened then, shall we? 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. When Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two young sons disappeared from the familys Fallbrook, California home in February 2010, it was as if theyd simply vanished into thin air. 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. The McStay family murders occurred on or about February 4, 2010, after the family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, California, United States. A motion filed in San Bernardino Superior Court on Nov. 20 on behalf of McStay family murder suspect Charles Chase Merritt by his attorney, James McGee, argued against the use of family photos and/or videos of the McStay family at trial, stating it could engender sympathy from the jury for the victims and prejudice the jury against Merritt. The murders were as gruesome as they were shocking. After he reported the family missing on 15 February, police discoverd the McStays vehicle had been towed from a parking lot near the border with Mexico on 8 February. 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.. Jan 2, 2018 By all accounts, Joseph McStay, age 40, and his wife Summer, age 43, were happy and living the American dream.. Huong Lee and Long Nyugen were an elderly Vietnamese couplefrom Arlington, Texas, who wound up owing so-called spiritual healer Dephne Wright nearly $300,000. The court upheld the jury's recommendation and Merrit was sentenced to death on January 21, 2020 for the McStay Family Massacre. The video shows a male adult and a child walking in front of a female adult with another child. The paint was still fresh on the walls, the corners bordered by blue painter . The father of murder victim Joseph McStay and his family is upset with the way the San Diego County Sheriff's Department handled the case. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. LOS ANGELES A Southern California man was sentenced to death Tuesday for the 10-year-old killings of a family of four whose bodies were found buried in shallow graves in the California desert . Hes a scumbag;hes a creep;he doesnt deserve to walk the earth or take a breath, Patrick tellsAmerican Greed. He killed somebody that trusted in him and gave him a chance when a lot of other people knew he was a crook and then he kills my grandsons, brutally. January 30, 2015 / 2:32 PM / CBS News. 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.. John F. Kennedy autopsy photo (#1) 0. Michaels worst fears were realized. Mango Languages Personalized Language Learning V5.18.1 [Premium] APK [Latest], Deped Grade 10 Science Module Pdf With Answers quyhch, Jeepers Creepers 2 Tamil Dubbed Torrentgolkes talcazen, General Agriculture By Arun Katyan Pdf Download xaveherth, |LINK| The Sopranos The Complete Series (Season 1,2,3,4,5, Download 21 Be-more-chill-wallpapers Be-More-Chill-Joe-Iconiss-off-Broadway-musi ((TOP)), The gift by aselin debison free sheet music, Lord Hanuman Angry Animated Wallpapers Hd posted by Sarah Anderson. She was predeceased by : her parents, Manuel Sousa and Nicolina Sousa (Melo); and her siblings . So when the family seemingly disappeared four months later without telling any relatives, friends or business associates, and their car turned up four days later at the Mexican border, many people who knew them feared the worst. The four-year-old Gianni had suffered a shocking seven blows to the head. Merritt is accused of killing his former business associate, Joseph McStay, McStay's wife Summer, and their two small children on Feb. 4, 2010. Nicole Berte Murder: Where is Randy Lee Bode Now. Autopsy Photos. 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. When Joseph needed to develop his bespoke company, he enlisted Merritt, a fabricator, for assistance. On November 7, 2014, police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph . While there were no signs of forced entry, it seemed like the McStays left in a hurry. However, a new discovery on border surveillance video changed the course of the investigation. 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 CNBC's American Greed, airing Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Publicly Merrittwho had several prior convictions on his recordclaimed to be Josephs best friend,once telling CNNs Randi Kay that although they began as work acquaintances, they quickly grew to be friends, playing paintball together andsharingdinnera few nights a week. Their car was located a few days later, near San Diego, close to the Mexican border. Two Shallow Graves will shed fresh insight into Merritt's disputed murder trial by gaining unprecedented access to both Merritt's defense and prosecution teams. 16 Rare Photos of Princess Diana. A hearing on McGees motion is scheduled Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court. 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. 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. Photographer Behind Iconic Princess Diana Funeral Photos Reflects on Intimate Moments From Service. On June 10, 2019, a San Bernardino County jury found Merritt guilty of murdering the McStay family. These bodies were soon confirmed as the McStay family. When Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two young sons disappeared from the family's Fallbrook, California home in February 2010, it was as if they'd simply vanished into thin air. Two days later, the remains were identified as the McStay family. He had a criminal record and, it turned out, had been skimming money from the enterprise. Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and the couple's two young sons mysteriously disappeared in Feb. 2010. On November 11, 2013, the remains of two adults and two children were recovered in the California desert. The motive was greed and the murders were brutal. With trial footage, and with getting access to Merrit and to the prosecution and to the defense attorneys, I think we were able to creat a much more intimate picture for an audience that gives you the whole story, Mr Fitzpatrick says. A 3-pound sledgehammer was found with the bodies, which was believed to be the murder weapon. A new documentary series re-examines the trial and evidence in a 'comprehensive' look at the case, writes Sheila Flynn 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. 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. The deaths have been ruled a homicide. When family members were called in to help identify the people on the video, they had mixed reactions. The case had been baffling from the start. There was a huge sigh of relief. A motorcyclist found human remains in a desert near Victorville, California. Gas prices rise for 31st consecutive day in LA County, Carjacking victim comes face to face with suspect during wild chase, How Paul Murdaugh helped solve his own murder. Searches about travelling to Mexico were also uncovered on the familys computer, bolstering a theory that theyd gone on a trip. There was finally some closure for the family, Imes says. He adds: There are so many actual other people who could potentialy be suspects and so many people who had motive. The skeletal remains . They were dressed similarly to the McStays, and the children were wearing hats similar to ones they had been photographed in. 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. Detectives testified during Merrittspreliminary hearingin June 2015 that Merritt was a gambling man who had written multiple checks totaling more than $21,000 on Joseph McStays QuickBooks account in the weeks after the McStay family was last seen on Feb. 4, 2010. Please be respectful of the memorial and do not leave any trash when you . It was sort of one sort of absurdity after the other, Kevin Fitzpatrick, an executive producer of Two Shallow Graves, tells The Independent. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has yet to release a . According to cell tower data, on February 4, 2010, his phone was near the McStay family home. In addition, neither of the children had passports. The family and friends of the McStays did not expect them to be at the Mexican border. Nelson is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. From my discussions with him, thats all he does, is work on his case.. Additionally, a family friend was helping paint the house, and left with the intention of returning on Saturday, February 6, to finish the job. McStay Family Murder Investigation: Search Warrants Unsealed, Reveal Details Of Fallbrook House. I think its probably true; he has read everything, hes currently working on a book about his case and hes constantly working on it in some way. I think that, when this show airs, so many people know the case Theres going to be a lot of debate. Cell phone records indicate that he drove home after the meeting, and he continued to make calls into the evening. In December 2009, Summer inquired about buying software to learn Spanish. Charles Ray Merritt has been named as the suspect in the murders of the McStay family in the San Diego area in 2010. Follow the links to read about more violent crimes profiled on ID. The gift by aselin debison free sheet music. The McStay family - whose bodies were found in a shallow grave in the Californian desert almost four years after they mysteriously vanished - could barely afford to pay $210 a week on rent just . All rights reserved. San Bernardino County Det. Merritt told investigators that on Feb. 4, 2010, the day the family disappeared, Merritt and McStay met for lunch at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga for a business meeting. In 2018, the trial was postponed again so that his current defense attorney could do more investigating, Merritt remained jailed without bail. The deaths have been ruled a homicide. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Two shallow graves contained the remains of Joseph, his wife Summer, 4-year-old son Gianni and 3-year-old son Joe Jr. Investigators say they have a lot of . That was when Charles Merritts story started falling apart and really gave us the motive, Hanke said. He continued to plead his innocence, and at his sentencing, he told the judge, I dont deserve this. Princess Diana flashes a cheeky grin in rare bikini photos. The San Diego Sheriffs Department even posted footage of a family that resembled the McStays walking across the border to Mexico. Detectives said when they interviewed Merritt about the missing family, he referred to them in the past tense, saying Joseph McStay "was my best friend.". 'It was blow after blow after blow to a child's skull,' the prosecutor said. Investigation Discovery's 'Two Shallow Graves' follows the trial of Charles "Chase" Merritt, accused of murdering Joseph McStay and his family. Although both instances raised investigators' suspicions, another glaring clue would ultimately put Merritt at the center of the investigation. A carton of eggs lay on the counter, and two bowls of popcorn were located in the living room. 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. This gave him a flexible schedule and the ability to work from home, so he could spend more time with his family. Defence attorney Raj Maline in the series describes this suspect as a walking, talking red flag but Merritts team was barred in court from bringing up him or the other suspects without concrete evidence linking them to the crimes. In November 2013, almost four years later, a motorcycle rider found two shallow grave sites in the desert, just north of Victorville.