CA - Joey, Summer, Gianni, Joseph Jr McStay Murders - Feb 4th 2010

[YESorNO]

Cathy Russon Reporting From the McStay Family Burial Site

Jan 11, 2019

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[Plumeria5]

So it is plausible that CM killed Joseph before he made it back home then CM went to the home and took Summer and the boys by knife point to the grave site? Interesting info from Cathy Russon.
Could he have forced Summer to drive while threatening the boys? I have not followed as closely as many of you so is this scenario possible?

 

[HelenK]

If I remember correctly Mike Ramos the SB County DA at the time gave an interview soon after the arrest of CM. He proceeded to confidently boast about the overwhelming amount of evidence they had against CM, indicating much of which hadn't been disclosed to the public. From what I've seen so far I'm not impressed but maybe they're just slow starters.

Your memory is correct, TRex, he did just that, and caught a lot of heat for it at the time, too. He also stated they knew precisely how Chase accomplished it all.

At this point in the trial, I'm not paying a whole lot of attention to what anyone is saying, especially the defense. It's too early in the game.

 

[minazoe]

HIDEOUS. mOO

 

[HelenK]

DK being a genius manipulative mastermind and confessing to his girlfriend that he murdered the McStay family does not reconcile.

Truer words were never spoken. Some genius that one is.

 

[la2cabo]

HIDEOUS. mOO

Who or what? Lol

 

[minusfour]

Has there been any forensic evidence presented pre trial that the family were murdered at the home?

I understand that it damages the prosecution if it somehow turned out that this was not the case. (Trying to put a man on death row, when the don't even know what happened, or where...) It may make the prosecution weaker, but it doesn't mean that CM is any less likely to be a multiple murderer.

 

[cobalt sky]

I'm sorry to post this here but I am completely lost in this new format! Can someone tell me where to find the McStay discussions if they are still available, also if someone could recommend where I can find transcripts or something of the trial thus far, I just learned that the trial has FINALLY begun and I would like to catch up. Thanks so much and again sorry for cluttering up the thread!

ETA: I found the McStay discussions! & Unique's trial posts so I'll get started there, I would delete this whole post but I can't figure out how lol!

 

[Mickey Mouse]

Here's my original posts:

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/trial-january-7th-2019.410396/page-27#post-14702948

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/trial-january-7th-2019.410396/page-27#post-14703010

If this key is to the Trooper (which I certainly believe it is) the time of the Trooper being left at the border is problematic. The Trooper had to have been driven and abandoned, then Chase (or whoever) went back to bury the bodies putting the Trooper key in Joseph's pocket before burying. So where were the bodies? Still in the home? Did Merritt abandon the Trooper much earlier than the 8th if his phone pinged the Victorville tower on the 6th? Why are we just learning of this key and why, according to defense, have the DA not tested it to see if this goes to the Trooper's ignition? Or, is this a spare key?

Something of note, what appears to be the 2 padlock keys are both on what seems to be a ring with a tag. Why are all the keys not on one ring? Why did Joseph have it on him, was he planning on going to the storage unit? I couldn't see him carrying it around like that all the time.

I'm catching up...

Doesn't this presume there's only a single key to the Trooper? IMO having just one key to a vehicle would be very unusual. I would think both Joey and Summer had keys to both cars. Anyone know if Summer's keys were found?
If he used her key, there's no timeline issue .

I can't see why he would use Joey's keys then put them back in his pocket before the burial, when he could have pitched them *anywhere*, and they never would have been found .

 

[Force Ten]

I hope this link is okay to post...

State of California VS Charles Ray Merritt: Part One - Transcript of Charles Merritt Preliminary

It has the preliminary hearing transcripts from 2015, the link is to part 1, if you look on the right side, you will see the links to 2-5. I have not completely read it all and some I read quickly so will hopefully have some time to read it again before next week. I was looking for any mention of a knife, and I have still not been able to find it!

This past weeks testimony, we heard a lot about dates and who called who when, I notice that there is some talk about that in the preliminary hearing as well.

Here are a few things that stood out to me, from the testimony of Edward Bachman, a detective with the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Dept:

4 A Michael actually talked to his father, Patrick, who was
5 alerted of the missing family by Joseph's business partner,
6 Charles Chase Merritt.
7 Q Was that on February 8th of 2010?
8 A Yes, sir.
9 Q Did Michael indicate to you the last time he had actually
10 spoken to Joseph was about February 4th of 2010?​

Wasn't it DK that called Patrick?

23 Q Did Michael tell you that he attempted to contact
24 Mr. Merritt after being alerted to the concerns by their father,
25 Patrick?
26 A Yes.
27 Q And how did, having not met Mr. Merritt before, how did
28 Michael contact the defendant?
36
1 A I believe Michael actually got a call from Merritt.
2 Merritt contacted him out of the blue and was trying to find
3 Joseph. Which prompted Mike to start looking into it, also.
​

From testimony this past week, the above is not true. Merritt contacted SB first.

11 Q (By Mr. Imes) Can you tell us, what did Michael tell you
12 transpired when he met with the defendant at Joseph Sr.'s,
13 residence on the 13th of February, 2010?
14 A So, on that date, it was a Saturday. They had checked
15 all around the house to see if they could find anyone inside --
16 or find any way inside. Michael said that Mr. Merritt located a
17 back window that was unsecured, unlocked. And told Michael
18 where he located the window. Michael ultimately wanted to get
19 inside to see if anyone was inside, or try to find any type of
20 contact information for Joseph, Sr., and Summer. So, he opened
21 the window and ended up climbing inside.
22 Q Did the defendant go in?
23 A No.
24 Q Did he, Michael, indicate if there was a reason why the
25 defendant didn't go in?
26 A He said because Mr. Merritt had a criminal past --
27 MR. TERRELL: Objection. Irrelevant, your Honor.
28 THE COURT: Sustained.​

So here is where Mike says CM didn't go it. This is information obtained in 2013. But then right afterwards, the officer says this:

13 Q What did Michael indicate to you he did when he did enter
14 the Joseph, Sr., family home?
15 A He said that he ended up, I believe, going around to the
16 front door. He opened the front door, and Mr. Merritt came
17 inside with him. Michael started looking around the house to
18 see if he could find any type of contact information.
19 Michael knew that Summer's family, or Summer's mom lived
20 in Big Bear, so he was trying to find any kind of contact phone
21 numbers or information he could to try and track down where the
22 family was at. He still believed that the family had just gone
23 on vacation.
24 Q Did Michael indicate to you that he observed what he
25 thought was unusual behavior by the defendant while in the house
26 on February 13th?
27 A Yes.
28 Q What was that behavior he observed?
39
1 A Just that he didn't want to walk around the house. He
2 wanted to basically stay sequestered in the lower portion while
3 Michael was looking around.​

So he did go in! lol I had to re-read this a few times because even this past week, the prosecution had Mike testify and they went into great detail to show that CM did NOT go into the house that day.

The above is just from part 1... I read more interesting things which I will share as I keep reading

I understand that SBSD didn't come into this until the bodies were found; however, it doesn't appear to me that they used early reports to base things off of and instead used Mike's 2013 recollection. For example, Mike saying CM didn't go in the house on the 13th. It was shown in testimony this week that Mike in his first interview on Feb 15/10 said that CM DID go into the house and that Mike let him in through the sliding glass doors. I don't know if this shows "confirmation bias" with the SBSD, which is what CM's defense is saying, or if it shows "confirmation bias" on Mike's part? It was almost 4 years after they went missing, I am almost sure that the McStay's had their own theories about what happened and who could have done it by this time. IMO I don't know if it will make a difference with the jury, but reading the above stood out to me only because of the testimony we heard this week and I thought I would share

I was going to look for and post this earlier because I knew one of the detectives stated in the Prelim about Mike saying Merritt was in the home but refused to go upstairs. I also believe it's in the CNN special as well? He also stated he let him in the front door. Now we have him letting Merritt in from the back door and his wife and kids through the front door. This is a pretty stark differing of accounts. But to me, from what we know of Mike, given his candidness in the Watts videos, he is a bit scatterbrained and will stop mid-sentence, start talking about something else, and then a few seconds later circle back around. It could be a matter of the detective trying to keep up in his note taking and ended up being not totally accurate.

 

[Force Ten]

Yes it’s purely luck that the bodies were found.

The sickening thing is if the police had done their job correctly at the beginning then they wouldn’t of been reliant on just luck.


All the things Chase did should of been found out straight away if they had investigated properly. Instead they botched it and tons of evidence lost and years of time wasted.


In what world did a family of 4 just up and Leave and go to Mexico abandoning friends, family and the dogs that Summer treated like her children. Also Joey spent years building up his business to just one day without warning leave. It didn’t make sense then and it still doesn’t and LE are to blame for the years wasted.

BBM. I have to respectfully disagree. I think there is still a lot to learn about the SDSO's investigation and SBSD investigation. It's still too soon to know why they did what they or didn't do. There are so many limitations in missing persons cases without the evidence of a crime. Warrants are needed and they can only be obtained if it's found a crime was committed. So far, both the State produced any evidence the murders occurred in the home and the defense has stated no blood was found in the home as well as Merritt's truck. So until we know more of what the DA has, I really have to cut SDSO some slack.

 

[Force Ten]

I was going to look for and post this earlier because I knew one of the detectives stated in the Prelim about Mike saying Merritt was in the home but refused to go upstairs. I also believe it's in the CNN special as well? He also stated he let him in the front door. Now we have him letting Merritt in from the back door and his wife and kids through the front door. This is a pretty stark differing of accounts. But to me, from what we know of Mike, given his candidness in the Watts videos, he is a bit scatterbrained and will stop mid-sentence, start talking about something else, and then a few seconds later circle back around. It could be a matter of the detective trying to keep up in his note taking and ended up being not totally accurate.

I concur, it would be easier if he just tossed the key. It seems a bit much to put it back on his person after he's dead. One thing that has always bothered me is from the very beginning Merritt stated it wasn't/couldn't be Joseph in the border video because "he walked like a duck". If Chase killed and buried them 160 miles from the border you would think he would seize on the opportunity and say "Yep definitely Joseph and family" and say something bout them talking about visiting Mexico. But he didn't.

 

[asyousay]

Niner - 12:29pm – user added check to charles merritt for $6505 – memo line: “Balance SA (1001)”, check backdated to 2-4-10. This check is printed

I just caught this so Chase theoretically paid himself for SA and then went cap in hand to Joey’s mum for nearly $5000 to complete the SA job.

It’s just farcical that he obviously gambled away all the money he stole from Joey.

 

[Funky funky]

I concur, it would be easier if he just tossed the key. It seems a bit much to put it back on his person after he's dead. One thing that has always bothered me is from the very beginning Merritt stated it wasn't/couldn't be Joseph in the border video because "he walked like a duck". If Chase killed and buried them 160 miles from the border you would think he would seize on the opportunity and say "Yep definitely Joseph and family" and say something bout them talking about visiting Mexico. But he didn't.

I think he said that after the bodies were found though, it was during the Daily Mail interview. I thought that odd too but then someone pointed out he probably said it to appear less guilty. I don’t recall him saying it prior to the discovery.

 

[Funky funky]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....ect-McStay-murder-mystery-breaks-silence.html

Just a refresher from Daily Mail interview

 

[asyousay]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www....ect-McStay-murder-mystery-breaks-silence.html

Just a refresher from Daily Mail interview

We were in the middle of some of the best deals we had ever had. Financially we were doing very well. We had just started a huge project in Saudi Arabia worth $82,000 and right in the middle of that, Joseph disappeared. There was no reason for it.

This is part of the reason for the murder.


Chase saw Red when Joey tried to cut him loose and was angry enough at what he perceived his big payday.

I still don’t know why on the 2nd Chase wrote out that cheque - maybe he thought he could sweet talk Joey around if caught but at soon as Joey knew he had been ripped off on the morning of the 4th he had to sack him and no amount of pleading would change Joey’s mind.

Then I think Chase also held Summer responsible as his best mate Joey would of listened to him and understand so Summer was obviously telling Joey what to do hence Summer also being brutally murdered by him.

IMO

 

[missy1974]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailyI mail.co.uk/news/article-2510247/amp/Prime-suspect-McStay-murder-mystery-breaks-silence.html

Just a refresher from Daily Mail interview

from that story..

‘I told the detective back in the very beginning, that there is absolutely no way Joseph would have left without telling me’, Mr Merritt said, talking to MailOnline from a restaurant, in a remote spot near where he has moved since the McStay’s disappearance.

‘He was my best friend and we told each other everything. When they (the police) showed me the video of them crossing into Mexico, I told the them Joseph would not go into Mexico with those kids and that the man in the footage was not him. ​

I would like to know if he actually did tell LE this in the beginning? I wish we had all the LE reports, especially the SD one's. lol

 

[Funky funky]

from that story..

‘I told the detective back in the very beginning, that there is absolutely no way Joseph would have left without telling me’, Mr Merritt said, talking to MailOnline from a restaurant, in a remote spot near where he has moved since the McStay’s disappearance.

‘He was my best friend and we told each other everything. When they (the police) showed me the video of them crossing into Mexico, I told the them Joseph would not go into Mexico with those kids and that the man in the footage was not him. ​

I would like to know if he actually did tell LE this in the beginning? I wish we had all the LE reports, especially the SD one's. lol

Also, it’s worth highlighting that in the comments section for that article, Chase is posting under the handle of ‘I care’!

 

[missy1974]

Also, it’s worth highlighting that in the comments section for that article, Chase is posting under the handle of ‘I care’!

Here are his comments.

Registration | Daily Mail Online | Daily Mail Online

Interesting. He mentions the paypal account... He sticks up for Mike.

I have been looking lots in the old threads the last few days. One thing I haven't come across but have been thinking about, is.. I recall that Joey's phone called someone and a message was left... it was really muffled and it was thought that maybe it was a butt dial and they were in a restaurant. I only recall this because I remember Mike posting about it and we as posters were trying to help him find close by places and iirc he even went to them to see if CC's were used that night, etc. Does anyone else recall this? And who's phone was the message left on?

 

[Funky funky]

Here are his comments.

Registration | Daily Mail Online | Daily Mail Online

Interesting. He mentions the paypal account... He sticks up for Mike.

I have been looking lots in the old threads the last few days. One thing I haven't come across but have been thinking about, is.. I recall that Joey's phone called someone and a message was left... it was really muffled and it was thought that maybe it was a butt dial and they were in a restaurant. I only recall this because I remember Mike posting about it and we as posters were trying to help him find close by places and iirc he even went to them to see if CC's were used that night, etc. Does anyone else recall this? And who's phone was the message left on?

Yes, I do...it was supposedly left on Chase’s if I recall correctly but could be wrong. I thought in the old days that it was chase’s way of implying that joey was alive at that time. That call made a lot of people suspicious about Chase. It was all very convenient.