CA - Joey, Summer, Gianni, Joseph Jr McStay Murders - Feb 4th 2010 #13

[geevee]

Here's the twitter feed for the reporter cobalt sky mentioned above:

Richard K. De Atley (@RKDeAtley) | Twitter

 

[JMarsh]

The missed call is a thorn for me at the moment... so went searching, I'm just sharing what I found! I had wondered about this before and just now decided to search it... it's a determining factor for me when deciding whether I believe that call happened and if CJ could have "seen" the call that night. Just like for some that believe that it just never happened is a deciding factor for them. I need an explanation for why it's on one call record and not the other

Call records aren't always accurate. That was established by the defense in cross. Cell phone companies are not in the business of solving crimes. And the records they produce for LE are not really the priority of the cell phone companies. There is no scientific peer review as to the accuracy of these call logs. They are simply not reliable enough to be the the lynchpin of a case, unless there is additional evidence that works in tandem.

 

[JMarsh]

I'm not sure I would consider this "high-profile"... it is to us , but it seems even the local media rarely has articles about it. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough since I am able to listen to it myself though.

This is a high profile case. Quadruple murder of an entire family. It's made national and international news. And there is a documentary being made.

 

[Karinna]

Unless the person calling hung up before it connected to VM...

am I the only that does this? LOL People that I call frequently, I know how many rings it is before VM picks up... those same people, I don't always leave a VM unless it's super important.

BBM, My phone does the same. A few rings and then it goes to VM if not answered.

 

[JMarsh]

BBM, My phone does the same. A few rings and then it goes to VM if not answered.

Remember as well, this was in 2010. You may have had a better phone, but mine, and I believe Chase's as well, was a flip-phone.

 

[Karinna]

This is a high profile case. Quadruple murder of an entire family. It's made national and international news. And there is a documentary being made.

Definitely.

 

[Mony Mony]

Unless the person calling hung up before it connected to VM...

am I the only that does this? LOL People that I call frequently, I know how many rings it is before VM picks up... those same people, I don't always leave a VM unless it's super important.

True. But CM had an err..ummm...unfortunate set of incriminating events happen that at some point you just have to question the probability of all that happening at once. The two timed felon should have bought a lottery ticket. He had an unbelievable streak of luck.

 

[Karinna]

Call records aren't always accurate. That was established by the defense in cross. Cell phone companies are not in the business of solving crimes. And the records they produce for LE are not really the priority of the cell phone companies. There is no scientific peer review as to the accuracy of these call logs. They are simply not reliable enough to be the the lynchpin of a case, unless there is additional evidence that works in tandem.

Be that as it may, criminal cases have been convicted on phone ping evidence, and also on cctv footage.

 

[travelbug]

But there hasn't been any testimony to that effect has there, by either CJ or CM?

Why would they feel the need to discuss their private relationship and/or issues with anyone. I was only trying to explain that some of us find it easy to believe they argued for a weekend. The only way to defuse my angry spouse was to stop responding to him. I just went about my normal life, as he continued to yell at the children and me. The longest time period one of his "anger episodes" lasted was 6 days. So it's easy for me to believe a weekend. It's not the way I choose to remember by husband because he was a good man and hard working. But, he never learned how to control his anger before he passed from cancer at age 48.

 

[JMarsh]

Be that as it may, criminal cases have been convicted on phone ping evidence, and also on cctv footage.

Yes. And many cases that relied too heavily on cell phone data have been overturned on appeal. I believe that traditional cell phone data will be seen as controversial as bite-mark evidence. It's really good that cell phones are now equipped with GPS. I think it will make this science much more exact.

 

[cobalt sky]

Who on earth, would argue for a weekend about an unanswered call from someone you normally speak to up to 15 times a day?
That's preposterous and just plain silly and unbelievable.
First of all. February 10, 2010 was a Thursday.
So they argued Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday over Chase not answering a call from Joey?
Don't think so. Did they argue? Probably. But about much much more then any missed call from Joey.
I'd say that they argued about Chase having his phone turned off.
Because he was quite busy, murdering, covering up and then burying the entire family in the dessert.

I have no idea what they argued about lol but I will say this:

If it was the 4th of the month, with bills coming in, and possibly short on money to pay, and my man received a call from the guy who we largely depended on for income, and he didn't answer the call, you better believe there would be arguments until he made contact with him.

WE know that Chase had cashed at least one check earlier in the week, but Cathy may not have known that and was waiting for money to pay bills. Just a thought.

 

[Karinna]

I have no idea what they argued about lol but I will say this:

If it was the 4th of the month, with bills coming in, and possibly short on money to pay, and my man received a call from the guy who we largely depended on for income, and he didn't answer the call, you better believe there would be arguments until he made contact with him.

WE know that Chase had cashed at least one check earlier in the week, but Cathy may not have known that and was waiting for money to pay bills. Just a thought.

Why would CJ rely on Merritts money when he gambled it away?

 

[cobalt sky]

What's the point of Rodriguez showing the picture of CM in a hole on the desert he had dug? I know it looks dramatic and some are excited to see it. But how does that support the charge? It's his job, wasn't it? Showing that picture adds nothing to the evidence. Say a family of 5 were found murdered with a knife, will thousands of chefs who appear in pictures holding butcher's knife be suspected of the crime?

Well, the defense might take that lemon and squeeze some lemonade from it lol. As in, look at this guy standing in this huge hole he just dug. Clearly he knew about high desert terrain and composition, would someone with this knowledge and experience really choose such a visible, difficult spot to dig two graves to bury 4 people? Surely he knew of better, less visible places that were easier to dig.

 

[JMarsh]

Why would CJ rely on Merritts money when he gambled it away?

Maybe he didn't gamble it away. Maybe he won, but just not enough to cover the overwhelming medical bills he had incurred, along with loss of work. This was before ACA went into effect. I can't tell you how many go-fund-mes I got from folks, like Merritt, who had no health insurance.

 

[smr]

The two timed felon should have bought a lottery ticket. He had an unbelievable streak of luck.

All I can say is that Chase Merritt has an exceptional luck in having McGee and Maline as his defense counsels.

 

[Karinna]

Maybe he didn't gamble it away. Maybe he won, but just not enough to cover the overwhelming medical bills he had incurred, along with loss of work. This was before ACA went into effect. I can't tell you how many go-fund-mes I got from folks, like Merritt, who had no health insurance.

So why did his daughter just testify in trial about her father CM being irresponsible with money?

 

[casesensitive]

Lurking still and reading along after my one post a while back. I thought back then that CM was likely guilty, but considered that some jury members might have some "reasonable doubt" on some of the evidence and theories. There are a few more posters who question some evidence, and despite what I think (moo) is a general consensus on WS that CM is guilty, the jury will be made up of people who have similar doubts, even if it is one person. Based on this, it is hard to predict what the jury will decide (not that anyone can predict that anyway). My gut feeling is that they will find CM guilty, but I would feel more sure if this wasn't a death penalty case.

 

[Karinna]

Well, the defense might take that lemon and squeeze some lemonade from it lol. As in, look at this guy standing in this huge hole he just dug. Clearly he knew about high desert terrain and composition, would someone with this knowledge and experience really choose such a visible, difficult spot to dig two graves to bury 4 people? Surely he knew of better, less visible places that were easier to dig.

There was a time factor.

 

[Recidivist]

Maybe he didn't gamble it away. Maybe he won, but just not enough to cover the overwhelming medical bills he had incurred, along with loss of work. This was before ACA went into effect. I can't tell you how many go-fund-mes I got from folks, like Merritt, who had no health insurance.

Oh yeah, the overwhelming medical bills that he never had any intention of paying, otherwise he would have, with his hefty annual income. No. He paid nothing towards medical bills, or health insurance, but instead gambled away tens of thousands of dollars.

 

[smr]

Well, the defense might take that lemon and squeeze some lemonade from it lol. As in, look at this guy standing in this huge hole he just dug. Clearly he knew about high desert terrain and composition, would someone with this knowledge and experience really choose such a visible, difficult spot to dig two graves to bury 4 people? Surely he knew of better, less visible places that were easier to dig.

^^ And surely he should be capable of digging one larger hole to bury all 4 victims instead of two smaller holes. Those Keene Engineering machines would help a lot, too.

 

[JMarsh]

So why did his daughter just testify in trial about her father CM being irresponsible with money?

Maybe he spent too much money when they went out to eat. There was a bill for almost $100 at Olive Garden. Who racks up a bill like that at Olive Garden? The breadsticks are free.