CA - Joey, Summer, Gianni, Joseph Jr McStay Murders - Feb 4th 2010 #2

[LadyL]

It was mentioned earlier that Chase said no one was at Chick-Fil-A... it's all about context and this was really hard to hear earlier. IMO when he says he was the only one there, I believe he is meaning that Joey was only meeting with Chase, no one else... not Michael.

1:18:45 of this video is where it's mentioned about not seeing anyone at Chick-Fil-A. You have to listen to the question that is asked of him first, DuGal asks if he (Joey) talks to Michael at Chick-Fil-A (this is the second time I have heard DuGal ask this so far)... then this is what I hear:

as far as I know the only person that Joseph saw Thursday at Chick-Fil-A, well I know for a fact the only person he saw at Chick-Fil-A was me, there was nobody... then it sounds like DuGal and Fisk (??) talking to each other and Fisk says 'did Michael say he was at Chick-Fil-A' and Dugal says 'yeah', she asks 'what time' ... D: 'lunch'.. F: 'maybe it was before'... then she asks Merritt who went their first, you are him. Chase goes on to say there is no way Mikey was out there for lunch that day with him.

I wonder why they think Michael was there at lunch time and met with Joseph?

[bbm]

wow!!! Mike told the detectives he was at the lunch meeting??? Chase says he wasn't

 

[katydid23]

I have just had a thought with the 2 trucks and car seats...

if Summer mainly drove the truck (not the trooper)... is it possible that Summer had the truck with the car seats for the day... Joey comes home, they go to pick up toys she found on Craig's list.. they move the car seats over to the Trooper... CM goes to the house and is "waiting" for them when they get back?

It's possible, but it seems that if they went to pick up a Craigslist item, there would be a clear trail of that exchange on their cell logs. I don't think we have seen evidence of that 'pick up' on the timeline. JMO

 

[missy1974]

20:30 of this video, Dan and Hawaii... Chase says he's flying here today... Dugal asks how long he's been there... Chase says, he's never known him to not be in Hawaii... he's never met Dan before.

 

[missy1974]

[bbm]

wow!!! Mike told the detectives he was at the lunch meeting??? Chase says he wasn't

This was the 2nd time Dugal asked about Mike being there that day... I didn't note the time the first time, but I thought it was odd the first time myself. This was very early on though, maybe DuGal had the wrong day and it was cleared up later... but still interesting.

 

[Texas Red]

It was mentioned earlier that Chase said no one was at Chick-Fil-A... it's all about context and this was really hard to hear earlier. IMO when he says he was the only one there, I believe he is meaning that Joey was only meeting with Chase, no one else... not Michael.

1:18:45 of this video is where it's mentioned about not seeing anyone at Chick-Fil-A. You have to listen to the question that is asked of him first, DuGal asks if he (Joey) talks to Michael at Chick-Fil-A (this is the second time I have heard DuGal ask this so far)... then this is what I hear:

as far as I know the only person that Joseph saw Thursday at Chick-Fil-A, well I know for a fact the only person he saw at Chick-Fil-A was me, there was nobody... then it sounds like DuGal and Fisk (??) talking to each other and Fisk says 'did Michael say he was at Chick-Fil-A' and Dugal says 'yeah', she asks 'what time' ... D: 'lunch'.. F: 'maybe it was before'... then she asks Merritt who went their first, you are him. Chase goes on to say there is no way Mikey was out there for lunch that day with him.

I wonder why they think Michael was there at lunch time and met with Joseph?

"IMO when he says he was the only one there, I believe he is meaning that Joey was only meeting with Chase, no one else... not Michael"
You must be correct, otherwise LE would have subpoenaed the days receipts that would be timestamped showing exactly how many meals were sold durning that period.

 

[katydid23]

Savage: Possibly. I believe the cause of death is Blunt Force Trauma and manner is Homicide, from what the Prosecution said the Coroner's conclusion was in OS and didn't the Anthropologist also state that today? Why do some think they were beaten AFTER death? I haven't heard anything like that from the few days I've been watching. Thanks

Also, the large bone was JM's Sr Fibula/Tibia (Leg) bone.

I think the defense was trying to plant that seed by saying there was no indication that the body had begun the healing process after the bone breaks, thus they were broken after death. But as was said above, if they were actually broken in an attack that caused the death, there would be no signs of healing either. JMO

 

[ehenson88]

This was the 2nd time Dugal asked about Mike being there that day... I didn't note the time the first time, but I thought it was odd the first time myself. This was very early on though, maybe DuGal had the wrong day and it was cleared up later... but still interesting.

Remember Mike supposedly told the detectives that he drove by the house on the 6th but then on cross they cleared that up on redirect because he later that night told another detective it was Chase that drove by the house on that day. I think Mike may have some kind of minor disability that makes him mix up his words or get confused. At times he is socially awkward. many people mistake that for deception or dishonesty. It seems the detectives were even somewhat suspicious of him.

 

[missy1974]

Remember Mike supposedly told the detectives that he drove by the house on the 6th but then on cross they cleared that up on redirect because he later that night told another detective it was Chase that drove by the house on that day. I think Mike may have some kind of minor disability that makes him mix up his words or get confused. At times he is socially awkward. many people mistake that for deception or dishonesty. It seems the detectives were even somewhat suspicious of him.

I was thinking about the 'I drove by there on the 4th or 6th'... Even Chase mentions early in this interview to DuGal that Mike is 'exciteable'... I think this is his nature, add to that the stress of dealing with a family missing, dealing with LE, media, etc, I'm sure dates and times were coming out fast and furious. Anyone who has watched the Equeesearch video's would understand how Mike is ;-)

 

[ehenson88]

In the beginning of the interview Chase mentions he brought some notes to refer to. He had written down the last day he talked to Joey, and what they talked about - checks and changing to quick books new version That had to be red flag number one! He is trying to CYA and go ahead and explain away all his suspicious activity. Using Joey's credit cards the checks etc. The checks are the smoking gun here. He said Joey gave him checks on the 4th to give to metro for 1600 and 250. Those checks weren't created till the 5th, then backdated to the 4th. There is no way to explain away the quick books checks, absolutely none.

 

[Mony Mony]

It was mentioned earlier that Chase said no one was at Chick-Fil-A... it's all about context and this was really hard to hear earlier. IMO when he says he was the only one there, I believe he is meaning that Joey was only meeting with Chase, no one else... not Michael.

1:18:45 of this video is where it's mentioned about not seeing anyone at Chick-Fil-A. You have to listen to the question that is asked of him first, DuGal asks if he (Joey) talks to Michael at Chick-Fil-A (this is the second time I have heard DuGal ask this so far)... then this is what I hear:

as far as I know the only person that Joseph saw Thursday at Chick-Fil-A, well I know for a fact the only person he saw at Chick-Fil-A was me, there was nobody... then it sounds like DuGal and Fisk (??) talking to each other and Fisk says 'did Michael say he was at Chick-Fil-A' and Dugal says 'yeah', she asks 'what time' ... D: 'lunch'.. F: 'maybe it was before'... then she asks Merritt who went their first, you are him. Chase goes on to say there is no way Mikey was out there for lunch that day with him.

I wonder why they think Michael was there at lunch time and met with Joseph?

Thank you! That does clear it up!

 

[missy1974]

In the beginning of the interview Chase mentions he brought some notes to refer to. He had written down the last day he talked to Joey, and what they talked about - checks and changing to quick books new version That had to be red flag number one! He is trying to CYA and go ahead and explain away all his suspicious activity. Using Joey's credit cards the checks etc. The checks are the smoking gun here. He said Joey gave him checks on the 4th to give to metro for 1600 and 250. Those checks weren't created till the 5th, then backdated to the 4th. There is no way to explain away the quick books checks, absolutely none.

uggh ... I know that makes him look suspicious, and I agree it is probably his way of keeping his story straight...

BUT... I am a note taker myself. Something happens... I make notes... notes on my phone, notes on paper, notes on my computer ... I hope no one I know disappears! LOL I have a memory for dates and times, especially when it's something important. Or if I do think it's important, I will make notes.

I seriously even have "notes" on this trial ... I have a few pages of them LOL If I was ever a juror... I would have hand cramps and would definitely need to learn shorthand ;-)

 

[mrjitty]

It's possible that somehow CM used that money to buy supplies and MSM felt that it was money owed to them, but again, I don't think I heard any direct testimony from Sequieda that CM owed them anything, Joey yes, not CM. JMO

Again just to clarify BIB

As a question of contract law, MSM's client was EIC. Therefore MSM could only seek the money from EIP. (i.e. Joey)

Sequieda was not suggesting that CM owed them money. He was suggesting that when EIP didn't pay, it turned out CM had misappropriated the money.

This is why Joey had to pay twice, because legally EIP still owed the money to MSM

What we don't know is how CM misappropriated the cash.

If he simply diverted bulk funds from Joey into different projects this would not necessarily be criminal (though might have been grounds for Joey to sue him).

If he cashed an MSM cheque - that would be fraud.

I guess if he cashed an MSM cheque - that evidence will come from forensic evidence of EIPs accounts (not from the MSM people)

 

[mrjitty]

Did Sequieda testify about that email? is it in evidence? Did the jury hear that?

I would assume it is in evidence as an exhibit.

Strictly Sequieda probably should not testify about it as it was not written to him.

If it is used in Court, I assume the forensic guys who recovered it would exhibit it, or the forensic accountants.

 

[mrjitty]

Is this to make him appear less of a savage at sentencing phase?

He beat them with a sledgehammer after death. As if. I can't imagine that tossing a body in the grave would cause broken bones, unless it was a toe or a finger, but I have a feeling from the picture it was a large bone.

Broken leg could easily happen on a dead body thrown into grave i guess?

 

[mrjitty]

I did that for OP's trial, for stream reasons as well as it being live when it was the middle of the night for me.

It's shame that they don't use a proper livestream provider. There is no real excuse for all the downstream network and resource issues.

Obviously the in court issues like sound is more an old school production issue, but of course they can't stop proceedings to ask witnesses to do retakes for sound quality

 

[katydid23]

But it’s Chase saying nobody was in there I thought so that to me wouldn’t ring true?

I didn't interpret it to mean that no other people were in the restaurant. I thought Chase was saying that it was only Joey and him meeting together, no one else was 'with them' for lunch. Not that there was no one else eating there. JMO

 

[mrjitty]

Just reading chat on the livestream... Cathy Russon is the reporter in the courtroom for Law & Crime

cathyrusson: Dan Kavanaugh is the only person that said Merritt had a $30K gambling debt

cathyrusson: No evidence of that that I know of

cathyrusson: Everyone I have talked to says there is no proof of what Kavanaugh said about the gambling debt, so I'm waiting to hear it come out in court

In regards to Dan:

cathyrusson: The defense plans to call him. I do not think the state will, just my opinion

This makes no sense to me but then I don't know Cali rules?

The defense case appears to be that DK did the murders

So why the hell would DK appear as a defense witness? That would be insanity for the defense as well as the witness would then be hostile to the defense's own questioning?

Unless this is all so crazy that DK is basically OK with all that and wants to give testimony potentially implicating himself in quadruple homicide?

I do think given the defense case, it would be appropriate for the State to compel him to testify. And normally (though my knowledge is sketchy) it is negotiated between state and defense as to who calls the witness.

But maybe state won't call DK precisely so such a bloodbath can take place?

Anyway a big issue for the defense in that situation is that they can't X the witness. They get his EIC. So DK can simply give the most harmless self serving evidence he wants and the defence can't attack it - unless they get him declared hostile?

 

[minusfour]

Could the defence compel DK to testify?

Joey might have been on a step learning curve about running a business, but there is no way he would have let CM-who he knew had a gambling problem, and had a criminal history- access to business credit cards and cheques. No way in the world. (Even a trusted employee spending like that, honestly on behalf of the business- would make a messy paper trail that would need to be reconciled every month)

Thank you for the tweets, and the you tube links. (It is a long weekend in Australia, and I have catch up plans!)

 

[Funky funky]

All I can figure out is many did buy into his downright lies about Summer.

It didn’t help that a dangerous and uninformed person wrote a book and blog about her too!

 

[Niner]

Thursday, January 24th:
*Trial continues (Day 11) (@ 9:30am PT) - CA - McStay Family: Joseph (40), Summer (43), Gianni (4) & Joey Jr (3) (Feb. 4, 2010, Fallbrook; found Nov. 11, 2013) - *Charles "Chase" Ray Merritt (57/now 60) arrested (11/5/14) & indicted (11/7/14) of 4 counts of murder with special circumstance; plead not guilty. DP case.
12 jurors & 6 alternates were finalized on Tuesday (12/11/18). 8 women & 4 men, while the alternates include 4 men & 2 women. Dec. 19 hearing will focus on evidence & details about possible jury visits to the both the desert grave sites & the McStay family home in Fallbrook. Trial to start 1/7/19.
1/7/19 Day 1: Judge will allow live stream of trial. Judge gives jurors initial instructions. Judge not happy with the number of cameras in the courtroom. Opening statements are done. Trial continues 1/8.
1/8/19 Day 2: State witnesses: Susan Blake (Joseph's mother). Michael McStay (Joseph’s brother). Trial continues on 1/9.
1/9/19 Day 3: Prosecutor tells the judge Mike McStay doesn't want to be shown on camera today. Judge denies request. State witnesses: Jennifer Michley (or Mitchley), former Fallbrook neighbor of the McStays, she now lives out of state. Michael McStay. Trial continues on 1/10.
1/10/19 Day 4: State witnesses: Michael McStay (subject to recall). Bruce Carter, was security for the San Jacinto Shopping Center mall where the McStay's Isuzu Trooper was towed from on the Mexico Border town of San Ysidro. David Jackson, worked for the last witness. He was a security guard at the parking where vehicle was towed from. Kathleen Conwell, in 2010 she was an animal control officer for San Diego County. Sgt. Michael Tingley, San Diego Co. Sheriff's Office. In 2010, he was a patrol deputy for the Fallbrook area. Trial continues on Monday, 1/14. Will be dark on Fridays.
1/14/19 Day 5: State witnesses: Jeffrey "McGyver" McCargar (he was friends with Joseph & Summer. He introduced them). Det. Troy DuGal, from San Diego Sheriff's office. Tomorrow 1/15 trial will go from 9:30am to 12 noon, as a juror has an appointment.
1/15/19 Day 6: State witness: Ret. Detective Troy DuGal. Trial continues on 1/16.
1/16/19 Day 7: State witnesses: Det. Troy DuGal. Denys Williams, a forensic evidence technician for San Diego County, now retired, since 2014. Trial continues on 1/17.
1/17/19 Day 8: State witnesses: Denys Williams, retired evidence technician with San Diego Co. She took photos inside the McStay home. Joe Sequeida, employee from Metro Sheet Metal. Dark on Fridays, continues on Tuesday, 1/22, as Monday the 21st is a holiday.
1/22/19 Day 9: State witnesses: Joe Sequeida, from Metro Sheet Metal. John Bluth, is the motorcycle rider that found the human skull and called police. Sgt. Gary Hart. is with the San Bernadino Sheriff's dept. At the time of this investigation he was a detective. After jurors released for break, one atty (Maline) was scolded by judge for being 20 min late to court for third time. Sgt. Armando Avila (subject to recall), was a detective in the homicide for San Bernardino County at the time the remains were found. Trial continues on 1/23.
1/23/19 Day 10: State witnesses: Dr. Alexis Grey, forensic anthropologist. The state will now play the police interrogation video of Merritt of 2/17/10 (DuGal's interview). Trial continues on 1/24.