CA - Joey, Summer, Gianni, Joseph Jr McStay Murders - Feb 4th 2010 #8

[Edmo]

https://wildabouttrial.com/contact-us/

Send wildabouttrial a message, ask them! I have followed them for a few years, first place I looked when I found out the about this trial starting. Was disappointed that they weren't.

That being said. Cathy said they "are working on a plan" ... so we will see, she's probably sick of hearing about it lol Think a few got punted from chat today... highly expect one of them might have been @Edmo lmao

I have a feeling that the family that can't be there every day, all day, is probably also watching it in the privacy of their own homes... no one tweeting that they are there, or hanging their heads, or crying, or heaven forbid going for a pee. I think it provides not only a service to us, but to them, and L & C just may not realize that, JMO. I have been annoyed by the feed on certain days, but understood and knew that it would be uploaded at the end of the day, so really no big deal.

I was going to send an email or message to L&C and couldn't find an appropriate "contact" on their site. Ok... fine.. I was gonna send Dan hate mail lmao *I will still watch Live PD* Where else am I gonna learn to lie about all the things I "didn't know were in my car"? LOL

Nope, I had enough after the L&C saying they were leaving.

 

[Edmo]

oh lol Ok then... so tell me desert people.... and locals.... just how wet would it have been there???? Are we talking rushing water? standing water? I'm just a prairie girl, but I know when we have dry spells and it rains heavy, we get a lot of "standing water" because the ground can't absorb it quick enough. I'm just trying to understand the conditions when Chase (or anyone) was digging holes and burying bodies.

Check out the date

This was a few days earlier. I remember people were washed away in their campers/motorhomes from the local news. Some of the people ended up drowning in the flood waters.

 

[missy1974]

<modsnip>

I do think it comes down to personal experiences and this gives good insight into a "gamblers" mind, not a "addicted gambler", there is a difference IMO And if you frequent the casino's, you know what I mean. There are people that I can see at the casino, and you just know they have a "problem" LOL And then there are others that set a limit, and leave when that limit is hit, some can do that, some can't.

Reading some of the posts about the casino's and the gambling, I feel a bit shamed for my love of slots haha I'll get over it

I have never been to Vegas... I plan on going sometimes in the next few years, need to time it properly so I can catch an NHL game while there

 

[missy1974]

I haven't watched yet but maybe Ryan or the prosecution had renewed interest due to something a witness testified to. I see nothing wrong with this, whether it be the prosecution or the defense. Imo it's petty to challenge it. Either it's evidence or it's not. Cut and dry.

unfortunately we won't be able to "see" the remaining cross on Smith. I'm still ticked off LOL

 

[missy1974]

I think there is a chance as well that the judge doesn't want to overwhelm the jurors. We are at home, we can eat, exercise etc. while all this sophisticated information is being delivered. But the Jury just has to sit there taking notes. And this evidence is involved and complicated. I think with a trial this long, the judge is aware that jury-burnout is a possibility, so breaks are needed.

This is like taking advanced courses in physics and anatomy. This evidence is not just-Joe saw Ralph kill Agnes. It's really tough information to absorb and understand, well enough, to decide the fate of a man's life.

Yep, we can go back and rewatch, over and over and over. So, it might be good for the jury to have the breaks they are getting.

 

[missy1974]

I understand what you're saying, but as devil's advocate, if the prosecution or a detective hears something in court that makes them think, and then that person goes home that night and does some more work and discovers NEW evidence/information -- should the prosecution then just ignore that information and not bring it up in the trial? Even though it may help the jury in their decision?

No, I guess not. And we will see how it all turns out in the end, still would like a legal opinion of it though haha

Maybe @MsFacetious could give us her perspective if and when she ever catches up.

 

[Edmo]

Probably later that afternoon when Mike testified he drove down and arrived there... Pechanga is just north of Fallbrook and quite a drive from Rancho. The better question is why was Chase down in that area and not at another casino

Pechanga is 15 minutes to Fallbrook.

 

[missy1974]

Per the prelim Boles testified that CJ called him many times (4 or 5?) and called her back around 1130. This seems to be a problematic pattern between these two that week.

I saw geevee's question late last night, I looked in my saved snips to see if I had a photo of it, but I didn't. I *think* somewhere we saw a glimpse of those calls, they were the usual short calls they seemed to have, assuming they were losing connections again. (there phones sucked LOL even in his Dugal/Fiske interview, they had troubles keeping a connection on the phone)

I will try to go back later and see if I can get a snip of the feb 6th calls.

 

[Edmo]

Looks like he found a new casino once Joey moved to that area? Just look at the dates. If you look really hard, you will notice more info about this time in the casino. I think I know what JMarsh is talking about, at that is just at first glance! I want to see the cell records that go with these and we are going to freaking miss then.

Pechanga is about a 15 minute drive to Fallbrook.

 

[missy1974]

Check out the date

This was a few days earlier. I remember people were washed away in their campers/motorhomes from the local news. Some of the people ended up drowning in the flood waters.

right, this is the video I was talking about, I see it says the 4th. So did that continue to the 5th and 6th?

And actually... this brings up another thought.... when you guys have rainfalls like is in the video.... do you also have issues with cell service? power? that kind of stuff? Is there any way that we could find that information?

Again, where I live, we have one main phone company here, and they are good (expensive, because they kind of have a monopoly on the market because they own most towers), BUT, they have all these state of the art towers and whatever and in extreme weather conditions, they can go down. So now I'm even more curious.

I also have a FB friend that lives in Cali (not sure exactly where) and just last week she had no power for days before because of a bit of snow that they aren't used to lol

 

[missy1974]

Pechanga is about a 15 minute drive to Fallbrook.

I caught that in testimony. And according to the exhibit that Smith made, he only started going there in November 2009. Which would be the time that the McStay's moved there. IMO he found a "new" casino to frequent when he was down there.

 

[missy1974]

@Edmo I know you are discouraged with L&C not streaming next week (and possibly longer), so am I. But I do hope you stick around, if I stick you gotta stick because I need the local perspective LOL

 

[Plo_Koon]

Chase is really an unlucky guy

All these people out to railroad him, and he has never wronged one person in his life. It's a sad state of affairs they put this guy on trial on multiple counts of murder based on ZERO evidence.

 

[Plo_Koon]

oh lol Ok then... so tell me desert people.... and locals.... just how wet would it have been there???? Are we talking rushing water? standing water? I'm just a prairie girl, but I know when we have dry spells and it rains heavy, we get a lot of "standing water" because the ground can't absorb it quick enough. I'm just trying to understand the conditions when Chase (or anyone) was digging holes and burying bodies.

Have you ever read about the German family that disappeared in the California(I believe. Pretty sure it was Death Valley) desert? I know that they were driving a van, ended up off road and were in a wash which caused the wheels to sink as the vehicle wasn't 4WD and then they were stuck. There is one very good, detailed read on it and the S&R steps taken to try and locate them. I believe it was posted on Longform
Just presenting if you wanted further reading on washes in the desert.

 

[Plo_Koon]

No, I guess not. And we will see how it all turns out in the end, still would like a legal opinion of it though haha

Maybe @MsFacetious could give us her perspective if and when she ever catches up.

Right. There's an attorney who always posts on the Kelsey Berreth threads and his username slips my mind now.

 

[Force Ten]

Pechanga is about a 15 minute drive to Fallbrook.

And literally 5 minutes from the freeway. Billboards up and down the 15 for Pechanga and many other casinos. The many drives to Fallbrook from November to February had a very telling effect on Merritt.

 

[Force Ten]

Have you ever read about the German family that disappeared in the California(I believe. Pretty sure it was Death Valley) desert? I know that they were driving a van, ended up off road and were in a wash which caused the wheels to sink as the vehicle wasn't 4WD and then they were stuck. There is one very good, detailed read on it and the S&R steps taken to try and locate them. I believe it was posted on Longform
Just presenting if you wanted further reading on washes in the desert.

I've read that account. Very long and detailed. That is one crazy story and very sad.

 

[Edmo]

right, this is the video I was talking about, I see it says the 4th. So did that continue to the 5th and 6th?

And actually... this brings up another thought.... when you guys have rainfalls like is in the video.... do you also have issues with cell service? power? that kind of stuff? Is there any way that we could find that information?

Again, where I live, we have one main phone company here, and they are good (expensive, because they kind of have a monopoly on the market because they own most towers), BUT, they have all these state of the art towers and whatever and in extreme weather conditions, they can go down. So now I'm even more curious.

I also have a FB friend that lives in Cali (not sure exactly where) and just last week she had no power for days before because of a bit of snow that they aren't used to lol

The only cell phone problems I have experienced is from driving next to a mountain or between 2 mountains that drop service. That only lasts for around 10-15 minutes in the worst spot and less in others. Weather has never interfered with my service. I had Sprint in 2010.

 

[Edmo]

I caught that in testimony. And according to the exhibit that Smith made, he only started going there in November 2009. Which would be the time that the McStay's moved there. IMO he found a "new" casino to frequent when he was down there.

Pala Casino is also near Fallbrook.

 

[Tortoise]

IIRC Shroeder said many times in his testimony that his main focus was Device 4, not Device 5 which is the HP. Also, from my notes, I have that the defense asked him if there was any activity on the 8th on that computer and he said he did not know. Without going back and looking at the testimony, I am not sure if this info was brought out in direct testimony or defense testimony? But I don't have that info in my notes from his direct testimony. (I have just gone back to Day 17 where they turn "their attention to Device 5" 43:14 Day 17 Part 1 , and I didn't hear this Feb 8th access time mentioned in direct, doesn't mean it wasn't, I'm curious now to know if this was something that the defense brought out, or the pro's)

Personally, I don't know how they explain the Device 4 access at 2amish, let alone Device 5.... but after watching that testimony in totality, if you can come away feeling that you have full knowledge of that internet activity, I don't know what to tell you LOL There is more to what he testified to, and I suspect we will hear more later, either on the prosecution side or the defense side. I wouldn't be surprised if the prosecution has now hired someone to look at all the doc's, including the one's from the FBI, I would... because the defense sure left it with a feeling of "we know something you don't know". BUT JMO.

I'm curious to know what your thoughts are about the prosecution showing a bookmark was accessed, one file of 27,000 accessed at that time, and having Schroeder testify that it was user accessed? And then the defense showing, and Schroeder agreeing, that it was part of a scan, and system accessed?

but after watching that testimony in totality, if you can come away feeling that you have full knowledge of that internet activity, I don't know what to tell you LOL

I haven't watched it, but I do intend to watch everything now that there is going to be a 2 week gap in livestreaming. My post came from the report in the SBC Sentinel which laid it out as follows (bbbm):

his analysis of a clone of the hard drive of the eMachine computer in the McStay home shows that a series of Google searches were carried out on the device on February 8, 2010 between 2:06 a.m. and 2:07 a.m. Schroeder said he was not able to make a determination of whether the items searched for within the span of two minutes had been typed in or clicked on from a pull down menu. Schroeder said he was not aware of any other activity on that computer. He said most of his analytical focus was on the eMachine, as opposed to activity on another computer in the home, a Hewlett Packard, which was last accessed on February 8, 2010 at 2:08 a.m. On that Hewlett-Packard, it was determined that the computer had briefly opened to the msn.com home page, which in 2010 was a common opening page. That was all that was booted up to the computer’s opening page. Schroeder indicated there were no following searches on that machine he could identify.
Schroeder said he was not aware of the FBI regional computer forensic lab’s report on the same machines. A subsequent exchange with Maline gave rise to the impression that the Hewlett-Packard computer might not have been accessed by an individual but had rather been stimulated by an automated virus scan.
Fuller Context Undercuts Circumstantial Elements Of Merritt Prosecution | SBCSentinel

I'm curious to know what your thoughts are about the prosecution showing a bookmark was accessed, one file of 27,000 accessed at that time, and having Schroeder testify that it was user accessed? And then the defense showing, and Schroeder agreeing, that it was part of a scan, and system accessed?

When I watch it I'll be able to get a better idea of whether he was trying to pull a fast one but since I'm having to guess I think most likely he wouldn't have tried that knowing the defense would have pulled him up on it and used it to make him look incompetent or dishonest so I think it was most likely human error and he hadn't run that enquiry to see if it was a scan. It's possible he used certain key-word search terms and that came up in his results, meaning he would miss all the other thousands of files that would have shown it was a system scan.