CA - Joey, Summer, Gianni, Joseph Jr McStay Murders - Feb 4th 2010 #9

[MichaelCorleone]

I agree with you.

And I do think he also imagined that he would be able to keep the business contracts that were in the pipe-line all to himself. He just didn't have the work ethic or the resourcefulness of Joey to manage that part. I think he resented Joey having control.

Yes, I agree. And this is where the fury comes in to be able to murder the way it was done. That murderer was really angry.

 

[geevee]

Yes, I agree. I do not think one can blow this check writing off as innocent.

Thanks for the welcome. It’s nice to have somewhere to discuss the case. My family and friends are tired of hearing about it. Lol.

LOL I know that feeling.

 

[JMarsh]

Yes, I agree. And this is where the fury comes in to be able to murder the way it was done. That murderer was really angry.

Or the killer just liked to kill. Unless we are certain of who did this, we can't really know their motive.

 

[JMarsh]

I don't want to speak for @JMarsh but I think she/he was referring to Sgt Smith as the "underdog", not Chase. Please correct me if I'm wrong @JMarsh!

Now what is this about swinging kittens? I don't recall ever hearing about this!

I don't know anything about swinging kittens. I do believe at this time that the state is the underdog. They were given a lemon of a case and were not able to successfully produce lemonade from it. Doesn't necessarily mean Chase won't be convicted. I've seen cases with less evidence, and totally innocent clients where convictions have occurred. But it doesn't look good for conviction.

 

[mom2chloe]

That will not go over well with the jury, no way, no how. IMO.

Jurors already look with a very deep yellow jaundice eye anyway when any family member of the accused testifies.

Her inconsistent statements from when it was much fresher in her mind, until the sudden change now will not help her brother.

Her flippant attitude won't either.

Imo

I wish they could drug test this particular witness. Something is hinky with this one! IMO

 

[MichaelCorleone]

Or the killer just liked to kill. Unless we are certain of who did this, we can't really know their motive.

Nah. It was most definitely a personal cause homicide.

 

[JMarsh]

Nah. It was most definitely a personal cause homicide.

I don't see it. I think the reason this case has been so hard to solve is that it wasn't personal. I think there was most likely a random element to it.

 

[Recidivist]

Where is the evidence that Chase was thieving?

Joey McStay isn't here to confirm one way or the other. Is it just that the DA's take on that activity makes more sense to you than the defense's take?

What is it about the ping evidence that you find convincing or pointing to guilt?

Of course the DA's take on the forged checks is what makes the most sense. To suggest that Joey was handing checks out like candy is stupid. No one is going to believe that. Why didn't Joey give Metro a wad of checks to pay themselves and save Joey the 2 seconds of time it takes to create a check? What about bank transfers? If joey was so overburdened with the seconds it takes to make a check, why not use bank transfers, which could occur one time or set up to occur repeatedly. To try and justify the forged check writing as innocent, makes Chase look even more guilty than it would to just acknowledge the theft.

 

[JMarsh]

Of course the DA's take on the forged checks is what makes the most sense. To suggest that Joey was handing checks out like candy is stupid. No one is going to believe that. Why didn't Joey give Metro a wad of checks to pay themselves and save Joey the 2 seconds of time it takes to create a check? What about bank transfers? If joey was so overburdened with the seconds it takes to make a check, why not use bank transfers, which could occur one time or set up to occur repeatedly. To try and justify the forged check writing as innocent, makes Chase look even more guilty than it would to just acknowledge the theft.

Joey didn't give Metro checks because the owner of that company called him a crook and Joey was hiding numbers from him.

What I believe is that Joey was weaning Chase off Joey's personal accounts, and once they were on desktop only he would give Chase checks as needed, this would allow them when they were super busy, to not meet as much.

Whatever they were doing, it doesn't seem that crazy. I guess because I've worked in small companies where arrangements weren't always that conventional.

 

[MichaelCorleone]

I don't see it. I think the reason this case has been so hard to solve is that it wasn't personal. I think there was most likely a random element to it.

<modsnipped unnecessary comment>
The items in the grave were clearly from the home. The kid - the 4 year old kid - had his head bashed in numerous times. The bodies were buried where someone didn’t want anyone to ever find them. All of these things indicate it was not random.

 

[MichaelCorleone]

I believe that the defense will speak to this. They have already signaled that the state's interpretation of that email is flawed.

I am pretty sure I have a screen print of this email. I will have to look at it to see if it can be interpreted another way.

 

[JMarsh]

I'm beginning to think that the family left the home of their own volition that Friday morning, and that something happened to them after this. Whether they were lured out or just ran into a killer/s it's hard to know.

But the more I go back and look at pictures of the home, and the evidence around the Trooper, it doesn't seem as if the killers were at all worried about being discovered by way of either the home or the Trooper--and these were places and things, they had to have known would be looked at immediately.

I AM ASKING THAT PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO CALL NAMES TO PLEASE IGNORE ME-YOU HAVE THIS OPTION. IT IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE TO BE CIVIL WHEN DISCUSSING THESE ISSUES.

 

[missy1974]

Hmmm, I've had major back surgery-right lung was deflated, ribs pried apart to access my spine for a fusion. I was on morphine for months and NEVER "drooled." As a matter of FACT, my mouth was constantly DRY, from all of the narcotic painkillers I was on.

Have you had 2 strokes as well?

I have spent enough time with loved one's that have been on pain killers after major surgery and with major health issues to know what it can do to the mind. To someone that doesn't know them, they may seem alert and aware of what they are saying, to someone that knows them, they know they are full of it and don't make any sense. JMO based on experience. Most also "lose" that time. Feels like they lost weeks out of their life, or months in some cases.

I have a feeling if she said what the prosecution wanted her to say, this wouldn't even be a conversation.

 

[JMarsh]

Have you had 2 strokes as well?

I have spent enough time with loved one's that have been on pain killers after major surgery and with major health issues to know what it can do to the mind. To someone that doesn't know them, they may seem alert and aware of what they are saying, to someone that knows them, they know they are full of it and don't make any sense. JMO based on experience. Most also "lose" that time. Feels like they lost weeks out of their life, or months in some cases.

I have a feeling if she said what the prosecution wanted her to say, this wouldn't even be a conversation.

I've always wondered if she lied to Smith thinking she was helping Chase, and now she's telling the truth.

 

[Tortoise]

Of course the DA's take on the forged checks is what makes the most sense. To suggest that Joey was handing checks out like candy is stupid. No one is going to believe that. Why didn't Joey give Metro a wad of checks to pay themselves and save Joey the 2 seconds of time it takes to create a check? What about bank transfers? If joey was so overburdened with the seconds it takes to make a check, why not use bank transfers, which could occur one time or set up to occur repeatedly. To try and justify the forged check writing as innocent, makes Chase look even more guilty than it would to just acknowledge the theft.

Not forgetting that Joey gave Chase a cheque for $100 on the same day Chase printed himself another one for $2495.

Chase could have just printed himself a cheque for $2595 and saved himself the return trip to Fallbrook on the 2nd if he had cheque writing authorisation from Joey.

 

[missy1974]

Oh come now. Of course the prosecution is a mess. I’ve been watching trials for a loooong time and I cannot recall one I’ve seen where the prosecution’s witnesses were more ill-prepared. I have pages of notes of errors and/or missteps they’ve managed to step into. Not the least of which was the photo of the vehicle. They used a still frame from the neighbor’s footage which made the truck lights look round, ffs. If they would have used a frame either one second before or one second after the one they used, at least you could claim it was Merritt’s truck without seeming ridiculous. That was sheer stupidity on their part.

I forgot about that

 

[Tortoise]

I am pretty sure I have a screen print of this email. I will have to look at it to see if it can be interpreted another way.

 

[Alisajo]

This applies to everyone though right? Not just 1 or 2 posters that the majority don't agree with.

Yeah, 101 of "Websleuths Rules"

 

[MichaelCorleone]

I forgot about that

So I got this a little bit wrong. It was the defense who put up side by side photos and they used one from the footage that made the headlights look round. Merritt’s vehicle had rectangular headlights. The prosecution should have recrossed and pointed this out, but the didn’t. They let the side by side comparison stand, which looked like they were 2 totally different vehicles.

 

[Force Ten]

hmm so I read pages and pages catching up while at work and this is exactly what everyone was saying about the jailhouse audio, that Merritt was fabricating an alibi, so are you saying if that's the case, that doesn't make him a murderer either????


Which, IMO, if anyone has actually listened to that whole hearing, would understand what they were talking about and McGee made it pretty clear that this is exactly what she has been saying since Day 1, and has never waivered. If it's true, it's not fabricated. IMO

I was being facetious.