About this case

About this case

The case, from the beginning, in Chase Merritt’s own words. Written for those who have never followed this case. Citations appear at the end of the page.

Ones closest to Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and their two young boys have been consumed by this case since February 4th, 2010, the day this family simply vanished without a trace. It would be over 3 years before they would finally receive word concerning the fate of their loved ones. On November 11th, 2013, 3 years, 9 months and 7 days after their mysterious disappearance in 2010, the family was found in two shallow graves on the outskirts of Victorville California. A desert community just off Interstate 15, between San Bernardino and Barstow in San Bernardino County, the largest county in the state.

I most assuredly mourn the loss of my friend and his family, however, I do not believe for an instant that my grief could compare to that of their immediate families. Indeed, I have experienced the loss of family members, my mother and father, a younger sister, as well as my grandmother. As devastating as these losses were to me, I don’t feel they can compare to losing someone, much less an entire family to such a cowardly and unjustifiable act of violence. We are not supposed to outlive our children, much less grandchildren. My heart goes out to those who lost the most, the McStay and Aranda families, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Since that fateful day in February of 2010, my life, along with those dear to me has been turned upside down as well. Over the last eight years I have been incarcerated for this heinous crime, and now reside on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison. This despite the fact that I do and always have asserted my innocence. I did not commit this crime.

Although I desperately long to return to my three children, my girlfriend, brothers and sisters and everyone else I hold dear, I feel I have a desperately difficult and long fight ahead. My hope is that this site, these truths, may bring me one small step closer to going home. To quote a passage from one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, wherein by the way he as well was innocent, “I have to get to the business of living or get to the business of dying.”

Joseph McStay owned a web based business called Earth Inspired Products, that sold both ‘off the shelf’ as well as custom indoor water features. Approximately 70% of E.I.P. sales were made on the custom side of his business, and between mid 2007 and the time of the families disappearance in February of 2010, my company, ‘I Design 4u1’ provided the majority of these custom features. Over the years we worked together I provided over 200 individual custom features for E.I.P., as well as a multitude of production type features.

Along with Joseph’s and my growing business concerns, we became close on a personal level as well. Joseph was a hard working, goal oriented, and I believe, honest to a fault business and family man. A hard core surfer, with wavy hair and attire to match this laid back life style. Rarely seen in long pants unless they were sweats.

Throughout the years I worked with Joseph, my three children and their mother had the opportunity to get to know Joseph on a personal level as well. We would frequently meet for a casual dinner near our home, where he and I would discuss business and more often than not personal affairs. My family and I attended multiple birthday celebrations with Joseph’s family, and had the pleasure of seeing Joseph and Summer wed. All of our lives were in an upswing and Joseph and I were planning a joint venture wherein we would combine sales and production into a single facility, allowing for greater expansion of both our business concerns.

Approximately 3 months prior to their disappearance escrow closed on their new home in Fallbrook California, approximately 70 miles North of San Diego, pulling him away from his beloved San Clemente apartment just a few short blocks from the beach where he spent many of his leisure hours. Nevertheless, Joseph, Summer and the kids were excited about their new home. Along with the boys now having a large back yard to ramble, Joseph and Summer were enjoying the spaciousness of their new home, and they went directly into remodeling. This included painting, replacing tile counter tops with granite, installing new stainless appliances, as well as purchasing new wood flooring and planning its eventual install. Other than the painting, I am intimately familiar with all of these projects, as I assisted Joseph in one way or another with all of them. This included the installation of the appliances, removing the old kitchen tile and floating the counter tops readying them for the installation of the granite. I repaired a dishwasher Joseph had purchased on the internet and later discovered was broken, as well as an install, at Summer’s request, of a large storage shed in their new side yard. Joseph and I often exchanged favors, if either needed something the other was always there.

Summer, several years Joseph’s senior, was not what the majority of Joseph’s friends and family thought to be the perfect match for Joseph, however, Joseph most definitely loved her. A somewhat dominant figure in the household, which was seemingly balanced by Joseph’s laid back demeanor. Long dark hair, almond complexion, along with her dark eyes and dominant attitude was cause for Joseph to often refer to her as his “Cuban spitfire.” Summer lavished her two boys. Besides her part time work in real estate, which she mainly did at home, her time was devoted to their care. She was most decidedly a devoted mother, and with Joseph working at home as well, they never lacked attention.

Joseph Jr. and Gianni had physical traits from both Summer and Joseph. Both had curly hair like Joseph, and got the dark eyes and almond skin from Summer. Both were articulate for their ages as well, 4 and 3 respectively, likely due to the time their parents afforded them.

Although Joseph and Summer were on track to accomplishing many of their dreams, financial security, children to be proud of and the like. Their life, like most, was not without some controversy. Unknown to anyone except those closest were issues that haunted their marriage. Committed to resolving these issues, Joseph, around Christmas time of 2009, just over a month prior to their disappearance, asks his mother Susan Blake to look for a marriage counselor for them. Although I know of the issues they were seeking to reconcile through this counseling, as did Susan, I do not believe the issues relevant to their eventual demise, and thus, should not be aired in this or any other public medium. Suffice to say they were both intent on resolving any issues they shared and were willing to commit time with a counselor to this end. At one point or another in every marriage there are issues that need attention. It is rare however that the parties are willing to take the necessary steps to resolve them properly. This fact alone in my view demonstrates the commitment Joseph and Summer had to each other, their children and their marriage.

As our business and personal relationships progressed there was rarely a day that passed Joseph and I didn’t touch bases. Looking to our phone records for 2009, the average number of calls between us exceeded 12 per day. We also met once or twice a week to either discuss business, which often included the reconciliation of finances, as well as personal, where we would often meet for lunch or dinner, generally with my children and their mother. Joseph and I also began playing paintball in mid 2009. The last time we played was in early December, almost two months prior to the families disappearance.

February 4th, 2010, was an ordinary day. Joseph drove down to meet me near my home in Rancho Cucamonga, where we discussed current projects, their design characteristics, as well as the financial aspects with respect to their completion. In addition, we discussed a number of upcoming projects we had been vying for. Another topic that was in the forefront was that of his then ex-business partner Dan Kavanaugh. Joseph was concerned about the access Mr. Kavanaugh still had to both his business and personal financial records. A topic that will be fully vetted in the pages of this site. After our meeting Joseph returned to his home in Fallbrook. Several calls transpired between him and I while he was en route, the last actual conversation between us was at 5:48 p.m., where he was sitting at his desk at home and we had a discussion about an electrical issue with a current project for a Paul Mitchell hair salon in New York. Then at 8:28 p.m. Joseph called me, a call to this day I do not remember receiving. This call would be the last call Joseph would ever make.

Over the next several days I tried to reach Joseph but to no avail. Besides the fact that it was out of the ordinary for Joseph to be out of reach, we had multiple business concerns that were pressing. These included, but were not limited to, checks that were going to be negotiated by me for the projects that were in progress at the time. Checks that were given to me on February 4th, when we had met. Finally, on February 9th, five days since I had last had contact with Joseph, I decided to drive to his home in Fallbrook and check on him. Because his mother’s home was en route to Joseph’s I decided to stop there to inquire as to whether she had had any contact with him or Summer in the last few days. She informed me that she had not and requested that I let her know what I discovered. From Ms. Blake’s home I drove straight to Joseph’s. Upon arrival I discovered that their dogs had been left out in the back yard. This fact was unusual because it was raining and there was no shelter for them. There was also no water or food left out for them. These two facts combined most decidedly caused me concern. There was no response to my knocking and ringing the door bell. This was no surprise for two reasons, I didn’t believe that they would leave their dogs in the rain if they were indeed home, and, their Isuzu Trooper was not in the driveway. Before leaving I opened a shed on the side of their house so that the dogs could at least have some shelter from the rain. This shed had been built by me at Summer’s request just weeks earlier. Joseph kept the dogs food in a large trash can just outside the back door to the garage so I took the food out and placed it in the shed for the dogs. I also filled their water bowl and placed it under a dripping faucet in the back yard so that they would not run out of water. I then called Ms. Blake to inform her as to what I had found. In that phone call I suggested that she call the police and file a missing person’s report. She informed me that she was going to get in touch with Michael McStay, Joseph’s brother, and see if he had heard from him, and that she would let me know what she discovered. It wasn’t until I received Ms. Blake’s phone records prior to my trial that I realized she never called on the 9th, as she said she would. She also never attempted to contact Joseph, at least not on his cell phone, nor Summer. Although she did attempt to call me at 11:02 the next day, this call never connected. Significantly, the first time she had any contact with Michael McStay was when Michael called her at 4:11 p.m. on the 10th. This call lasted approximately 4 minutes. Significant because even though I had informed her that Joseph was seemingly missing she made no attempt to look into it that day. She would later tell the detectives, and testify in court that she did attempt to call Joseph when I had left that day, and, that she also called her other son Michael to find out what he knew, however, her phone records belie this assertion.

Michael’s phone records were equally perplexing. Although he told detectives that he didn’t know Joseph was missing until he received a call from his mother Susan Blake on the 9th, and that he then immediately called me “while I was on My way home from Joseph’s,” his phone records as well belie this assertion. The first time Michael had any phone contact with his mother was on the 10th, at 4:11 p.m.. Importantly, this call was initiated by him, not Ms. Blake as he told the police. After which he did indeed call me and discussed the fact that his brother was missing. In this conversation he informed me that he believed that his brother likely went on a “retreat” with Summer and the kids for a long weekend, citing the fact that it was indeed Valentine’s day week. In that conversation with Michael I informed him that I was going to return to Joseph’s home the next day, and requested he join me. He informed me that he was too busy with work and that he would likely check on his brother on the 13th, two days later. I did indeed return to Joseph’s on the 11th, prior to which Michael called me at 8:46 a.m. and we talked for over a half an hour. This discussion included me again requesting he accompany me to his brother’s home to check on him. Again, he informed me that he was simply too busy. Perplexing because I made it a point to inform him that it was not in Joseph’s nature to leave and not make sure family and friends were made aware.

Significantly, although I informed Michael that I was returning to Joseph’s that afternoon, he never attempted to contact me to find out what I may have found. The next contact with the family I had was when I called Ms. Blake the next morning at 8:44 a.m.. This call lasted approximately 10 minutes, and it was specifically to inform her as to what I had discovered. That Joseph and his family were still M.I.A. and that the dogs were still outside in the weather. At that time I informed her that the dogs water bowl had been moved between the time I had been there on the 9th and my return on the 11th. It was no longer directly under the faucet where I had left it. Later it would be discovered that the Humane Society had responded to a neighbors call concerning the dogs.

The next time I would hear from Michael was when I would call him the morning of the 13th, at 8:23 a.m.. In that call I asked him if he was still planning to go check on his brother that day, and, that if he was not intending to that I was going to contact the police myself and file a missing person’s report. Michael and I did indeed subsequently meet at Joseph’s around noon that same day. At that time I informed him that the window to Joseph’s office was slightly ajar and that that was likely the best way to gain access to the home. He subsequently opted to climb through the window and went to the front door to let me and his wife and kids in. Joseph and his family were of course not inside, and after a brief search of the house I called Joseph’s mother to inform her of our findings. At that time I again requested she and or her other son Michael call law enforcement. She informed me that she was going to leave it to Michael to make that decision and we hung up. Unfortunately, Michael made the decision to wait until the following Monday, two days hence, to finally make the call to the police and report his brother missing. His reasoning was again that they likely went on a Valentine’s retreat and that Monday would be the likely day they would return. Regrettably, I decided not to interfere with the families decision process. To this day I regret that decision. After checking on the neighbors to see if they had seen the family both Michael and I left Joseph’s and I returned home.

On Monday February 15th, Michael did indeed finally call the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and report his brother and family missing. At which time he and a deputy went to the home for the deputy to initiate a welfare check. The deputy had Michael climb through the window he had entered on the 13th and come to the front door to let him in. Upon entering the home the deputy (Deputy Tingley) found no sign of the family and no apparent sign of a struggle or apparent evidence of a crime. However, because of the suspicious nature of the family’s disappearance, primarily the fact that they had not been heard from for 11 days, he called his watch commander and informed him that he believed there was something amiss. This prompted his commander to call the homicide division and request they take over the case. A short time later Detective Troy Dugal and his homicide team arrived on scene. The following is what he observed when he arrived;

Detective Dugal went on to state;

Perplexing is the fact that even though Detective Dugal was keenly aware that in all likelihood this entire family was either kidnapped or killed, directly after this initial welfare check and interviews with Michael McStay and Susan Blake. The latter summoned to the home that evening by her son Michael. This detective opted to simply abandon this potential crime scene, evidenced in his own words;

Significantly, Detective Dugal, just 4 days later would state that he had determined that “the McStay family was kidnapped or killed,” and this purported belief was based on “the initial observations of San Diego Sheriff’s and [his] observations of the scene during a more thorough welfare check.”⁴ Which, again, would leave one to ponder, why would he then simply abandon this potential crime scene? Just as significant, why would he tell Michael that;

Knowing well that this was not so, and that he was indeed of the belief foul play was almost certainly afoot. These facts become even more poignant given the following exchange that transpired between Dugal and Michael just minutes prior to him leaving the home to his care. Specifically;

The ramifications of the decision to relinquish this potential crime scene to family members and simply walk away will reverberate throughout not only the investigation, but the eventual trial process itself. Indeed, after the detectives left the home that evening Michael spent a significant amount of time inside. Although there is no direct evidence as to what he was doing there other than from Joseph’s computer logs, which decisively show that he was on and off of this computer until after midnight, one must ask, why would Michael himself opt to potentially contaminate potential evidence? Significant as well is the fact that when he did eventually leave that evening he chose to take at least one of Joseph’s computers home with him. I say at least one because it was determined later that a lap top of Joseph’s was never recovered. He purportedly chose to remove this potential evidence from the home in the guise of “looking for clues” as to his brother’s whereabouts, yet, he never accessed the computer after that initial evening. His stated reasoning was because he allegedly forgot to take the power cord with him.

Sadly, Detective Dugal’s decision to relinquish the home to the family even after he determined the family was either kidnapped or killed, and Michael re-entering the home and potentially contaminating this potential crime scene was not the worst of it. On February 16th, the day after the initial welfare check, Susan Blake called one of Joseph’s closest friends McGyver McCargar and requested he accompany her back to her son’s home so she too could check for clues as to her family’s whereabouts. McGyver agreed to meet her and did so at approximately 12:30 that afternoon. According to Mr. McCargar, he was somewhat taken aback by the fact that not only had Ms. Blake already entered the home, but that she had begun cleaning. He later told SBCSO detectives that he asked Ms. Blake if it was okay to clean, given the circumstances, and she purportedly replied that “they have already been here,” and that she had asked for permission to reenter and clean up the house. This however was not true. It wasn’t until Ms. Blake had already done a significant amount of cleaning and McGyver had spent some time there with her and replaced the cabinet doors and drawers on the kitchen island that she decided to call Detective Dugal and inform him of what she was doing, evidenced in the following;

The above of course leaves little doubt that this detective, one day earlier, when he initially did the welfare check, was indeed of the opinion that the family had been kidnapped or killed. Regrettably, his decision to leave the home to the family did indeed have lasting consequences. It must also be asked, why would Ms. Blake tell McGyver that she had already asked permission to return to the home and look for clues as well as clean? Another question that begs clarification is why Detective Dugal, even after admonishing Ms. Blake for being at the home and disturbing potential evidence then tell her to tell Michael to “return the home computer to the residence and place it as he originally found it?” Thus, as a matter of course, creating yet another potential contamination of the crime scene.

Significantly, it would be another 3 days before Detective Dugal would finally draft a search warrant to look for potential evidence in the home. In Detective Dugal’s own words this is what they discovered;

Again, Ms. Blake lied to Mr. McCargar when she told him that she had asked if she could return to the home, clean, and look for clues. This was not the end of this deception however. She also told detectives from SBCSO that she had asked for permission and was given it. Then at trial the following exchange transpired;

Then on direct examination by ADA Rodriguez Ms. Blake states;

Unfortunately, both Ms. Blake and her son Michael incessantly lied to detectives during the investigation concerning a multitude of subjects. Their ultimate testimony at trial was replete with deception as well. All of which is thoroughly vetted throughout this site.

In fairness, I must add my understanding as to their mindset. This was a family that had been told, by the prosecution team itself, that I had killed their son, their brother, his wife, and those two little boys. I can only imagine what that kind of certainty, pressed upon a grieving family, would do. Had I been in their shoes, believing what they were led to believe, I may have been inclined to alter the facts as well, if I believed it would help the case against the man that purportedly took their family from them.

As a matter of course, when the search team did finally enter the home to find possible evidence of an abduction or murder there was no evidence to be found. Was evidence actually lost by these intrusions by Susan and Michael? The answer unfortunately will never be known.

Looking back to the initial welfare check on the 15th, there was another piece of evidence that Detective Dugal and his homicide team found to be of significance. Joseph and Summer owned two vehicles at the time of their disappearance. The first being a Dodge Ram truck, which was in their driveway at the time they were reported missing. The other was an Isuzu Trooper. This vehicle was not at the residence, which prompted the first responding officer to do a computer search as to its whereabouts. Subsequently, the Trooper was found at Western Towing in Chula Vista. It had been towed from a parking lot in San Ysidro, within walking distance of the U.S. Mexico border. On February 16, 2010, just one day after the initial welfare check, Detective Dugal seized the Trooper as evidence in the case and had it towed to the Sheriff’s crime lab for a later search. Detective Dugal discovered that the vehicle had been towed from the San Ysidro parking lot on the evening of February 8th. With this information in mind the homicide team requested video surveillance from several stores around the area. These surveillance tapes yielded nothing of value to the investigation however. Later the team requested surveillance footage from cameras at the border crossing itself and spent a considerable amount of time combing through the footage. Unlike the footage from the retail stores in the area the team did discover what they believed showed footage of a male and female adult and two small children that resembled the physical traits of the McStay family. Because of this discovery, and the fact that the Trooper was parked at the lot within the same time frame, SDSO detectives seemingly believed that it was indeed the missing family.

Yet another significant piece of evidence that was discovered during the initial investigation came from a neighbor of the McStay’s. This neighbor lived on the opposite side of the street and a couple of houses down from the McStay house. When canvassing the neighbors it was discovered that this particular one had a surveillance camera that pointed at an angle in the direction of the McStay home. Detectives had this neighbor comb through her footage to see if she captured anything she believed was of significance. She eventually provided footage from February 4th, between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m.. This footage revealed a vehicle leaving the McStay home at 7:48 p.m.. It was seemingly facing the street as if backed into their driveway. This footage showed the vehicle lights coming on and it pulling out of the McStay’s driveway. It then proceeded to drive at a normal rate of speed past the neighbors home. Unfortunately this video was so dark and grainy that there was really no possible way to determine with any certainty what type of vehicle it actually was. There will however be a significant amount of energy spent on this particular piece of evidence in the pages of this site. Primarily because of the way the prosecution decided to utilize this video at trial.

I became part of the SDSO investigation on February 17th, 2010, between when they did their initial welfare check and eventual search of the residence on the 19th. On the 17th, Detective Fiske, partner to Detective Dugal, called me to set up an interview. That same afternoon they drove to my home in Rancho Cucamonga and we went to the clubhouse of our apartment complex approximately 100 yards away. This interview lasted approximately 3 hours. Within which I delineated what I knew concerning the last weeks prior to the disappearance of the McStay’s. I also attempted to give them at least some insight into my relationship with Joseph and his family, both social and professional, as well as some insight into some of Joseph’s concerns and aspirations. These topics included, but were not necessarily limited to;

• The fact that Joseph and I owned separate and distinct companies and our business relationship consisted of him selling the fountains and me manufacturing them.
• The fact that my manufacturing of the stainless steel portion of the fountains was contracted out to a stainless steel shop in Azusa California, and had been for the last 3 months prior to the family’s disappearance.
• The fact that I had last seen Joseph at around noon on February 4th, the day the prosecution alleges the family were killed.
• I informed them that we had met on the 4th to discuss specific projects that were in the mix. Specifically a project that was to be shipped to Saudi Arabia and a project for a Paul Mitchell Hair Salon in New York. And that the discussion included the financial aspects of these upcoming jobs.
• I informed them that Joseph had given me at least 3 blank checks and that we went over what these checks were to be used for, and approximately when the funds would be available to negotiate them. I informed them that these checks were left to me to write because we had not yet finalized the totals that would be needed up to that point.
• I informed them that Joseph and I also discussed him transferring his Quickbooks online accounts to Quickbooks Pro. Doing so because he was concerned that Dan Kavanaugh, his then ex-partner, had been fraudulently accessing his on-line accounts and his personal and business checking accounts. Significantly, Joseph had been having a serious problem with his equilibrium and believed that it was due to him constantly being on his cell phone. Significant because Joseph asked me to call Quickbooks and arrange for the transfer of his accounts because he knew well that the company had extremely long wait times for incoming calls.
• I informed them that I subsequently called Quickbooks and ordered Quickbooks Pro for Joseph and had them send it to him. I told them that this occurred three or four days after February the 4th.
• I also informed them that at the end of January Joseph had informed me that he was going to go to his bank and take his father off all his accounts because he had learned that his father was declaring bankruptcy and he didn’t want it to negatively affect any of his accounts.
• I told the detectives that after Joseph and I met for lunch that I had done some errands and ended up getting back to my home at approximately five or five thirty the evening of the 4th.
• The detectives informed me that in their minds it was a possibility that Joseph and his family had walked over into Mexico on the 8th of February. I then informed them that it was my opinion that Joseph would not ever take his kids into Mexico for any reason.
• I told them that the last time I had been in Joseph’s Isuzu Trooper was when we went to Camp Pendleton to play paintball approximately a month and a half prior to the interview.
• I informed them that I had indeed gone to check on Joseph around the 9th, and then again around the 12th. And that I had met Michael, Joseph’s brother, at Joseph’s home on the 13th, to do a welfare check.
• The detective asked me where I was on February 8th, and I informed them that I actually didn’t recall and suggested that I could call Catherine Jarvis and ask her, as she had a better memory of calendar events than I. I subsequently called her and she informed me that she was almost certain that we were at home that day.
• During the interview Detective Fiske noticed a fresh cut on the back of my left hand and asked me how I got it. I informed her that it happened that very day at Metro Sheet Metal. I was walking by a rack of sheet metal and simply bumped my hand against one of the edges of the protruding sheet. Det. Fiske then stated, “looks pretty new to me.” Of note is the fact that this was a full 2 weeks after the family’s disappearance.
• Finally, I provided the detectives with several recent E-mails between Joseph and I that had to do with the upcoming projects, as well as a spreadsheet outlining all of Joseph’s and my business over the last year. I then proceeded to explain its contents.

SDSO investigators continued their investigation of the missing family for an additional 3 years, and did so as if it were simply a missing person’s case and not a kidnapping and or killing of this entire family. This in spite of the fact that on February 19th, 2010, at the very beginning of their involvement, Detective Troy Dugal unequivocally stated in his original search warrant for the McStay’s home that it was his belief that the family was indeed either kidnapped or killed. And, in spite of the fact that the victims family and friends were adamant that their loved ones would never have simply disappeared of their own volition. The primary reasoning was purportedly their belief that the family indeed went into Mexico, citing support of this premise as being the fact their Isuzu Trooper being parked near the border and the video of what they alleged was likely the family crossing the border on foot. This premise was memorialized in a press release early in 2013, wherein it was stated;

Again, the assertion that they actually believed the family disappeared of their own volition is significant given the fact that just days into this investigation the lead detective unequivocally stated that it was his belief that the family was either kidnapped or killed. This press release went on to state that;

Regrettably, SDSO detectives premise that this family left on their own volition, and that they did so without informing family and friends, would be turned upside down just over 6 months later. On Monday, November 11th, 2013, at approximately 10:00 a.m. deputies from the Victorville Sheriff’s Station responded to a call of possible human remains located in the desert area near Stoddard Wells Rd. and Quarry Rd. in Oro Grande. When deputies responded they made contact with the reporting party, John Bluth, who had been riding his motorcycle in the area and located what he believed to be a human skull. When deputies looked at the potential skull they determined that it was indeed a white portion of a skull cap that was significantly bleached by the elements. The skull cap consisted of portions of the orbital socket and nasal cavity and was consistent with being human.

Deputy Coroner Andy Avery and Anthropologist Dr. Alexis Gray subsequently responded to the scene and examined the portion of skull and determined that it was indeed human. Avery and Gray then conducted an area search and found additional human remains exposed to the elements. They also discovered two shallow graves within the same area. The area was identified as a crime scene and was secured for further investigation the next day due to lack of remaining daylight. At that point the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Homicide Detail was notified and subsequently assumed the investigation.

The following day, Tuesday, November 12, 2013, members of the Homicide Detail and Coroner’s Division conducted a systematic grid search of the area surrounding the grave sites. The graves were located in a sunken area of desert, where the raised hills around the area left the graves unexposed to the view of anyone passing by. The two separate graves were approximately 20 feet apart, and each grave had a separate set of tire tracks leading up to them. The two sets of tracks no longer had a tread pattern. The width between the tire tracks measured approximately 73” and 76” respectively. The tracks were also deep within the ground, consistent with them being made when the soil was wet, and or, consistent with a vehicle backing up the slope and losing traction. Coroner investigator Bob Hunter established the GPS coordinates of the graves, which was established as being North 34° 36.100 and West -117° 15.426.

Over the course of two days investigators excavated the two graves. One of the graves, Grave A, was significantly disturbed by animal activity. The excavation of this grave revealed the remains of an adult male. The body was partially wrapped in a woven article of cloth and an electrical cord was tied around the body. The electrical cord was tied from the victims neck to his legs. There was also a red strap near the pelvis of the body. The victim was wearing cotton shorts and underwear. Within the same grave there was a rib bone from a second body. It was consistent with the original partial human skull and other pieces of human remains scattered throughout the scene. These remains were determined to be of a juvenile. Dental records and DNA comparisons confirmed the identity of the adult male to be that of Joseph McStay, and the remains of the juvenile as that of Joseph McStay Jr.

The second grave, grave B, was not as disturbed as grave A, and had remains of an adult female and another child. The adult female remains consisted of primarily a fractured skull and vertebrae. Within grave B there was a pair of black sweats, white panties, and the left cup of a black bra. With the child’s remains there was a pair of small blue pants, a pull-up diaper, and a black child size backpack. Also found in grave B was a black empty cell phone cover, a piece of plastic or plaster attached to a piece of fabric, and a three pound Stanley brand sledgehammer. Dental records and DNA comparisons confirmed the identity of the adult female as that of Summer McStay, and the remains of the child as that of Gianni McStay.

Additional items were located around the grave sites and were subsequently collected. These items included torn portions of a white towel, a portion of a faded red tie down strap, three glass bottles, a piece of electrical cord, and the matching right cup of the black bra. No shoes or cell phones were recovered at the scene.

On Thursday and Friday, November 14th and 15th, Forensic Pathologist Dr. Chanikarn Changsri conducted an autopsy of Joseph, Summer, Gianni and Joseph Junior. Changsri determined Joseph, Summer, and Gianni McStay’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma, with multiple blunt force trauma to their heads. He determined that the Stanley sledgehammer found in grave B was consistent with being the weapon used to inflict these blunt force trauma. The direct cause of death for Joseph Junior could not be determined due to the animal activity and severe decomposition. The manner of death of all four victims was determined to be homicide. When San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBCSD) detectives assumed the investigation they purportedly reviewed SDSO’s missing person’s investigation. According to SBCSO detectives they conducted dozens of interviews, allegedly to gain insight into who murdered this family of four, and why. However, as is demonstrated throughout this site, it was not insight these detectives were searching for. It was confirmation.