The interviews vs. the reports
What witnesses said on the record — beside what the follow-up reports said they said. Judge the distance yourself.
Michael McStay — the wedding, and meeting Chase
THE DETECTIVE’S REPORT — 2014
“Prior to the McStay family disappearance, Michael did not have any type of relationship with Merritt. … Michael believed he may have spoken with Merritt on the telephone on several occasions, but had never personally met Merritt until meeting him at the Fallbrook residence on February 13, 2010. … Michael did not know if Merritt attended Joseph and Summer’s wedding …”
Follow-up interview report of Det. R. Smith (C9256), Oct. 30, 2014, Bates 000343
THE TRIAL TESTIMONY — 2019
“I’m told I met him at my brother’s wedding — I don’t remember that — back in ’07. The first time I met him, that I actually recall in person, is on that Saturday when I went down there, the 13th, I believe it was.”
RT 5672:7–10
In 2014, the report records that Michael did not know whether Chase attended Joseph and Summer’s wedding. At trial, he acknowledged being told he met Chase there. Whether Chase attended is answered in the Photos section: a photograph from the 2007 wedding shows Chase on the dance floor beside Summer. His knowledge of Chase, by his own account, came “probably from our conversations — my brother and I’s conversations.” (RT 5672:21–22.)