The McStay family was an American family who were found murdered in the desert near Victorville, California, on November 13, 2013. The family had disappeared from their Fallbrook, California, home on February 4, 2010. The McStays' disappearance was widely reported on national news stations and on America's Most Wanted, Disappeared, Nancy Grace, and Unsolved Mysteries. On November 7, 2014, police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph McStay's business partner, and intended to charge him with the murders.
Background
Summer McStay (age 43) and her husband, Joseph (age 40), lived in Fallbrook, California, with their sons Gianni (age 4) and Joseph, Jr. (age 3). Joseph, Sr., managed a company that built decorative fountains, and Summer was a licensed real estate agent.
Disappearance
On February 4, 2010, a neighbor's surveillance system recorded the McStay family car leaving their home at 7:47 pm; the vehicle's occupants cannot be seen. At about 8:30 pm a call was placed from Joseph McStay's cell phone to his business associate, Chase Merritt. The call went to voice mail; Merritt told police he ignored it because he was watching a movie. Joseph's cellphone pinged a tower in Fallbrook.
During the next several days, family and friends unsuccessfully tried to contact the McStays. On February 13, Joseph's brother, Mike, climbed into an open window at the home. He did not find his brother's family, and the family's two dogs were unfed in the backyard. Police were notified two days later of the family's disappearance. Although a search of the home found no evidence of struggle or foul play, there were indications of a hasty departure: a carton of raw eggs on the counter and two full bowls of popcorn on the sofa.
During their investigation, the police learned that on February 8, the family's 1996 Isuzu Trooper was towed from a strip mall parking lot in San Ysidro, San Diego, near the Mexican border. It is believed that the vehicle was parked there between 5:30 and 7 pm that evening. At 11 pm security guards assumed that the vehicle was abandoned, and it is unknown where the car was from February 4 to February 8.
Reaction
The circumstances surrounding the family's disappearance and the lack of clues about their whereabouts triggered speculation by amateur sleuths. Radio host Rick Baker published a book, No Goodbyes: The Mysterious Disappearance of the McStay Family. Baker began following the case in 2011 after an interview on his program with Joseph's brother, Michael. He conducted dozens of interviews on the case, traveling to Belize, Mexico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic following leads and reported sightings of the family. Baker, critical of Summer in his book, speculated that she may have murdered her husband. Michael McStay criticized Baker and the book's accuracy: "I don't know how he sleeps at night. I suspect he's looking for money. He's a good manipulator and knows how to twist things. He's just trying to sell books."
When the bodies were found, Baker offered a refund to those who purchased his book before November 2013. He said that he does not believe drug cartels were responsible for the deaths, citing the placement of the McStays' vehicle after their disappearance. "Why would they stage their car at the border, cartels don't do that." Although involvement by the McStays with Mexican drug cartels was one of many theories suggested after their disappearance, no evidence has been found to support it.
After their disappearance it was speculated that the McStays left voluntarily, since investigators found searches for "What documents do children need for traveling to Mexico?" and Spanish language lessons. Because of the proximity of the parking lot where their vehicle was found to the Mexican border, police reviewed surveillance footage of the pedestrian gate into Mexico. Video recorded the evening of February 8, released on March 5, showed a family of four resembling the McStays crossing the border into Mexico. On February 19, 2010, California police notified Interpol to be on the lookout for the family. In April 2013, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced that it believed that the McStays traveled to Mexico voluntarily. Several unconfirmed sightings of the family were reported in Mexico and elsewhere, keeping hope alive that they were safe and had left voluntarily. Relatives of the McStays doubted that they would travel to Mexico, saying that Joseph and Summer avoided the country because of the safety threat posed by recent drug wars. Other critics of the theory noted that the McStays had over $100,000 in bank accounts, with no withdrawal of funds in preparation for a trip, and their accounts were untouched after their disappearance. Summer's sister said that Summer's passport was expired. Although it is possible to enter Mexico without a passport, a passport is required to reenter the United States.
The mystery deepened when rumors spread that, despite substantial bank holdings, the McStays experienced financial difficulties in the months before their disappearance. A former neighbor told The Daily Mail that the family was on the verge of eviction just before purchasing their $230,000 home in Fallbrook. Investigators and family members deny finding any evidence of financial problems.
Summer had been known by a number of names. Born Virginia Lisa Aranda, she had also been known as Summer Martelli, Summer Aranda-Martelli, Lisa Aranda, Lisa Martelli and Lisa Aranda-Martelli. In an early video interview Summer's mother confirmed that Martelli was the surname of Summer's stepfather, but it was later alleged to be a surname invented by Summer. In a February 25, 2010 Valley News article, Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos "confirmed that Summer McStay was previously known as Lisa Aranda and/or Lisa Martelli. He was uncertain when she changed her first name to 'Summer', or if it was done legally. Brugos said her legal maiden name was Aranda, but at times she used her stepfather's last name of Martelli, although she was never adopted by him." She took 10 years off her age, although there was no confirmation that she used the alternative birthdate on a legal document. Although the name changes were considered relevant by some to the case, family members insisted that it was only a facet of Summer's eccentric personality.
Investigators and the public also focused on McStay's business partner, Chase Merritt. Merritt was the last known person to be in contact with Joseph McStay, and the first to notice his disappearance. According to state records, Merritt has felony convictions for burglary and receiving stolen property. His most recent felony conviction, in 2001, was for the theft of $32,000 worth of welding and drilling equipment from the San Gabriel Valley Ornamental Iron Works in Monrovia, California. An acquaintance of Merritt's told a San Diego reporter, "I think police should look at him and anyone associated with him."
Merritt denied any involvement, insisting that he passed a polygraph test. Asked if he thought Merritt was a suspect, Joseph McStay's father Patrick said: "I have to have faith in Chase because I have to have faith in my son. I believe that (Joseph McStay) trusted Chase and believed in Chase. Do I think Chase is involved? I don't think so and I truly hope not."
In January 2014 Merritt said that he might write a book about the family, alleging that Summer had anger issues and Joseph had been ill for some time with a mysterious illness; although Merritt feared that Summer was poisoning him, he did not believe that she was responsible for the deaths. Joseph McStay's family confirmed that Joseph had an unexplained illness and Summer was possessive of her husband, but they called the accusations unfounded. Joseph's father Patrick said, "I truly believe she loved my son."
In a 2013 local news report the McStay family called Summer's ex-boyfriend, Vick W. Johansen, a person of interest in the case; the family believes that email records demonstrate that Johansen's obsession with Summer continued for years after their relationship ended. The McStays noted his criminal history (violent threats, felony vandalism, disturbing the peace, interfering with a business and resisting a peace officer) and a pattern of movement around the time of the disappearance they considered suspicious. The San Diego Police Department had no comment on Johansen, defending its work in the case.
Discovery of remains
On November 11, 2013, a motorcyclist found four sets of human remains buried in two shallow graves in the desert near Victorville, California. Two days later, the remains were identified as those of the McStay family. The deaths were ruled a homicide and authorities of San Bernardino County said they believe the family died of blunt force trauma inside their home, but they declined to discuss specifics of the deaths or a motive. Days after the discovery of the bodies, Joseph McStay's father said that the police investigation was faulty and he had filed formal complaints in 2011.
Arrest
On November 5, 2014, California authorities arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt in connection with the deaths of the McStay family. His arrest was announced on November 7, 2014. Merritt was Joseph McStay's business partner. In 2013, Merritt acknowledged he spent more than an hour with Joseph McStay the day he and his family went missing from their home in suburban San Diego County. Merritt, who said he was also the last person McStay called from his cellphone, also said he had passed a polygraph exam and did not know anything that could help solve the family's disappearance.
References
External links
- www
.mcstayfamily .org
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