The Mcstay Family, residents of Fallbrook, California, seemed to be living an idyllic life. Joseph McStay, 40, ran a business specializing in decorative indoor fountains, while his wife, Summer, 43, managed their home and cared for their two young sons, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3. Fallbrook, nestled in northern San Diego County, was known as “The Friendly Village,” a place where families thrived. However, this peaceful facade was shattered when tragedy struck the McStay family.
February 4, 2010, began as a typical day. Joseph McStay spoke with his father, Patrick, mentioning a hurried lunch meeting. Summer McStay chatted with her sister, who had recently welcomed a new baby. It was a normal day until 5:47 p.m. Then, silence. The McStay family vanished, ceasing all contact and credit card activity. Their sudden disappearance was perplexing and deeply concerning.
The McStay family, including Joseph, Summer, Gianni, and Joseph Jr., pictured before their tragic disappearance from their Fallbrook home.
Joseph’s mother, Susan Blake, expressed the bewildering nature of their vanishing in Killer Motive, hosted by Troy Roberts. “It was like they went, ‘Poof,’” she stated, highlighting the utter lack of explanation for the McStay family’s absence. The question of what happened to the McStay family became a haunting mystery.
The Initial Investigation into the McStay Family Disappearance
Growing concern led Joseph’s brother, Michael McStay, to visit the family home on February 13. Finding the house locked, he entered through a window. Inside, a disturbing scene unfolded: no sign of the McStay family, but their dogs left unattended and rotting food in the kitchen. Summer McStay’s prescription sunglasses remained at home, an unlikely detail for a family embarking on a trip. These unsettling clues heightened the urgency to find the missing McStay family.
Four days later, investigators obtained a search warrant and meticulously examined the McStay residence. They found no indications of forced entry or any signs of violence within the home. Journalist JD Crighton noted in Killer Motive, “They didn’t find any blood in the house at all,” further deepening the mystery surrounding the McStay family’s disappearance. The lack of evidence of a crime initially hampered the investigation, preventing access to financial records.
Detectives meticulously pieced together the McStay family’s last known movements through interviews, phone records, and a neighbor’s surveillance footage. Their investigation revealed that Charles “Chase” Merritt, a business associate, was the last person known to have contacted Joseph McStay on the day they disappeared.
In audio recordings obtained by Killer Motive, Merritt recounted his last conversations with Joseph McStay. “I talked to him at least twice on his way home… He may have been stopping to get food, I don’t remember. But he was going home,” Merritt told investigators. This placed Merritt in close proximity to Joseph McStay around the time of the family’s disappearance, making him a person of interest in the McStay family case.
Investigators turned their attention to the McStay family’s white 1996 Isuzu Trooper. On February 8, just days after their disappearance, the vehicle was found abandoned and towed from a parking lot in San Ysidro, near the Mexican border. The car was thoroughly examined for DNA evidence, hoping for a breakthrough in the McStay family mystery.
The location of the Isuzu Trooper near the border fueled the theory that the McStay family had gone to Mexico. Border surveillance footage appeared to support this, showing individuals resembling the McStays crossing into Mexico on the day they vanished. Further supporting this theory, Summer McStay’s computer history revealed searches related to Mexico and Spanish language tutorials. This Mexico theory became a prominent angle in the initial McStay family disappearance investigation.
However, Susan Blake remained unconvinced by the Mexico theory. After viewing the border footage, she firmly stated that the people in the video were not her family. “That isn’t his walk,” she asserted to producers, recognizing her son’s distinctive gait. Her intuition cast doubt on the prevailing theory surrounding the McStay family’s whereabouts.
On February 23, Interpol was alerted to be vigilant for the McStay family south of the border. Numerous reported sightings and leads emerged, but each one turned out to be a dead end in the search for the McStay family.
Meanwhile, Patrick McStay meticulously reviewed his son and daughter-in-law’s emails, searching for any clues. His efforts briefly placed Summer’s ex-boyfriend and Dan Kavanaugh, Joseph’s business partner, under scrutiny as persons of interest. However, both men were eventually cleared of any suspicion in the McStay family disappearance.
In April 2010, the FBI took over the McStay family case, but despite their resources, answers remained elusive for over three years. The fate of the McStay family remained an agonizing unknown.
The Discovery of the McStay Family Remains and the Shift to Homicide
In the fall of 2013, a chance discovery by an off-road motorcyclist in the desolate Victorville, California, desert, about 100 miles from Fallbrook, dramatically shifted the McStay family case. The motorcyclist stumbled upon human remains, leading to the discovery of two shallow graves. Each grave contained the remains of an adult and a child.
Due to the extensive passage of time, usable DNA was not recoverable. However, dental records provided the crucial link, confirming the remains as those of the missing McStay family. The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department announced this devastating news at a press conference, confirming the tragic end to the McStay family mystery. A three-pound sledgehammer was also recovered from the site, a grim piece of evidence. The cause of death for all four McStay family members was determined to be blunt force trauma, solidifying the case as a horrific murder.
Mike McStay, Joseph’s brother, attended the press conference and spoke for the family in video footage obtained by Killer Motive. “It gives us courage to know that they’re together and they’re in a better place,” he said, reflecting the family’s grief. “It’s been a tough road.” The discovery of the McStay family remains marked a devastating turning point, transforming the missing persons case into a homicide investigation.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department took charge of the newly classified homicide case. Investigators re-examined the McStay family’s Isuzu Trooper. This time, a more thorough search revealed a critical piece of evidence: DNA found on the steering column and gear shift belonged to Charles Merritt, Joseph McStay’s business associate. This DNA evidence placed Merritt directly in the McStay family’s vehicle and reignited suspicion around him.
Charles Merritt: The Business Associate Turned Killer of the McStay Family
Charles Merritt during his trial, where evidence mounted against him in the murder of the McStay family.
Detectives revisited transcripts of their previous interviews with Charles Merritt. While Merritt had passed a lie detector test in February 2010, a closer review of his statements revealed a significant red flag. He had used the past tense when referring to Joseph McStay, saying Joseph “was my best friend,” years before the bodies were discovered. This subtle linguistic clue suggested a premature knowledge of Joseph McStay’s fate and cast further suspicion on Merritt in the McStay family murders.
The question then became: why would Charles Merritt, a man with a history of burglary and receiving stolen property, commit such a brutal act against the McStay family? Investigators uncovered that Merritt was in severe financial distress due to a gambling addiction and owed Joseph McStay over $42,000 for unsatisfactory work in 2009. Although Joseph McStay had been patient with Merritt in the past, investigators believed that Joseph had finally reached his breaking point regarding Merritt’s debt.
Melissa Rodriguez, from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, explained to producers, “What we have here is a man with a huge gambling problem and that problem dictated his life.” She added that Merritt “had burned everybody he had come into contact with,” portraying him as a desperate and unreliable individual. Financial desperation emerged as a key motive in the McStay family murders.
Further investigation revealed more incriminating evidence against Merritt. He was alleged to have forged checks from Joseph McStay’s account. Cell phone records from the time of the McStay family disappearance placed Merritt near the location where their remains were eventually found in Victorville.
Investigators theorized that Merritt murdered the McStay family at their Fallbrook home and then transported their bodies to the Mojave Desert to bury them. They believe he also drove the McStay family’s Isuzu Trooper to San Ysidro to create a false lead towards Mexico and that he was responsible for the Mexico-related searches on Summer McStay’s computer in an attempt to mislead investigators.
On November 5, 2014, Charles Merritt was arrested and charged with the four murders of the McStay family. His trial, lasting 50 days, commenced in January 2019. Ultimately, Charles Merritt was found guilty of murdering the McStay family, bringing a measure of justice for the horrific crime.
During the penalty phase of the trial, Susan Blake, Joseph McStay’s mother, directly addressed Merritt, condemning him as a “despicable, evil monster,” expressing the profound grief and anger felt by the McStay family.
Charles Merritt’s Current Whereabouts
Charles Merritt is currently incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison, sharing the facility with notorious serial killers like Michael Gargiulo, Randy Kraft, and Cary Stayner.
Merritt, now 62, received a life sentence for the murder of Joseph McStay and the death penalty for the murders of Summer, Gianni, and Joseph Jr. McStay. While the death penalty sentence remains subject to California’s complex legal processes, Merritt will spend the remainder of his life in prison for the heinous crimes committed against the McStay family. The McStay family case serves as a chilling reminder of the devastating consequences of greed and betrayal.
For a deeper understanding of this tragic case, viewers can watch Season 2 of Killer Motive.
(This story was originally published on January 1, 2023 and has been updated.)
