The Crime Crypt

THE MCSTAY FAMILY

February 4, 2010, Summer McStay, her husband Joseph McStay, and their two children Gianni McStay and Joseph McStay Jr. disappeared from San Diego, California. They were living an amazingly happy life and had recently moved to a new house that they had been renovating to turn into their dream home.

February 9, 2010, when no one had heard from Joseph in 5 days, they sent co-workers out to the house to check on the family. When they got there, they saw the families dog was there with full bowls of food and water, so they automatically thought the family had went on vacation or something, and they had someone watching their fur baby for them.

By February 13, 2010, the family hadn't been heard from in 9 days total. Josephs brother then decided to go to the house. No signs of break in had been found, but Josephs brother saw a window that had been partially opened. He decided to use that window to go inside. Once inside, he noticed that nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything looked to be normal. Because of the fact they had just moved there 3 months prior, the family was still doing renovations and unpacking. His brother found so sign of them anywhere, so he decided to leave a note, for whoever was taking care of the dog, stating for them to give him a call because he was concerned for the family.

Later that night, he received a phone call from animal control, stating they were taking the dog because it had been outside for a week with no food nor water. Come to find out, someone from animal control had stopped by to feed and water the dog. That proved that the McStay family did not have someone dog sitting for them.

Josephs brother then called the police to report them missing, because he knew it was unlike them to just up and go without having a plan to have the dog taken care of.

February 15, 2010, 11 days after they went missing, the police investigate the home. What was just "unpacking" and "renovating" to some, made it more complicated for police because of the fact they couldn't tell if there was any sign of struggle or not. Something strange police did notice, though, was raw food that had been left out. That indicated that they had left in a hurry or that they would be coming back within a short time. Police speculated there was no sign of foul play nor forced entry. They couldn't find any evidence leading to why they left or where they went.

Before the disappearance, Summer had made plans to see her sister, who recently had a baby. As well as, on Saturday, February 6, a family friend was suppose to come help to finish painting the house for them. The family did not appear to have any plans to be gone that day. Thursday, February 4, Joseph attended his regular work meetings. That was the last anyone heard or seen of them. Phone records show that he drove home, and was making phone calls through the evening.

Investigators made a break in the investigation when a neighbors security camera caught the McStays car leaving their home on the evening of February 4. The car never returned to the home. On February 8, investigators also found the family car had been towed from the Mexican border, four days after they had left. Investigators immediately seized the vehicle to search for any evidence.

Inside the car looked to be normal: there were a number of new toys, the childrens car seats were in their positions, and the front seats were adjusted to Summer and Josephs relative sizes. No signs of foul play were found, but investigators thought that it was fairly strange that four days after leaving their home, the vehicle had been found near the Mexican border. In addition, security cameras for the parking lot from which the car was towed confirmed that the car had not arrived there until the afternoon of February 8, so there was four days of which the family was unaccounted for.

Investigators discovered that neither of the familys cars had traveled to Mexico in years, so they believed that the family had not driven into Mexico during the unaccounted for four days. The family and friends of the McStays did not expect them to be at the Mexican border. Summer had stated that she felt that Mexico was too unsafe and that she would never go willingly.

Investigators noticed something on the surveillance that changed things around to a whole different perspective. They noticed 4 people on the surveillance that resembled the McStays'  walking towards the Mexican border at approximately 7pm on February 8, 2010. That was less than 2 hours after they had parked their vehicle in the parking lot. The video shows a male adult and a child walking in front of a female adult with another child. The sizes of the people appear to match the McStay family.

Family members were called in to verify. They seemed to have mixed reactions with what had been found. They recognized that the children and Summer were the people in the video, but Josephs mother believed that if the man in the video were Joseph, his hair would have been much bushier. Otherwise, the family looked identical to the McStays. They were dressed similarly to the McStays, and the children were wearing hats similar to ones they had been photographed in. But several family members did not believe that the man in the video was Joseph.

Investigators believed that the family was willingly walking across the border, with no indication that they were in any distress. Investigators searched for passport records of the family, and discovered that Joseph had a valid passport that had not been used before or after the disappearance. Summers passport was expired and investigators could not find any records that she had applied for a new one. In addition, neither of the children had passports. Investigators found one of the birth certificates left behind in the home. It would have been impossible for the McStays to travel into Mexico with insufficient documents.

In April 2013, the San Diego Sheriffs Department turned the case over to the FBI, which was more equipped to investigate cases that involve other countries.

On November 5, 2014, Chase Merritt, a business associate of McStay was arrested and charged with four counts of murder, after his DNA was discovered inside the McStay vehicle. Prosecutors claim that the McStays were murdered by Merritt for financial gain. Merritt is documented as writing checks totaling $21,000 on McStays business account, after McStay went missing. Merritt used the money to fuel his gambling addiction at nearby casinos, in which he lost thousands of dollars. Merritts trial has been delayed multiple times due to Merritt attempting to represent himself and repeatedly firing his attorneys, he has gone through five between November 2013 to February 2016. In 2018, the trial was postponed again so that his current defense attorney could do more investigating, Merritt remained jailed without bail. Merritts trial finally began on January 7, 2019 and on June 10, 2019, a San Bernardino County jury found Merritt guilty of murdering the McStay family. He could face the death penalty as a result.