Missing Families -- Jamison (10/09), Szczepanik (12/09 - Presumed Deceased, Son Found Deceased), McStay (2/10)

Jamison family was threatened by relative before vanishing, records show

Less than six months before they vanished in southeastern Oklahoma, the Jamison family was threatened with violence by one of their closest relatives, McIntosh County court records show.

By Andrew Knittle
Published: November 27, 2013

KINTA — Less than six months before they vanished, the Jamison family was threatened with violence by one of their closest relatives, a petition for a protective order filed by Bobby Jamison reveals.

In the petition, Bobby Jamison claimed his own father threatened “to kill” him and his family on at least two occasions, in November 2008 and in late April 2009.

Bobby Jamison, his wife, Sherilyn, and daughter, Madyson, went missing in October 2009, roughly six months after the petition was filed in McIntosh County.

Read more:

http://newsok.com/jamison-family-was-threatened-by-relative-before-vanishing-records-show/article/3909260

___________________

Eufaula man filed lawsuit against father

BY RON JACKSON and JOHNNY JOHNSON • Published: May 2, 2010

WILBURTON — Lawsuits appeared to be a focal point in the lives of Bobby and Sherilyn Jamison, and investigators took notice.

In 2005, Bobby Jamison filed a civil lawsuit after allegedly injuring his back in a wreck in Oklahoma County. Starlet Jamison, Bobby Jamison’s mother, told investigators the lawsuit was settled out of court for $64,000 and her son split the money with his wife — perhaps accounting for the cash found in their pickup Oct. 17.

In May 2009, Bobby Jamison filed a lawsuit against his father, Bobby Dean Jamison, who died later that year. The son claimed he worked at his father’s Oklahoma City gas station for years under the premise he would inherit half-interest, only to have the elder Jamison sell the station without leaving him a penny.

That same month, Bobby Jamison filed for a protective order in McIntosh County against his 67-year-old father, claiming his father tried to run him over with a car and threatened to kill his family. Bobby Jamison further described his father as "a very dangerous man” who "thinks he is above the law,” and alleged he used methamphetamine and associated with prostitutes and gangs.

The protective order request was dismissed.

Court records show the civil case remained open at the time of the family’s disappearance

Read more:

http://newsok.com/eufaula-man-filed-lawsuit-against-father/article/3458229

___________________

PETITION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER

http://s3.amazonaws.com/content.newsok.com/documents/JamisonPO.pdf

Records: Oklahoma Family Threatened Before Vanishing

Posted November 29, 2013 - 2:35pm

The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — A petition for a protective order indicates members of a missing Oklahoma family were threatened with violence by one of their closest relatives less than six months before they vanished.

Bobby Jamison, his wife, Sherilyn, and daughter, Madyson, went missing in October 2009, roughly six months after the petition was filed in McIntosh County.

The remains of three human beings, described as a child and two adults, were found Nov. 16 in northeast Latimer County, about three miles from where the Jamisons’ pickup was found abandoned just over a week after they were last seen alive.

Latimer County Sheriff Jesse James said investigators are waiting to hear from the state medical examiner’s office before devoting further resources to the case.

See more at: http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/records-oklahoma-family-threatened-vanishing#sthash.z6e8LFvC.dpuf

Thank you, AD, for the last links re the protective orders the Jamison family sought just months before they disappeared.

That and the fact the senior Jamison changed his will leaving everything to his granddaughter, Madyson.

Now it is revealed Bobby Jamison has a brother.... http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/records-oklahoma-family-threatened-vanishing

Considering the above, I find it odd Sherilyn's mother only spoke of witchcraft in connection to the disappearance of her three family members. Surely she would have known of the discord and the lawsuit?

Everything just got tilted.... but it is starting to make a bit of sense.
Need to haul in some family members... an uncle, a mother-in-law, some local townsfolk and get to the bottom of this.

Have to wonder: Had the will paid out before the family went missing? No for the father died two months AFTER the family went missing. So who inherited? Look to that person!

The Oklahoman reports that Bobby Jamison claimed in the petition that his own father, Bob Dean Jamison, threatened to kill him and his family on at least two occasions, in November 2008 and in late April 2009. Bobby Jamison does not say in the petition how his father threatened to kill him and his family, but he did write that his father hit him with his vehicle on Nov. 1, 2008.

“My entire family is severely scared for their lives,” Bobby Jamison wrote in the petition. “I am in fear at all times.”

The protective order was dismissed on May 18, 2009, after a judge heard testimony from those involved.

Bob Dean Jamison died in December 2009, about two months after the Jamison family went missing near Kinta. Jack Jamison, the father’s brother, said he does not believe Bob Dean Jamison was involved in the disappearance of the Jamison family. “He was either in a hospital or in a rest home,” Jack Jamison told the newspaper. “I just don’t think he was involved. He was disturbed at the time, but I’m pretty sure he was not capable of being involved in that.” - See more at: http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/records-oklahoma-family-threatened-vanishing#sthash.z6e8LFvC.wzjw8J2H.dpuf wrote:

Note:
Was it Sherilyn's mother who believed the family died because of witchcraft or was it Starlet? IIRC, it was the same person who rec the small dog rescued from the truck...

BTW, it would be easy to track and follow this truck out of town to do evil to them.... Very small town. And small towns have ears....they know each others business. And the Jamison answering a Craigs' list re property? I call BS on that one. Property was probably offered in local newspaper or local realtor had the listing...

Who listed this property that lured the Jamison family to their deaths?
Who stood to gain financially when Bobby's father died?
Any record of the father's involvement in drugs?
(Was there an area in the forest where he was making drugs? Early on, it was reported the area is thick in meth making and speculation was the family was murdered/disappeared, or involved in the making of meth.)

Sheriff needs to dig a bit deeper...

McStay murder mystery: Who is Vick Johansen?

Posted: Dec 18, 2013 6:44 PM CST
Updated: Dec 19, 2013 7:59 AM CST

By David Gotfredson, Field Producer
Video Report By Phil Blauer, Anchor/Reporter



Vick Johansen: Undated Facebook photo (left); 2013 Mono County Jail mug shot (right)

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (CBS 8) -- Before Joseph and Summer McStay and their two sons, Gianni and Joey, Jr., went missing from their Fallbrook home in February of 2010, the family lived in the beach community of San Clemente.

The remains of the family of four were discovered buried in the desert near Victorville last month. No one has been arrested and no suspects have been named.

Summer Martelli met Joseph McStay in 2004, when she lived with her boyfriend in the Southern California mountain community of Big Bear Lake.

The boyfriend, an ex-marine named Vick Wyatt Johansen, had purchased the Big Bear home – located at 796 Conklin Road – in 2002 for $226,000, property records show.

~Snipped~

Court records reveal Johansen made criminal threats against a neighbor and her 12-year-old daughter in 2004, while Johansen was living in Big Bear with Summer Martelli.

The neighbor, who requested that she not be identified, wrote a description of the 2004 incident in a restraining order declaration obtained by CBS News 8:

Read more:

http://www.cbs8.com/story/24256729/mcstay-murder-mystery-who-is-vick-johansen

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McStay murder mystery: Who is Dan Kavanaugh?

Posted: Dec 20, 2013 7:46 PM CST
Updated: Dec 21, 2013 1:27 AM CST

By David Gotfredson, Field Producer
Video Report By Phil Blauer, Anchor/Reporter



Dan Kavanaugh, 32

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (CBS 8) -- Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer McStay, 43, and their two sons, Gianni, 5, and Joey, Jr., 4, went missing from their Fallbrook home in February 2010.
It would be almost four years before the skeletal remains of the family were discovered in shallow graves near Victorville on November 11.

Within a week of the family's disappearance in 2010, large sums of money started being transferred out of Joseph McStay's business bank account.

Where was the money going? Who was transferring it and why?

~Snipped~

Emails sent to Joseph McStay – and later retrieved by family members – confirmed Kavanaugh received thousands of dollars from the Earth Inspired Products business account after the McStays went missing.

"So, there are some curious withdrawals for business expenses and things around the time of the disappearance; but when you look further, the guy was 2,500 miles away. He has an alibi. And I had no resources to get anything like that done or motive," explained Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh said the transferred money was used to keep the fountain business going during Joseph McStay's unexplained absence.

Read more:

http://www.cbs8.com/story/24277118/mcstay-murder-mystery-who-is-dan-kavanaugh

McStay Family Memorial Set For Jaunary 4

20 hours ago
by KTLA 5 Web Staff

From the McStay Family Website.

Location for the McStay Family Memorial will be Vineyard Community Church:
27632 El Lazo Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Church Ceremony starts at 12pm Noon January 4, 2014 seating is limited.

Paddle out at San Clemente Pier 2pm 1/4/14 afternoon. There will be a beach ceremony to release four leis symbolizing each of the McStay family members Joseph, Summer, Gianni & Joey Jr released into the ocean.

There will be Orchids to release and Candles to light as well.

Please join us in honoring the true essence of the McStay Family who loved the beach, ocean, and others.

OC Sheriff will be helping with traffic abatement at the San Clemente Pier as parking and access may be congested

Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/12/20/mcstay-family-memorial-set-for-jaunary-4/#ixzz2oAUl5UCi

KTLA 5 Local News

Family Member Talks About Prime Suspects in McStay Family Murders

December 20, 2013

by Chris Wolfe
KTLA 5 Reporter

FEATURE VIDEOS:

http://ktla.com/local-news/#axzz2oAUNDtQc

(Scroll down to Feature Videos to watch the interview.)

FIND THE JAMISONS



https://www.facebook.com/FINDTHEJAMISONS

JAMISON FAMILY

"In October 2009, the family vanished. In December, the father of Bobby Jamison, Bobby Dean Jamison died. Bobby Dean left his estate to his granddaughter, Madyson, and appointed his older brother - Madyson's uncle, Jack Jamison of Sallisaw, OK executor. NewsOK says Jack Jamison has been questioned by the FBI and Latimer County Sheriff Israel Beauchamp."

---------------------

"Bobby Dean Jamison died in December. His will, dated Oct. 27, 2008, cut out Bobby Jamison and Bobby Dean Jamison’s estranged wife, Starlet, and left everything to his granddaughter Madyson Jamison.

The elder Jamison named his brother, Jack Jamison of Sallisaw, as executor of his estate.

Jack Jamison was questioned by the FBI, Latimer County Sheriff Israel Beauchamp said."

http://newsok.com/eufaula-man-filed-lawsuit-against-father/article/3458229

Memorial and paddle out for McStay family
Posted: Jan 04, 2014 2:58 PM PST Updated: Jan 04, 2014 7:04 PM PST

Snipped:
-----
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Family and friends gathered Saturday to honor the memory of the McStay family.

Joseph and Summer McStay and their two children were remembered in a memorial service at a church in Laguna Niguel, followed by a paddle out at the San Clemente Pier.

Wearing flower leis and wetsuits -- those who knew the McStay family paddled out in their memory Saturday.

Instead of this being a somber moment, it was more of a celebration. At one point the group formed a circle and cheered.
-----

Read more:  http://www.760kfmb.com/story/24364655/public-memorial-held-for-mcstay-family

EXCLUSIVE: McStay family husband feared his wife was POISONING him before they disappeared and were found dead in desert, claims explosive new book
PUBLISHED: 09:19 EST, 4 January 2014 | UPDATED: 14:31 EST, 5 January 2014


Snipped:
-----
Joseph McStay – the father of the family of four found dead in the California desert after vanishing nearly four years ago – had suspicions his wife was POISONING him in the days before their disappearance, according to an explosive new book.

Joseph, 40, was suffering from a mystery illness in the months before he went missing with Summer and their two young children, and would spend days in bed barely able to walk.

Doctors couldn’t diagnose the energy-sapping condition and according to his close friend, Chase Merritt, he started to suspect that his fiery wife may have something to do with it.
-----

Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2533474/EXCLUSIVE-McStay-family-husband-feared-wife-POISONING-disappeared-dead-desert-claims-explosive-new-book.html

CHP releases portion of 911 call in McStay murders
Posted: Jan 06, 2014 5:15 PM PST Updated: Jan 07, 2014 10:04 AM PST

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (CBS 8) -- For the first time, we are hearing audio of the 911 call that led to the discovery of four graves and the remains of the McStay family near Victorville, Calif.

The call was made on November 11 at 9:58 a.m. by an off-road, motorcycle rider in the high desert, according to authorities.
-----

The video won't embed here, so you can watch it or listen to the audio clip here:  http://www.cbs8.com/story/24378790/portion-of-911-call-in-mcstay-murders-released-to-cbs-news-8

McStay family
From above link:
http://www.cbs8.com/story/24256729/mcstay-murder-mystery-who-is-vick-johansen

From comment section:
"...Patrick McStay
I beg to differ with Ms Caldwell if this is a true (statement from the above): "We looked at bank records, phone records ... we never stopped investigating the case, never," San Diego Sheriff Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said..... Then why did it take Det. Dugal from Feb 4, 2010 (the day of the charge and disappearance) to January 2011 to find the Ross Store charge on their card. Because it took Dugal so long all the possible security video from inside and outside of the Ross Store was lost. Remember Dugal repeatedly and I mean a number of times said; I know there (McStay"s) finances better than I know my own! So if we had that we could have seen who made that charge and was it Summer someone else and was anyone with her or was she being followed. I talked to the head of all the security for the Ross Stores and if he had been contacted by May or June of 2010, he told me he could have produced the video. So by taking so long to find the charge, Dugal lost any chance for obtaining the video. Now, is that good police work, I ask you? Just one of many screw ups in my opinion.
Reply · 37 · Like · Follow Post · December 19, 2013 at 3:07pm ... "

McStay Family
Dan Kavanaugh

From above link:
http://www.cbs8.com/story/24277118/mcstay-murder-mystery-who-is-dan-kavanaugh

" ...Joseph McStay's father, Patrick McStay, told CBS News 8 that Kavanaugh had no right to sell the business to Schneider and Quintero.

"So, are you going to tell me that Kavanaugh was running the company? He had no authority to run anything. He was a nobody. He was a web guy. He took care of the web and that's it," said Patrick McStay. "I think he wanted to gain access to the business and sell it."

Kavanaugh saw his role in Earth Inspired Products differently.

"I didn't just do the web site," he said. "I created all of the traffic to the site. Joe did very little. He just answered the phone. I built the entire business." ..."

From FB 2014:

" ... FIND THE JAMISONS
13 January
SPOKE WITH THE MEDICAL EXAMINER AGAIN TODAY. THEY JUST SENT THE REMAINS TO TX THIS PAST WEEK. THEY HAD TO EXTRACT DNA FROM THE SAMPLES AND FROM THE BONES FOR MATCHING FOR EACH ONE - THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN TAKING SO LONG. SHE SAID THAT THE QUICKEST WILL BE AROUND 6 MONTHS, BUT SINCE THERE R 3, IT MAY TAKE LONGER. I WILL BE GETTING A CALL WHEN THE RESULTS R IN...."

Feb 3, 2014:
" ... THE WOMAN WHO BOBBY TALKED TO FOR AN HOUR + THE DAY THEY WERE LAST SEEN, THE WOMAN WHO WAS GOING TO SHOW THEM THE LAND THEY WERE LOOKING AT, SADLY DIED THE END OF JANUARY. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE. WONDER WHAT SHE REALLY KNEW.........." This would be Margaret Ann Cook, 31...

http://www.mcalesternews.com/obituaries/x1280771679/sthash.zwF9jxYS.dpuf


FIND THE JAMISONS
11 December 2013
THE MONDAY AFTER THE REMAINS WERE FOUND, I CALLED AND SPOKE TO THE MEDICAL EXAMINER. I ASKED HER IF SHE COULD CONFIRM THE COORDINATES OF THE REMAINS FOR ME. (I HAD BEEN GIVEN THE LOCATION ON SUNDAY BY SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN AROUND DURING). SHE DID CONFIRM THE COORDINATES OF 35DEGREES 2'39.60"N 95DEGREES 13'2.45"W IF U LOOK ON GOOGLE EARTH, THERE R SEVERAL MAIN DIRT ROADS THEY WOULDVE HAD TO CROSS IF THEY DID INDEED WALK TO THAT LOCATION. HAVING SAID THAT, BOBBY HAD TROUBLE WALKING IN AND AROUND HIS OWN HOME WITHOUT DIBILITATING PAIN. NO WAY DO I BELIEVE THEY WALKED THERE OR THAT THEY HAVE BEEN IN THAT LOCATION FROM DAY ONE. ALSO, I ASKED HER IF THE CHILD SKULL WAS MISSING ITS FRONT TWO TEETH. SHE SAID THE YOUNG SKULL HAD NO TEETH AND THE ADULTS ONLY HAD A FEW EACH. AM I WRONG, CUZ I DIDNT THINK ANIMALS ATE TEETH. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR TEETH? SO MANY QUESTIONS.



https://www.facebook.com/FINDTHEJAMISONS

Websleuths is staying on top of this:

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10273737

http://websleuths.com/forums/tags.php?tag=bobby+jamison

From Jan 13, 2014

" ... zollie zollie is offline
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 11
From The Eufaula Indian Journal Jan. 9, 2014 written by Jerry Fink quoting the hunter (Tim Graham ) that found skelton remains.

The skeletons were on top of the ground, but sunk a little bit into the soil from being there so long Graham said, they had settled into the ground face down. All I could see was the back of their heads. He said there were three skulls one big one a smaller one and a small one. The big one had a hole on the top of the head. Graham said lawmen tried to tell him it could have been from a coyote, aint no coyote did that said Graham. I rolled it over with my foot and saw the eye socket I called to Sherri and said I found a human skull she came up and sure enough it was a human skull, she took a step and found a femur bone I glanced to my right an found another one , Sherri says lets get the hell out of here, my wife took off down the first hill and found another one. The skeltons were about 75 years from the road,It was in a wooded area by golly a trail went right to it. ..."

Post 876:
http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227737&page=36

Post 4 is most helpful:

http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227737

Keep hoping something will break.

Been thinking.
Lot of speculation on other blog sites the Jamisons may have died of hypothermia.
Problem I have:
1. One of the skulls has a hole in the top. Bigger skull.

2. Found 75 yards from a trail: They could have walked out and returned the three miles to the truck.

3. IF they had died of hypothermia or exposure, why would the dog, much smaller or more susceptible, also not have died? Trucks get very cold in the fall after the sun goes down. Dog was found alive 8 days after the family was last reported to be seen.

Desert deaths mystery: Five questions about the McStay case
 
From Randi Kaye, CNN
updated 12:07 AM EDT, Wed July 2, 2014



(CNN) -- It's been more than four years since the McStay family went missing, and nearly eight months have passed since their remains were found in the Mojave Desert.

Who would want to kill Joseph; his wife, Summer; and their two young kids, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3? How did their bodies end up in two shallow graves some 100 miles north of their home?

Investigators still have not named any suspects or persons of interest, but those involved aren't giving up.

A new detective recently joined the investigation, bringing new energy and new ideas to the table.

As the investigation continues, here are five questions that could provide clues about the case:

Read more:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/justice/mcstay-case-five-questions/index.html

What happened to the McStay family?

CNN

Published on Jul 1, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRlm-2t59zA#t=25

JAMISON FAMILY CASE

Medical examiner positively identifies remains of missing Oklahoma family

Remains found in Latimer County in November 2013 have been identified as three members of a Eufaula family. The Jamison family disappeared in 2009.

FROM STAFF REPORTS • Modified: July 3, 2014 at 8:02 pm • Published: July 3, 2014

The skeletal remains of a missing Eufaula family found by hunters in November have been positively identified, the Oklahoma medical examiner reported Thursday.

The remains of Madyson Stormy Jamison, Sherrilynn Leighann Jamison and Bobby Dale Jamison have been identified. However, the cause and manner of their deaths are undetermined, said Amy Elliott, spokeswoman for the state medical examiner’s office.

~Snipped~

Perkinson said the remains were found less than three miles from where the pickup was discovered. Fallen leaves potentially obscured the bodies when the area was searched in 2009, he said.

Read more:

http://newsok.com/medical-examiner-positively-identifies-remains-of-missing-oklahoma-family/article/4985161

Medical examiner identifies remains found near Kinta as Jamison family

Cause of death for the family of three missing since 2009 is not known

Posted: Friday, July 4, 2014 12:00 am
By AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer

The state Medical Examiner’s Office has identified three bodies found by hunters in Latimer County in late 2013 as two adults and a 6-year-old girl who had been missing since 2009, but the cause of their deaths has not yet been determined.

A news release from the agency states the cause of death for Sherilyn Jamison, 40; Bobby Jamison, 44; and Madyson Jamison of Eufaula as unknown due to incomplete skeletal remains.

Read more:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/medical-examiner-identifies-remains-found-near-kinta-as-jamison-family/article_ca25e42d-69b5-5d66-a6f7-4bb7f5ca4551.html?mode=story

http://ktla.com/on-air/live-streaming/

News conference at 9 Pacific time on the McStay family!

ishi wrote:http://ktla.com/on-air/live-streaming/

News conference at 9 Pacific time on the McStay family!

Thanks for posting this! I was wondering what's going on in this case. Guess we'll find out shortly.

Thank you so much, ishi......I will tune in as well.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/27325600/news-conference-friday-for-mcstay-family-murders

CBS News 8 has learned the former business partner of Joseph McStay has been arrested in San Bernardino County on murder charges.

Charles Ray Merritt, 57, (aka Chase Merritt) is listed as being in custody at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

WOW.

Thanks for the article link, Weezie.

CNN is covering this story now.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/07/justice/mcstay-case/index.html

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update, posted at 12:17 p.m. ET]

".....California authorities this week arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt in connection with the deaths of the McStay family -- a southern California family of four that vanished in 2010, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Friday. ....."


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-new-details-20141107-story.ht

After years, authorities say family killed at home

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Updated 5:22 am, Saturday, November 8, 2014


Image 1 of 9
Charles "Chase" Merritt, 57, appears for an arraignment hearing at the Victorville Courthouse, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014, in Victorville, Calif. Merritt made a brief court appearance Friday on four counts of murder in the February 2010 deaths of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph. The family's remains were found last year buried in the desert. He did not enter a plea and was due back in court next week.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities searched for the missing McStay family across California and into Mexico, and found their bodies in the desert a hundred miles from home.

They now say the family of four was slain before they ever left their house, and a man familiar to them was their killer.

Investigators believe that Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph, were bludgeoned to death in their home in the San Diego County community of Fallbrook on Feb. 4, 2010, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Friday.

Charles "Chase" Merritt, 57, a business associate of Joseph McStay, was charged with four counts of murder.

Read more:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/After-years-authorities-say-family-killed-at-home-5879937.php

California man pleads not guilty to killing family of four
Reuters  By Dana Feldman November 12, 2014 7:06 PM

VICTORVILLE Calif. (Reuters) - An ex-convict pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to four counts of murder in the slayings of a couple and their two young sons whose skeletal remains were found buried last year in the California desert.

...County sheriff's investigators say Merritt, arrested in Los Angeles on Nov. 5, is believed to have acted alone.

But they have kept mum about the means and motives for the killings, except to say that all four victims - McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joseph Jr. - died of blunt-force trauma.

They said the four were all slain inside their home in the San Diego County community of Fallbrook on Feb. 4, 2010.

...The judge ordered him to remain held without bond, and set the next court date for Nov. 20. Merritt could face the death penalty if convicted.

(BBM)


Read more:  http://news.yahoo.com/california-man-pleads-not-guilty-killing-family-four-000637013.html

CNN had a one-hour show on the McStay family a few days ago.  Here are a few notes I gathered from it.

McStay's brother and father had the following comments about Sheriff Gore and the initial investigation:

• Gore never declared the house a crime scene
  
• Gore allowed the living members of the McStay family to remove stuff from the house; they removed a computer, and an SD drive that they then had to put back before a search warrant was obtained
  
• Others found evidence that the McStays did not leave voluntarily, but the Sheriff's dept. did not
  
• McStay's father said "things were really missed".  "Could have hired a bunch of boy scouts to do a better job"
  
• LE was so convinced the family went to Mexico that they ignored everything else
  
• Whoever parked their car near the Mexican border "was brilliant"
  

Now that the San Bernadino Sheriff's department has stated that the murders occurred in the house, I hope that Sheriff Gore and his team realize how badly they bungled this investigation.  They seem to develop a theory, and ignore any evidence that doesn't fit their theory.  They need to learn how to verify what they are being told; not just take people's word for it.  You'd think they'd learn that as part of their training.

McStay murder suspect has heart condition, lawyer says
ByStephanie SliferCBS NewsNovember 21, 2014, 10:48 AM

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - The man charged with murdering the McStays, a family of four who disappeared in 2010 and whose remains were found last year in the California desert, has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, highlighting the need to move forward with a trial quickly, his lawyer said Thursday.

Robert Ponce, an attorney for 57-year-old Chase Merritt, said his client was diagnosed last week and is being treated by jail doctors, reports the Victorville Daily Press.

...Merritt briefly appeared in court Thursday, where it was announced the case will be reassigned from Victorville Courthouse to San Bernardino's central courthouse due to the "complexities" of the case, reports the paper.

Meritt's next court date is scheduled for January 30.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcstay-murder-suspect-has-heart-condition-lawyer-says/

CuriousPortlander wrote:
McStay murder suspect has heart condition, lawyer says
ByStephanie SliferCBS NewsNovember 21, 2014, 10:48 AM

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - The man charged with murdering the McStays, a family of four who disappeared in 2010 and whose remains were found last year in the California desert, has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, highlighting the need to move forward with a trial quickly, his lawyer said Thursday.

Robert Ponce, an attorney for 57-year-old Chase Merritt, said his client was diagnosed last week and is being treated by jail doctors, reports the Victorville Daily Press.

...Merritt briefly appeared in court Thursday, where it was announced the case will be reassigned from Victorville Courthouse to San Bernardino's central courthouse due to the "complexities" of the case, reports the paper.

Meritt's next court date is scheduled for January 30.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcstay-murder-suspect-has-heart-condition-lawyer-says/

Heart condition???? He sure does! And lifting so many dead bodies into his vehicle, digging shallow graves and experiencing the stress of discovery must have aggravated it....

A heart condition? A man pretends to befriend a FAMILY. He is in their home. He sits at their table. He breaks bread with them. He bounces a child of the couple upon his knee. And then he bludgeons them to death?

He has more than a physical heart condition. He is totally lacking in understanding the term FRIEND and COMPASSION and CARING in his relationship.

Fry him. The sooner the better. He is a cold hearted serial killer.

NEW TODAY: McStay

Coming on 5 yrs since they went missing.
At first, San Diego found NO evidence they had died in the home.
Search warrants showed family left in hurry, open suitcases, lamp on side, etc. In such a hurry they left their bags? One person from San Diego DID state he believed the family had been killed/kidnapped.

Charles Merritt moved the car to the border. Cleaned the crime scene.

San Bernardino detectives indicate their research showed the family died in the home. Dog left unattended. Unsealing of some of the docs. May have used the infra-red cameras? San Bernardino does not want ANY of the info unsealed until after the prelim hearing.

Prelim hearing coming up.... no date given yet.

San Diego County's Search Warrants in McStay Case Unsealed

By  Paul Krueger, Lynn Walsh and R. Stickney



Updated at 4:38 PM PST on Friday, Jan 23, 2015

Court documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates appear to contradict statements by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department about its investigation of deaths of the McStay family.

A San Diego judge unsealed four search warrants Friday associated with early stages of the San Diego Sheriff’s investigation into the McStay family murder.

~Snipped~

In a search warrant affidavit written four days after Joseph McStay’s brother reported the family was missing, Detective Troy DuGal informed a judge that he believed the family was “victim(s) of foul play” and that “some or all of the McStay family has been kidnapped or killed.”

Those statements are contrary to recent comments by San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore, who just two months ago told NBC 7 investigators believed from the start that it was a “missing persons case,” not a homicide investigation.

Read the document:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/McStay-Case-Search-Warrants-San-Diego--289610201.html

McStay family murder investigation: Court records unsealed



Updated 2 hrs 20 mins ago

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KABC) -- At the request of news organizations, including Eyewitness News, a San Diego judge has unsealed court records about the early investigation into the disappearance of the McStay family.

The documents unsealed Friday reveal the condition of the Fallbrook home of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two young sons when investigators arrived in February 2010.

Authorities found a lamp lying on floor and several open suitcases with folded clothing inside. There were rotten eggs in the kitchen and two small bowls of slightly spilled popcorn in the living room.

The family's disappearance remained a mystery until their skeletal remains were found buried in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert on Nov. 11, 2013.

Nearly a year later, on Nov. 5, 2014, Charles "Chase" Merritt was arrested for allegedly killing the family of four.



Read more:

http://abc7.com/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-family-murder-case/488712/

@Freckles:

Thank you so much for posting the update!

Warrants reveal details of McStay family murder investigation

Posted 12:29 PM, January 23, 2015, by Sharon Chen, Updated at 06:21pm, January 23, 2015

~Snipped~

“It’s important for the public to be able to have access to these search warrants,” said Kelly Aviles, Open Government Attorney.  “It leads to the public’s understanding how search warrants are handled are issued, how police conduct their investigations.”

Aviles represented the media outlets in filing the various motions on the search warrants.

~Snipped~

Despite finding the family’s SUV in San Ysidro, California — where it had been towed from the Mexican border — and video surveillance that showed a family matching the description of the McStays crossing the border, authorities had no clue what happened to them until the discovery of their bodies on November 11, 2013.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies arrested Charles “Chase” Merritt, 57, in Chatsworth on Nov. 5, 2014. Merritt, a former business associate of Joseph McStay, is the only suspect in the case, investigators said.

Investigators determined that all four of the victims were killed at their home in Fallbrook. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, authorities said. Investigators are not disclosing the motive for the murders.

Merritt has a criminal history and has served two prior state prison terms, investigators said.

Aviles said some 60 search warrants remained sealed and there are efforts to unseal them.

Read more:

http://fox5sandiego.com/2015/01/23/search-warrants-made-public-in-mcstay-family-murder-case/

Alessandra_Deux wrote:San Diego County's Search Warrants in McStay Case Unsealed

By  Paul Krueger, Lynn Walsh and R. Stickney



Updated at 4:38 PM PST on Friday, Jan 23, 2015

Court documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates appear to contradict statements by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department about its investigation of deaths of the McStay family.

A San Diego judge unsealed four search warrants Friday associated with early stages of the San Diego Sheriff’s investigation into the McStay family murder.

~Snipped~

In a search warrant affidavit written four days after Joseph McStay’s brother reported the family was missing, Detective Troy DuGal informed a judge that he believed the family was “victim(s) of foul play” and that “some or all of the McStay family has been kidnapped or killed.”

Those statements are contrary to recent comments by San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore, who just two months ago told NBC 7 investigators believed from the start that it was a “missing persons case,” not a homicide investigation.

Read the document:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/McStay-Case-Search-Warrants-San-Diego--289610201.html

Wow!  This is mind-boggling.  What the heck is wrong with Gore?  He's a real piece of work.  How on earth does someone this incompetent stay in office for so long?

CNN just announced that they will have a special show on the McStay family on Tuesday night, February 3rd. at 9 a.m. Eastern.

Every picture I see of them they are a family so enjoying each other, so loving being together. I see a family so supportive and optimistic. The littlest often has a pensive look but nothing but kindness surrounds these four people. I find these deaths so damning, so despicable. So very, very sad.

McStay murder suspect will represent himself
ByStephanie SliferCBS NewsJanuary 30, 2015, 2:32 PM

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The man accused of killing the McStays, a family of four who disappeared in 2010 and whose remains were found in 2013 in the California desert, told a judge Friday he wanted to represent himself in his murder trial, despite the judge's urging that it was a "historically unwise" decision.

Charles "Chase" Merritt, 57, had been represented by Robert Ponce, but Ponce said Friday that Meritt decided he wants to represent himself with the hope that it will move the case along quicker since Merritt believes he only has six to eight months to live.

...While Merritt's alleged health issues were not specified in court Friday, Ponce said in November that Merritt had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and was being treated by jail doctors.

In response to Merritt's request, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Smith warned that it was an unwise decision and advised Merritt that the court would appoint him an attorney at no cost. Merritt declined.

Read more:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcstay-murder-suspect-chooses-to-represent-self/

Accused McStay family killer appears in court (Video)

Posted: Feb 19, 2015 7:35 PM CST
Updated: Feb 19, 2015 7:35 PM CST




SAN BERNARDINO (CBS 8) - The man accused of murdering the McStay family wants all the evidence in the case handed over.

Charles Merritt, 57, appeared in a San Bernardino court Thursday morning acting as his own attorney. He complained he has not had access to any of the 9,000 pages of evidence in the case.

Joseph and Summer McStay and their two young sons disappeared from their Fallbrook home in 2010. Their bodies were found in the desert near Victorville in 2013.

A preliminary hearing is set for April 7.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/28154499/accused-mcstay-family-killer-appears-in-court

Charles Merritt Requests Docs in McStay Family Killing

By  R. Stickney

Updated at 10:37 AM PST on Thursday, Feb 19, 2015

The man accused of murdering the McStay family of Fallbrook complained to the judge Thursday that he's not receiving the documents needed for his defense, according to social media posts from a reporter in the courtroom.

Charles Merritt, a former business partner of Joseph McStay, is accused of killing McStay along with Sunny McStay and the couple’s two boys in 2010.

On Thursday, Merritt served as his own attorney for the first time and asked for prosecution discovery documents and files on a computer that was seized by investigators, according to reporter Teri Figueroa.

Read more:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Charles-Merritt-McStay-Family-Killing-Fallbrook-San-Bernardino-292689481.html

Teri Figueroa @TeriFigueroaUT
Today marks Merritts first time representing self in McStay family murders

11:05 AM - 19 Feb 2015

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Charles-Merritt-McStay-Family-Killing-Fallbrook-San-Bernardino-292689481.html

Jen's Trial Diaries ‏@TrialDiariesJ 1h1 hour ago

#CharlesMerritt granted six-week delay in #McStay murder trial http://thetrialdiaries.com/charles-merritt-granted-six-week-delay-in-mcstay-murder-trial/ … #TheTrialDiaries

https://twitter.com/hardtruth4real/lists/jodi-arias-trial-live

Merritt: Investigators 'made errors' in McStay murder case



By Anneli Fogt
Staff Writer

Posted Apr. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 3, 2015 at 9:46 PM

SAN BERNARDINO — Accused McStay family killer Charles Merritt said in a letter to the media Friday morning that he feels law enforcement has "significantly made errors in their investigation" of the murders.

"I only ask that we all remember in this great country, there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty," Merritt said in the letter. "It seems that some of us including law enforcement have forgotten this very important fact. I only beg the place for this trial is in the courtroom."

Merritt was scheduled for a pre-preliminary hearing Friday to confirm the April 7 preliminary hearing, but he asked for a six-week extension and is now scheduled for another pre-preliminary on May 15. Merritt's private investigator, David Farrell, provided the media with Merritt's letter after his hearing. Farrell said the letter was "from Merritt's own hand" and was typed up and copied.

Read more:

http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150403/NEWS/150409976

Evidence in killing of California family to be revealed  (McStay Case)

At a preliminary hearing set to begin Tuesday, prosecutors are expected to reveal for the first time the evidence that led them to file murder charges against Charles "Chase" Merritt, the sole suspect in the case

http://news.yahoo.com/evidence-killing-california-family-revealed-060753649.html