Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Suspect in quadruple murder of Fallbrook family convicted

Did San Diego County Sheriffs bungle investigation?

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr.
Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr.

After the mysterious 2010 disappearance of the McStay family of Fallbrook, Charles Ray Merritt, 62, was convicted of the quadruple murder on June 10 in a San Bernardino County court

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni, age 4, and Joseph Jr., age 3, seemingly disappeared from their home near the I-15 freeway, southeast of Highway 76 on February 4, 2010.

Ken Aranda, brother of Summer McStay, at the paddle-out for the McStays in January, 2014

Uncooked food for a dinner preparation had been left out on the kitchen counter. The family dog wasn’t fed. McStay’s cell phone and credit cards weren’t used after the disappearance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Days later, the McStays' car was found in a parking lot at the U.S. border in San Ysidro. A security video showed a family of four walking into Mexico. Some members of McStay’s family swore the grainy images had to be the missing family of four.

Over the next three years, the McStays became the subject of an international search; there were reported sightings as far away as Ecuador and Thailand. A psychic had predicted the family was buried under the old Highway 76 Bonsall bridge in the San Luis Rey riverbed, which caused a search by volunteers.

Over months the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department seemed to have no real leads. At least no suspects, and not many answers. The family claims the department bungled the cased, trying to find connections to Joseph’s business and drugs; he did business with Mexican suppliers for his water feature design company. The FBI eventually got involved, but the case went cold.

Neighbors who knew the McStays from their original home in San Clemente claimed none that was true. At the time, Lisa Summers, a friend of Summer McStay’s sister, told a Reader reporter, “The McStays were a loving Christian family that always showed the love they had for each other.”

On November 11, 2013, an off-road motorcyclist reportedly found a human skull in the high desert near Victorville and led San Bernardino County Sheriff’s detectives to the site, which ended up being shallow graves containing the bodies of the four victims.

After the discovery, not much was said about the ongoing investigation being conducted by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The department remained silent on the issue until the arrest of Merritt almost a year later.

As the trial progressed, the families of the McStays were vindicated. The McStays were brutally murdered by a former business partner, over a $43,000 deal Merritt thought he was entitled to. They had not planned to leave their house that fateful night. They were kidnapped. There was no connection to drugs.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson is seeking the death penalty. However the DA may be relegated to accepting the fact that Merritt may never see the gas chamber, at least not until a new governor is elected in 2022 or 2026.

Governor Gavin Newsom has halted putting the convicted to death in California, under personal and moral grounds. “Governor Newsom has a duty to uphold the law, including California's death penalty statutes which voters have upheld since at least 1978,” wrote DA Anderson in a published statement.

To this day, the motorcyclist that supposedly discovered the bodies has reportedly not been identified. No one appeared in court to testify on the initial finding of the gravesites. A family member, who asked not to be identified, previously told a Reader reporter he believed someone involved gave up the gravesite’s location in exchange for some kind of deal with law enforcement.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Morricone Youth, Berkley Hart, Dark Entities, Black Heart Procession, Monsters Of Hip-Hop

Live movie soundtracks, birthdays and more in Balboa Park, Grantville, Oceanside, Little Italy
Next Article

WAV College Church reminds kids that time is short

College is a formational time for decisions about belief
Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr.
Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr.

After the mysterious 2010 disappearance of the McStay family of Fallbrook, Charles Ray Merritt, 62, was convicted of the quadruple murder on June 10 in a San Bernardino County court

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two sons, Gianni, age 4, and Joseph Jr., age 3, seemingly disappeared from their home near the I-15 freeway, southeast of Highway 76 on February 4, 2010.

Ken Aranda, brother of Summer McStay, at the paddle-out for the McStays in January, 2014

Uncooked food for a dinner preparation had been left out on the kitchen counter. The family dog wasn’t fed. McStay’s cell phone and credit cards weren’t used after the disappearance.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Days later, the McStays' car was found in a parking lot at the U.S. border in San Ysidro. A security video showed a family of four walking into Mexico. Some members of McStay’s family swore the grainy images had to be the missing family of four.

Over the next three years, the McStays became the subject of an international search; there were reported sightings as far away as Ecuador and Thailand. A psychic had predicted the family was buried under the old Highway 76 Bonsall bridge in the San Luis Rey riverbed, which caused a search by volunteers.

Over months the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department seemed to have no real leads. At least no suspects, and not many answers. The family claims the department bungled the cased, trying to find connections to Joseph’s business and drugs; he did business with Mexican suppliers for his water feature design company. The FBI eventually got involved, but the case went cold.

Neighbors who knew the McStays from their original home in San Clemente claimed none that was true. At the time, Lisa Summers, a friend of Summer McStay’s sister, told a Reader reporter, “The McStays were a loving Christian family that always showed the love they had for each other.”

On November 11, 2013, an off-road motorcyclist reportedly found a human skull in the high desert near Victorville and led San Bernardino County Sheriff’s detectives to the site, which ended up being shallow graves containing the bodies of the four victims.

After the discovery, not much was said about the ongoing investigation being conducted by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. The department remained silent on the issue until the arrest of Merritt almost a year later.

As the trial progressed, the families of the McStays were vindicated. The McStays were brutally murdered by a former business partner, over a $43,000 deal Merritt thought he was entitled to. They had not planned to leave their house that fateful night. They were kidnapped. There was no connection to drugs.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson is seeking the death penalty. However the DA may be relegated to accepting the fact that Merritt may never see the gas chamber, at least not until a new governor is elected in 2022 or 2026.

Governor Gavin Newsom has halted putting the convicted to death in California, under personal and moral grounds. “Governor Newsom has a duty to uphold the law, including California's death penalty statutes which voters have upheld since at least 1978,” wrote DA Anderson in a published statement.

To this day, the motorcyclist that supposedly discovered the bodies has reportedly not been identified. No one appeared in court to testify on the initial finding of the gravesites. A family member, who asked not to be identified, previously told a Reader reporter he believed someone involved gave up the gravesite’s location in exchange for some kind of deal with law enforcement.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Next Article

Wild Wild Wets, Todo Mundo, Creepy Creeps, Laura Cantrell, Graham Nancarrow

Rock, Latin reggae, and country music in Little Italy, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Harbor Island
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
June 12, 2019
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader