Thanks so much for posting this, I've been staying away from crime forums other than the EAR/ONS case just to take a sanity break, so this was the first place I saw this posted. It's good to finally see the wheels starting to turn in this trial. I just realized the other day that it's been a year and a half since the bodies were discovered. The loved ones have been put through so much torturous waiting, here's hoping there won't be many more delaying tactics.
A sledgehammer, wow... that really brings the brutality home in a visceral way. It takes one hell of a callous person to take a sledgehammer to anyone, but especially to a child. The fact that one of the children was buried separately and alone is very haunting to me.
...backdated checks on Joseph McStay’s business account, some deposited in Merritt’s bank account; a likely DNA match for Merritt on the steering wheel of McStay’s vehicle; cellphone “pings” near the burial site; and statements the defendant made to investigators that led to the inference “the defendant was involved in the disappearance and with the deaths.” ... Tire tracks, the same width as Merritt’s pickup truck wheelbase, led to the graves, but so did tracks from another vehicle.
This gives me more hope that they do indeed have a strong case. I really want to know how long they've had CM in their sights though, and whether they let the whole "they went to Mexico" thing play out to make him think he wasn't under suspicion? It seems odd to let the public and the family think for so long that this may have been a voluntary disappearance if they had this evidence.
I think I'm gonna have to break my crime forum vacation and get some more info on this, it's just nagging at my brain too much. This case has really affected me ever since the first time I heard about it.
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bpitt311
10 years ago
You're very welcome, Adiane! And yes, so good that the ball is rolling on this trial, although my heart aches for the family members hearing these revolting details in court.
Oh and I apologize, the first article I read may have had some errors. In subsequent articles that I've read, it says that there was a parent+child in each of the graves, so I may have been wrong that one child was buried alone. Sometimes it's hard to filter out the most accurate facts when those initial web articles are hastily being posted! :P
I couldn't believe the murder weapon was a sledgehammer. It's like....how depraved can this story continue to become?
My guess is that CM was a suspect (or at least a POI) for longer than the public/family knew, but not a viable suspect until after the bodies were found. I really believe that LE initially considered the McStays a voluntary disappearance case. Then, when their remains were discovered, they started pairing physical evidence with the suspicious financial activity perpetrated by CM.
But again the question must be asked: how long have they had this DNA from CM taken from the McStay's vehicle? Because I would think that would arouse suspicion of CM from the very start!
I'm glad you're going to start delving into this case again. I need some of your interpretations and comments! :D
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justKryptonite
10 years ago
If you find out some interesting stuff feel free to post here. I have not been able to find much on it and also am kinda fearful to really try very hard because the case is so disturbing. I had also watched Lisa Lings special on this case and it never mentions anything being wrong with their house, also they mentioned phone pings that don't seem to make sense unless they had left on their own which we all now know is not the case. This case is so baffling to me and heartbreaking! Thanks ahead of time for any info anyone wants to share.
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libby2130
9 years ago
not only were they bludgeoned with that hammer...they were hit in the arms and legs first...how depraved is that...he did non lethal hits first so they would suffer...
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