Back in February of 2010 the McStay family disappeared, in Fallbrook California. Their disappearance was extensively reported on national news stations across the country. The family’s disappearance was a shock to the investigators because there was shown no evidence of struggle at their Fallbrook home. According to a news article from CNN, it states how “Food had been left out and the dogs were home”.  Many conspiracies believed that they wanted to disappear, and that they have crossed the Mexican border, the family’s SUV having been found stranded near the border. Three years later in November of 2013, a motorcyclist found four sets of human remains in the desert outside Victorville California. The four bodies were identified of the Mcstay’s family, the husband Joseph, wife Summer, and their two children.  Investigators believed that the family was tortured before they were killed. Their skulls and jaws were smashed and fractured. On November 7, 2014, the police have arrested a man names Charles Merritt, Joseph McStay’s business partner, and charged for the murders of the family members.

Forensic have discovered that Charles Merritt had his DNA recovered from the McStay’s car. He was charged with four counts of murder and the district attorney requested the death penalty. Prosecutors believed that Charles Merritt had a gambling problem and killed the McStay family for financial gain.  Merritt is documented as writing checks totaling $21,000 on McStay’s business account, after McStay went missing.  Charles Merritt used that money for his gambling addiction at nearby casinos. Joseph owned a company that sold water foundations, he informed Charles Merritt that he owed him more than $42,000.  Despite all the cellphone records and banking records of Merritt being tied to the murders of the family, he maintained his innocence throughout the trial. When Charles Merritt had an interview with the Daily Mail, he stated how Joseph McStay “was my best friend”.  Perhaps this wasn’t the case because three days before the disappearance, Joseph McStay was planning on firing Merritt and sent him an email asking him for the $42,000 he owed him after mismanaging his job.

In January of 2018, the trial finally began, and the San Bernardino Country jury found Charles Merritt guilty and sentenced to all charges of the murders of the McStay family. He was sentenced to death 5 months later and was put to death on January 21, 2020.