11-10-2014, 04:24 PM
(11-10-2014, 03:34 PM)blueberryhill Wrote: Also, LE is saying family probably never left home alive; 4 bludgeoned to death and no sign of blood. How can that be? Will look forward to when they release details of crime.
The fact that the homicide investigators believe the family was killed at home surprised me more than Chase Merritt being charged with their murders.
But, when I think about it now, it probably shouldn't have surprised me.
The killer had a long time to get rid of visible evidence. No one reported the family missing for 11 days and Merritt was in direct contact with their relatives during that time -- he knew they weren't going to the McStay house. The fact that he was regarded as a friend of the family gave him a huge advantage in pulling this off, assuming he is guilty.
San Diego PD didn't have a clue what happened to the family when the McStays were finally reported missing. They didn't see any signs of forced entry or struggle, so they didn't declare the house a crime scene. When the border crossing video emerged shortly therafter, San Diego PD believed the family in the grainy video was indeed the McStays. It looked liked the McStays and the time of the crossing coincided pretty closely with the time the McStay's SUV was parked right near the border. It convinced San Diego PD that the McStay disappearance was very likely voluntary. I think the killer caught the lucky coincidental break of a lifetime when that border crossing footage was found.
Then...........when the bodies were discovered in San Bernadino county, everything changed, of course. San Bernadino PD took over the case and investigated it as quadruple homicide -- looking into everyone associated with the McStays. There was no longer any doubt that a horrific crime had taken place. It was noted early on that a futon cover from the home was believed to be unaccounted for. It could be that the bodies were wrapped, transported, and buried with that cover -- which would point back to the house as the crime scene. And/or, if one or more of the McStays were bound and buried with electrical cord or some other material that belonged to the McStay household, it again points back to the house. San Bernadino PD may have secured a warrant and searched that house thoroughly for the first time -- 4 years after the disappearance -- and found blood traces or bone fragments which were not visible to the naked eye.
I don't know about the other potential suspects in the case, but Chase Merritt had a weak alibi. He said he was watching a movie at home with his then-girlfriend. He said he didn't pick up a call to his phone from Joey's phone at that time because he was tired. In a different interview, he said he didn't pick it up because he'd already talked to Joey so many times that day. I think Chase Merritt made that call himself as a ruse -- just like he repeatedly disparaged Summer McStay and suggested that she was poisoning her husband to throw people off his track.
I'm very anxious to learn more details too.