# The McStay Mystery **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029 "2013-12-11T00:38:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/1 "2013-12-11T00:38:50Z")
I am really curious to hear any reasonable theories on what actually happened and possible motives. I realize this is all speculation, but I still would like to hear what the SDMB members think. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/2 "2013-12-11T00:54:39Z")
Here’s a linky: [McStay Family Mystery Sent Radio Host on International Hunt - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/US/mcstay-family-mystery-radio-host-international-hunt/story?id=20912439) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/3 "2013-12-11T02:21:24Z")
Here is the previous Straightdope thread on the subject: > **[What crime could the missing McStay family be charged with? \[Update: Family...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=611521)** > > Here’s a link about a family of four that went missing over a year ago: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/01/fbi-join-search-missing-family/ Suppose they are found. Also suppose that their reasons for leaving had nothing to do with any... That the parents got involved with drug gangs is the idea which immediately springs to mind, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence they were. A random serial killer is always a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/4 "2013-12-11T02:53:32Z")
Inspired by someone in another thread: Well, I guess the McStays… \*( •\_•) ( •\_•)~⌐■-■ (⌐■\_■)\* McWent. _Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaah…!_ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/5 "2013-12-11T03:12:34Z")
Nicely played, sir. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/6 "2013-12-11T03:52:44Z")
I’ve heard a couple of mentions of this book on KFI lately: [No Goodbyes: The Mysterious Disappearance of the McStay Family](http://www.amazon.com/No-Goodbyes-Mysterious-Disappearance-McStay/dp/1625104219). I don’t know how credible his story is, but he spent a helluva lot of time and money trying to track them down. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/7 "2013-12-11T16:55:50Z")
Is there an account of how the bodies were discovered? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/8 "2013-12-11T17:02:33Z")
According to the sheriff’s statement, an off-road biker apparently happened on them. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/9 "2013-12-11T17:27:00Z")
Guaranteed to wreck your day, that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/10 "2013-12-11T19:42:49Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > According to the sheriff’s statement, an off-road biker apparently happened on them. Apparently the bodies were buried in shallow graves and animals partially dug them up. The biker saw some bones and wondered if they could be human so contacted authorities. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/11 "2019-06-10T19:46:17Z")
Updating this thread: > [@](#): > > A jury Monday found a man guilty of bludgeoning a family of four and burying their bodies in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert. > > Charles “Chase” Merritt, 62, of Rancho Cucamonga, was convicted of four counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys. After a five-month trial in San Bernardino, jurors deliberated for about a week before reaching their verdict. > > Prosecutors argued that Merritt was motivated by greed and self-interest. He owed Joseph McStay $42,845 and, after the family’s disappearance, forged checks to himself from McStay’s QuickBooks account. > **[McStay murder trial: Man is convicted of killing family and burying their...](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-murders-verdict-20190610-story.html)** > > Nearly a decade later, so much remains unknown about the murders of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two young boys. A Wikipedia article on the mystery: > **[McStay family murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McStay_family_murder)** > > The McStay family murders occurred on or near February 4, 2010, after the family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, California, United States; their bodies were found in the desert near Victorville, California, on November 13, 2013. Their disappearance was widely reported by the national news media. > On November 7, 2014, police announced they had arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph McStay's business partner, and intended to charge him with the murders. The trial began on January 7,... ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/12 "2019-06-10T23:01:37Z")
Wow. Nice to get some closure to a strange and tragic event. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2019, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mcstay-mystery/676029/13 "2019-06-10T23:49:15Z")
Also wow: Almost 5 years between arrest and start of trial. Guess the defense attorneys were filing lots of continuances.