McStay Family Murder Case
1.Facts of the Case
McStay family disappeared from their Fallbrook, California home. Their bodies were later found dumped in the desert in Victorville on November 13, 2013. The mainstream media widely reported Their disappearance. In 2014, the police announced they had arrested Charles Merritt alias “Chase,” who was Joseph McStay’s business partner. The police intended to charge him with the murder of the McStay family, including Joseph and Summer together with their three and four-year-old sons. Merritt was the last person that spent time with joseph before their disappearance.
2.the crimes the prosecutor charged the defendant
The defendant was charged with murder charges of the whole McStay family. He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. California law defines the crime of murder as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. With this penal code, it means that with wanton disregard for human life, does an act that has a high degree of probability that it will result in death.
3.
Maximum sentence faced by the defendant
The defendant faced a death sentence from the prosecutor. This was after being found guilty of death and other murder cases as was eluded by the prosecutor’s side.
4.Pretrial proceedings
There was a pretrial proceeding conducted in the case; Merritt acted as his own attorney, a move that wasn’t much supported by the trial side though he stated that he did not need an attorney due to his health deterioration; he stated that he had few months to live due to congestion of heart. This representation made the pretrial sessions of the case to be postponed several times. This case remained a mystery and baffled the San Diego County Sherriff’s Department until they convicted Merritt. The prosecution took time due to series of unpreparedness by the defendant complaining of inability to trace all his documents for self-defense.
- Background History of the Charles Merritt
Charles Merritt was 62 years old at the time he was convicted and denied the charges against him. He pleaded not guilty when he was exposed to trials. Before this main case, the murder of the McStay family, Merritt had a previous criminal history. It is reported that in 1978 and 1987, Merritt was convicted for burglary and for receiving stolen property, respectively. He admitted to these allegations and suggested that he not be judged based on his youthful acts. He was regarded as a metal worker and welder. The reviews from the business he runs are very negative and accuse Merritt of poor behavior, shady practices, and outright fraud.
- the prosecutor of the case
The prosecutor of the case was the San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney, Britt Imes. Imes have over twenty years of practicing law. He has been involved in other cases where he was part of the team that gave out the verdict. However, there are no clear information on the organization and the communities that the lawyer is involved in.
- The defense attorney in the Charles Merritt case.
James McGee was the defense attorney; in this case, he made a statement when his client was given a verdict that “the court tried Merritt’s character and not the facts of the case.” Lawyer James McGee has a long service history of being an attorney in various states. He has handled different cases ranging from gang prosecutions and murders with special circumstances to wiretap prosecutions, mentality disorder offenses, and insurance fraud, among other serious offenses. He is a member of various associations. His cases include the people state of Illinois and James McGee, apart from being a state attorney. In his profile history, he has perfected his duties as a lawyer and attorney in the last more than twenty years in the public practice.
- the Judge who oversaw the trial.
Judge Michael A. Smith was the judge in this case where Merritt was given the death penalty over the murder of four souls, the McStay family. The judge presided over the Aubrey Trail case, a trial case between the United States and judged Smith. He was also one of the judges who were selected to weigh the Nebraska man’s death penalty among other key cases in various states.
- description of the trial
The McStay case lasted for a bit longer due to the defendant’s side taking time to be ready for the trial and pretrial sessions. McStay family disappeared in the year 2010; after an investigation was conducted and the investigators find more of the murder, Merrit was arrested in 2014. The trials were conducted while the defendant pleaded not guilty. In June 2019, Merrit was found guilty and given a penalty by the judge and prosecutor. Joseph McStay took the place of the important witness in the case.
- the jury verdict
The jury found the defendant in four counts of murders. They promised to push for a death sentence.
- the sentence the defendant received
The defendant received a death sentence out of his case.
- overall impression
The case was professionally handled. With satisfying evidence, they acted most humanely too. The verdict was fair to the hearing and facts of the case. The jury got the verdict right, having established multiple death counts from the defendant’s side. The Attorneys involved in the case were superb and qualified to handle such cases, but the evidence presented and the general mood of a case with public interest did their best. The judge and the prosecutor agreed to a verdict that would serve justice to the close family of the departed family; however, the issue of a judge who disagreed with trials of the defendant erupted, and he had to be thrown out to ensure justice prevailed.