Trial begins for man accused of killing Fallbrook family

Opening statements began Monday, Jan. 7, in the trial of Charles Ray Merritt, 61, of Homeland who is accused of murdering Joseph and Summer McStay as well as the couple’s two young sons in Fallbrook in 2010 and burying their bodies in a San Bernardino desert.

Merritt has pleaded “not guilty” to four murder counts and was present Monday at the Superior Court of California in San Bernardino County where a jury of eight women, four men and six alternates are hearing the case.

The trial is expected to last three to four months, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.

San Bernardino County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty began opening statements, saying Merritt was driven by greed when he committed the crime.

Authorities have said that Merritt wrote checks for more than $21,000 through McStay’s online QuickBooks account after the family had disappeared and that his DNA was found on the steering wheel and gearshift of McStay’s SUV found near the Mexican border days after vanishing.

They alleged that Merritt’s cellphone was traced to the area surrounding the gravesites and to a call a few days later trying to close McStay’s QuickBooks account.

The McStay family, who lived in the Lake Rancho Viejo housing development east of Interstate 15, was last seen alive Feb. 4, 2010. Relatives reported them missing a few days later.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and FBI handled the investigation into the family’s disappearance in the early years with no resolution.

In November 2013, the skeletal remains of the four family members were discovered in shallow graves by a motorcyclist in the Mojave desert. Records show that all four were beaten to death, most likely with a sledgehammer.

At that point, the investigation was taken over by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators contend that Merritt, who designed and built custom fountains for McStay’s business, Earth Inspired Products, was in debt to the tune of $30,000 to Joseph McStay at the time of the murders.

After Merritt was arrested in 2014, he said through his attorney that he had heart failure and wanted his trial to be fast-tracked. The trial has been beleaguered by a series of delays and motions ever since.

Joseph’s father, Patrick, who lives near Houston, Texas, has been attempting to raise funds to attend the trial over the last few years.

He said Monday he will attend the trial periodically as funds allow.

“I will be at the trial, but I will have to split my time and try to pick the best possible times to be there,” Patrick said in a statement. “The funds are limited, and I don’t have but enough for about a third of the trial based on a three-month trial.”

For up daily updates and the most recent news on the McStay trial and other breaking news, visit http://www.villagenews.com.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].