Defense calls McStay's mom, sergeant and agent supervisor to the stand

The defense team called Susan Blake, the mother of Joseph McStay, to testify Monday, March 18, in the case against Charles "Chase" Merritt who is charged with killing her son, his wife and their two young children.

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

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the 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.

Prosecutors maintain that greed was the basis for Merritt committing the murders and have stated they will be seeking the death penalty in the case.

The defense claims that detectives have ignored other suspects in the case, choosing to focus on Merritt alone.

In their questioning of Blake, the defense team talked to her about a line of questioning about whether her son, Joseph, was considering replacing Merritt as a welder for Earth Inspired Products, the fountain-building business he owned.

"Did he want to get rid of Chase and replace him with other welders, was that your understanding?" the defense asked.

"Exactly," Blake responded.

"Or add welders and keep Chase and just add additional welders," the defense asked.

"He wanted to get rid of him," Blake said.

The defense asked Blake if she recalled a detective asking her if Joseph had planned on buying out another business partner, Dan Kavanaugh who ran the company's website.

"He wanted more to get Dan out, right?" the defense team asked.

"Dan first, yes," Blake said.

"Because Dan acted as if he could just flip the switch and shut this whole business down," the defense continued.

"Yes," Blake agreed.

"In other words, you knew about Dan's threat to shut down the business," the attorney said.

The prosecution objected, and San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael A. Smith quickly admonished the attorney.

"That is the law, and it's also improper," Judge Smith said. "If you have any other proper questions to ask, you can ask them."

"Do you know why Joseph didn't want to take Dan with him, he wanted to buy him out instead?" the defense asked.

"I don't know why," Blake responded.

Merritt's defense team has long contended that Kavanaugh is a viable suspect in the disappearance of the McStay family.

Back in November 2018, the defense filed a pretrial motion arguing to admit evidence that related to an incident when Kavanaugh had threatened McStay and his family in a 2009 online exchange.

Judge Smith denied the motion to admit evidence pertaining to Kavanaugh into the case against their client.

Merritt's defense team next called Sgt. Joseph Steers to the stand.

The questioning began with a conversation Steers had with Blake regarding another conversation she had with Joseph's brother, Michael, about trying to get into the McStay's house in the days after they disappeared.

The questioning then steered toward the wiretapping of Merritt's phone starting in 2014.

"From an investigative standpoint, what were you hoping to hear?" the defense asked.

"It was our hope that we would hear some conversation from Mr. Merritt, with possible other parties, other involved suspects, if there were any or any person that he was confiding to in reference to the case," Steers answered.

The defense asked whether detectives were trying to put pressure on Merritt so he "would say something in a panicked state."

"Do you attempt to put on pressure hoping they would talk on the phone?" the defense asked.

"Indirectly, yes," Steers responded.

"So, that's kind of the goal, correct?" the defense asked.

"Correct," Steers responded.

The defense asked if Steers had ever seen Merritt meet with or talk to anyone they considered to be a suspect in the case.

"No," Steers said.

California Department of Justice Special Agent Supervisor Alex Quick was called to the stand regarding the search of the McStay family residence that he was involved in.

The questioning centered around a box of checks that was found in the office.

"Are you sure you didn't find those checks in a locked drawer?" the defense asked.

"The drawer was empty when I opened them," Quick answered.

The Valley News is following this case through video and audio recordings of the testimony provided by Law & Crime Network. No additional recordings of testimony were made available beyond March 18.

Jeff Pack can be reached at [email protected].