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Defendant Murder Charles Ray Merritt sits at San Bernardino County Court before opening statements in San Bernardino, California Monday, January 7, 2019. Merritt is on trial for the murder of The McStay Family of Fallbrook in 2010. The bodies of Joseph McStay, age 40, and his wife Summer, age 43, and their sons Gianni , 4 years old, and Joseph Jr., 3, were found in a shallow grave in the desert north of Victorville. in 2013. (Will Lester / The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif .– Greed, debt, and a gambling problem caused a man in southern California to kill his partner's family with a hammer and bury their bodies in the desert, prosecutors announced on Monday
. the defense stated that the authorities accused the wrong man and that the real culprit was another trading partner
The pleadings were heard during the trial of Charles "Chase" Merritt.
Merritt, 61, pleaded not guilty. If he was found guilty, he risked the death penalty.
Sean Daugherty, Deputy Attorney General of San Bernardino County, told the jurors that Merritt had written checks in excess of $ 21,000 on his partner's online bookkeeping account, last February. The Sun newspaper of San Bernardino reported in 2010.
"Greed and the child's greed, fraud" were the motive, Daugherty said.
Merritt is accused of killing Joseph McStay; McStay's wife, Summer; and their sons of 3 and 4 years old. The disappearance of the family has puzzled investigators for years, with no sign of forced entry into their San Diego County home.
Three years later, their bodies were found more than 160 km away in a remote area of San Bernardino County. with a mass of 1.5 kg (3 pounds) and a pair of trousers and a child's diaper.
Merritt has created custom fountains for McStay's online water treatment business. Sheriff's prosecutors and investigators said he was in debt and that he had a gambling problem, the Sun reported
Merritt "desperately trying to conceal his tracks after the murders." misled, circled and played the role of the victim, "said Daugherty.
: Another McStay trading partner who, according to Maline, stole $ 7,900 from McStay's account a few days after the family's disappearance.
"The only reason he did it is that he knew that Joseph would not come back," Maline
Authorities said that after the disappearance of the family, the Merritt's cell phone had been found in the area near the graves and a call seeking to close the QuickBooks account of McStay for his water sales business.
But Maline argued that two other phones The calls that removed Merritt from the burial site were not taken into account.
They also claim that Merritt's DNA was discovered on the steering wheel and shifter of the McStay SUV, confiscated near the Mexican border a few days after the family's disappearance. 19659005] Merritt's lawyers say McStay could have transferred the vehicle's DNA after meeting with Merritt, shortly before the family's disappearance. They claim that no part of Merritt's DNA was found on the graves, but that that of other unidentified persons was found
The McStay family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, located approximately 80 km north of San Diego. 19659005] Daugherty stated that three victims had died from head trauma and that one of the boys did not have enough remains to determine how he was killed, the newspaper reported. .
The investigators spoke to Merritt shortly after the family's death. and noticed that Merritt had mentioned them in the past, said Daugherty.
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