The McStay Family Murders: Part Three

0:00 Speaker 1: Warning, Kind of Murdery contains adult themes, explicit language, and descriptions of violence. It is not suitable for anyone, and we recommend you stop listening now.

0:18 Speaker 2: True crime with a dash of the paranormal, the garish, the strange in the darkly comic. A podcast that's about more than just murder. It's my very own pocket dimension, home to a curated collection of bizarre and compelling stories, the unsolved, the unsettling, and the unbelievable. I cover it all just so long as it's kind of murdery. Hello everyone. If you recognize my voice, it means you've been here before, for which I very much thank you. And if you don't recognize my voice, it means this is your first time here, for which I also very much thank you.

0:56 Speaker 2: I'm Zevan Odelberg and this is Murdery. We're in the middle of a slow burn true life story of mystery and murder, and it's a hell of a story, so I don't want to get in the way. This is part three of the Mixed Day Family Murders, though, if you haven't heard parts one and two yet, go listen to them and then hurry back. We'll save you a seat. If you're all caught up, let's get down to it. Part three of kind of Murderies The Mixday Family Murders starts now. On November eleventh, twenty thirteen, a motorcyclist riding in a remote stretch of the Mohave Desert came across something that did not belong to the landscape.

1:49 Speaker 2: The area lay north of Victorville, not far from Interstate fifteen, but far enough that engine noise fades and the wind carries most of the sound. The ground was hard and pay broken by scrub and scattered rock. In that dirt, the rider saw what appeared to be a human skull. He stopped. He called authorities. Deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department responded. The location was isolated but accessible by dirt road. The initial discovery was small, a skull partially exposed in desert soil, but the scene widened quickly.

2:24 Speaker 2: Deputies secured the area and began a systematic search. Within hours, investigators realized the find was not a single set of remains. Two burial sites were identified. They were shallow, the soil was loose compared to the surrounding terrain. Disturbed and then pressed back down. The graves would later be referred to in reports as Grave A and Grave B. In total, four sets of human remains were recovered. The desert does not preserve in the way one might imagine. Exposure. Temperature, swings, scavengers, and time altered everything.

3:00 Speaker 2: The remains were skeletal, clothing fragments were present, personal effects were limited. The Sheriff's department began the standard process recovery, documentation, and transport to the corner. At that point, the identity of the deceased was unknown. Within days, word of the discovery reached beyond San Bernardino County. The fact that four bodies had been located in shallow graves, including what appeared to be the remains of children, circulated quickly through law enforcement channels in southern California.

3:32 Speaker 2: There were missing persons cases. There were other unresolved files. The desert is vast, and its pervasive isolation makes it a go to dumping ground for murderers. Dental records became central to this discovery. Immediately, the San Bernardino County Corner coordinated with outside agencies to compare available dental charts against the remains. Age estimates were conducted. Forensic anthropologists assessed bone structure, growth plates, and size. The process was methodical. On November fifteenth, twenty thirteen, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon addressed the media.

4:09 Speaker 2: He confirmed that the remains recovered in the desert had been identified as belonging to Joseph McStay, age forty, his wife, Summer mic Stay, age forty three, and their two sons, Johnny, age four and Joseph Junior, age three. The McStay family had been missing since February fourth, twenty ten. For nearly four years, their case had lived in a different category missing persons disappearance, possible voluntary departure, international travel theory, Mexico speculation. The discovery in Victorville ended that ambiguity.

4:44 Speaker 2: The Micstays had not relocated, They had not started over, They had not walked across a border and vanished into another country. They had been killed. Sheriff McMahon stated at the press conference that the cause of death had been determined to be blunt forced trauma. He did not elaborate beyond that description. The investigation, he said, was active and ongoing. He asked for the public's patients and assistants. Family members were notified before the public announcement. Joseph's brother, Michael McStay attended the press conference after confirmation of the identification.

5:18 Speaker 2: He addressed reporters briefly. He said, it gives us courage to know that they're together and that they're in a better place. It's been a tough road. The shift in classification from missing persons to homicide was immediate and formal. San Bernardino County assumed lead investigative authority because the remains were found within its jurisdiction. The San Diego Sheriff's Department, which had handled the original disappearance in Falbrook, would coordinate and provide records, but the case was now anchored in the Mojave Desert.

5:49 Speaker 2: The original file from twenty ten was reopened in full. The Fallbrook house on Avocado Lane, which had once been processed as a possible site of voluntary departure, was now reinterpret through a different lens, a homicidal lens. The Azuzu trooper found near the Sanyasidra border in February twenty ten would be reviewed again. The surveillance footage from the pedestrian crossing would be revisited. The phone records from February four, twenty ten would be pulled back out and examined. With the knowledge that the family had been dead since that date, the investigation's frame changed fundamentally in a single week.

6:26 Speaker 2: Blunt force trauma indicated direct physical violence. The burial location, more than one hundred miles from the Mixed Day home, suggested transportation. The presence of two graves, not one, suggested either more than one perpetrator or a methodical process, a process undertaken by a killer determined to hide the bodies. During recovery of the remains, investigators also located a three pound sledge hammer buried at the site. It was recovered as evidence. It would later be described by prosecutors as the suspected murder weapon.

7:00 Speaker 2: At this stage, it was cataloged and sent for forensic testing. The extension cord found around Joseph mcstay's neck was documented. Injuries to Summer Mixtay, including a fractured jaw, were noted in reports. Four year old Johnny was determined to have suffered multiple blows to the head. The cause of death for Joseph Junior was listed as blunt force trauma, though the skeletal remains did not allow for the same specificity. These were not public details immediately, but they entered the case file as part of the forensic record.

7:32 Speaker 2: Media coverage intensified. The mix Stad disappearance had drawn national attention in twenty ten because of the surveillance footage near the Mexico border and the unusual circumstances of their vanishing. Now in twenty thirteen, the case returned to the headlines under a different description, A family of four missing for years found buried in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert. The transformation of the case was not emotional. Inside the sheriff's apartment, it was procedural. Detectives who had previously worked property crimes and narcotics were reassigned to assist homicide investigators.

8:09 Speaker 2: Evidence from twenty ten was requested from San Diego County. Digital archives were reopened, search warrant affidavits were reviewed. The timeline of February fourth, twenty ten, calls, texts, credit card activity, vehicle movement was printed and reassembled. The Mexico theory, once treated as plausible, became secondary worse than secondary. Really, it had been a distraction, a red herring the means by which justice was so long delayed. The border footage from February eighth, twenty ten, showing a family of four walking into Mexico had been interpreted for years as a potential explanation.

8:47 Speaker 2: Now investigators had to ask whether the footage had ever depicted the Mix Days at all. Joseph's father, Patrick McStay, had publicly stated in twenty ten that he did not believe the family in the video was his. I said right up front the first time I saw it, it wasn't them, he had said. That assessment now carried more weight. The credit card purchase made in Vista on February fourth, twenty five, minutes after Summer Mixday placed a call regarding herbal medicine, was revisited. Who had made that purchase?

9:18 Speaker 2: Was it Summer? Was it someone else using her card? The eight twenty eight phone call from Joseph mcstay's cell phone to Charles Chase Merritt on February fourth, twenty ten was revisited. The call had gone unanswered. At the time, it had been described as an ordinary mist call. With the identification of the remains, it became something else. The last outgoing call placed from Joseph's phone. Investigators did not yet draw conclusions publicly, but the tone of the case was forever shifted. The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department confirmed that a homicide investigation was under way.

9:55 Speaker 2: They did not name suspects. They did not release theories. They requested that anyone with information contact investigators behind the scenes. The reclassification changed everything. Missing persons cases often operate under uncertainty. Homicide cases operate under assumption a crime occurred, someone committed it, evidence therefore must exist. Four years of ambiguity were replaced with a singular question. Who killed the mic Stay family and transported their bodies into the desert. By the end of November twenty thirteen, the identification was complete, the case file was unified, and the investigative direction had altered permanently.

10:35 Speaker 2: The Mixtays were no longer a family who had disappeared. They were victims of homicide. The burial site lay an open desert north of Victorville, far enough from residential areas that a person could stand at the edge of the graves and see nothing but scrub dirt and horizon. Interstate fifteen was miles away, close enough that the corridor connected Los Angeles to Las Vegas, but distant enough that traffic noise did not reach the site. Investigators marked two separate depressions in the ground. They would later refer to them in reports as Grave A and Grave B. The soil in that region is compacted and hard layered with sand and rock.

11:13 Speaker 2: Digging even in a shallow grave requires effort. The earth did not give easily. Deputies documented the disturbed ground and measured the depth. The graves were not deep. They were sufficient to conceal the bodies from casual view, but not engineered for permanence. Grave A contained the remains of Joseph Summer and Johnny. The bodies had been placed together. Grave B contained the remains of Joseph Junior alone, a short distance away. The separation was noted in official diagrams. Photographs were taken before and during excavation.

11:46 Speaker 2: Evidence markers were placed carefully around the perimeter as the forensic team worked. Clothing fragments were recovered along with skeletal remains. A child's pants and diaper were documented among the items at the site. Near one of the graves partially buried in the same soil, deputies located a three pound sledge hammer. It was collected, bagged, and logged into evidence. The hammer showed signs of exposure consistent with time in the desert. The remains were transported to the San Bernardino County Coroner for further examination.

12:18 Speaker 2: Autopsies were conducted under conditions limited by the state of decomposition. Even so, investigators were able to determine that the cause of death for Joseph in Summer Mixed Day, as well as their son Johnny, was blunt force trauma. Fractures to the skull were documented. Joseph was also found with an extension cord around his neck. Summer's jaw was fractured. Four year old Janni had sustained multiple blows to the head. For Joseph Junior, the cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, though the exact mechanism could not be determined with the same degree of precision.

12:51 Speaker 2: The placement of the bodies, the shallow depth of the graves in the presence of a potential murder weapon at the site became considerations. Detectives documented tire tracks in the vicinity, though desert, wind and time had degraded the impressions. They canvassed the area for any additional objects, footprints, or discarded items that might connect the site to a vehicle or individual. The location itself was examined for significance. It was not a random roadside pull out. It required leaving the paved highway and traveling into a sparsely populated area.

13:24 Speaker 2: Investigators considered access routes, visibility from nearby roads, and the likelihood of witnesses. No immediate reports surfaced of suspicious activity in the area. In early February twenty ten, the desert had yielded four bodies and a hammer. The rest remained unanswered. Files were requested immediately. Detectives in Victorville asked for the complete case archive from San Diego County, original reports, welfare check documentation, search warrant affidavits, photographs from the Fallbrook residents, digital evidence logs, and interview transcripts.

13:59 Speaker 2: The original investigative decisions made in February twenty ten were no longer being reviewed as procedural responses to a disappearance. They were being re examined as potential early stages of a merger case. The physical evidence collected in twenty ten was inventoried and where possible retested. The white nineteen ninety six A Zuzu trooper that had been found near the Sanya Sidra border in February twenty ten was re evaluated. With the knowledge that the family had not left voluntarily. Detectives revisited the vehicle's chain of custody and the forensic processing that had been conducted at the time.

14:34 Speaker 2: Photographs of the interior were reviewed. Reports describing the condition of the car seats, the absence of luggage, and the placement of personal items were pulled from storage and re read in full. The Fallbrook home on Avocado Vista Lane also returned to focus in twenty ten. Deputies responding to the welfare check had not found signs of forced injury homicide. Detectives now asked a different set of questions. Was anything in the house incann assistant with the family's known habits? Had any detail been overlooked because the working assumption at the time was that the Micdays might have traveled to Mexico.

15:09 Speaker 2: Detective Troy Dugal of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, who had handled the missing persons case in twenty ten, had written in one of his affidavits that he found no evidence of foul play inside the residents. He later testified. I still state that to this moment that statement recorded during trial years later would reflect his position at the time. In late twenty thirteen, however, San Bernardino investigators were not evaluating his conclusion as an error. They were evaluating it as a data point within a new framework.

15:40 Speaker 2: The Mexico theory, which had been publicly advanced and later reinforced by surveillance footage of a family walking across the Sanya Sidra Port of Injury on February eighth, twenty ten, was no longer treated as a leading explanation. It was reclassified as a lead that had failed to resolve the disappearance. San Bernardino detectives requested listed full access to the surveillance video. They examined still frames in compared clothing, posture, and gait to known photographs of the Mixday family.

16:09 Speaker 2: The footage had never provided positive identification. It had been described at the time as a possible match. Investigators also coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had joined the case in twenty ten, when the possibility of international travel had emerged. The FBI's involvement had brought resources across the border, including inquiries into Mexico and review of travel documentation. Now the FBI's file was folded back into the homicide case, communication between counties was formalized through case meetings.

16:42 Speaker 2: Detectives from San Bernardino traveled to San Diego to meet with original investigators. They walked through the timeline from February four, twenty ten, hour by hour. They reviewed the two eleven PM home phone call placed by Summer mixtay regarding herbal medicine. They examined the eight twenty eight pm outgoing call from Joseph mcstay's phone to Charles Chase Merritt. They revisited the use of Summer's credit card at a store in Vista, approximately twenty five minutes after her phone call. Every piece of evidence that had once existed in isolation was now examined in aggregate.

17:16 Speaker 2: The burial site's distance from Fallbrook more than one hundred miles, introduced logistical questions. Detectives mapped potential routes between the mix stay home and the Victorville Desert location. They considered travel time, fuel stops, and the possibility of surveillance cameras along the interstate. Records from toll booths and traffic cameras were reviewed where available. They examined whether the burial site lay in proximity to any individual connected to the family. Search warrants were drafted quietly.

17:46 Speaker 2: Subpoenas were prepared for financial records, phone data, and business accounts. Investigators sought full access to Joseph mcstay's company records, including earth inspired products and any related ventures. Bank statements were re quested for multiple years preceding the disappearance. Credit reports were obtained Publicly, The Sheriff's department remained measured. Officials confirmed that the case was active and the detectives were pursuing all leads. They did not name suspects. They did not speculate on motive.

18:16 Speaker 2: They emphasized that the transition from missing persons to homicide altered the trajectory of the investigation. Privately, the effect was immediate. Homicide investigators operate with an assumption that evidence, however faint, exists somewhere within the record. Four years had passed, but documents endure, e mails persist, financial transactions leave trails, phone tower's log connections. The mix Stay case dormant for a period of time was now under systemic re examination by a different team with a different mandate.

18:48 Speaker 2: By the end of November twenty thirteen, the investigation had reconstituted under San Bernardino County authority. The graves had been processed, the remains identified, the cause of death documented, the fire ales reopened. Detectives began working through the record not as a question of where the family had gone, but as a question of who had taken them there. With the desert scene processed and jurisdiction firmly in San Bernardino County, investigators turned their attention back to Falbrook.

19:17 Speaker 2: The house on Avocado Vista Lane had not been preserved as a crime scene in twenty ten. At the time of the disappearance. Deputies responding to the welfare check saw no signs of forced jury and no visible evidence of violence. The working assumption had been that the family might have left voluntarily. As a result, the home had not been sealed immediately under homicide protocols. Eleven days after the family was last heard from, Joseph's brother, Michael McStay entered the residence through an open window.

19:44 Speaker 2: He later said he had waited because he did not want to overreact and believed the family might have been on vacation. Inside, he found the dogs in the back yard, unfed and food left out in the kitchen. He contacted authorities it would take several days to obtain the warrants necessary to conduct a full forensic search. During that window, the house was not secured in the way a homicide scene would have been. Friends and family moved in and out. Joseph's mother, Susan Blake, went inside and cleaned portions of the kitchen, discarding food that had begun to rot.

20:14 Speaker 2: She later said the smell was overwhelming. Michael removed a computer and an SD card from the home, stating that he did so with investigator's permission. Those actions were not illegal. At the time, the house was not classified as a crime scene, but with the discovery of the graves in twenty thirteen, detectives had to evaluate whether any physical evidence that might have existed inside the residence in February twenty ten had been altered or destroyed inadvertently, or perhaps otherwise. Search warrant affidavits from twenty ten were reviewed in detail.

20:47 Speaker 2: In one affidavit, San Diego Sheriff Homicide Detective Troy Dougal wrote that he found no evidence of foul play inside the home. During later testimony, he would say I still state that to this moment, his assessment was based on what he observed at the time. No visible blood, no signs of struggle, no forced injury. San Bernardino investigators were not second guessing that conclusion without cause. They were instead asking whether trace evidence might have existed that was not visible to the naked eye, and whether subsequent foot traffic in the home could have compromised its preservation.

21:20 Speaker 2: An inventory list from February nineteenth, twenty ten documented items seized from the house computers, hard drives, cell phones, cameras, power cords, documents, and letters. There was no documentation indicating the investigator's recovered fingerprints, bloodstains, or other forensic evidence during the search. With the case now a confirmed homicide, San Bernardino County detectives sought to reconstruct the condition of the residents as precisely as possible. Photographs taken during the original search were enlarged and re examined.

21:51 Speaker 2: Rooms were reviewed for inconsistencies, the location of furniture, the presence of open suitcases with folded clothing, and the tall land lamp found lying on the floor were all reassessed. Detectives revisited the question of forced injury. The home showed no signs of a break in in twenty ten, doors and windows appeared intact. The absence of forced injury suggested either that the family had left willingly or that whoever entered had done so with access. Investigators also examined the timeline of access after February fourth, who had keys, who had entered the home before the warrants were obtained, who had moved items?

22:28 Speaker 2: Each name was documented. Interviews were conducted again with family members to clarify their movements in the days following the disappearance. The goal was not to assign blame for the condition of the house. The goal was to understand whether the physical scene in Falbrook had ever contained evidence of violence, and if so, whether it had been lost before the case was treated as a homicide. The re examination did not immediately produce a revelation. There was still no confirmed blood evidence documented at the residence.

22:57 Speaker 2: No clear sign of struggle had been photographed, but investigators now approached the house with a different premise. The mix days had been killed on or around February four, twenty ten, The question was whether the killings had occurred inside the house or somewhere else. If murders had taken place in the residence, trace evidence might have remained even years later. San Bernardino detective sought additional warrants in twenty fourteen to re enter the home. That search warrant would remain sealed.

23:26 Speaker 2: The contents of what was recovered during that later search were not immediately disclosed. What was clear by the end of this renewed review was that the original missing persons investigation had operated under assumptions that no longer applied. The home in Falbrook was no longer just the last place the McStay family had been seen. It was now a potential primary crime scene. Whether it had been treated as such in time to help catch the Micsday's killer would become part of the broader examination of the case.

23:56 Speaker 2: When San Bernardino County detectives began pulling financial records again, they were not looking for a single anomaly. They were reconstructing an ecosystem business accounts, personal accounts, vendors, payroll, incoming payments, outgoing checks. What had once been reviewed in twenty ten as part of a disappearance inquiry was now re examined as potential motive leverage or concealment. Joseph mcsday operated Earth Inspired Products, an online decorative fountain company. The business had a digital footprint and a physical workflow.

24:29 Speaker 2: Orders were processed online. Custom fabrication work was outsourced to contractors. Payments moved through business accounts tied to Joseph. Investigator's subpoenaed bank statements covering the months leading up to February twenty ten and the weeks immediately after. They reviewed deposits, withdraws and check images. They examined whether any unusual transactions occurred around the date of disappearance. One line of scrutiny involved checks issued through Joseph's quick Books accounting system.

24:58 Speaker 2: During trial years later, San Bernardino County Detective Dan Hankey testified that when investigators examined metadata inside the Quickbook's account, they found that certain checks dated February four, twenty ten, had not actually been created on that date. The digital time stamp indicated they were generated days later and backdated. At this stage in the investigation, detectives were not publicly disclosing conclusions. They were isolating injuries and identifying patterns. They examined who had access to Joseph's accounting software, who knew log incredentials, and who had authority to generate vendor payments.

25:38 Speaker 2: Prosecutors would later allege that nine checks totaling nearly fifteen thousand dollars were written to either a business associate or vendors connected to Joseph shortly after the mixtays disappeared. Investigators traced those payments and compared them against outstanding debts and invoices. They also pulled email correspondence between Joseph and individuals connected to his business. Among the communications was an email dated February first, twenty ten, three days before the disappearance, in which Joseph referenced that a business associate owed him nearly forty three thousand dollars.

26:19 Speaker 2: That figure would later surface repeatedly during trial. As part of the prosecution's theory of financial motive, Detectives examined not only whether money was owed, but whether there were active disputes, missed deadlines, or strained partnerships. They requested documentation related to a potential large scale deal Joseph was reportedly negotiating won his father, Patrick McStay later described as being worth nine million dollars. The existence and structure of that deal were reviewed to determine whether it had created tension with any collaborators.

26:53 Speaker 2: Dan Cavanagh, who managed aspects of the company's website and search engine optimization, came under scrutiny in connection with ownership claims after Joseph's disappearance. Kavanaugh maintained that he and Joseph had shared ownership from the beginning. Patrick mcstade disputed that claim, publicly stating he owned nothing of any part or any share of anything. Investigators obtained in corporation documents, partnership agreements, and tax filings to verify who held legal ownership of Earth inspired products and any affiliate adventures.

27:27 Speaker 2: They also examined what happened to the business after February twenty ten, who controlled it, who profited from it, and who authorized changes parallel to the business. Audit detectives reviewed personal financial records for Joseph and Summer. They examined credit card statements, mortgage payments, and household expenses. They looked for signs of financial distress, secret withdrawals, or sudden liquidation of assets. No large scale depletion of funds appeared in the immediate days after the disappearance.

27:57 Speaker 2: Summer's credit card transaction in Vista on February fourth remained an unresolved data point. Investigators sought surveillance footage from the store if it still existed, though years had passed. They asked whether receipts, merchant logs, or archived data might identify who physically used the card. Phone records were cross referenced with financial activity. Detectives charted the eight twenty eight pm call from Joseph's phone to a business associate. They identified subsequent activity from devices connected to the company.

28:28 Speaker 2: They analyzed whether attempts had been made to alter or delete financial records. One particularly notable detail emerged in connections with a call to Quickbook's customer service. A representative later told investigators that he remembered a man claiming to be Joseph McStay who wanted to completely delete his account and all associated information. The caller did not have the required pass code, and the request was denied. Phone records later indicated that the number used to contact customer service did not belong to Joseph Stay.

29:00 Speaker 2: That detail would become central later. At this stage, it was logged as an anomaly, requiring further corroboration. The re examination of digital evidence also included the computer that had been removed from the Mixtay home in February twenty ten. Investigators sought to determine whether its hard drive had been altered, wiped, or accessed after the disappearance. They documented file creation dates, log in activity, and email drafts if someone had searched for information about traveling to Mexico in the week prior to the disappearance.

29:33 Speaker 2: As earlier reports indicated, detectives wanted to know who had been logged in at the time. Throughout this financial and digital audit, investigators avoided narrowing publicly to a single theory. The presence of disputed debts, backdated checks, contested ownership, and attempted account deletion did not by itself establish guilt. It established complexity. By the end of this phase of review, detectives had reconstr structed a clearer financial picture of Joseph Micday's business and the individuals connected to it.

30:06 Speaker 2: They had identified discrepancies in accounting, time stamps, unresolved debts, and claims of shared ownership. They had confirmed that someone attempted to erase digital financial records shortly after the mix Day's disappearance. What those elements meant in the broader timeline remained under evaluation, but the business side of Joseph's life, once treated as background, was now part of the homicide file. In reassembling February four, twenty ten, investigators laid out the day in increments.

30:38 Speaker 2: They started with the confirmed communications. Summer mix Day spoke with her sister that morning and made plans to visit her and her newborn child. Joseph left the house around noon for a meeting in Rancho Cucamonga. That meeting was later confirmed by both parties. It lasted a couple of hours. At two eleven PM, a call was placed from the mix Stay home regarding the purchase of herban Um medicine. Financial records show that twenty five minutes later, Summer's credit card was used at a store in Vista, approximately twenty minutes from the Fallbrook residence.

31:09 Speaker 2: Whether Summer herself made that purchase was never definitively established. At four twenty five PM, an outgoing call was placed from the home phone to Joseph's cell phone. The cell phone pinged off a Fallbrook tower between five pm and five forty seven pm, text messages were exchanged between Joseph and Summer. Those messages were the last confirmed communications between them. At seven forty seven pm, a neighbour's security camera captured the lower portion of a vehicle leaving the cul de sac on Avocado Vista Lane.

31:40 Speaker 2: The footage did not show the driver or passengers, Only the lower edge of the vehicle was visible in frame. Years later, prosecutors in defense would dispute the identity of that vehicle. At this stage in the renewed investigation, detectives simply marked it as the last known outbound vehicle movement from the street. At eight twenty eight pm, Joseph mcstay's phone placed an outgoing call to Charles Chase Merit. Merritt later told CNN that he saw the call come in but did not answer it. I had a bunch of other things I was doing, and I was just tired, he said.

32:12 Speaker 2: He added, of course I regret not picking up the phone. That a twenty eight phone call was the final outgoing call from Joseph's phone. After that point, there was no further phone activity, internet usage, bank transactions, or confirmed credit card purchases linked directly to Joseph or Summer. Four days later, on February eight, twenty ten, the family's white Isuzu Trooper was discovered parked in a lot in Sanya Sidro. The vehicle had not yet been reported stolen or missing. It was towed at approximately eleven PM after sitting unattended.

32:44 Speaker 2: Security guards later told investigators that it may have been parked there sometime between five thirty PM and seven pm. The trooper contained the children's car seats. There was no luggage documented inside. There was no indication at the time that the vehicle had been forced open. Its presence at the border became one of the central pillars of the Mexico theory that would shape the early years of the case. Surveillance footage from the pedestrian crossing, dated February eighth, around seven p m showed a family of four walking into Mexico.

33:14 Speaker 2: Authorities said the group matched the mix Stay family's description. Each adult was holding the hand of a child. The figures in the video appeared to be walking calmly. There was no visible distress. The footage was grainy and did not provide positive identification. Joseph's father, Patrick said publicly I said right up front, the first time I saw it, it wasn't them. Joseph's mother, Susan Blake, initially said that she thought perhaps they had taken off for Mexico, but the disagreement within the family over the footage underscored its ambiguity with the identification of the remains.

33:48 Speaker 2: In twenty thirteen, investigators revisited the border time line. They compared time stamps between the surveillance video and the estimated parking window of the trooper. They examined whether the vehicle's presence at Sanya Cedro was consistent with the seven forty seven pm departure from the Fallbrook cul de Sac on February fourth, or whether it required separate travel. Days later, cell tower data was reviewed again, not to pinpoint precise locations, but to establish general movement. FBI Special Agent Kevin Bowles would later testify that cell data can provide a general idea of where a phone was located, but that it's not very precise.

34:26 Speaker 2: Detectives reconstructed which towers Joseph's phone connected to on February fourth, and whether the phone showed any activity on February fifth or sixth. The question investigators faced in reconstructing this timeline was not simply when the Mixed Days disappeared. It was whether the events of February fourth and February eighth were connected by the family's own actions or by someone else's. If the family had driven to Saniya Cedro themselves, there would be a continuous chain of evidence from Fallbrook to the border.

34:57 Speaker 2: If the vehicle had been transported and staged there a after February fourth, that would suggest intervention. The trooper's chain of custody from the moment it was towed in twenty ten was re examined. Detectives reviewed who processed it, what was photographed, and what evidence was collected at the time. They noted the absence of luggage and the intact car seats as fixed points in the record. By the time investigators completed this renewed timeline review, February fourth stood as the last confirmed day of contact with the mix Day family.

35:29 Speaker 2: February eighth stood as the day their vehicle appeared at the border. Between those two days lay a gap that no single piece of data, no single piece of evidence or clue, could close. The timeline did not yet answer who was responsible. It did, however, establish the sequence that any explanation would have to account for afternoon communications, evening departure from the cul de Sac, an unanswered eight twenty eight pm phone call, and a vehicle parked near the Mexican border four days later. By early twenty fourteen, investigators began mapping the people who had been inside the Mix Day's orbit in the months before February twenty ten, not as a list of villains, but as proximity, access, dispute, emotion, money history.

36:17 Speaker 2: They started with the obvious question who in the Mixed Day's orbit had motive, opportunity or unresolved conflict. The first place detectives looked was Summer mix Day's world. Summer mix Day's life before Joseph included a serious relationship with another man. The relationship had ended before her marriage, but as is often the case with love, its history remained part of her story. Investigators reviewed communications between them. One e mail, sent months before the disappearance contained a declaration of enduring affection.

36:55 Speaker 2: The tone was emotional, it was not violent, It did not threaten, but it minded detectives that unfinished attachments sometimes linger beneath the surface of apparently settled lives. The former boyfriend was interviewed. His whereabouts during early February twenty ten were verified. Employment records and witness statements placed him away from Falbrook during the critical period. There was no evidence tying him to the home, the vehicle, or the desert. Still, his name remained in the file because proximity once existed.

37:26 Speaker 2: Investigators do not remove a name because it feels unlikely. They remove it when it is disproven. Beyond romantic history, detectives examined Summer's professional and social circles. She had been working in real estate. That meant clients open houses, negotiations, and occasionally disputes. Real estate transactions can generate friction, especially when deals fall apart or commissions are contested. Investigators reviewed her recent listings, ESCRO documents, and client communications. They searched for conflicts that escalated beyond routine frustration.

38:01 Speaker 2: None surfaced his credible threats. Family dynamics were also reviewed. Summer had spoken to her sister the morning of February fourth, Plans had been discussed for a visit. The tone of that conversation, as described by her sister, was normal, no alarm, no urgency, no coded language. Detectives listened carefully for nuance and recollections. They found none that pointed towards fear. From there, the lens widened to Joseph's professional world. Chase Merritt was part of that world. A fabricator by trade, he worked closely with Joseph on custom water features.

38:36 Speaker 2: Their collaboration required regular meetings, design adjustments, and material coordination. On February fourth, they met for luncheon Rancho Cucamonga. Phone records show they spoke multiple times that day. That frequency was consistent with their working relationship. It was not unusual for them to exchange calls about specifications or payments. Merrit was interviewed in the early stages of the disappearance, described the lunch meeting in detail. He described the miscall at a twenty eight PM.

39:04 Speaker 2: He stated publicly that he regretted not answering at that stage of the investigation. Those details placed him in Joseph's timeline, but did not place him in the home or the desert. Proximity in communication is not the same as proximity to violence. Investigators examined the business structure between the two men. Merit had access to fabrication designs and project timelines. He would have known what builds were pending and which clients were waiting on delivery. That knowledge could create tension if payments were delayed or expectations were unmet, but business disagreements are common in contract or relationships.

39:40 Speaker 2: Detectives looked for documented disputes, emails expressing anger, threats of termination, demands for repayment. They cataloged what they found, but they didn't draw any conclusions Prematurely. Joseph's earlier marriage introduced another figure into the review, his ex wife's husband. The man's relationship with Joseph had been strained at times. Any history of threats or confrontation would require documentation. Investigators sought statements from both sides. They reviewed whether any protective orders had been filed, whether police had been called to mediate disputes, whether financial disagreements existed over custody or support.

40:19 Speaker 2: Records did not reveal active litigation or recent escalation. The ex wife's husband was interviewed. His alibi during the key time frame was examined, as with every name. Detective's cross check, travel work, and phone data. No evidence surface tying him physically to Fallbrook on the night of February fourth, But like the others. He remained in the universe of possibility until ruled out through verification. Joseph's business itself created a broader suspect field. Earth inspired products operated online, which meant administrative control over website access and digital marketing.

40:55 Speaker 2: One individual associated with that aspect of the business was Dan Kavanaugh. His role involved search optimization and web presence management. In the years leading up to twenty ten, the company's visibility online had grown significantly. Kavanaugh's location during early February twenty ten was reported to be Hawaii. He had publicly stated that he was there for an extended period before Joseph disappeared. Travel documentation examined by reporters suggest that his claim was consistent with airline and lodging records.

41:26 Speaker 2: Physical absence, however, did not eliminate digital connection. Investigators examined log in histories and access privileges tied to company systems. Kavanaugh was interviewed. Detectives reviewed communications between him and Joseph in the weeks before February fourth. They analyzed the volume and tone of exchanges. Were their disputes, were their financial disagreements, were their abrupt changes in communication? The answers were not immediately conclusive. Business partners argue they also collaborate.

41:58 Speaker 2: Distinguishing bead between normal friction and motive requires pattern recognition. Other contractors and vendors were questioned. Who had keys to the house, who had access to vehicles, who knew the family's schedule. Detectives reconstructed February fourth, hour by hour. They reviewed surveillance footage from nearby homes. They cataloged vehicle traffic entering and leaving the cul de sac. They examined delivery records and service appointments. Every person with routine access was identified and interviewed.

42:30 Speaker 2: Joseph's brother, Michael, entered the home on February thirteenth through an open window after deputies had conducted a welfare check days earlier. He later said he removed a computer and an SD card because he believed they might contain clues to the family's whereabouts. He stated publicly that he believed he had law enforcement's permission to retrieve them. Investigators documented what was taken and when any removal of property from a potential crime scene invites scrutiny, even if done with good abstentions.

43:00 Speaker 2: Detectives had to account for a chain of custody and possible loss of digital evidence. As detectives layered these names against financial records and phone logs, they focused increasingly on access rather than personality. Who could move money, who could log into accounts, who could alter digital records. The desert had established homicide, the house had yielded no visible signs of struggle. That absence suggested either a controlled departure or a carefully managed scene. In reviewing system access, investigators noted overlapping privileges, more than one person associated with the business had the technical ability to view or modify financial information.

43:44 Speaker 2: That fact did not implicate anyone directly, but it did establish possibility. In complex financial systems, authority is often shared for efficiency. Detectives needed to determine whether that authority had been misused. The suspect universe did not collapse neatly. It expanded. Summer's past relationship was examined and largely discounted through alibi confirmation. Professional contacts were reviewed and cataloged. Merritt's proximity on February fourth was documented, but not yet weighted.

44:15 Speaker 2: The ex wife's husband's history was scrutinized, without conclusive evidence of escalation. Kavanaugh's digital role was logged and preserved for further analysis. By the time investigators closed this phase of review, they had not identified a singular suspect. Instead, they had identified intersecting points of control. Control over time, control over access, control over information. The investigation was beginning to shift from who was physically present to who understood the architecture of Joseph mcstay's life.

44:49 Speaker 2: Names began appearing in more than one category. Business relationships overlapped with personal familiarity. Digital access overlapped with financial authority. The investigation's next phase would require narrowing those overlaps carefully, methodically, and without assumption. For now, the file remained open across multiple fronts. Each name carried history, each connection carried context, and each context would need to withstand the weight of scrutiny. As detectives moved forward, the Mojave Desert had revealed the crime.

45:23 Speaker 2: The suspect pool would reveal the investigations direction. And if you've enjoyed this examination of the case so far, then please join me next Thursday, February twelfth for Part four of the Mixtay Family Murders. And hey, if you've been enjoying the show, Please tell your friends, tell your family, tell random acquaintances. Anyone you know who likes a true crime podcast, I sure would appreciate it. Until next time, I'm Zevan Odelberg and this has been kind of murdery.

46:00 Speaker 1: If you like the show, please subscribe, review and tell your friends. You can find us on social media at Kinamurdery or email at Kinomurderie at gmail dot com