For nearly four years, the world looked for the McStays in Mexico, in Canada, in hiding. They were never lost. They were just two and a half miles from home, waiting in the dirt to be found.
When Joseph missed a business meeting and a friend went to check on the house, they found the family’s two dogs in the backyard, desperate for food. Inside, the television was on. The family’s favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz , was still in the DVD player. A bag of popcorn sat half-eaten on the couch. The last transaction on the computer was a search for "How to make a money transfer."
Four lives vanished overnight. For nearly four years, the world believed they ran away. The truth was hiding just 2.5 miles from home.
On February 4, 2010, they simply evaporated. Two Shallow Graves- The McStay Family Murders
There are some cases that feel like riddles wrapped in a nightmare. The disappearance of the McStay family is one of them.
If you were following true crime in 2010, you remember the photos. The untouched bowls of popcorn. The abandoned SUV in a strip mall parking lot. The lingering question: How does a family of four simply vanish into thin air?
But there was no sign of struggle. No blood. No ransom note. The initial investigation was baffling. Because there was no forced entry and no bodies, law enforcement leaned into a strange hypothesis: The McStays had willingly walked away from their lives. For nearly four years, the world looked for
Why two shallow graves? Investigators noted that Summer was buried in one, the boys in another. But Joseph was buried alone, further away, in a third, slightly deeper grave.
Chase was Joseph McStay’s business partner and, most heartbreakingly, the godfather to one of the murdered boys. He was the one who had "discovered" the family missing. He was the one who talked to the media, wiping away tears.
In 2019, Merritt was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder. The prosecution argued he killed the family in a fit of rage over a $21,000 dispute. He beat Joseph and Summer to death with a sledgehammer. The boys, likely woken by the noise, were then killed to eliminate witnesses. While the conviction brought legal closure, the psychic wound remains. When Joseph missed a business meeting and a
The break came from a shocking source:
But forensic accountants noticed a pattern. Immediately after the family vanished, someone began writing checks from Joseph’s business account. Thousands of dollars. The signature? A forgery. The culprit? Chase Merritt.