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People of California v Charles Merritt
TrueAllele interprets DNA effects from murdered family found in desert
| Crime | In February 2010, Joseph (40) and Summer McStay (43) drove away from their Fallbrook, California home with their two children (3 & 4), never to be seen again. Three years later, their bodies were found buried in shallow graves in the Mojave Desert. Charles Merritt, one of Joseph McStay’s business partners, was arrested a year later. |
| Evidence | Clothing and cords reportedly used to tie up the bodies were recovered from the graves. |
| DNA | Bode Cellmark Forensics developed DNA data from the evidence. |
| Match | The manual methods used by the lab were unable to interpret the limited DNA data. |
| TrueAllele | On the same DNA data, the computer’s analysis statistically excluded defendant Charles Merritt from the evidence. |
| Cybergenetics | On March 10 and 11, 2019, Beatriz Pujols and Dr. Mark Perlin testified at the trial in San Bernardino, CA about the computer’s match statistics for the degraded DNA. |
| Outcome | On June 10, Charles Merritt was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder. On January 21, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Smith sentenced him to death. |
Media
- Where did the McStays go? LA Times
- Jury to deliberate fate of man charged in McStay family's killing NBC San Diego
- McStay murder trial: Man is convicted of killing family and burying their bodies in the Mojave Desert LA Times
- California man guilty of killing family of 4 found in desert graves CBS News
- Charles Merritt gets death penalty for brutal murders of McStay family found buried in desert True Crime Daily