Trial date ‘solid’ for McStay family murder suspect, defense attorney says
By Joe Nelson | The Sun | August 24, 2017A San Bernardino Superior Court judge on Friday set a Nov. 13 trial date for Charles “Chase” Merritt, charged in the bludgeoning deaths of a San Diego County family of four whose remains were found buried in the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, in 2013.
Merritt, 60, of Homeland, stands accused of the February 2010 beating deaths of Fallbrook residents Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3. He was arrested and charged with the crimes in November 2014, nearly a year after the McStay family’s remains were discovered in San Bernardino County.
Merritt faces the death penalty if convicted.
During a pretrial hearing Friday, Judge Michael A. Smith ticked off a series of new court dates: a trial readiness hearing set for Sept. 21, a motions hearing for Oct. 30, another pretrial hearing for Nov. 9, and jury selection and trial for
Nov. 13.
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http://www.sbsun.com/2017/08/25/defense ... r-suspect/