Merritt Found Guilty In McStay Family Murders

ORANGE COUNTY, CA -- A jury has found Charles "Chase" Merritt guilty of murdering four members of a family that had recently moved from San Clemente to Northern San Diego County.

The McStay family -- consisting of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children: Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3 -- was allegedly killed in their home on Feb. 4, 2010. The family's 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found abandoned four days later in San Ysidro, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Their remains were found in two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert, near Victorville, more than three years after the alleged killings.

Merritt is a former business associate of Joseph McStay, who owned a decorative-fountain company. He has been in custody since November 2014.

Starting Tuesday, the jury is expected to hear evidence to decide whether to recommend death by lethal injection for Merritt, or life in prison.

The verdict was reached last Friday, but was held off by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office until Monday.