On the night of December 6, 1991, the Northcross shopping center in Austin, Texas was closing down the way it always did. The parking lot lights hummed. The storefronts dimmed one by one. Cars pulled out in slow arcs, headlights sweeping across brick and glass before turning toward Burnet Road. Inside the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” shop, the lights were still on...

Sources: 
https://time.com/7321492/yogurt-shop-murders-suspect/
https://people.com/austin-police-significant-breakthrough-murders-4-teen-girls-yogurt-shop-new-suspect-34-years-later-11820020?
https://www.statesman.com/news/local/article/archives-no-dna-match-yogurt-shop-case-21069666.php?
https://allthatsinteresting.com/austin-yogurt-shop-murders
https://allthatsinteresting.com/robert-eugene-brashers


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The courtroom in San Bernardino was built for volume meaning physical space, not raised voices. High ceilings. Pale walls. Wood benches polished by decades of restless hands. By the time opening statements began, it held a different kind of pressure — not noise, but compression. Reporters filled the rear rows. Family members took seats in clusters that did not intermingle. The defendant sat at the defense table in a suit that fit correctly, hands folded, posture still. The state went first...

Sources:
https://coronadotimes.com/event/down-to-the-bone-caitlin-rother-and-the-mcstay-family-murders/
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-murder-case/509-5297be95-2f41-4ce7-931e-8c3dc98e0918
https://allthatsinteresting.com/mcstay-family-murders
https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/missing-mcstay-family-cross-mexico/story?id=10042816
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/mcstay-family-murder-trial-charles-merritt-closing-arguments-jury/159073/
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-deaths-20190120-story.html
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://abc7.com/post/mcstay-murders-merritt-attorneys-poke-holes-in-timeline/5190475/
https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/justice/mcstay-case-five-questions
https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/investigation-discovery/go-inside-controversial-and-shocking-trial-charles-chase-merritt-mcstay-family

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It started with the calendar. February 4, 2010. Detectives rebuilt the day again, not from the perspective of web traffic or corporate filings, but from physical movement. Joseph’s schedule. His meetings. His calls. His last confirmed face-to-face interactions...Almost four years after the Joseph and his family were murdered, authorities finally arrest their alleged killer...

Sources: 
https://coronadotimes.com/event/down-to-the-bone-caitlin-rother-and-the-mcstay-family-murders/
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-murder-case/509-5297be95-2f41-4ce7-931e-8c3dc98e0918
https://allthatsinteresting.com/mcstay-family-murders
https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/missing-mcstay-family-cross-mexico/story?id=10042816
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/mcstay-family-murder-trial-charles-merritt-closing-arguments-jury/159073/
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-deaths-20190120-story.html
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://abc7.com/post/mcstay-murders-merritt-attorneys-poke-holes-in-timeline/5190475/
https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/justice/mcstay-case-five-questions
https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/investigation-discovery/go-inside-controversial-and-shocking-trial-charles-chase-merritt-mcstay-family

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On November 11, 2013, a motorcyclist riding in a remote stretch of the Mojave Desert came across something that did not belong to the landscape. The area lay north of Victorville, not far from Interstate 15 but far enough that engine noise fades and the wind carries most of the sound. The ground was hard and pale, 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. 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.  On November 15, 2013, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon addressed the media. He confirmed that the remains recovered in the desert had been identified as belonging to Joseph McStay, age 40; his wife, Summer McStay, age 43; and their two sons, Gianni, age 4, and Joseph Jr., age 3. The McStay family had been missing since February 4, 2010. For nearly four years, their case had lived in a different category — disappearance, possible voluntary departure, international travel theory, Mexico speculation. The discovery in Victorville ended that ambiguity. The McStays had not relocated. They had not started over. They had not walked across a border and vanished into another country. They had been killed.

Sources: 
https://coronadotimes.com/event/down-to-the-bone-caitlin-rother-and-the-mcstay-family-murders/
https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-murder-case/509-5297be95-2f41-4ce7-931e-8c3dc98e0918
https://allthatsinteresting.com/mcstay-family-murders
https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/missing-mcstay-family-cross-mexico/story?id=10042816
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/mcstay-family-murder-trial-charles-merritt-closing-arguments-jury/159073/
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-deaths-20190120-story.html
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/
https://abc7.com/post/mcstay-murders-merritt-attorneys-poke-holes-in-timeline/5190475/
https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/01/justice/mcstay-case-five-questions
https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/investigation-discovery/go-inside-controversial-and-shocking-trial-charles-chase-merritt-mcstay-family



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It did not happen all at once. There was no siren moment, no dramatic escalation, no declaration that something terrible had occurred. The transition from concern to action came through a phone call, logged like thousands of others, handled by a department accustomed to uncertainty and delay. The intake process required structure. A deputy recorded biographical details. Ages. Vehicles. Occupations. Known habits. There were questions designed to determine urgency: any history of violence, any threats, any medical conditions, any known disputes. The answers, as given, did not demand escalation. There was no immediate evidence of danger. No broken windows. No frantic voicemail. No witness claiming distress. What existed was absence. Absence is difficult to categorize.  But the McStays were missing...

Sources: 
https://coronadotimes.com/event/down-to-the-bone-caitlin-rother-and-the-mcstay-family-murders/

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-murder-case/509-5297be95-2f41-4ce7-931e-8c3dc98e0918

https://allthatsinteresting.com/mcstay-family-murders

https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/missing-mcstay-family-cross-mexico/story?id=10042816

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/mcstay-family-murder-trial-charles-merritt-closing-arguments-jury/159073/


https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-deaths-20190120-story.html

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kinda-murdery--5496890/support.

The 3400 block of Avocado Vista Lane, Fallbrook, California. The street ends in a cul-de-sac and the houses face the curve. The McStay house sits on that turn. Two stories. Light tan stucco. A white two-car garage door dominating the front, clean enough to catch the daylight when the sun hits it. Above the garage, a tall arched window rises into the second floor. Off to the side, another upstairs window is framed by dark shutters. The front door sits recessed on the right beneath a small covered porch, set back from the driveway and partly hidden by the angle of the front wall. A concrete driveway slopes up to the garage. A concrete walkway runs from the driveway to the porch. The lawn is green and trimmed. A slender pale-barked tree stands near the walkway. Low plants sit along the base of the porch.  From the exterior it's an idyllic Southern California home; inside an idyllic Southern California family...WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

Sources: 
https://coronadotimes.com/event/down-to-the-bone-caitlin-rother-and-the-mcstay-family-murders/

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/judge-unseals-court-records-in-mcstay-murder-case/509-5297be95-2f41-4ce7-931e-8c3dc98e0918

https://allthatsinteresting.com/mcstay-family-murders

https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/missing-mcstay-family-cross-mexico/story?id=10042816

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/mcstay-family-murder-trial-charles-merritt-closing-arguments-jury/159073/


https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mcstay-family-deaths-20190120-story.html

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/

https://www.sbsun.com/2019/03/11/key-prosecution-evidence-flopped-in-mcstay-family-murder-case-defense-contends/


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After half a century of mystery, The "Lady of the Dunes," was finally identified as Ruth Marie Terry. Kinda Murdery explores the tragic arc of Ruth's life and the sordid, morally bankrupt career of her probable murderer - who once lived, and may have killed in The Emerald Triangle...

Sources:
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Lady-of-the-Dunes-identified-nearly-50-years-17546994.php
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/lady-of-the-dunes-family-history-17552900.php
https://www.masslive.com/news/2022/11/lady-of-the-dunes-husband-suspected-of-1960-double-murder-in-seattle.html
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qvmez7/jaws-lady-of-the-dunes-theory-unsolved-murder-cape-cod-vgtrn
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/after-nearly-50-years-fbi-identifies-lady-of-the-dunes-murder-victim/
https://kymkemp.com/2022/01/01/72-years-ago-two-humboldt-county-lovers-went-out-for-a-date-one-was-found-shot-dead-and-the-other-never-seen-again/
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nearly-50-years-after-murder-the-lady-of-the-dunes-is-identified/#:~:text=O'Keefe%20said%20there%20was,to%20conduct%20her%20own%20investigation.

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In 1922, Twenty-two year old Chicago bond trader Harvey Church had a hankering for a particular automobile. Sometimes Hell is unleashed in the most unexpected places. How could Harvey know that his desire for a dream car would lead to a surprising mystery drenched in blood and murder? Find out, only on Kinda Murdery...

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At least three murders, and four husbands, ALL of whom committed suicide. Louise Peete's single-minded self-interest gradually evolved into a 40-year reign of terror. Find out how California's famed, "Black Widow," finally made one too many mistakes...

Sources:
https://crimescribe.com/2021/04/11/on-this-day-in-1947-louise-peete-the-belle-of-bienville/
https://murderpedia.org/female.P/p/peete-louise.htm
https://michaelthomasbarry.com/2014/04/11/the-black-widow-louise-peete-was-executed-1947/
As well as primary sourced newspaper articles from www.newspapers.com



Buy Robert Walsh's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Murders-Mysteries-Misdemeanors-Southern-California/dp/1634993241

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/kinda-murdery--5496890/support.

The seemingly-happy O'Byan family lived In Deer Park, Texas, in the 1970's. However, beneath the facade of suburban normalcy lurked the strain of desperate financial woes. Mr. O'Bryan's mountain of debt was so ovewhelming that it became a recurring topic of conversation among his circle of friends and acquaintances. In the summer of 1974, he alluded to an upcoming windfall, telling some people that he expected to come into a sum of money by the year's end. Given the tragedy that followed, his statements now hang in the air, fraught with chilling implications...

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Corll https://mysteriesandmurder.wordpress.com/2020/11/01/the-man-who-killed-halloween/ https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Man-Who-Ruined-Halloween-Recounting-the-14663666.php https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1793039/obryan-v-state/?q=ronald%20clark https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/the-man-who-killed-halloween https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Clark_O%27Bryan

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