VERDICT WATCH Closing Arguments- Chase Merritt Charged W/Murder of Joseph, Summer, Gianni and Joe Jr McStay

[missingm]

MR started very well, imo. She brought it back to the case, People vs Charles Merritt. And reminded people it wasn’t about lawyers vs lawyers.


And she corrected the ‘legal language’ back to the specific instructions given by the judge, for this case. As opposed to the ones cherry picked by the defense in their closing just before hers.


Then she showed the Occam’s Razor principle, to remind them that the simplest solution is more likely the correct one. She did so because the defense has these complicated explanations for the evidence against CM. And they are very unlikely to be accurate.


Mainly because one has to make more assumptions with more complicated explanations. So she promises to go through these assumptions set forth by the defense.


Assumptions:

CM had written checks for Joey before

Had received checks from Joey and had permission to sign them

Cm and Joey had pattern of calling each other about the checks they wrote


Pattern Evidence:
Feb 1st—joey tried to delete a check, figured it out then called Chase to tell him how


NO EVIDENCE OF ANY OF THAT^^^



‘New account created because Dan is gone.’

‘Created to hide it from Dan K’



NO, That ^^ is not true. Custom account been since 20008

And CM told Dugal why it was created, to hide $ from Summer


And MR deftly showed us that Joey already knew how to delete a check—so their speculation about Joey being the one who created and deleted checks on the 1st, to figure out how to do it is bogus.

As is their silly ‘pattern’ evidence that Joey then called CM afterwards to explain how to delete checks. That is just silly.

MR was off to a very good start, imo.

Excellent summary.

I would love to know the reactions on the jurors' faces when Malone and CM played their crying stunt. That could backfire spectacularly. Especially if the jury could see the faces of the Mcstay family at the same time.

 

[missingm]

Bad parallel.

CM is being accused, yet there is no evidence the links him CM to the murder. Dr. Rudin excluded his truck. DNA excluded CM from the gravesite.

Possible hired killeres.... no evidence exclude the possibility, not evidence to implicate any known person, either. No one is being accused as being a hire killer in this case, so that can't be compared to CM.

If anyone was hired to help in the killing, all of the evidence points to CM as the person who hired them.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Sorry, but emotions can't get in the way in seeking justice for this family. The real killers are living free watching this trial in their cozy homes. It's not justice to convict an innocent man while leaving the real murderers living free and worry-free.

Link please.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

It would be better for strangers not to speak for Chase's family. His daughter Taylor has spoken. She was in the court. She wouldn't love and support her father if he was as you depicted.

Why not? LOTS of serial killers have had children and/or spouses who loved and supported them. Does that mean that they then don't have the capacity to murder numerous people?

 

[Tortoise]

LOL at Maline complaining about Sgt Smith placing the recording device in the jail! They should have made sure their client opted to use the jail phone instead of shouting through the glass. Did Maline really believe he would generate sympathy for Merritt or disdain for Smith that way, given what the recording yielded?

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Bad parallel.

CM is being accused, yet there is no evidence the links him CM to the murder. Dr. Rudin excluded his truck. DNA excluded CM from the gravesite.

Possible hired killeres.... no evidence exclude the possibility, not evidence to implicate any known person, either. No one is being accused as being a hire killer in this case, so that can't be compared to CM.

So if there's no evidence, then how did he even get arrested? They just spent months inside a courtroom laying out evidence. <modsnip - personalizing>

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Back dating checks , deleting a check and ringing up quick books pretending to be Joey to get the account deleted.


That alone points to him being deceptive and his guilt.

Apparently those things you mentioned are "not evidence".

 

[asyousay]

Apparently those things you mentioned are "not evidence".

Obviously just coincidental and Chase has the worse luck known to man.

 

[Tortoise]

Dr. Rudin excluded his truck.

RSBM

Dr Rudin used points he selected on the truck, the one which led to the rejection being the side marker light at the rear. If his assumption about the illumination being the side marker light was erroneous his results were flawed. He made a very simple exercise sound very complicated and it was virtually impossible for the jury to understand his methods and the meanderings of his mind, IMO. Simply put, if it was the latch that reflected he would not have had the truck underground. It would not have been a rejection.

It's obvious with the re-painting of the truck and the impossibility of replicating the conditions of that night, that the prosecution would not agree to his unreasonable demands for a reconstruction.

For the first time I've been able to see what they are talking about when they refer to what could be the electrical box on the front bumper, in closing arguments.

I grabbed a screenshot - click to enlarge

 

[ab01]

It said it's possible. There is no evidence to exclude it.

Btw Force Ten, were you at the court for the closing argument?

Nor is there any evidence to include it.....

 

[ilovewings]

I am certainly hoping for a guilty verdict in this case, but this is not a slam dunk type of case; in fact, in cases that looked like slam-dunks, the perp was acquitted ( Anthony and Durst) are two that come to mind. You just never know with juries.

 

[ab01]

Obviously just coincidental and Chase has the worse luck known to man.

Yep
He made is own luck by his implicating actions before and after the murders(which he committed without a doubt)

Oh and he's soon to be known as convicted murderer CM

 

[geevee]

Yep
He made is own luck by his implicating actions before and after the murders(which he committed without a doubt)

Oh and he's soon to be known as convicted murderer CM

I'll bet he also blames all of his gambling losses on his incredibly bad luck.

Sooo...CM/CM?

 

[Tortoise]

Screenshot showing the different signatures on the two cheques drawn on Feb 2nd - one handwritten by Joey.

 

[ab01]

I'll bet he also blames all of his gambling losses on his incredibly bad luck.

Sooo...CM/CM?

Isn't it very fortuitous.....

 

[asyousay]

Screenshot showing the different signatures on the two cheques drawn on Feb 2nd - one handwritten by Joey.

View attachment 186855

Is the top right hand side the sequence number as they are miles apart in number?

You would think “IF” Joey had written out the two cheques they would be numbered one after the after, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

 

[Tortoise]

Is the top right hand side the sequence number as they are miles apart in number?

You would think “IF” Joey had written out the two cheques they would be numbered one after the after, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

The handwritten one is from Joey's cheque book - the printed one is from the box of cheques that are designed for the printer.

 

[asyousay]

The handwritten one is from Joey's cheque book - the printed one is from the box of cheques that are designed for the printer.

Thank you as I don’t think I have ever used a cheque before as they was already being fazed out when I was growing up.

 

[Karinna]

Is the top right hand side the sequence number as they are miles apart in number?

You would think “IF” Joey had written out the two cheques they would be numbered one after the after, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Wonder where all those missing checks went as well?

 

[ab01]

I am certainly hoping for a guilty verdict in this case, but this is not a slam dunk type of case; in fact, in cases that looked like slam-dunks, the perp was acquitted ( Anthony and Durst) are two that come to mind. You just never know with juries.

Yep theres always a human factor with juries and we as humans are very complex and very hard to predict

But IMO they would have to overlook a literal mountain of very damning circumstantial evidence in this case

One or two crazy coincidences can often be overlooked, but when you start adding in all the crazy actions by CM before, during and after the murders it just becomes to much to find reasonable doubt IMO

I think the jury will be able to see that there is just simply too much to explain away and I don't feel the Defense did a very good job of explaining away things

In fact some of the things they have said are rather absurd

JMO