Joseph McStay 's ` Chase '' Merritt appears in court . Police say they believe the family died of `` blunt force trauma '' inside their home north of San Diego , but they declined to discuss specifics of the deaths or a motive . Merritt is charged with hundreds counts of murder in the family 's 2010 deaths . Their bodies were found in the Mojave Desert in 2010 . Merritt was a business partner of Charles ` , police say .
Joseph McStay 's ` Chase '' Merritt appears in court . Merritt is charged with hundreds counts of murder in the family 's 2010 deaths . Their bodies were found in the Mojave Desert in 2010 . Merritt was a business partner of Charles ` , police say .