Almost a year to the day after an off-road motorcyclist found the remains of a California family who had vanished from their home in 2010 , authorities announced Friday they had arrested the man they believe is responsible for the deaths . Charles `` Chase '' Merritt is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small boys , San Bernardino County , California , District Attorney Michael Ramos told reporters at a news conference . Merritt , 57 , was arrested Wednesday without incident in Chatsworth , California , Detective Chris Fisher said . 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 , who was a business partner of Joseph McStay 's , appeared in court Friday but his arraignment was postponed until Wednesday . No bail was set . In an earlier interview with CNN , Merritt said he received a phone call from Joseph McStay the night they disappeared , but did n't answer it because he was busy and tired . `` There are hundreds of scenarios , '' he told CNN at the time . `` I have gone over all of them in my head . Of course I regret not picking up the phone . '' Friday , McStay 's brother , Michael McStay , choked back tears in thanking investigators for their work on the case . `` You have no idea what this means , '' he said . 5 questions about the McStay case . Police who searched their home days after the family disappeared found eggs on the kitchen counter and bowls of popcorn in the living room , along with the family 's two dogs . There were no signs of a struggle . Despite finding the family 's SUV in San Ysidro , California -- where it had been towed from the Mexican border -- and video surveillance that showed a family matching the description of the McStays crossing the border , authorities had no clue what happened to them until the discovery of their bodies on November 11 , 2013 . A motorcyclist passing through the area found the remains in two shallow graves not far from Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County , more than 100 miles from the family 's home north of San Diego . Authorities identified the remains using dental records . At the time , San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said the killings appeared to be `` extremely orchestrated '' and carried out by more than one person . But after reviewing 4,500 pages of investigative records , executing 60 search warrants and conducting 200 interviews , investigators zeroed in on Merritt , concluding he had acted alone in killing the family in their own home , San Bernardino authorities said . He declined to say what specifically led them to that conclusion . Fisher did , however , say there was no evidence the family had traveled to Mexico after their disappearance , calling the border video `` unrelated '' to the case . `` We do n't think it 's them , '' he said . Ramos said he has not yet decided whether he will seek the death penalty in what he called a `` cold and callous murder of an entire family . '' The disappearance of the McStays . Joseph McStay 's mother credited investigators for their strength and determination to solve the case . `` I need justice from the law and the courts and to get to talk to the judge , '' she said . `` And most of all , justice upstairs for my lovely family . ''
Charles ` ` ' '' never appears in court . Merritt is charged with four counts of involvement in the couple 's 2010 deaths . Their bodies were found in the Mojave Desert in November 2010 . Merritt was a business partner of the McStay 's , police department .