The trial of a man accused of killing a husband wife, and their two young sons continued Tuesday.
Investigators have accused Chase Merritt of murdering the family and stealing money from them.
Merritt is accused of killing Joseph McStay, McStay's wife, Summer; and their 3- and 4-year-old sons. The family's disappearance in 2010 perplexed investigators for years, with no signs of forced entry at their Fallbrook home.
According to Joseph's brother, Merritt was staying at Joseph and Summer’s house, looking after their dogs.
After two weeks went by, family went to sheriff's investigators worried about the family.
Investigators quickly discovered the family’s SUV, which had been towed from a parking lot in San Ysidro.
At the trial Tuesday, A 3D forensic analyst, Eugenio Liscio, was provided security camera footage from a neighbor's home and photographs of a 2000 Chevrolet truck.
Local
Merritt owned a Chevy truck at the time of the family's disappearance.
Liscio analysed the evidence, such as looking at the headlights of the vehicle in the security footage, bumper, exhaust pipe and shadows the car cast.
"These features are consistent with the 2000 Chevy truck," said Liscio.
Liscio said while he cannot definitively say the truck belonged to Merrit, he can't exclude the Chevy truck either.
Three years after the McStays disappearance, their bodies were found more than 100 miles away in a remote area of San Bernardino County, along with a 3-pound sledgehammer and a child's pants and diaper.
Supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County accused Merritt of "desperately [trying] to cover his tracks after the murders.”
Prosecutors also accused Merritt of stealing thousands of dollars from Joseph’s custom fountain business by hacking his electronic bank account.
Merritt pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If convicted, Merritt could face the death penalty.
