McStay Children’s Remains Positively Identified by Coroner

VICTORVILLE – Skeletal remains thought to be the remains of two missing children were positively identified by the San Bernardino Coroner’s office on Friday.

Gianni and Joseph McStay

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators, using dental records, confirmed Gianni McStay, 4, and Joseph McStay, 3, as the missing children of their parents, who were also discovered in a desert area between Quarry Rd. and Interstate 15 just outside of Victorville.

The McStay’s parents, father Joseph, 40, and mother Summer, 43, were discovered in shallow gravesites earlier in the week. The county’s sheriff’s department homicide detail unit is now conducting a homicide investigation, while working with both San Diego County Sheriff and the FBI.
San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said in a release, “Every available resource will be utilized in this investigation to identify the suspects involved in this heinous crime and bring them to justice.”

Autopsies on the parents began on Nov. 14. Investigators ruled the deaths as homicides, but the cause will not be released to protect the investigation.
Two graves were discovered by an off-road rider on Monday, who contacted authorities.
The McStay family, which lived in the San Diego County city of Fallbrook, was reported missing in February 2010. Their disappearance has caused lengthy investigation, at least one published book and numerous media accounts.

McMahon said at a news conference that no suspects have yet been identified. Early in the disappearance, authorities believed the McStays – whose car was found in the California border city of San Ysidro – may have disappeared into Mexico.
McStay family members say that Summer McStay would never allow her children into Mexico.

Part of the evidence that was discovered early is that their Fallbrook home was searched 10 days after they disappeared. Summer McStay’s glasses were left on the counter, along with other indicators that might have suggested the family left in a hurry or were abducted.
There are several theories that have yet to be ruled out, as the investigation continues.

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