Early on the morning of Friday, February 5th, 2010 did Joseph McStay pour coffee into a travel mug, fill his glass bottle with fresh water, move car seats from the Dodge to the Trooper, pack his checkbook, his soccer outfit (for later) and the kids, and drive from the McStay residence?  The plan might have been in the hopes of giving Summer time to paint uninterrupted by her cherub boys AND to purchase toys for Joseph Jr’s belated birthday (with checks not credit or cash), to perhaps stop by the family storage unit and retrieve toys or something else as well as to allow the boys to play out of doors before it rained (a child’s backpack with outdoor activities was found in the graves; and a child’s computer is missing).  And heavy rains were expected later in the day.

Could the killers of this family have seen the McStay Trooper depart the home Friday morning the 5th, and either have wanted to find Summer McStay alone, or have initially believed that the entire family was out of the house?  Was Summer assaulted and tied up while Joseph and the children ran errands, bought toys and perhaps enjoyed a park, only to return home to find Summer bound and gagged, and killers awaiting their return?  Was this a staggered abduction, rather than a blitz attack?

This next is highly speculative.

Evidence found in the graves that supports the theory that Summer was attacked first and separately from the rest of the family.

Summer’s bra was discovered slit in the front, as if with a knife, and detached in the back. Each cup found in a different location.  The right cup was found almost 25 feet outside her grave (Grave B).

The left cup found in the grave, with paint dripping toward the center of sternum.

 

Summer is the only victim to have paint on her clothing when discovered. Her sweats also have paint stains.

 

Summer’s sweats and panties were found above her head wadded up into a ball.

 

However when the sweats were laid out, there are stains that appear to be urine. (It’s hard to imagine what else they would be.) And similar to the bra, it looks almost as if Summer may have lain on her right side when both the paint dripped into fingers toward the sternum, and perhaps in terror, involuntary evacuation occurred. Most of it on the right side of her pants.

Front of Sweats

Back of sweats

The direction of the paint on Summer’s left bra dripping toward her sternum in perfect drips-not smeared, and stains on her sweats being more on the right side than on the left, might indicate that Summer was on her right side, arms tied behind her back, for an extended period of time. Terrified she did what many do, evacuated her bowels. Perhaps paint had first gotten onto her bra during a struggle. But the fact that the fingers of the paint are undisturbed might mean that she lay in that position for some time-long enough for the paint to dry in those uninterrupted drips.

If the entire family had been either attacked or abducted in/from the home at the same time under the same circumstances, why would only Summer have paint on her. And why would there be paint on her bra inconsistent with the actively painting? (Even if she was in the habit of painting in her bra, if she had dripped paint on herself, why wouldn’t she immediately take off the bra, wash it and get something else to wear?)  The manner in which the paint dried seems more consistent with Summer lying on her side as the paint dried undisturbed. If she were already dead and not bound, her top arm would likely have fallen forward on the bra, smudging the paint.  The only position that makes sense is that Summer was on her side, hands tied behind her back, unable to move.

This could have occurred while the others were home. But given the lack of evidence of an attack when the home was first entered by law enforcement, a staggered attack and/or abduction just seems more logical. Again, this is very speculative-but possible…