The McStay Family Murders on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The McStay family murders occurred on this day in 2010, after the family disappeared from their home in Fallbrook, California, United States; their bodies were found in the desert near Victorville, California, on November 13, 2013. Their disappearance was widely reported by the national news media.

In 2010, Joseph McStay (age 40) and his wife Summer (age 43) lived in Fallbrook, California, with their sons Gianni (age 4) and Joseph Jr. (age 3). Joseph owned and operated Earth Inspired Products, a company that built decorative fountains, and Summer was a licensed real estate agent.

On November 5, 2014, detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department arrested Charles "Chase" Merritt, Joseph McStay's business partner. 

According to the arrest warrant affidavits filed in the case, autopsies concluded that all four victims had been beaten to death with a blunt object. Investigators believed the murder weapon was a 3-pound sledgehammer, which was found in the grave containing the remains of Summer and her son. Investigators testified they believed the victims were tortured before they were killed.

Prosecutors allege that Merritt had a gambling problem and killed the McStay family for financial gain. They said that he wrote checks totaling more than $21,000 on Joseph's business account in the days after the family was killed and then went on a gambling spree at nearby casinos, where he lost thousands of dollars. Merritt's trial was delayed as he had repeatedly fired his attorneys or attempted to represent himself. By February 2016, he had gone through five attorneys.

On June 10, 2019, a jury found Merritt guilty of murdering the McStay family. He was sentenced to death on January 21, 2020.

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The City of Las Vegas on This Day in History

This Day in History:  The city of Las Vegas, Nevada, was founded on this day in 1905. Here are some fun facts about Vegas:

Vegas has 41 million visitors a year. 

It would take you 288 years to spend one night in every hotel room in the city.

Las Vegas has more unlisted phone numbers than any other city in the United States.

Nevada law states that slot machines must pay back a minimum of 75 percent of the money deposited on average. It's 83 percent in Atlantic City.

10,000 couples are married in Las Vegas every month. It takes 10 minutes to get a marriage license in Vegas.

The Eiffel Tower in Vegas was originally planned to be full size, but it was too close to the airport for that. The Sphinx however is larger than the original Sphinx in Egypt.

The Bellagio has more rooms than the number of residents in the city of Bellagio, Italy. 

"In the 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas was known for putting on a different type of show. At the Nevada Test Site, just 65 miles northwest of the city, the U.S. Department of Energy would test nuclear devices. Las Vegas’ Chamber of Commerce saw a moneymaking opportunity, and decided to distribute calendars advertising detonation times and choice viewing locations." Source

In the early days of FedEx, its founder, Frederick W. Smith. had to go to great lengths to keep the company afloat. In one instance, after a crucial business loan was denied, he took the company's last $5,000 to Las Vegas and won $32,000 gambling on blackjack to cover the company's $24,000 fuel bill. It kept FedEx alive for the time being. 

The bronze lion outside the MGM Grand Hotel is said to be the largest bronze sculpture in the western hemisphere.

There are actually things that are banned in Las Vegas: Hula hoops, Hip-Hop concerts, lap dances, vuvuzelas, pets on the Vegas strip and bath salts. You are also not allowed to feed the homeless or pigeons.

Hotel magnate Steve Wynn banned Paris Hilton and Lil Wayne from his hotels.

Vegas is no longer the gambling capital of the world...that title belongs to Macau.

There’s one slot machine for every four Las Vegas residents.

The Vegas strip is actually not in Las Vegas. The strip actually falls outside of the city limits and is instead in Winchester and Paradise, which are both part of Clark County.

There are over 10,000 taxis registered in Las Vegas.

"The famous phrase ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ was first launched in 2003. It was created by the R and R Partners Agency, who sought to devise a publicity statement to promote the city as somewhere people could feel empowered by ‘freedom’." Source

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The Massachusetts Bay Colony Strange Laws on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, shuffleboard and gaming tables on this day in 1630. Sleeping during church services and engaging in any number of activities on the Sabbath was also a crime. One man was ordered to spend two hours in the public stocks because he kissed his wife on the Sabbath. Smoking tobacco, abusing one's mother-in-law, profane dancing, pulling hair and celebrating Christmas was also unlawful.

The making of toasts—not drinking, just making toasts while drinking was also banned, as was the “excessive wearing of lace.”

Over the centuries, most of the Puritanical "blue laws" have been repealed or simply ignored, but in Connecticut, it is still illegal to sell alcohol on Christmas day, unless you’re in a casino.

Presently, in Boston, it is illegal to swear inside city limits. It is also illegal to eat peanuts in church, and tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder. False teeth must be removed during sex, and it is illegal to play the fiddle. Goatees are illegal unless you obtain and pay for a license to wear your goatee in public.

Where I live in NC I can't buy wine before 7am on weekdays. 

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