1. Mojave Desert, NV, Between Victorville and Las Vegas, 148 Bodies Discovered to Date
At 134 degrees Fahrenheit on its hottest days, the Mojave Desert stretches 25,000 square miles in every direction—an expanse of searing, white-hot hopelessness.
Long believed to be a favorite dumping ground for the Mafia, the desert has been the backdrop of numerous killings throughout America’s history. In recent years, the high-profile case of the McStay family’s disappearance ended when their corpses were found in the desert, years after they went missing.
The bodies of Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and his two young children, Gianni and Joseph Jr., were found in shallow graves just 100 miles north of their home, four years after the family disappeared in 2010.
After the family had been missing for several days, Joseph’s brother went to their home and climbed in through an open window. A carton of eggs sat on the kitchen counter; spilled popcorn splashed across the living room sofa. Later investigations at the McStay home revealed recent computer searches including “What do children need for traveling to Mexico?”
Eventually, Joseph McStay’s business partner, Chase Merritt, was arrested after police discovered his DNA in the McStay’s recovered vehicle. During the summer of 2015, Merritt’s attorney filed a request to have the case dismissed, accusing the prosecution of using faulty wording when the initial murder charges were filed.
The California desert sizzles with dry heat and goes on for miles. If a killer can get out there, either to commit a murder or to leave the grisly aftermath of one behind, it’s guaranteed to be a long while before anyone stumbles upon it—if they ever do. For law enforcement, it’s a race against time and the elements, as the heat ensures a body will decompose faster, the evidence of a crime drying up along with it.
As Keith Bushey, of the San Bernardino County sheriff’s department, chillingly remarked to The Sun, “If there were to be a cross everywhere someone dumped a body, the desert would look like Forest Lawn.”
Enjoy this look at the United States biggest killing fields? Check out our other posts on the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and famous serial killers who met a grisly end.
