Suspect in McStay murders pleads not guilty

The man suspected of murdering a couple and their two young sons pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday.

57 year old Charles Chase Merritt is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of his former business partner and family.

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and their two boys, aged three and four, were reported missing in February 2010 from their home in California.

Their bodies were discovered in a desert northeast of Los Angeles last year.

Authorities say the family died inside their home of blunt force trauma on February 4, 2010.

No information has been release as to a motive for the killings.

Officials say Merritt and McStay worked together in the decorative fountain business.