Law&Crime Sidebar - 11 Shocking Updates in Missing Mother Murder Case

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. There are bombshell new details in the murder of Nikki Saly McCain, a California mom who went missing in 2024. And despite not finding her body, Shasta County authorities charged her husband, Tyler McCain, with killing her. For more than a week, witnesses have taken the stand during a preliminary hearing with a judge expected to decide soon if this case will in fact go to trial. We are learning a lot more about what was allegedly happening behind closed doors at this family home and why one witness says he wants to take back what he said. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber.

Starting point is 00:00:50 A preliminary hearing is underway in Reading, California, in the case of Tyler McCain, who is accused of killing his wife, Nikki, to keep her from testifying against him, a domestic violence case. For days, McCain, as well as Nikki's friends and family, have been inside a Shasta County courtroom hearing testimony about what happened or allegedly happened in the lead-up to Nikki going missing in May of 2024, as well, by the way, as well as what clues were on earth during the desperate search for this mom of four. Now, Nikki was reported missing just before she was supposed to testify against her husband, Tyler, about brutal domestic violence that put her in the hospital.

Starting point is 00:01:29 But when law enforcement couldn't locate Nikki, the charges against Tyler had to be dropped. And as prosecutors announced in August that not only were they reopening the domestic violence case, but they were also charging Tyler with Nikki's murder. And though Nicky's remains have yet to be found, she is believed to be dead. And as we go through what happened day in and day out of this preliminary hearing, you will get a sense of what prosecutors' theory is. is. According to the district attorney, though, this is the first time a no body murder case has

Starting point is 00:02:02 been charged in Shasta County. Here's what the sheriff had to say about Tyler's arrest. A day after taking the missing person's case, detectives served a search warrant at Nikki and Tyler's residence. Various items of evidentiary value were seized as evidence. However, Nikki was not located. On May 25th, 2024, Nicky's vehicle that shableness, heavy avalanche was located by a citizen off of Highway 36 in an area near Platina, kind of on the border of Shasta and Tahama counties. Detectives and crime scene investigators process a vehicle and located physical evidence which indicated foul play. The area where Nikki's vehicle was located was searched extensively by Sheriff's Office employees and our search and rescue

Starting point is 00:02:53 teams. But again, Nikki was not located. Since the start of this investigation, detectives and law enforcement and allied agencies have worked tirelessly to locate Nikki and to determine the events surrounding her disappearance. Detectives have served search warrants, conducted numerous field searches, multiple interviews of family members, friends, and acquaintances, all to new avail. We not located, Nikki. Based on the evidence gathered, information learned from interviews and the fact that no one in Nikki's family has seen or heard from Nikki since her disappearance, the detectives has determined that Nikki is a victim of homicide. Detectives also further concluded that Nikki's husband, Tyler Scott McCain, is responsible for Nikki's death and disappearance. Detectives

Starting point is 00:03:50 recently obtained a murder arrest warrant for Tyler McCain. And today at about 10.15 a.m., Tyler McCain was arrested. He was ultimately booked in the Shafts County Jail with no bail for the murder of Nikki. And then there was a press release that prosecutors had put out at the time that gave more information about the terrifying violence that Nikki allegedly experienced behind closed doors. It read, a confidential informant provided a statement to detectives reporting that Tyler McCain admitted to killing Nikki on May 18, 2024 after a domestic violence incident. Further investigation revealed a history of domestic violence between Tyler McCain and Nikki, dating back to approximately 2020.

Starting point is 00:04:32 On December 1st, 2023, Nikki filed a report with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office following a domestic violence incident with Tyler McCain the week prior. The sheriff's deputy contacted Nikki at Mercy Medical Center, where she was seeking treatment and observed obvious injuries to Nikki's face, including blackened eye. eyes and other facial trauma. Nikki stated on November 29, 2023, she was physically assaulted by her husband, Tyler McCain, at their home for approximately three hours. During this time, Tyler McCain struck Nikki in the face multiple times, pulled her hair, poured large amounts of water over her, bound her ankles and wrists together with tape, and covered her mouth with

Starting point is 00:05:10 tape. Nikki stated based on the event she was in fear for her life and believed she was going to die. After he was arrested, Tyler entered a not guilty plea to all 12 charges that he faces, includes murder, false imprisonment, possession and ammunition after a criminal protective order, forgery. This is according to KRCR. He's been locked up with no bail. But over the last several days, this is what we want to talk about. He has been inside the Shasta County courthouse hearing details about the case against him. As a judge has to determine whether or not There is enough evidence against him for this to go to trial. Is there enough probable cause here?

Starting point is 00:05:49 That is what we talk about when we refer to a preliminary hearing. So to break down this hearing, which has lasted more than a week, it still isn't done. I want to bring in attorney Anthony Oso. Anthony, so good to see you. You've been following this case for months. Criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, would love your perspective on this, because unfortunately, your experience is with a lot of domestic violence situations. And that's at the center of what we're talking about here,

Starting point is 00:06:13 based on the prosecutor's allegation. So I want to go through what has been presented at this hearing so far. Now, to be clear, cameras haven't been allowed in the courtroom, but we're getting these reports from local outlets like KRCR TV. We also have independent media organization Shasta Scalp. There's newspaper, record searchlight. They have provided details about what witnesses had to say each day. So we go to day one, September 4th.

Starting point is 00:06:38 The prosecution called its first witness, Redding PD, Detective Jeremiah Cassinger. And he testified that Nikki's sister Chloe reported her missing when Nikki stopped responding to texts. The detective testified that Chloe told him Nikki had made several domestic violence reports, including one where Tyler allegedly pointed a gun at her, threatening to kill her. The next witness was Tyler's cousin. Larry Fultz, he said on May 20th, two days after Nikki was last seen, Tyler came to his house asking for a ride, holding a gas can.

Starting point is 00:07:13 suggesting his car had run out of gas. Fultz testified that Tyler seemed to be mumbling to himself. He believed that Tyler was high on meth, and Fultz had said that both Tyler and Nikki had used meth. A deputy testified about finding Nikki's missing Chevy Avalanche on May 25th off Highway 36, saying, quote, he smelled death, saw flies and gnats around the cover truck bed. The truck showed signs of having been used to transport.

Starting point is 00:07:43 a body, but Nikki's remains, by the way. Truck showed signs of having been used to transport a body, but again, Nikki's remains weren't inside. They weren't nearby. Another detective described investigative leads, which included information from an eyewitness who said they saw the missing truck and what they described as a white tweaker-looking male walking on a remote road. That witness later identified Tyler in a lineup, according to the detective.

Starting point is 00:08:08 In the afternoon on that first day, Nikki herself was heard. There was an audio recording that was played where Nikki described that brutal assault by Tyler back in 2023. So, Anthony, that's all on day one. What stands out to you? Well, I think you've got a repetitive behavior of violence by Tyler towards Nikki in this case. And so when we're looking at murder and specifically domestic violence murders, that's nature of the

Starting point is 00:08:33 relationship evidence that the prosecution will likely use to prove motive in this case. And by the way, preliminary hearings generally, do they need? to even present this much or is it saying look we're going above and beyond to show you that this case should go to trial i think the latter jesse i don't think that it's a requirement probable cause is a lower standard than guilt innocence beyond a reasonable doubt and really i think in other jurisdictions outside of california you don't really see the use of these preliminary hearings as much but in california there's a big emphasis for efficiency and kind of not believing um you know, kind of putting their cards out. I think that's what the prosecution is doing here.

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Starting point is 00:10:55 So we can use this to our advantage. Absolutely. It's hugely beneficial for the defense. Anytime you've got an opportunity to cross-examine the state's witnesses before you're set for an actual trial, that's going to be a huge benefit. Okay, now we go to day two. It was like seven days here so far. So day two, Sheriff's Office Detective Sergeant Jerry Mall showed photographs of Nicky's injuries after reportedly being beaten by Tyler. These are graphic images allegedly showing facial trauma, black eyes, cuts, bruises. Two deputies also testified about a traffic stop when they pulled Tyler over back in April after he was seen throwing things out the window according to record searchlight. They said they found. Nicky's partially burned driver's license inside Tyler's wallet. A forensic technician took the stand to reveal the evidence found when Nikki's truck was located. She also remarked on the strong odor of decomposition. This was coming from the covered truck bed and inside there was a white sheet with apparent blood stains

Starting point is 00:12:00 and dried blood was smeared on the truck bed along with strands of dark hair. technician also revealed an absolutely horrifying detail that when the avalanche was placed on a lift so they could check underneath it blood pooled and started dripping out now anthony it's horrific i think it gives you an idea that nicky is dead but does it directly tie back into tyler well i think with the burnt id it can in a sense but the bigger point of all that evidence to establish look that they're that she is in fact dead right when we're dealing with a murder case and we don't have a body the prosecution's really got to lean into that circumstantial evidence to establish that she is in fact dead and when you've got her car with what looks to be like

Starting point is 00:12:51 a murder crime scene and the fact that she is missing and hasn't been found i think can lead to at least establish probable cause of the element that she's no longer loved. And how difficult is it to prosecute no body cases? It's significantly more difficult than when you have a body, because in the end of the day, the defense can always kind of lean on the look, that's reasonable doubt. Nobody reasonable doubt, right? And so it's sort of a couched in defense. And you don't have that medical examiner testimony that you would normally have in a regular murder trial. So it creates a really difficult position for the prosecution. We got to talk about what happened on day three. Okay.

Starting point is 00:13:37 So according to reporting, Tyler had sat basically motionless in his chair at the defense table, maybe his head in his hands, only looking up every once in a while, well, before putting his head back down. But then on day three of this preliminary hearing, Tyler reportedly had an outburst. And it came during testimony about photo. that a witness had seen along the walls of the family home during a search. And that is when Tyler reportedly shouted, this is BS.

Starting point is 00:14:09 He obviously said it. This is BS. Now, according to the Shasta Scout, quote, he asked the court why placing photos of his family on the wall of his home would be a bad thing before stating emphatically that he should never have been arrested. So the judge ended up calling for a short break while Tyler's attorney spoke with him. Anthony, what do you think about that? You know, in a preliminary hearing, Jesse, where it's just a judge that's acting as the fact finder, I think it's not as big of a deal as if you were to have 12 people in the box, you know, a full jury watching this.

Starting point is 00:14:44 So obviously you can't have hours in court, but I think the level of detriment to Tyler McCain is less because it's a judge and the judge is supposed to, you know, act out of logic and be neutral. and not act out of emotion. Yeah, the substance of the outburst, though, the idea that he seemingly was upset about these photos being shown, he, it seemed, again, I'm not a mind reader, I'm not a psychologist, but it seemed that he didn't quite understand

Starting point is 00:15:16 why that was relevant, right? Why is it bad that there are photo, you know, having photos in the house, why is that something being used by the prosecution? Why is that coming into evidence? I can't say, I don't necessarily, know their angle here. He's probably aware that these proceedings are public. And, you know, anytime something's in the news and is out in a hearing that it's likely potentially going to be

Starting point is 00:15:41 in the media. And so I think that could lead to a level of frustration. But not every single piece of evidence the prosecution puts in necessarily goes towards an element. Sometimes it just creates a familial framework. And so it could just be for the judge to have a better understanding of the nature of Tyler McCain and Nikki McCain's relationship. By the way, this outburst was not the only thing that happened on day three. There's more we've got to talk about. So on day three, the forensic technician testified again about some of the evidence that was found in the investigation.

Starting point is 00:16:13 She said that a community member had found partially burned credit cards with Nikki's name on them, turned them into investigators. The prosecution showed photos that compared the burn patterns on the credit cards to the burn pattern on Nikki's driver's license. They appeared the same. There was also testimony about a search of a garage belonging to Jeanette Hayward. This is Tyler's mom. Now, investigators say they found a partially burned white comforter stuffed in a corner of the garage.

Starting point is 00:16:41 And because of soot found on the ceiling and some burned spider webs, technicians determined that something had been burned inside the garage fairly recently. And Anthony, you couple that with the testimony about the gas can, can find the body. The remains, other evidence of burning. I think there's a conclusion that prosecutors are reaching here. Sure. I think they're really relying on circumstantial evidence, especially without a body, without a direct crime scene,

Starting point is 00:17:11 sort of building these blocks to create the bigger picture that there's possible burning to dispose of Nikki McCain. So day four brought new information about how Nikki's truck was abandoned, as well as revelations about an affair she apparently had been having. So a man named Justin Karen, also apparently known as Too Tall, lived on a trailer on or near the McCain property. And he reportedly was with Tyler when Tyler moved the avalanche to the rural area where it was abandoned. Karen said that he asked Tyler if the truck and something in it needed to disappear, to which Karen claims Tyler replied, yes. Now, in the afternoon session of day four, the court heard from a man named Louis Barajas.

Starting point is 00:18:00 Now, he said he met Nikki while he was working at a phone store and their relationship eventually turned romantic. He said Nikki told him that she was getting a divorce. He also testified that Nikki showed up at his home after having been beaten and tortured by Tyler in that vicious domestic violence incident. Now, Anthony, let's go to this. Why is the affair, here, this apparent affair, why is that apparent affair, why is that important, testimony. It's motive, Jesse. It's sort of the reason, the culmination of all this violence that's led up and potentially the realization of that fact is what led Tyler McCain to murder Nicky McCain. It's a double-ed sword because it does open up potential sudden passion defense

Starting point is 00:18:46 for the defense. But I think if you really break down that witness's testimony, he too talks about repetitive violent behavior by Tyler towards Nikki, which would establish that he wasn't acting out of passion when he committed this crime. Yeah. And by the way, just to be clear about a point of law, he's also right, a witness to corroborate the violence, the alleged violence that she endured the domestic violence. But this is a tricky case, I imagine, for defense attorneys, because for prosecutors, they would want to introduce evidence of domestic violence. And they would want to introduce evidence that Nikki was about to testify against Tyler, right? But where does it cross the line that if they just introduce so much evidence of domestic

Starting point is 00:19:30 violence, it can be overly prejudicial for the defendant? Or does that not apply here? Because the domestic violence is tied so closely to the motive here. The latter, Jesse. I think when you're looking at the homicide between a husband and wife, any sort of violence beforehand is going to be highly relevant and it's going to pass any sort of balancing test as far as prejudice goes. It's prejudicial, I think, but it's not overly prejudicial. So that's what the do. Let's talk about day five. So day five, Barajas continued his testimony

Starting point is 00:20:08 and he said that he and Nikki were intimate on the night of May 17, 2024, which was the last time that he saw her. They were texting. They were calling each other after that into the early morning of May 18. but then Nikki's side of the conversation abruptly stopped. Now, in a twist, the defense brought up messages between the two of them that seemingly threw suspicion on Barajas. So in some of their last communications, they were fighting. According to the Shasta Scout, Nikki had gotten a ride from Justin Karen, and in text, Barahas allegedly accused her of sleeping with Karen, saying things like he was going to release all

Starting point is 00:20:48 is evil on her and that she was going to pay. He also said that Nikki believes she could sometimes feel the presence of spirits around her. So he said he hoped that whatever was lying around her home got her. Now, Barajas told the court that those messages came from a place of insecurity and it wasn't about her relationship with anyone else. Anthony, problem? Certainly a problem. This definitely creates another suspect that the defense can blame this case on, especially when you don't have a body, that's another sort of wrench the defense can throw on the prosecution's chain to try and throw them off or get the jury to find that there's reasonable doubt. So it's definitely a problem. And I think it's going to be really important

Starting point is 00:21:33 for the state to use that forensic evidence to try and tie things back to Tyler McCain. What about this? We had another witness who testified, a DNA expert from the Department of Justice, and she testified about the blood that was found on a sheet in the truck bed. Her analysis showed that the blood on that sheet and in the truck bed belonged to Nikki. And she was able to reach that conclusion thanks to kinship DNA. She compared the blood to the DNA of Nikki and Tyler's daughter. But she also testified that blood and other fluids on the sheet show, quote, very strong support for inclusion of Tyler. What do you make of that?

Starting point is 00:22:13 that's that's a linchpin for the prosecution it's that piece of evidence that's going to go against any defense theory that it was brahas or that Tyler wasn't involved I think when you couple that with the examiner's evaluation that they smelled decomposition those are great facts to for the prosecution to lean on to establish that she in fact was murdered and that Tyler was part of the murder itself as well as the disposal of the body. Right. By the way, KRC reports that Tyler's mom, Jeanette, testified on day 5, 2, but really didn't provide that much information. They basically said she didn't remember many of the details. Then you go to day 6. So day 6 brought shocking testimony from just one witness.

Starting point is 00:23:01 Remember earlier when I mentioned that a confidential informant told investigators that Tyler had admitted that he killed Nikki? That informant took the stand and said he made it all up. Yeah. Here's what we know. From record searchlight reporting, the informant is a man named Franz Nelson, and at one point, he apparently lived on the McCain family property. So prosecutors showed an interview that Chasta County deputies had recorded of Nelson,

Starting point is 00:23:27 who at the time was in jail in an unrelated case. In the video, Nelson said that Tyler had told him that he and Nikki were, quote, wrestling in the bed and then went to sleep. Claim that Tyler told him that when he woke up, he saw VALLEY, vomit, tried to do CPR on Nikki, and Nelson said that Tyler was crying when he told him that, quote, he had probably killed her. According to record searchlight, Nelson also said on the video that he would wear a recording device to try and get Tyler to say what happened. What came of that recording? If there ever was one, unclear. But then Nelson said in court, he made it all

Starting point is 00:24:06 up. Yeah, he admitted that law enforcement had said that he would get out of jail if he cooperated with them. He testified that he'd said a lot of false things to the detective. Record searchlight quoted Nelson is saying, I was trying to get out of jail. I made it all up. I wasn't ready to go back to prison. I was saying whatever I could to get out of jail at the time. Have you ever been behind bars? You're going to say whatever you can to get out of jail. This is my fifth prison term. Now, Anthony, how do prosecutors miss this? Is this what they wanted him to testify to? I mean, what's going on here? No, I don't think so. I mean, in the end of the day, witnesses, live testimony, things happen in trial and they happen in hearings.

Starting point is 00:24:47 And so the prosecution has an ethical responsibility to just ask their witnesses to tell the truth. And I think that's likely one of the benefits to the prosecution about having this preliminary hearing is what are the witnesses going to say? Let's tie them down to the record. So here they have a good idea that France, Nelson, might not be their strongest witness for their case. But I don't think an admission is necessary in a case like this, although it would have definitely been helpful. Yeah, I was going to ask you, this reverse course, does it affect whether or not this preliminary hearing, whether or not there's enough probable cause to move forward with the case against Tyler? I don't think so because I think that they have enough evidence through other witnesses to establish that there's probable cause. I think it presents problems for this witness to testify in an actual trial, though, because

Starting point is 00:25:41 a few separate accounts of what happened. Real quick, before we go to day seven, final day that we're going to talk about, how would it even be allowed for him to testify about what Tyler told him? Isn't that hearsay? No, it's not hearsay. Well, there's a lot of exceptions to the rule of hearsay. And so a party opponent admission doesn't amount. not to hear say and it's admissible in court.

Starting point is 00:26:06 So said in California versus Tyler McCain, anything that Tyler McCain says can be used against him. There you go. Okay, day seven. So day seven brought what I would say were some of the most disturbing evidence so far in this very long preliminary hearing. Never before seen ring camera footage that showed Tyler or allegedly showed Tyler outside of a door screaming at his wife. according to reporting from record searchlight Tyler yelled open the bleeping door to which a person inside believed to have been Nikki replied no if you don't open the door now I swear I will bleeping kill you then a short time later in the video I'm asking you please nicely to open the bleeping door I will kill everyone in this bleeping house I swear everyone in the family will die and then later I'm calm now open the door open the door open the door open the door open the door open the door. Pretty terrifying. Even if you don't watch it, you're just saying it. You can get a sense of what we're talking about here. Now, that video was apparently taken at Nikki's sister, Chloe

Starting point is 00:27:12 Saly's home. The date it was recorded as unclear, but according to the detective testifying about the video, Nikki had moved in with Chloe for a while during a really rough patch in their marriage. This is several years before Nikki's disappearance and death. By the way, record searchlight reports that Chloe currently has custody of the four children that Nikki had with Tyler. There are protective orders in place to keep Tyler from contacting his children and his wife's family. Anthony, that's really disturbing. How can that come into evidence if it is semi-removed from the events in question? I think it goes back to being nature of the relationship evidence. And so oftentimes, under the murder statute, it allows for that evidence to come back

Starting point is 00:28:02 into play. Most of the time, you'll have to, you'll have to tie that back into whether the complainant, in this case, whether Nikki was aware that he was acting that way. But again, I think even if you couldn't, it just goes to show that violent sort of behavior by Tyler towards Nikki that is going to be relevant in this kind of trial. He can't deny that. it's his voice if that recording is what it is right i mean defense attorneys would say what yeah he was angry who hasn't been angry doesn't mean doesn't make him an actual killer you could argue that um but i think that there's other evidence and their violent acts that the prosecution kind of just rebut that with but yeah the defense probably has to explain it in that fashion well look a lot at stake

Starting point is 00:28:48 here he's facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if he's convicted of murder so we'll see how this case ultimately progresses But Anthony Oso, thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Good to see you. And that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us.

Starting point is 00:29:04 And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll see you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Law&Crime Sidebar - 11 Shocking Updates in Missing Mother Murder Case

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