an ache in the heart. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was one of the most baffling cases investigators had ever seen. >> this tops the charts for most bizarre. >> no one can believe that this actually happened. >> a single mom and a whip smart computer whiz who seemed to disappear. >> i am starting to get text messages saying that she which her job. >> she had something down in kansas. >> left behind a puzzling computer trail. >> emails, text messages, so active on social media. nobody can locate her. >> she did not want to be found. >> exactly. >> a mom turned ghost. was she missing? or hiding? >> i wanted to know. >> taunts, threats, violence -- >> my leg is soaked with blood. oh, jesus. >> a deadly mystery that would lead three moms and one man. >> you were the last one to see her? >> it was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it. he was a drilling me with the ironies. >> it was almost an obsession to get it solved. >> a heart stopping case of jealousy, secret identity, and murder. >> it is like, they are on edge. what's gonna happen next? ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it was dark when they started searching, dark and cold. the 5th of december, 2015, just across the night black missouri from omaha, back and forth when the chopper, as a proud the park, big lake park, iowa, looking for shooter. >> 9-1-1. what's the address of your emergency? >> i have been shot in the leg. >> looking for whoever shot her, the woman who had come out here alone to clear her mind, get that nemesis out of her head. and instead, was bleeding through a hole shot clean through her thigh. >> is there any serious bleeding? >> my pant leg is soaked with blood. oh, jesus. >> oh, she knew who did it, she said. as they catch up her wounded leg, she knew all too well how deadly that crazy woman had been. >> so, she gets to shoot somebody, and then, she gets to kill another person. and then, she gets to move in with dave. and she gets to be free. and you guys are not arresting her. >> she? who was she? that furious woman's scorned. and what horrors was she capable of eliminator rivals, to win, or punish? the one man she is so desperately wanted, the man who didn't want her. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it began, as these things often do, on an innocent and ordinary day in omaha, nebraska, three years earlier. the fall of 2012. >> i am working. i'm behind the counter. doing ten things. >> it happened in an auto repair shop to a mechanic named dave kroupa. >> she walks, in i see her, we meet eyes. just, for a moment, i kind of stopped. i go, well, low. >> he was working. she wanted her suv repaired. >> in the back on my mind, i am thinking, wow, she is gorgeous. but, i'm at work. i'm representing the company i work for. that is off the table. it's not a possibility. >> but did you see the signal coming back? >> yeah, i did. >> then, a few weeks later, it seemed like fate. dave went on a dating website, and there she was. her profile, her picture, her name, cari. he started typing. >> i said, hey, i know you, ha. and she replied, the same thing. >> and then before long she came into his shop again. >> without saying anything, there was some sparks. we're both looking at each other, trying to say something, and we did. and we exchanged phone numbers. >> they had dinner. the food didn't matter. >> and we were very, i would say, enthralled with each other. >> he invited her back to this place and she agreed. and that's when something else happened. it didn't seem so important, not then, not like it would later. just as they walk into the apartment, the doorbell rang. it was daves ex-girlfriend, liz, here to pick up some things she left behind in her apartment. awkward. but cari just laughed, bowed out. >> she said, i get it. it's not a big deal. i'm gonna go home. you can call me when you are done dealing with this mess. >> so, dave escorted cari to the door. and her endless past each other at that moment, and there were no words spoken. >> did it start then, at that moment? later, once listened left his apartment, dave called cari. she invited me out to her place, which was, like an hour drive outside a town. cari when i got to her place was there for 20 minutes making coffee, bs-ing. and of course, pretty soon we are on the couch, and we are getting a little close, i'm, like at this point, we haven't even kissed. she turns to me and she said, look, if you're gonna have sex, that is all it is. period. there is nothing more to it. >> ha. >> and she asked me, are you good with that, is there gonna be a problem? and i said, okay, i hit the power ball. >> because dave felt exactly the same way. >> as a man, i want companionship. so i am always looking for a girlfriend. but never committed relationship. >> and you let them know that this is the way it's gonna be? >> that was the first conversation, yeah, take it or leave it, that's how it is. >> but with cari he, did not have to bring it up. >> it was all her. and we hit it off right from there. >> she told him she was a computer programmer. her office was close to his apartment. they met there, often, made love, talked. >> she was extremely intelligent. she was much smarter than i am. just in general, she just, had a brain on her. >> different than the women you had dated before? >> yeah, well, for instance, what she did for a living, programming, i considered myself a little bit of a computer nerd, compared to her, i don't know what computer was. >> dave reconsidered his no commitment role. a rule he had broken before. with a woman named amy flora. they had two kids together, but it didn't last. >> after 12 years, you would think that there would be some kind of a proposal, or something. but like i said, he's kind of emotionless, so -- >> you really didn't want to get married? >> no, and i want to eventually be married. you know, every girl does. everybody wants their fairytale wedding. >> amy and dave stayed friendly for the sake of their kits. and amy neo-about dates other women. heard about carrie. >> you expected you to meet her to some point, if it continues? >> yeah, if it continued, i would have liked to meet her. >> but amy did not meet cari, not then. no idea what was coming. >> early that november of 2012, cari told dave she had a big project at work. she would stay over at his place, instead of driving home to the country every night. until they began their work week together, and then, on tuesday, november 13th -- >> i gave her a kiss on her way out to the door. like, high, see later, honey. i was almost like a, that sort of 50s tv show garbage. >> that doesn't sound like a guy who has got no attachment. >> didn't say, honey, but that's the way it came out. she brought that out of me. that's why i say, with cari it, is potential, it might have been different with a long term thing. >> so you are in a pretty good mood? >> i was in a great mood. i have this beautiful lady was gonna be in my house when i get home. i don't know who wouldn't smile about that? >> dave was at his shop by 6:30. and he was entirely unprepared. and then -- >> by 10:00, i received a text from her that says, do you want to move in with me? or should we need to move in together, or something along those lines. >> really! >> i texted her back immediately, no, we have known each other for two weeks, it's not gonna happen. as soon as i texted her back, i get a text that says, fine, i don't ever want to see you again. go away. i am dating somebody else. i hate you. on and on and on and on. >> weird. >> very weird. very, what is going on here? but i was at work, it was very busy. i didn't have time for that nonsense. so, back in my mind i'm thinking, phew, i dodged bullet there. >> oh, but he didn't. now, it was just beginning. >> coming up-- who was this woman named carrie? she was about to vanish in a very mysterious way. >> where is she? >> yeah, i didn't know what to think at that point. >> when dateline continues. 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[coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ >> dave kroupa, the man who ith morrison: dave kroupa, the man who liked his sex liked his relationships uncommitted, was confused. the woman who seemed to share his philosophy had turned on him, was behaving like a woman who expected something from him, like a woman scorned. suddenly, she wanted to move in. and when he refused, she responded with a nonstop staccato of angry, often misspelled texts. cari, now, that name sounded like his personal horror show. >> she is the woman from hell now. >> all of a sudden, yeah. in the course of a couple of hours. >> wow. >> maybe to dave omaha, that's how it would seem. but an hours drive away, there was quite a different story. >> here in this tiny sweet farming town called macedonia, iowa. >> i think there is only around 250 people that live there now. it is very -- it is just home. >> home to cari. cari farver, and where she was raised by her stepfather mark, and her mother nancy, who would stick with cari through it all. but of course, they have always known there is something different about cari. >> she felt she wanted to do her own thing, and sometimes -- >> that doesn't always go well. >> it doesn't always go well, yeah. >> the thing is, cari was smart, supersmart. school was easy. but then, so we're boys. >> guys were just drawn to her. >> and she liked it? >> yeah, she did. >> hello, cari! >> but there was something else about cari, said her friend holly drummond. brady, yes. but she sometimes made dubious choices, like when she was away at college, and there was this guy, or a parade of guys. >> she would instantly talk about this night, where they were all dressed up, and it was midnight, they were walking in the streets with a bottle of champagne, i mean, she made a sound like, she made it sound like a romantic movie. >> didn't last. even when cari found out she was pregnant. >> did it come as a surprise? >> yes, yeah. i was just, i knew which was gonna have to go through, because i had been divorced with children, young children. and it's hard. >> it's not easy. >> she moved home, took computer courses, and she named the baby maxwell. everyone called him max. >> she was such a good mother, but i know she had so much on her plate too at that time, going to school and everything else. but she did very well. she held up very well. >> except that is, for mood swings, the dreadful depressions. >> she just would go under the covers and sleep, you know, she just hibernate. she would close herself off from everything. >> it is hard for a mother to watch her daughter go through that. >> yeah, it is. trying to get it out of her, you know, what can i do? and there is really nothing that i can do or say. >> but it got better, once cari was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, medication evened things out, and cari and max settled into an apparently happy and successful life. and then, that inexplicable turn. cari had just started that high tech job of hers in omaha. >> she didn't really like that job. >> which was she doing? >> she was computer programming. >> and then, november 2012, she took on that big project. max was a teenager then. he understood about her long hours and how she decided to stay in the city for a few days. he didn't ask about the man she would be staying with. >> i didn't know dave at the time. i just had heard of a dave, that was about. >> even talk about him? >> no. , usually, things like that he wouldn't talk about. >> dave, that's all her family knew. >> she wasn't a very good place. she had been for a long time, and i didn't think too much about it. >> and so, that weekend, nancy picked up max, and later cari drove off to omaha to spend the week with dave. she didn't text me or anything that monday. >> and then, i started getting text messages saying that she quit her job, she was going to kansas to live, and -- >> what was it like to get that? >> it was totally off the wall. >> that was about the same time dave was getting those angry texts. that, nancy had no idea about that. anyway, her news came as a big surprise to nancy. though, to max, maybe not so much. >> because she had something down in kansas that she was gonna be going interviewing for, after those few days at work. >> his mom had mentioned a possible job change. she even discussed with him staying with grandma to finish high school. and then, early that weird week -- >> i got a text, saying, hey, i got a second interview. >> but she would be back from kansas on the weekend, she texted, for a family wedding, at which max was an usher. but as the bride walked down the aisle, no sign of cari. >> i was, okay, she is running late. she would be at the reception. she'll be there for the party. but at the party, i remember probably, five, ten minutes i was glancing back at the door, just waiting for her. >> where is she? >> just wondering where she was. i just kept saying, she'll be any minute. she'll be or any minute. but not got around. and she wasn't there. i didn't know what to think at that point. >> coming up -- unsettling doubts about cari's story. was she moving? or was she missing? >> i got this feeling in my bones. something wasn't right here. >> i wasn't sure what was going on. >> it scared me tremendously. and i thought, i've got to do something. >> when "dateline" continues. hi, my name's steve. i lost 138 pounds on golo and i kept it off. so with other diets, you just feel like you're muscling your way through it. the reason why i like golo is plain and simple, it was easy. i didn't have to grit my teeth and do a diet. golo's a lifestyle change and you make the change and it stays off. golo's changed my life in so many ways. i sleep better, i eat better. took my shirt off for the first time in 25 years. it's golo. it's all golo. it's smarter, it's better, it will change your life forever. >> as long as he could remember, keith morrison: long as he could remember, max farver believed he knew his mom cari as well as anybody max believed he knew his mom cari, as well as anybody possibly could. we were really close. i was our second opinion on most things. >> so when cari was a no-show at the wedding, max knew something was way off. >> i wasn't sure what was going on. but, i was, i just knew something was wrong. >> i just get this feeling in my bones that i was, it was something that wasn't right here. >> nancy could not tell her grandson about the truly disturbing text she had received from carrie. this one didn't say anything about a new job. instead, cari texted she broke up with her boyfriend. and was thinking about checking into a mental hospital. >> that is scary. >> yes, it scared me tremendously. >> by boyfriend, did she mean this mysterious death? >> do you know how to reach this guy? do you even know what his last name was? >> i didn't know what to start looking for. >> so it was not like? >> it is hell. it's just -- frustration and just helplessness. >> so, before dropping off max at the wedding, she called the county sheriff's office, to file a missing persons report. they took down all the information, of course, and they couldn't, they didn't really offer too much. >> well, i guess they thought she's a grown woman. she can leave if she wants to leave. >> nancy told the deputies about cari's struggles with bipolar disorder. and here's what they told her, said nancy. >> well, she's probably gone for a medicine, and you, know these things happen. and that happens a lot. >> narcy tried calling, but cari just would not pick up. she did respond to text, but sent mixed messages. >> by moving down with this dave, i had no idea who this dave was. >> it was confusing did she have some sort of mental breakdown? cari quit her job in omaha, center company a text to let them know, and texted her mom but she was taking that job in kansas. and moving away. and has sold her furniture. she attached a photo of a check from the buyer. cari wanted nancy to let the buyer pick it up out of macedonia, and take it away. >> i said, absolutely not. i said, either you call me, you come see me, you come see me, i'm not doing anything before i can see you. that is a nasty text that started coming. >> but i was a bad mother. that she was gonna leave -- >> terry texted max too and let him know. >> you're coming with me, you have no choice. on the adult here. and what i say goes. >> i'm just trying to imagine what it was like to be you in the middle of this. >> it was a bit scary because we all thought that someone might come at school to try and get me. because the school would legally have to let them let me go with them, like if my mom showed up. >> max was scared, had no idea what was going on with his mom. he wanted to stay with his grandparents. >> i have heard all these horror stories about people having these personality changes. and going off the deep and. and i thought, i've got to do something about max. i've got to keep him safe. >> nancy applied for temporary guardianship of max. >> that must be so weird? >> oh. >> fraught? >> yes. i'm just wondering, what am i doing to my daughter, if we were doing this, the lawyer said, now, this is just temporary. she comes back, you can always undo this. i said, okay. >> meanwhile, surely the sheriff could find her daughter with some help. she showed them cari's texts about the furniture. the phone company said they were coming from a location in omaha. officers went there. no cari. >> sergeant jim doty and ryan avis of the pottawatomie sheriff's office who joined the investigation much later, said the next step was to find the women who paid for the furniture. her name was shanna golyar. >> we called her. went to voice mail, which she returned that call the next day. >> shanna went by her middle name, liz. and it turned out that was the same liz dave kroupa once dated. she lived in omaha with her two kids. liz told the cops that somebody stole her checkbook, and she suspecte was the woman she ran in dave's information>> she is with, him , she goes off the rails, you want to talk to.>> and by th could tell the police, scary. >> coming up -- >> he was drilling me with the policeman eyes. >> police have some questions for dave. >> she was at your house. you are the last one to see her. >> it was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it. >> when dateline continues. and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ [laughing] ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. with cirkul, your water is deliciously flavored at the turn of a dial, with zero sugar and zero calories. and cirkul has over 40 flavors, so your water can be as unique as you are. try cirkul. your water, your way. now with even more flavors. available at walmart or drinkcirkul.com. -- has been underway since midnight. 14 hostages kidnapped by hamas are expected to be released into israeli custody later today. president biden says, he has his fingers crossed that american girl whose parents were killed in the october 7th attack will be along the first hostages released today is her fifth birthday. now back to dateline. >> dave kroupa was upset. maybe as upset as he'd ever been. ever since he told cari that she couldn't move in with him, she had been texting and emailing and saying awful things, and making his life miserable. he tried calling her, but she didn't answer. and then, a little more than a week later, the cops showed up at his auto repair shop. >> how did you find out they were there? they just showed up? >> yeah, there was no warning. >> the detectives took him outside for top. >> they told me, do you know cari? i was like, yeah, what? when did you see her last? the morning of? okay, where is she now? i have no idea. >> the detectives didn't seem to buy that. >> he was drilling me with the policeman eyes, the ones that are like, you know, -- >> where were you at 6:30 on that morning? >> yeah, no, i totally had the feeling -- >> she was at your house. you are the last one to see her. >> and that was how he approached me, it was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it, and it's time to deal with it, you know? and i was like, whoa, whoa, slow down. >> david tried to explain, he said. >> hey, man. i don't know where she is at, but i have nothing to do with it. you know, i don't know where she's at. and i don't want to know where she is at that point. i just wanted her to go away. >> because dave told detectives, cari would not stop messaging him. he showed him his phone, and was adamant he had not seen her since the morning he left her at his place. >> do you think they believed you when you said you didn't know where she was? >> 100% they believed me. >> and then, the strangest thing, cari started texting the detective too. i would really appreciate it if you leave dave kroupa out of it. the detective texted cari back. >> we can't stop looking into it. we need to locate you, and a missing person entry won't be taken out until someone talks to in-person. to where we know you are okay. >> did she respond to that? >> she said it was pointless. >> she didn't want to be found? >> exactly. >> but the detective got another text. this one seemed ominous. i want one person to go away for destroying everything for me. who might that person be? the detective had a pretty good idea. dave showed them texts in which cari blamed liz for their breakup, even though, as he explained, he and liz weren't even together, when he met cari. it made sense of that cari must have stolen liz's checkbook, maybe even forged that check for five grand. the detectives called liz right away, and told her she should follow report with the omaha pd. it was their jurisdiction. but before she got the chance, liz went to her garage, and there, sprawled on the wall, she found the words, whore from dave. all of it was so strange, thought detectives. >> it's pretty hot. >> like maybe she'd had a breakdown or something, like a psychotic episode. >> that would be the only answer. >> to the police in omaha, cari was now a suspected stalker. back home, in pottawatomie county, iowa, she was still a missing person, with a very worried family. cari's mother heard about the threatening texts, the harassment, the police reports filed against her daughter. to her, it didn't seem like cari at all. and it made her wonder. how serious were the police about finding her daughter? >> i got a little callous towards the authorities. i was thinking that, i didn't think they were doing what they should have been doing. >> do you get the feeling, they just want to get in there and storm the barricades, and make something happen? >> yeah. again, i didn't know how much i can do. i didn't know where to start. >> cari had been gone for almost two weeks. thanksgiving, a day away. nancy said cari message her on facebook. >> i've got a roast in the crock pot, and we will eat about six. we are going to dads for thanksgiving, and eating about noon or one. we love you, cari. cari didn't respond, and didn't show up for thanksgiving dinner. less than a month later, nancy's ex husband, cari's father, died of cancer. cari didn't come to the funeral. instead, she sent a message on facebook, i am sorry i missed the funeral! just a few days before that, she posted on facebook, david kroupa proposed to me. i said, yes. what in heaven's name was going on. nancy called the detectives who called dave, who swore, no way he was engaged with cari. he said he hadn't even seen her, but still heard from her constantly, a hail of texts and emails that was only getting thicker. >> i would receive 50 - 60 a day. >> a day? >> yeah, all day long. at one point, my phone was completely useless. it will just be running so much, i just couldn't answer a phone, or send a text. >> like why don't you change your phone number? >> i did that a couple of times. >> you did, and it still kept coming? >> they did. >> occasionally, cari's texts seemed almost normal. i know i ruined it. i tell myself don't be crazy this guy was nice to you but something takes over. but mostly, the emails and messages were angry texts, about perceived romantic rivals, miss golyar in particular. >> she is a whore, you shouldn't be with someone like that. i hope we can see each other soon. and then, with a shutter, they realized cari did see him. she seemed to be watching this every moment. it was very traumatizing for me to get messages, emails, to say, i see you through your window. you are doing this. i'd go, i am doing this. okay, great. now haul butt outside, you are looking for somebody, because somebody knows what i'm doing. >> even more disturbing, cari messaged dave that she had taken his extra apartment to, and had been coming and going when he was going when he was not there. liz got unsettling emails too. i am out in your garage, so what should i do to your car? i see my handiwork is still on the wall. attached to the email, a photo, to prove cari was there. eventua thcari wro claiming she kidnapped remained she a cruciaan>> it was likeyou. gh it all, care alone. ined ile even after sted dash was ving intpartment builearby. >> yes, coupleding away, why,s thatyou? i am onlg month month they went lookr cari cou >> and t buildg number was correc the apartment cari was still nowo be found, butr the co dave did finmething belonged to cari >> coming up - a crucial discovery, almos buried in the snow and the danger escalates >> it was like, what in th hell >> into something deadly >> it's like you are on edge what's gonna happen next >> when "dateline" continues new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? 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[music playing] [coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ >> big snow in omaha that and find your voice. keith morrison: big snow in omaha that winter of 2012-13, the winter cari farvers texts were driving dave kroupa crazy. blizzards were nothing compared to them. and worse, said dave, the skin crawling feeling that she was stalking him, spying on him. but always like a ghost, when he looked she was gone. then, one day about two months after it started dave was driving home from his shop. dave kroupa: and im coming through the parking lot and i notice the truck there, because it winter of 2012, 2013. the winter cari farver's texts were driving dave kroupa crazy. blizzards were nothing compared to them. the worst, said dave, this crawling feeling that she was stalking him, spying on him. but always, like a ghost. and in a look, she was gone. then, one day, about two months after it started, dave was starting home from a shop. >> i come into the parking lot. and i noticed the truck there, because it still had all the snow on. and when i got close, i said, it's an explorer. it's the right color. so, i called the sheriff and said, i'm pretty sure i found her truck. >> he was right. it was cari's suv, still half buried in the snow. >> they impounded it. we had a crime scene tech process it. and it was really clean. >> they did a thorough investigation? >> yeah, they invested it for prints, they found a fingerprint inside, we covered that. >> the fingerprint was found on a mint container in the cup holder of the suv. they ran the print through the national database. no hits. but if cari wasn't using her suv, at least, certainly not daily, her presence was unavoidable as ever, through those texts and emails, threatening photos, sent to both dave kroupa and liz golyar. now, the detectives made sure to do a phone check from both of their devices to preserve the evidence, and perhaps, figure out where she was. it was even a link to a fake obituary for liz. see what i made for the horror? i will kill her, and i already made her an obituary, so it's done. then, minutes later, i'm trying to hire someone to get rid of that whore liz for us. you told me before, you wanted her gone. do we want to pay just for the bitch or the two kids too. i hope to see you soon. your beautiful cari. >> trying to enlist you in her scheme, to kill liz. >> yeah, that was a very interesting breed, the first time ever thought. i was, like oh my god. what in the hell? >> cari didn't seem to realize that her ongoing harassment was actually pushing dave and liz back together. >> i compared notes on the harassment? >> spent hours talking about it. sending each other texts and emails, now -- >> kind of comforting each other. >> i mean, who else would understand that? >> exactly, nobody else did understand. >> now, dave and liz were regulars of the omaha pd, filing one complaint after the other against cari. at the time, they reported that cari broke dave's apartment window and that's when the detective stepped in to investigate. >> he said, yeah, it's her, she's done to me before. and fights photos of her, shows me some text messages, and she had made a text referencing the fact that she broke out his window. >> he could see the attacks were escalating from angry texts to theft, and then vandalism, and then threats to physical harm. he obtained an arrest warrant for cari farver, not that he had much hope of finding her. he knew cari was a computer expert, probably using software to discuss the phones and computers for messages came from. >> i thought, well, maybe, this must be some kind of avenue she is utilizing, because, nothing is there, we can find her. >> weeks passed, and each time dave and liz were hit with an even more outrageous barrage, lagreau would look again, and again not find cari. and yet, it all seemed to be leading somewhere bad. >> were dave and liz afraid? >> oh, yeah. it's not so much you are terrified of the individual. it's like, you are on edge, what's gonna happen next? >> and sure enough, what's happened next was terrified? >> early saturday morning, august 17th, liz called dave, frantic. >> the house burned out. oh my god, it is that crazy person cari stalking me again. liz has been in the middle of mong out. she undercuts were already sleeping on the new place when she went back to the old place up more of her things.to pick instead, she had to call the omaha fire department. they responded right away. later, so did detective lagreau. >> inside the house is pretty charred and burned, and pretty sufficient. really could've ended up turning burning the house, but just didn't quite get to that point. >> but it was deadly enough. liz had two dogs, one cat, and a pet snake, all we're still in the house. all of them were found dead. across the street, they saw women in a car parked outside liz's house a few weeks before the fire. detective lagreau showed them a photo of cari. the neighbors said they couldn't be sure but she had the same general appearance. with an email to dave made no secret of who did it, i am not lying. i set that nasty whore's house on fire. i hope the whore and the kids die. and later, hope you and your kids burned to death. >> we are getting into situations like arson, threats to individuals lives, or those around them, their children, the ex-boyfriend. certainly, you are gonna take that much more seriously. >> suddenly, the case against cari was very serious indeed. but still, like smoke from the fire, she vanished. >> what i did was try and find some way, somebody saw her, and then, came up with nothing, over and over again, nothing. >> this time, said day, he was afraid to try to attack his kids but too. what did she say when she threatened your kids, for example? >> oh, something along the lines i would slip your children's throats. >> wow! >> that's pretty hard to read. >> it took a toll, said dave. >> for a while, i was drinking heavily, which is not me. never been a time in my life where i was a real drinker, and i was a drinking until the bar closed, and going to start again at 6:00 in the morning. >> wow, and you bought a gun? >> sure, yeah. >> why? >> for my safety and my children's safety. for just protection in general, i was like, i didn't know. >> so, dave and liz kept watch in the city, wary, fearful. back in macedonia, cari's family was hoping with a whole different set of emotions, emptiness, grief. and a terrible knowing uncertainty. nancy had sent several pleading messages, come home. cari, you are my daughter, and i always love you no matter what. we just need to see you, hear your voice, know where you are. i love this so much. you're my little girl. come home. >> for a parent, for a mother, i don't know how do you characterize this episode in your life? >> how do you talk about those feelings and make sense of them? >> there was no sense of it. there was no making sense of it. >> what's happened to cari farver? and why? >> coming up -- news like a lightning bolt for a family in anguish. someone claims have seen cari. >> my heart was just racing like crazy. >> could it be, after all this time? >> did you rehearse what you would say when you saw her? >> where have you been? >> when "dateline" continues. 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[coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g >> where was cari farver? home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. keith morrison: where was cari farver? everyone wanted to know, especially her family. >> it was it like a christmas time without her? >> it was hard. it was hard. >> christmas was once magic for max here in macedonia, a celebration of his amazing bond with his mother, of little things like their families gift opening traditions. >> our house, everyone goes on once we go by age, do rounds, at christmas. and just, growing for me to grandma, to receive gift. >> it was wrong? you kind of had to bottle it up, didn't you? >> kind of. >> he didn't show his emotion too much to me, because he knew that i was -- >> you're worried. >> i was really worried. but i found out from his girlfriend's mother that he would go over to her house after school, instead to his girlfriend's house. and her mother told me that he did a lot of crying at their house. and -- that bothered me, of course. >> a bit of hope after that first christmas without cari in april 2013. the phone rang. on the line was a man. >> saying that cari was at this homeless shelter in omaha. and that we were to go pick her up. >> what is happening in here, a new? >> just flutters, i mean, my heart was just racing like crazy. >> the shelter was about an hour away. nancy, who had neither seen her daughter nor heard her voice for months, was too -- to drive. so she asked her brother to take her. >> i was so tense. and it was just trying to catch a breath, and just -- >> did you rehearse what you would say when you saw her? >> where have you been? yeah, and you know, do you want to come back home? >> and investigator met nancy at the shelter. he had a photo of cari with him. >> when we went into the shelter, and investigators showed me the picture, and wanted to know if there is been anybody there like her. and they said, she hasn't been here. >> what is that like? >> well, you know, your hopes are dashed again. it just, i think, where can she be? >> it's a feeling that comes with realizing her -- >> yes, i went home and i thought, i can't live with this anymore. this is just too much. >> again nancy messaged cari. cari, we were at siena house, where are you? no response. then, a facebook post weeks later. i'm a grown woman and if i feel like leaving home, i have the right. i asked my son max to come with me, but you didn't want to, so when i'm ready to come back home, i will. i love you all very much, but i need time still to sort things out. then, there were posts like this one. liz is the hole that took my boyfriend away from me. eallnice guy. nancy have to wonder, maybe self delusion, but these messages just didn't sound like her. >> because my daughter was so meticulous about grammar, and spelling, and the way it sounded. >> this stuff was like what? >> oh, it was just garbage. >> sort of chaotic. >> yes, it was chaotic. the language that was used and everything else, cari wouldn't use any kind of language. >> unless she had become a different sort of person? >> right, yeah. that too, i'm thinking, is this the case. >> and her daughter had a total breakdown? or what if cari's disappearance was not what it seem to be? >> coming up -- max reaches out to his mother with a test. >> things only she would know? >> things only she would know. >> and dave buys another gun that soon goes missing. could cari be behind it? >> she is still active, sending text messages, pictures. >> or maybe it wasn't cari at all. soon, police would be investigating a whole new suspect. >> when "dateline" continues. new suspect. keith morrison: when dateline continues. keith morrison: cari faver's family was desperate for answers. no one had seen or spoken to her in months. yes, there were texts and facebook messages, but somehow, they just didn't sound like cari. at least not to her mother, who was beginning to suspect her daughter may have been the victim of some kind of crime. what if cari was kidnapped? what if someone stole her identity? she asked the police about that. keith morrison: what did they say? nancy raney: and they said, yeah, we-- well, well check it out. you know, that kind of thing. keith morrison: nothing came of it, but after caris father died, nancys ex-husband, she had this weird dream. nancy raney: he came to me very vividly in the dream and said, he said, dont worry, nancy. shes with me. and that sounds silly, but thats when i knew. that-- because i knew she wouldnt just vanish. keith morrison: but of course nancy didnt know for sure. nancy raney: and every time something would pop up online, or wed get a text or something, there was this hope that maybe shes still out there. keith morrison: max was looking for answers his own way. about a month after nancy went to the shelter in omaha, max sent his mom a message on facebook. "hi." that was it, and then the next day cari responded. "hey, little man, how are you?" max messaged back. "i have three questions." keith morrison: things only she would know. max farver: yeah. yeah. things only she would know. keith morrison: max asked, "one, what is my middle name? two, what was our first boxers name (the dog)? three, who was my best friend as a little kid?" keith morrison: and what was the response? max farver: nothing. i-- i never got a response to that one. keith morrison: which meant what? was that his not- in-her-right-mind mom, or could his grandma be right that someone had kidnapped cari? no way of knowing really, and the messages kept coming, like this one for caris mom. "im not hurt, mom. i miss everyone too. i just had a breakdown and i think im getting over it. i should have come to my senses sooner and realize the guy wasnt worth it." and then the following year for mothers day. "happy mothers day, mom. how has max been?" nancy frustrated, replied, "call me and ill gladly tell you about him. this is not talking. i need to hear your voice." cari never called. for nancy and max, the anguish of missing cari never stopped. and meanwhile, all dave kroupa wanted was to escape her. in february 2015 dave moved from omaha to council bluffs, iowa across the river. his kids lived there with amy flora, and he wanted to spend more time with them, and he hoped cari wouldnt find him there. he bought another gun just in case. and after about three years of relentless harassment things finally seemed to be quieting down for liz and dave. there werent as many messages from cari. she seemed to be fading away. and as that happened, liz and dave saw each other less and less too. there was just one rather scary thing. that gun dave bought for protection, the one hed kept hidden, high in a closet disappeared. keith morrison: and youre the only guy in that apartment. dave kroupa: right. im the only one living there. now my minds racing. theres no forced entry. the doors are all shut and locked. the windows are shut. keith morrison: well, what did you think? dave kroupa: i didnt know what the hell to think. keith morrison: meanwhile, in pottawattamie county, iowa, where cari farver lived before she became a mysterious and dangerous digital persona, her disappearance was more office chatter than active case. thats when detectives sergeant jim doty and corporal ryan avis got hooked on it. jim doty: wed heard some stuff, you know, just, you know, water cooler talk, i guess-- keith morrison: yeah. jim doty: --about the case. and it was something that-- keith morrison: about this strange, crazy woman. jim doty: yeah. it piqued our-- ryan avis: it was interesting. jim doty: --it piqued our interests. and so we requested to take a look at it. keith morrison: that was april 2015. more than two years after caris reign of terror began. the file was huge by then. a bizarre digital house of mirrors. and so doty and avis decided to sort things out. beginning with a very simple question police had never really considered before, though her family certainly had. was cari farver really the vengeful woman she seemed to be? or did she even exist? jim doty: thought the smart idea was not to have tunnel vision on any direction. so, ryan worked it as if caris still alive. and he was going to work it until he came to a dead end. i was going to work it like she was not alive. because theres-- theres things that would lead us to maybe both conclusions. you know, shes still active and sending text messages, sending pictures. keith morrison: she certainly seemed alive. jim doty: so maybe shes alive. but shes also missed so many significant events, and hadnt physically been seen by anybody. ryan avis: and we started from scratch. started reading. keith morrison: reviewing all the old material. jim doty: mm-hm. ryan avis: mm-hm. calling-- jim doty: reading all the reports. looking through the phone downloads, listening to any interviews that had been recorded, just diving in. keith morrison: of course they spoke to dave kroupa. no doubt in his mind cari was alive and crazy. jim doty: he was transparent. he gave us access to his whole e- mail account. ryan avis: eleven thousand e-mails that he had saved over the years. could be more. keith morrison: wow. keith morrison: but that wasnt all they had. right there in the file was a wholesale dump of material from liz golyars cell phone. so, they were learning a lot about both dave and liz. theyd been immersed in all that for months but hadnt interviewed liz yet when, in the office one day, pure coincidence-- ryan avis: i was in the hallway talking with a county attorney, and another investigator was walking down the hall with liz to his office. keith morrison: wow. ryan avis: and it-- to me, it was like i saw a famous person, because i knew everything about her. and she was there to file a harassment report. keith morrison: but this was odd, her complaint wasnt against cari, it was someone else. ryan avis: amy flora, thats the mother of daves children. keith morrison: wait. amy? not cari? first detective avis did a kind of psychic double-take. then he asked if he could be the one to interview liz. ryan avis: whos your ex-boyfriend? liz golyar: dave kroupa. ryan avis: dave cooper? liz golyar: k-r-o-u-p-a. ryan avis: thats your ex. and he has kids with amy flora. liz golyar: mm-hm. keith morrison: liz told detective avis that her on-again, off-again relationship with dave was off again. but ever since their most recent split, daves ex, amy, had been stalking her on facebook. and she was very worried because? liz golyar: not even two days after we broke up his apartment was broken into and his gun was stolen. so i-- i told the police officer i was kind of worried that-- since she has a key to his apartment. keith morrison: and that, said liz, is when she suddenly realized that she and dave had been played for fools. for three years shed believed cari was the woman behind all the threatening messages, the harassing graffiti, the deadly fire that killed her pets. but suddenly, it was like a light went on, said liz. it wasnt cari at all. that scary, awful, online villainess, the woman responsible for all the trouble had to be amy flora, daves ex. the mother of his children. diabolical. but think about it, said liz. amy was the one who so desperately wanted dave. she had the motive. but cari? not really. liz golyar: like i said, they only dated for two weeks, and i dont understand why a person would still be stalking him almost three years later. ryan avis: cari and dave dated for two weeks? liz golyar: mm-hm. ryan avis: and she-- liz golyar: supposedly is the one stalking for three-- three years. i would find it more reasonable to believe that his kids mom is the one thats-- keith morrison: head spinning. detective avis made some notes. told liz hed do what he could to help her out. and no surprise-- the very next evening, december 5th, liz felt like she needed some time alone to think. she drove out to big lake park, took a walk along the trail there, sat down on a bench. quiet. alone. in the gathering cold and dark. and thats when it happened. the deafening bark of a gun, and the pain tearing through her thigh. liz golyar: ive been shot in the leg. keith morrison: coming up keith morrison: somebody in the park? what, armed and dangerous? matthew kuhlmann: yes. keith morrison: a shooter on the loose. and the prime suspect? amy flora: all i heard was open up, police. and two officers with guns drawn. keith morrison: pointing at you? amy flora: yes. keith morrison: when dateline continues. 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[coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ anoperator: is thee. assailant still nearby? liz golyar: i dont think so. i took off running. operator: do you know if it was a male or a female? liz golyar: uh, female. keith morrison: it was dark when the council bluffs pd roared out to big lake park. found a wounded and bleeding liz golyar, packed her off to the hospital. while the chopper trained down a search light and ground-based cops scoured the paths and bushes. keith morrison: so somebody in the park on foot and, what, armed and dangerous? matthew kuhlmann: yes. keith morrison: while other cops searched for the shooter, detective matthew kuhlmann checked on liz at the hospital. matthew kuhlmann: you could tell that she-- you know, she was in pain. keith morrison: i cant imagine. matthew kuhlmann: obvious wound to her leg. keith morrison: but liz was lucky. the bullet went clean through her leg, missed bones and arteries. it could have been much worse. she told the detective what happened. matthew kuhlmann: she said she came out here to clear her mind. and she walked out to a bench, and sat down. and then a female who she believed to be amy flora-- keith morrison: uh-huh. matthew kuhlmann: --came up behind her, stuck a gun to her back, told her to get on the ground, and then shot her in the leg, and then ran off. keith morrison: a few minutes later, a city police task force surrounded amys apartment. amy flora: and i kind of seen somebody leaning against my building. and i said, whos there? and all i heard was, open up, police. so i opened the door. keith morrison: yeah. amy flora: and they had two officers with guns drawn. keith morrison: pointing at you? amy flora: yes. yeah. keith morrison: what did they say to you? amy flora: they had said that i was accused of shooting liz. keith morrison: they searched her home, and later sat her down in an interview room and hooked her up to a polygraph machine. asked her questions like this one, among others. keith morrison: did you go to big lakes park that day? amy flora: no. keith morrison: amy also denied that she shot liz. again and again. but she failed the polygraph. still, something didnt add up. when that local detective arrived at amys place right after the shooting, he felt the hood of her car. ice cold, hadnt been driven for a while. and the neighbor said amy was home all afternoon. so, was amy so nervous she blew the polygraph? or was something else going on? detective avis went to see liz at the hospital, his recorder rolling. ryan avis: i feel like its just written on the wall-- what it is. its amy shot you with daves gun, isnt it? liz golyar: pretty much. thats what im thinking. dave still doesnt think so. keith morrison: you seemed like the friendly cop. ryan avis: or the dumb one, ill be whatever she wanted, as long as she kept telling us information. keith morrison: wait, what? avis was playing dumb, he said, to pump liz for information. because he and his partner had a strong suspicion about who really shot her. a truly shocking idea. something beyond devious. ryan avis: she shot herself, is what i thought. keith morrison: liz shot herself? that sounded crazy. or maybe, a certain kind of crazy. remember, to help catch cari farver, liz had given the police her cell phone. and heres what detectives doty and avis found on that phone. a photo of cari farvers suv, which didnt make any sense at all. because-- jim doty: we looked at the date that was taken. and it was taken on christmas eve of 2012. keith morrison: wasnt that when her car was actually missing? jim doty: yeah, it hadnt been recovered till january of 2013. ryan avis: mm-hm. jim doty: so, we thought thats-- thats weird that the police couldnt find it. dave didnt know where it was, but somehow liz was able to take a picture of it. keith morrison: but that wasnt all. remember that threatening photo cari e-mailed to dave of a woman bound and duct taped? that photo was linked back to liz. which made them wonder, was it possible those wild and scary electronic messages all sent in caris name were really sent by liz? tricky even for a computer whiz to nail that bit of jello to the wall. jim doty: its beyond our expertise and thats when-- keith morrison: well, i was going to say, how-- how well do you know computers and social media and all of that nonsense? jim doty: we-- we had-- ryan avis: we know how to pick up a phone and call tony kava and tell him that hes got a lot of information to look at. keith morrison: tony kava, whos he? keith morrison: your cave. tony kava: by day i do it work, and ive done that for about fifteen years. and then by night, i fight crime, so. keith morrison: you sound like a superhero. keith morrison: anthony kavas day job is it supervisor for pottawattamie county. but at night, for a dollar a year, hes a reserve sheriff's deputy. keith morrison: i mean, how much stuff did you have to go through? tony kava: it was-- it was terabytes worth of information. maybe about three dozen e-mail accounts, a dozen facebook accounts and a number of different apps. keith morrison: and in his tiny office kava sat, hour after hour, late into the night, deciphering enormous amounts of digital data. tony kava: it might take her five minutes to create a fake e- mail account. it might take me, you know, fifteen hours to prove that its actually her. keith morrison: among those many accounts was a youtube account with this video. tony kava: the title of the video is husbands cheating place. and that video showed the apartment of dave kroupa. keith morrison: but the ip address where that video was uploaded was where liz lived. tony kava: so again it was another arrow pointing at liz. keith morrison: painstakingly, arrow by arrow, anthony kava compiled the evidence. his conclusion--every one of those threatening e-mails, and texts, and facebook posts and youtube videos, linked right back to liz golyar. meanwhile, detectives doty and avis busied themselves with good old-fashioned earth-bound evidence. remember that one unidentified fingerprint found in a mint container in caris otherwise spotless suv? jim doty: and we asked our crime scene tech, hey, can you compare that fingerprint to the known prints of liz, see what you come up with. keith morrison: it was a match. jim doty: this lady who should have had very little interaction with cari should-- had no reason to ever be in her vehicle. ryan avis: only met her in passing one time. keith morrison: yeah? ryan avis: but now, her fingerprint is in her car. keith morrison: liz in caris suv. liz impersonating cari online. there was no logical explanation for it, unless-- jim doty: we think liz may have been involved with making cari disappear. keith morrison: a case about to dive right through the looking glass. and on the other side? hard to believe. keith morrison: coming up jim doty: why else would you disguise yourself as cari if you werent responsible for it? keith morrison: what had really happened to cari? police hatch a bold new plan to finally get to the bottom of it all. jim doty: im investigator doty. i work here for the sheriffs office. keith morrison: when dateline continues. i got this $1,000 camera for only $41 on dealdash. dealdash.com, online auctions since 2009. this playstation 5 sold for only 50 cents. this ipad pro sold for less than $34. and this nintendo switch, sold for less than $20. i got this kitchenaid stand mixer for only $56. i got this bbq smoker for 26 bucks. and shipping is always free. go to dealdash.com right now and see how much you can save. i'm sholeh, and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6. before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ morrison: by the time these two county detectives started looking into the strange case of cari farver, and all those jealousy-fueled texts and e-mails and threats and arson, caris son max was getting ready for high school graduation. he hadnt seen his mom in three years. but always the optimist, he decided to try one more time to reach her on facebook. max farver: i was-- at that point it was just a last-ditch effort. just hoping something would happen. keith morrison: "if this is really you please come back i want you to be at my graduation." keith morrison: when she didnt respond, how did that feel? max farver: i-- i wasnt really surprised, because like i said, i knew it wasnt her. keith morrison: max and nancy had suspected for months that all those digital rants were not actually from cari. and they didnt know it yet, but detectives jim doty and ryan avis agreed with them. the detectives already had proof liz was impersonating cari online. but they also suspected something much darker. remember, another part of their investigation involved this basic question. was cari farver alive or dead? jim doty: her father died. keith morrison: yeah. jim doty: and she didnt go to the funeral. missed her sons birthday. all these things. i mean, it didnt take ryan very long at all to come to a dead end where he-- he couldnt find anything to show that- ryan avis: no. jim doty: -she was alive. keith morrison: suddenly cari farver looked not like a villain, but like the real victim. and the woman who claimed she was the victim, liz golyar, looked like the prime suspect in caris disappearance. jim doty: because why else would you disguise yourself as cari if you werent responsible for it? why would you be in caris vehicle if you werent responsible for it? keith morrison: all of that is so counterintuitive and so bizarre that, you know, you wouldnt be expected to believe such a thing. jim doty: no. keith morrison: it was stunning. really. liz apparently impersonating cari for years sending thousands of texts and e- mails in her name. but now they had a bigger question and a much bigger problem. jim doty: i guess part of the worry was that even if we could prove that its liz sending all this stuff out as cari, well, that doesnt prove murder. keith morrison: murder? yes. sergeant doty and corporal avis believed that liz killed cari out of jealousy, impersonated cari in order to win dave back, then tried to frame his ex-partner amy for everything. even going so far as to set her own house on fire, kill the family pets and shoot herself in the leg. pretty wild stuff. but, could they prove it? jim doty: we needed something more. so, we still werent quite sure how to get to that point. keith morrison: and then liz herself, by accusing amy of shooting her, gave them their big idea. ryan avis: and thats when we introduced jim to liz. jim doty: well, im investigator doty. i work here for the sheriffs office. keith morrison: little over a week after the shooting in the park, liz arrived at the sheriffs station wearing her work uniform. jim doty: i told you i was looking into a missing persons case briefly on the phone. keith morrison: he told her there was a break in the case. jim doty: there are some-- been some remains that have been located. liz golyar: okay. jim doty: okay. keith morrison: it was a ruse of course. jim doty: were waiting on the lab results to make a positive id but the initial indications that these remains are cari. liz golyar: okay. jim doty: okay. keith morrison: meanwhile, said detective doty, he was hoping liz could help establish a timeline, like when was the last time liz saw cari. well that was easy, said liz. one brief encounter when liz went unannounced to daves apartment back in 2012. liz golyar: i didnt know he was dating anybody else at the time. jim doty: mm-hm. liz golyar: so she came out and i was going in. jim doty: mm-hm. liz golyar: and she made a smart comment to me. jim doty: whatd she say to you? liz golyar: called me a bitch. jim doty: okay. okay. liz golyar: and it wasnt a big deal. i didnt really care at the time. i just wanted to get my stuff. and then i left and went home. jim doty: okay. thats the only time youve ever seen her in person? liz golyar: yup. keith morrison: she told detective doty that it was dave who blamed cari for all those harassing messages over the years. but just as she had told detective avis, she now thought perhaps amy was really the one behind it all. liz golyar: she was with him for twelve years. and she still goes in and out of his life all the time, so. jim doty: yeah. so you think she couldve been the person that did some of that stuff to you? liz golyar: im just saying, as another person who would be possessive of dave, it would be her. so i mean i wouldnt put it past her. keith morrison: detective doty pretended to agree. jim doty: im thinking if she was bold enough to go and then shoot you, okay, she could easily be bold enough to have done something to cari. keith morrison: of course, he said, hed need to prove it. jim doty: if we had messages from her saying, hey, i did this, or i did that, you know, i could easily start building that case. liz golyar: right. jim doty: we want to build a case against amy. and we want to get amy thrown in prison, which we were hoping was music to her ears. keith morrison: and apparently it was. liz agreed to help with the investigation and she limped away. keith morrison: and she became a little deputy for you? jim doty: yeah. keith morrison: no telling what liz might come up with next. keith morrison: coming up liz forwards emails and propels the investigation. jim doty: when they first started coming in, they were pretty vague. liz golyar: so you guys want me to try and e-mail her back? jim doty: and thats -- im leaving that in your court, liz. i mean, if thats something you would feel ok doing, uh, thatd be really helpful for us. keith morrison: and detectives give dave a dire warning. ryan avis: since liz did come and tell you this, i would avoid her like the plague right now. dave kroupa: okay. keith morrison: when dateline continues. [coughing] copd isn't pretty. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ [laughing] ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. everybody wants a healthy work life, and life life. because breathing showhere you canful, dream big in tech. or medicine. or where you get to reinvent the automobile. all with easy access to this. this, this, and this. this is michigan. this is where big careers shape the future. your future. want to start living your best life? you can in michigan. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ i'm jessica layton with a look at what's happening. we're less than 30 minutes from the start of black friday. khols and jc penny opening their doors. this black friday expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year in the u.s. and now back to "dateline." e u.. and now back to "dateline. returned to little macedonia, iowa, back in 2012, cops and neighbors alike seemed all too willing to believe she simply lost her mind, left her son with her mom and split. ryan avis: in the small community where shes from, they all kind of believed that too, and nancy never could stand up and argue. keith morrison: nancy felt lonely indeed, until one day detective doty knocked on her door. nancy raney: i was a little bit stand-offish because-- keith morrison: been down that road before? nancy raney: right. yeah. keith morrison: yeah. nancy raney: finally he said to me, he said, well, i want you to know that i dont think she left on her own. and i tell you, my attitude just changed. keith morrison: the very thing shed suspected. keith morrison: they saw what you had seen all along? nancy raney: right. keith morrison: yeah. nancy raney: so then they-- then the investigation really got going. keith morrison: an investigation as unusual, and convoluted, as the apparent crime. in which an eager liz golyar would try to help prove that her rival amy, killed cari. of course, all the while the detectives knew amy was innocent, but they let liz think they believed otherwise. jim doty: if she made anything, real threatening statements or inferred that she ever did anything to cari, because thats like gold to me if we had something like that. liz golyar: okay. keith morrison: and what do you know, within days, liz began forwarding them e-mails. from amy, she said. although the misspellings looked awfully familiar. "i shot you, liz, to make sure dave stayed away from you. i made a couple of those fake e-mails and numbers you and dave thought were cari to get rid of you, liz, didnt work too well." jim doty: when they first started coming in, they were pretty vague. keith morrison: so detective doty spoke to liz again. they needed more, he told her. liz golyar: so you guys want me to try and e-mail her back? jim doty: and thats-- im leaving that in your court, liz. i mean, if thats something you would feel ok doing, uh, thatd be really helpful for us. keith morrison: liz said shed try. liz golyar: caris family-- some closure would be nice, probably. jim doty: yeah, that -- that -- true. get, uh, her family some closure. keith morrison: so liz said she sent this e-mail to amy. "so if you really shot me, then what kind of gun was it? so did you ever get to meet up with daves ex, cari?" according to liz, amy responded. "the gun was daves that i used. dont worry, you didnt get it as bad as crazy cari." and then she wrote this, "so when i met crazy cari she would not stop talking about dave and him being her husband. she tried to attack me, but i attacked her with a knife. i stabbed her three to four times in the chest and stomach area. i then took her out and burned her. i stuffed her body in a garbage bag with crap." sort of detail a killer would know. keith morrison: to see that it was working though must have been enormously exciting? ryan avis: it felt good. keith morrison: a couple of days later, dave kroupa called detective avis to say hed just had a disturbing conversation with liz. dave kroupa: she told me that the sheriffs had found remains like somebodys dead. and that, uh, and that they thought it was this cari. and, uh, and that supposedly they had all this evidence against amy. you know, that shes complicit, or knows something, or whatever. i dont know. keith morrison: dave was understandably shaken up. avis couldnt tell him much, but he did drop a big hint. ryan avis: id be damn near moved in with -- with amy if i were you. and -- dave kroupa: ok. ryan avis: uh, since liz did come and tell you this, uh, i would avoid her like the plague right now. dave kroupa: ok. keith morrison: dave took his advice, moved in with amy so they could protect each other and their kids. but that outraged liz, she called the police to say so. liz golyar: looks like the only person that benefitted was her. so she gets to shoot somebody, and then she gets to kill another person. and then she gets to move in with dave and she gets to be free. and you guys arent arresting her. keith morrison: detective doty told her he still needed more evidence. so liz gave them access to her e-mail account. and over the next month e-mails came pouring in, allegedly from amy, of course. "i got a hold of cari and we drive in her car. i reached over and stabbed her in the stomach. when i killed cari, you know she begged me to call dave at work. then she begged me to talk to her family before she died. i remember when i killed cari that she had a ying yang sign on left thigh." all that read like a detailed confession. but-- jim doty: we had to find evidence that would match what shes telling us to confirm that what shes telling us is true. keith morrison: coming up the chilling clue that might finally unlock this mystery. jim doty: took out the passenger seat, pulled off the fabric of that, and theres a dark red stain right on that seat. keith morrison: thats huge. jim doty: it was. keith morrison: when dateline continues. keith morrison detectives were convinced liz golyar killed new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? [sfx: video game] emergen-c crystals. 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[music playing] [coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ ancari farver in ae. convoluted plot to win back her ex-boyfriend, dave kroupa. she'd handed them emails describing the murder, details only the killer would know. the sender, she said, was dave's ex-wife amy. investigators thought otherwise and needed to look at caris car, again. but the car had long since been sold to somebody else. but they found it, much used, in a whole other county. jim doty: took out the passenger seat, pulled off the fabric of that, and theres a dark, red stain right on that seat, large stain. keith morrison: they tested it, human blood. and dna confirmed it was caris blood. keith morrison: thats huge. jim doty: it was. ryan avis: we high-fived. but we didnt really know what to do next for sure. keith morrison: but they were sure they had to move fast, because it appeared liz was scouting a new target. jim doty: we would see her circle amys apartment multiple times a day. keith morrison: because doty and avis believed cari was murdered in omaha, they asked the city police for help. and the omaha pd picked up liz on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant. but in the interview, their questions were about cari. liz stuck to her story, that she was the victim in this tragic tale. unidentified man: what-- what do you think happened to cari farver? liz golyar: i dont know. i dont even know-- i dont know if what amys saying is true. i dont know. unidentified man: okay. liz golyar: im more-- im more scared that somethings going to happen to me and then my kids arent going to have anybody. keith morrison: the omaha detective added some pressure. why, he asked, was her fingerprint in caris car? liz golyar: i dont know, but ive never been in her car. i dont even know what car she drives. keith morrison: she denied everything. unidentified man: the finger is pointing right at you. liz golyar: then im done talking and im going to have my attorney, because i didnt do anything. keith morrison: by the end of the night she bonded out and the county attorney wanted more time to review the evidence. keith morrison: what was it like there waiting for that, was it frustrating? jim doty: it-- it was. keith morrison: months went by. max, who hadnt heard about any of that recent investigation, graduated from high school without his mom. max farver: that was the real kind of stake in the heart, but -- because -- keith morrison: well, god knows if there was any occasion she was going to attend, it certainly wouldve been your graduation. max farver: yeah. keith morrison: summer came and went, another winter set in. and then december 22, 2016, four years after cari farver vanished, after reviewing all the evidence the county attorney finally felt there was enough. liz golyar was arrested for murder. jim doty: the best part of it was being able to go to nancy and tell her, weve arrested somebody for the murder of your daughter. keith morrison: that was a big day for her. jim doty: that was what made working this whole case worth it. keith morrison: what did it feel like driving out there to see them? ryan avis: couldnt drive fast enough. keith morrison: it was big news for dave, too. dave kroupa: that was the first time i could go outside and take a breath of fresh air and say, i dont have to look over my shoulder today. keith morrison: liz sat in jail while the prosecutors prepared for a trial they knew would not be easy. keith morrison: well, yeah, no body cases are tough, right? brenda beale: yeah, and circumstantial. it was very circumstantial. keith morrison: but then, as the trial date was bearing down, a teeny tiny memory card yielded an amazing discovery. keith morrison: which was just basically, just bs luck you ever got that, right? last minute? brenda beadle: i dont think its luck. i think it was divine intervention. keith morrison: coming up a signature tattoo, the ultimate computer clue. keith morrison: it turns up on a picture of a dead body? jim doty: yeah. keith morrison: holy cow. keith morrison: would cari farver get justice at last? max farver: it was nerve-racking. keith morrison: when dateline continues. [coughing] copd hasn't been pretty. it's tough to breathe and tough to keep wondering if this is as good as it gets. but trelegy has shown me that there's still beauty and breath to be had. because with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open and prevents future flare-ups. and with one dose a day, trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful. [coughs] when caroline has a cough, she takes robitussin. so, she can have those one on ones again. hey jim! can we talk about casual fridays? oh sure. what's up? get fast, powerful cough relief with robitussin, and find your voice. ♪robitussin♪ in order for small businesses to thrive, and find your voice. they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to a $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yep, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network and that powers more businesses than anyone else. learn how you can get $1000 back for your business today. comcast business. powering possibilities. of homicides and bizarre cases. but this, certainly in all my experience, tops the charts for most bizarre. keith morrison: not just bizarre, challenging. even for seasoned prosecutorsbrenda beadle andjames masteller. james masteller: your typical murder case you know exactly when the murder happened. you know exactly where it happened. when you dont have a body, you dont really have a good date, time, or location. brenda beadle: this is a bizarre and twisted case of a fatal attraction. keith morrison: nevertheless, on may 10, 2017, they put liz golyar on trial for the murder of cari farver. brenda beadle: its about an obsessive woman that would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. keith morrison: liz waived her right to a jury trial. a judge would hear the evidence. the prosecutors laid it out methodically. caris blood in the car, lizs fingerprint on the mint container in the car, the e-mails that read like confessions, the vast trove of digital forensics. they even tracked down a purchase on caris bank card made after she vanished, a walmart receipt. jim doty: one of the items was a shower curtain. and that shower curtain looked familiar to us, because in one of her -- that phone dump that we did in 2013 of lizs phone, theres a picture of that shower curtain. keith morrison: and they found the shower curtain itself at lizs apartment. there was also a photo of caris drivers license with a large knife next to it that was e-mailed to dave. he thought it was a threat from cari. in fact, it was sent from an e-mail account created by liz. brenda beadle: all these pieces together made a big difference. keith morrison: all of it put together, said the prosecutors, told the story of how liz golyar murdered cari farver. they told the judge it happened the morning of november 13, 2012, after dave kroupa left for work. cari was on her laptop. james masteller: we know by examination of cari farvers known facebook that she logged into her facebook at 6:39 am that morning. keith morrison: about two minutes later she logged off. she was supposed to leave for work, but never made it. james masteller: she was intercepted. something happened. that something was the defendant. keith morrison: hard to know exactly what liz did to cari, but-- james masteller: it didnt take her too long because at 9:54 am cari farvers cell phone is being used to access facebook. keith morrison: and at that moment it appeared, cari unfriended dave. james masteller: the fact that they had the temerity to actually be facebook friends, this is one of the very first acts the defendant takes, to actually eliminate that facebook friendship. keith morrison: and from then on in cyberspace, liz became cari. james masteller: all for the purpose- - for the reason of convincing people, her friends, her family, relatives, everyone, that she was still alive. keith morrison: nancy went to court every day for the trial, heard the details for the very first time. nancy raney: when i heard all of those, what this person was doing in her name, it just made me so angry because cari, she didnt deserve that at all. keith morrison: so, strong case? the prosecutors hoped so, though no-body cases are tough to prove. but was it luck? divine intervention? before the trial began, detective avis and tech guru tony kava went back to dave kroupa again, and asked if he had anything that might help them, and thats when it hit him. hed put a tablet into storage, had forgotten all about it. so he fished it out and kava examined it. ryan avis: tony removed the external sd card, the memory. keith morrison: ah, yeah? ryan avis: and had been deleted and reformatted. keith morrison: blank, or so it seemed, until kava took a closer look. pay dirt. ryan avis: there were, i want to say thousands of pictures that he was able to locate. keith morrison: thousands of photos that liz thought she had deleted. ryan avis: one of the pictures we found, it was a chinese symbol, that we were able to determine meant mother, and there were dark lines in the picture. keith morrison: dark lines? they looked more closely. those lines were veins on what looked like someones foot, someones deceased foot. avis called caris mom nancy. ryan avis: nancy was able to e-mail a few pictures, and sure enough, cari has that same tattoo on her left foot. keith morrison: wow. ryan avis: identical. keith morrison: and remember the yin yang tattoo mentioned in one of those possibly confessional e-mails? keith morrison: lo and behold, it turns up on a picture. jim doty: yeah. keith morrison: of a dead body? jim doty: yeah. keith morrison: holy cow. keith morrison: that was caris too. the tattoo parlor kept a record. james masteller: my first thought when i saw those photographs was that this defendant had taken a trophy, or trophies of the person she had killed. keith morrison: the motive, a very old one, jealousy. brenda beadle: it was really all about dave kroupa. she did it, because she wanted this man. keith morrison: jealousy makes people do strange things, but thats just-- why so much? what -- why? brenda beadle: i think it snowballed. i think once she did it, um, she couldnt stop. she had to make cari look like she was still alive to keep the heat off of her, and it just went on and on and on for years. keith morrison: for years. keith morrison: dave kroupa heard it all, and finally understood. dave kroupa: i mean, it makes sense now, at the end, you know. but the tarantino movie always makes sense at the end. you know, it doesnt make any sense getting there. unidentified: what can you tell- keith morrison: and lizs defense attorney james martin davis agreed. it was like a movie. a fictional one. james martin davis: i know theyve got all this bizarre behavior, and theyve got all this circumstantial evidence, but it doesnt show my client on that day in this jurisdiction, took a knife and stabbed cari farver to death. keith morrison: without that? no murder case. james martin davis: you may have camcorders and you may have smart cards and you may have phones, but you dont have a body and you dont have a cause of death from a medical examiner. what we have is their belief, their speculation, their notion that this is what happens, but that-- thats-- that cant convict. keith morrison: and then the judge retired to think about it, and returned to an anxious courtroom. max, inside the courtroom, waited for the words. max farver: it-- it was nerve-racking. keith morrison: and then finally, an answer. judgetimothy burns: the court finds, and it judges the defendant guilty. keith morrison: guilty of first-degree murder for killing cari farver and second-degree arson for setting fire to her own house and killing her pets. she was sentenced to life in prison. just a few rows behind liz, caris mother nancy finally heard the longed-for words from the judge. nancy raney: saying that cari did not vanish off the face of the earth, and she just didnt vanish into thin air, it was just total relief to me, and i just started crying. keith morrison: you cant grieve, really, until you know, and now they did. nancy raney: itll never go away, but at least we can deal with it now, have to deal with it. keith morrison: so important, said nancy, to finally set the record straight about a loving mother, and a good woman, who never abandoned anyone. nancy raney: and i think it wouldve been important to cari too, because she would have wanted people to say, this was not me. keith morrison: max followed his mother's footsteps pursuing a career in software engineering. max farver: yeah, she was the one that really got me to understand computers. ill never type as well as she could, but she-- shes definitely a big influence there. keith morrison: and inspired your love of them. max farver: mm-hm. she-- she definitely did. so i-- i have her to thank for-- for what im going down now. keith morrison: i think shed be pretty proud of you. max farver: i hope so. i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline." andrea canning: it was one of the most harrowing days in our history. the attempted assassination of president reagan. screaming, yelling. it's chaos. andrea canning: now an unprecedented look into the mind and new life of the gunman, john hinckley