Transcripts For WCAU Dateline NBC 20170930

She didnt want to be found . Exactly. Reporter a mom turned ghost. Was she missing or hiding . I wanted to know. Reporter taunts. Threats. Violence. My pant leg is soaked with blood. Oh jesus reporter a deadly mystery that would link three moms, and one man. You were the last one to see her yes. It was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it. He was drilling me with them policeman eyes. This was almost an obsession, to get this solved. Reporter a heartstopping case of jealousy, secret identity, and murder. Its like, youre on edge as to whats going to happen next reporter im lester holt, and this is the season premiere of dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with scorned. Reporter it was dark when they started searching dark and cold. The fifth of december, 2015. Just across the nightblack missouri from omaha, back and forth went the chopper, as squad cars prowled the park big lake park, iowa looking for a shooter. [ ripping ] [ moaning ] 911. Whats the address of your emergency . Ive been shot in the leg. Reporter looking for whoever shot her, the woman whod 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. [ crying ] [ heavy breathing ] is there any serious bleeding . Um, my my pant leg is soaked with blood. [ crying ] oh, jesus. Reporter oh, she knew who did it, she said, as they patched up her wounded leg. She knew all too well how deadly that crazy woman could be. 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. Reporter she . Who was she, that furious woman scorned . And what horrors was she capable of to eliminate her rivals . To win or punish the one man she so desperately wanted, the man who didnt 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. Im workin, im behind the counter, im doin ten things. Reporter it happened in an auto repair shop, to a mechanic named dave kroupa. She walks in, i see her, we meet eyes. And just for a moment i kinda stop. And i go, well, hello. Reporter he was working. She want her suv repaired. And, you know, in the back of my mind im thinkin, wow, shes gorgeous. But im at work representin the company i work for. Thats off the table. Its not a possibility. Reporter but did you detect a little, sort of, signal comin back your way i thought i did. Reporter and 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 just said, hey, i know you. Haha. And she replied same thing. Reporter and then, before long, cari came into his shop again. Without sayin anything, theres kinda some sparks flyin. Were lookin at each other like were both tryin wantin to say somethin. And and we did. And we exchanged phone numbers. Reporter they had dinner. The food didnt matter. And we were very [ sighing ] i would say, enthralled with each other. Reporter he invited cari back to his place, and she agreed. And thats when Something Else happened. Didnt seem so important not then. Not like it would later. Just as they walked into the apartment, the doorbell rang. It was daves exgirlfriend liz, here to pick up some things shed left behind in his apartment. Awkward, but cari just laughed. Bowed out. She said, ah, i i get it. Its not a big deal. I im gonna go home. You call me when youre done dealin with this mess. Reporter so dave escorted cari to the door. And her and liz passed each other at that moment. There were no words spoken. Reporter did it start then, at that moment . Later, once liz left his apartment, dave called cari. And she invited me out to her place. Which was, like, an hour drive outside of town. Cari, when i got to her place were there 20 minutes makin coffee bs ing. And of course pretty soon were on the couch. And and were gettin a little closer. Now, at this point, we havent even kissed. And she turns to me, and she said, look, if were gonna have sex, thats all it is. Period. Theres nothin more to it. Reporter huh. And asked me, are you good with that . Is that gonna be a problem . And of course my eyes lit up. And im like, bing, i hit the powerball. Reporter because dave felt exactly the same way. As a man i want companionship. So im always lookin for a girlfriend. But never a committed relationship. Reporter and you let them know that this is the way its gotta be. That was the first conversation. Yeah. Take it or leave it, thats how it is. Reporter but with cari, he didnt have to bring it up. It was all her and and we hit it off right from there. Reporter cari 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 she had a brain on her. Reporter different than the women you had dated before . The majority of em, yeah. Yeah, she well, for instance, what she did for a living programming. I considered myself a little bit of a computer nerd. But compared to her i didnt even know what a computer was. Reporter dave reconsidered his no commitment rule. A rule hed broken before with a woman named amy flora. They had two kids together. But it didnt last. After 12 years, you would think there would be some kind of a proposal or something. But like i said, hes kind of [ laughter ] emotionless. So reporter he really didnt wanna get married . No. And i wanted to eventually be married, you know. I mean, every girl does. Reporter well, i mean everybody wants their fairytale wedding. Reporter amy and dave stayed friendly for the sake of their kids. And amy knew about daves other women. Heard about cari. Reporter you expected you would meet her at some point if if it continued . Well, if it continued, yeah, i wouldve liked to have met her. Reporter but amy didnt meet cari. Not then. No idea what was coming. Early that november of 2012, cari told dave she had a big project at work. Shed stay over at his place instead of driving home to the country every night. And so they began their work week together. And then, on tuesday november 13th i gave her a kiss on the way out the door. You know . Like, hi, see you later, honey. That kinda thing. You know, it was almost like a that sorta 50s tv show garbage. Reporter that doesnt sound like a guy whos got no attachments well, i didnt say honey. But thats the way it came across. You know . Reporter right. Okay, right. But she brought that outta me. Thats why i say, with cari it was potential that long term it might have been different. Reporter so when you went off to work that day, you were in a pretty good mood. Oh, hell yeah, i was in a great mood. I had this beautiful lady who was gonna be at my house when i got home. I dont know who wouldnt smile about that. Reporter dave was at his shop by 6 30. Entirely unprepared. And then by 10 00 i receive a text from her that says, do you wanna move in with me . Or, should we need to move in together. Or something along those lines. Reporter really . But i immediately, i text her back, no. Im not interested. Weve known each other two weeks. Its not gonna happen. As soon as i text her back i get a text back that says, fine. I dont ever wanna see you again. Go away. Im dating somebody else. I hate you. On and on and on and on and on. Reporter weird. Very weird. Very, what is goin on here . But i was at work. It was very busy. I didnt have time for that nonsense. So in the back of my mind im thinkin, phew. I dodged a bullet there. Reporter oh, but he didnt. No. Now, it was just beginning. Who was this mysterious woman named cari . When we come back reporter so this is the woman from hell now . All of a sudden she was about to vanish in a very mysterious way. I started to get Text Messages saying that she was going to kansas to live. Totally off the wall. Reporter where is she . I didnt know what to think at that point. Is is the story o. Not this john smith. Or this john smith. Or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana Medicare Advantage members. No, its this john smith. Who we paired with a humana team member to help address his own specific health needs. At humana, we take a personal approach to your health, to provide care thats just as unique as you are. No matter what your name is. Introducing the all new with nine chicken tenders. [slap] or six pieces of chicken. [slap] or twelve hot wings. [slap] or popcorn nuggets. 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Its very its just home. Reporter 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, theyd always known there was Something Different about cari. She felt like she wanted to do her own thing. And sometimes that that doesnt always go well . Always go well, yeah. Reporter thing is, cari was smart. Super smart. School was easy. But then, so were boys. Guys were just drawn to her. And she liked it. Yeah. She did. Hello cari reporter but there was Something Else about cari, said her friend holly drummond. Brainy, yes, but she sometimes made dubious choices. Like when she was away at college. And there was this guy, one of a parade of guys. She would constantly talk about this night where they were all dressed up. And it was midnight. And they were walking in the streets with a bottle of champagne. I mean, she made it sound like she made it sound like a romantic movie. Reporter it didnt last. Even when cari found out she was pregnant. Did it come as a surprise . Yes. Yeah. I was just i knew what she was gonna have to go through because i had been divorced with children, young children. And its hard. Its not easy. Reporter 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 reporter that was about the same time dave was getting those angry texts, though nancy had no idea about that. Anyway, caris news came as a big surprise to nancy. Though to max, maybe not so much. cause she had something down in kansas that she was gonna be going and interviewing for after those few days at work. Reporter his mom had mentioned a possible job change. Shed even discussed with him staying with grandma to finish high school. And then, early that weird week. I got a text saying, hey, the i got a second interview. Reporter but shed 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 just like, okay, shes just running late. Shell be at the reception. Shell be there for the party and everything. But at the party, i remember probably every five, ten minutes, i was glancing back at the door just hoping. Where is she . Yeah. Just wondering where she was. I just kept saying, oh, shell be here any minute, be here any minute. Midnight got around and she wasnt there. And i had i didnt know what to think at that point. Reporter coming up unsettling doubts about caris story. Was she moving or was she missing . I could just feel it in my bones. Something wasnt right here. I wasnt sure what was going on. It scared me tremendously. I thought, ive got to do something. When dateline continues. . How much money sam and yohanna saved by switching to geico. 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Reporter long as he could remember, max farver believed he knew his mom cari as well as anybody possibly could. We were definitely really i was her Second Opinion on most things. Reporter so when cari was a no show at the wedding, max knew something was way off. I wasnt sure what was going on but that i just knew something was wrong. I could just feel it in my bones. There was something something wasnt right here. Reporter nancy didnt tell her grandson about the truly disturbing text shed received from cari. This one didnt say anything about a new job. Instead, cari texted she broke up with her boyfriend, and was thinking about checking into a mental hospital. Reporter thatd scare you . Yes. It scared me tremendously. Reporter by boyfriend did she mean this mysterious dave . Did you know how to reach this guy . No. I didnt. Reporter or even what his last name was . Unhuh. I didnt know how to start looking for her. Reporter so what is that like . Its hell. Its just frustration and just helplessness. Reporter so, before dropping off max at the wedding, she called the county Sheriffs Office to file a missing persons report. They took down all the information, of course. And they couldnt they didnt really offer too much. Reporter well, i guess they thought, well, shes a grown woman, and she can yeah. Reporter leave if she wants to leave . Right. Reporter nancy told the deputies about caris struggles with bipolar disorder. And heres what they told her, said nancy. Well, shes probably off her medicine. And, you know, these things happen. And so theres that happens a lot. Reporter nancy tried calling. But cari just wouldnt pick up. She did respond to texts, but sent mixed messages. Im moving down with this dave. I had no idea who this dave was. Reporter it was confusing. Did she have some sort of mental breakdown . Cari quit her job in omaha, sent her company a text to let them know and texted her mom that she was taking that job in kansas and moving away and had sold her furniture. She attached a photo of a check from the buyer. Cari wanted nancy to let the buyer pick it up out in macedonia, and take it away. And i said, absolutely not. I said, either you call me, you come see me. Im not doing anything until i hear you. And thats when the nasty texts started coming. Reporter what did she say then . That i was a bad mother. She said, im gonna take max and were gonna leave. Reporter cari texted max too and let him know. Youre coming with me. You have no choice. Im the adult here and what i say goes. Reporter just trying to imagine what it was like to be you in the middle of that situation. It was a bit scary because we all thought that someone might come at school to try to get me. Because the school would legally have to let them let me go with them. Yeah. Like if my mom showed up. Reporter max was scared. Had no idea what was going on with his mom. And he wanted to stay with his grandparents. Ive heard all of these Horror Stories about people having these personality changes and going off the deep end. And i thought, ive got to do something about max. Ive got to keep him safe. Reporter nancy applied for temporary guardianship of max. That must be so weird . Oh reporter fraught . Yes and just wondering, what am i doing to my daughter if if we were doing this. The lawyer said, now, this is just temporary. Now, if she comes back, you know, you can always undo this. I said okay. Reporter meanwhile, surely the sheriff could find her daughter, get some help. She showed them caris 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 Corporal Ryan avis of the pata wattmy county Sheriffs Office, who joined the investigation much later, said the next step was to find the woman whod paid for the furniture. Her name was shanna golyar. They called her. Left a voicemail. 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 suspected that somebody was the woman she ran into at daves place. Liz gave the detectives his contact information. Reporter shes with him and then, suddenly, she goes off the rails and starts doing weird stuff like this. Uhhuh. Reporter he must know something, right . Yeah. Definitely a person you wanted to talk to. Reporter and by then, the story dave could tell the police . Scary. Coming up he was drilling me with them policeman eyes. Reporter police have some questions for dave. 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My first thought is, oh, that crazy one. Yeah, what . You know . When did you see her last . Oh, the morning of and, okay, so where is she now . No idea. Reporter the detective didnt seem to buy that. He was drilling me with them policeman eyes. Them ones that are like, ah, you know . You feel like youre in the principals office. Reporter yeah. Where were you at 6 30 . Right. Reporter on that morning. Yeah. Reporter and yeah. No, i had totally had the feeling reporter i mean, she was at your house. Yes. Reporter you were the last one to see her. And that was how he approached me. Was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it, and its time to deal with it, you know, and i was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Reporter dave tried to explain, he said. Hey, man, i dont know where shes at, but ive got nothing to do with it. Its you know, im back pedaling as fast as i can. Yeah, i dont know where shes at, and i dont want to know where shes at, at that point. I just want her to go away. Reporter because, dave told the detectives, cari would not stop messaging him. He showed them his phone, and was adamant he had not seen her since the morning he left her at his place. Reporter do you think they believed you when you said you didnt know where she was . I a hundred percent they believed me. Reporter and then the strangest thing, cari started texting the detective too. I would really appreciate if you leave dave kroupa out of it. The detective texted cari back. We cant stop looking into it. We need to locate you, and the missing person entry wont be taken out until someone talks to you in person, to where we know you are okay. Reporter did she respond to that . She said it was pointless. Reporter she didnt want to be found. Exactly. Reporter but the detective got another text, and 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 werent even together when he met cari. It made sense then, cari must have stolen lizs checkbook alright, maybe even forged that check for five grand. The detectives called liz right away, and told her she should file a report with the omaha pd. It was their jurisdiction. But before she got the chance, liz went to her garage, and there, scrolled on the wall, she found the words whore from dave. Had to have been cari. All of it was so strange, thought the detective. Very out of the ordinary. Like maybe shed had a breakdown or something, a psychotic episode. That would be the only answer. Reporter to the police in omaha, cari was now a suspected stalker, but back home in pottawattamie county, iowa, she was still a missing person with a very worried family. Caris mother heard about the threatening texts, the harassment, the Police Reports filed against her daughter. To her it didnt 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, thinking that i didnt think they were doing quite as what they shouldve been doing, but reporter did you get the feeling you just wanted to get in there, and storm the barricades, and make something happen . Yeah, but again, i didnt know how much i could do, and i i didnt know where to start. Reporter cari had been gone for almost two weeks, thanksgiving, a day away. Nancy sent cari a message on facebook. Ive got a roast in the crock pot, and we will eat about 6. Were going to dads for thanksgiving, and eating about noon or one. We love you, cari. Cari didnt respond, and didnt show up for thanksgiving dinner. Less than a month later, nancys exhusband, caris father, died of cancer. Cari didnt come to the funeral. Instead she sent a message on facebook. I am sorry i missed the funeral. And, just a few days before that, she posted on facebook, david kroupa proposed to me. I said yes. What in heavens name was going on . Nancy called the detectives, who called dave, who swore no way he was engaged to cari. He said he hadnt even seen her, but still heard from her constantly, a hail of texts, and emails that was only getting thicker. I would get 50, 60 a day. Reporter a day . Oh yeah. Yeah. All day long. It at one point rendered my phone completely useless. It would just be dinging so much i couldnt answer a phone, or send a text. Reporter make you want to change your phone number, wouldnt it . Did that a couple of times. Reporter you did, and they still kept coming . They did. Reporter occasionally caris texts seemed almost normal. I know i ruined it. I tell myself dont be crazy, this guy was nice to you, but something takes over, but mostly the emails and messages were angry rants about perceived romantic rivals, liz golyar in particular. She is a whore. You shouldnt be with someone like that. I hope we can see each other soon. And then with a shudder, dave realized cari did see him. She seemed to be watching his every move. It was very common for me to get messages, eemails or whatever that say, oh, i see you through your window, youre doing this, and id go, i am doing this. Okay, great, and id haul ass outside, and go looking for somebody because somebody knows what im doing. Reporter even more disturbing, cari messaged dave that shed taken his extra apartment key, and had been coming, and going when he wasnt 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. Eventually the messages got threatening. Cari wrote dave a note claiming shed kidnapped liz. You will do exactly as i say and then i will let her go. Do it, or say goodbye to her. Attached was this photo, a woman bound. Couldnt see her face, but was that liz . I had told her, b. S. , thats crock of crap. I dont believe you. Go away. Leave me alone. Reporter through it all cari remained invisible, even after she texted dave she was moving into an Apartment Building nearby. Yss, a couple of buildings away, why, does that bother you . Im only doing month to month until i find Something Else. Dave told the cops, of course. They went looking for cari, and the building number was correct, but the apartment number did not exist. Cari was still nowhere to be found, but near the complex, dave did find something that belonged to cari. Coming up a crucial discovery almost buried in the snow, and the danger escalates. It was like, what in the hell . Reporter into something deadly. Its like, youre on edge as to whats going to happen next reporter when dateline continues. Well then, my great granddaughter. It would all be worth it. Tais really quite simple. 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So i called the sheriff and said im pretty sure i found her truck. Reporter he was right. It was caris 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 they dusted it for prints. And they found a fingerprint inside. And recovered that. Reporter 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 wasnt using her suv, at least certainly not daily, her presence was as unavoidable as ever. What with the texts and emails, graffiti, threatening photos sent to both dave kroupa and liz golyar. County detectives made sure to do a phone dump from both of their devices to preserve the evidence and perhaps figure out where cari was. There was even a link to a fake obituary for liz. Go see what i made for the whore, i will kill her, i already made her obituary, so its done. Then minutes later. Im 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 whore or her two kids too . I hope to see you soon your beautiful cari. Trying to enlist you oh yeah. In her scheme. It totally to kill liz. Yeah, it and her kids. Totally, yeah. Yeah, that was a very interesting read the first time i read that. Was like, oh, my what in the hell . Reporter cari didnt seem to realize that her ongoing harrassment was actually pushing dave and liz back together. You compared notes on the harassment. Oh, wed spend hours talking about it. Showing each other texts and emails we got. And yeah, it was kinda comforting each other. You yeah. Thats who else would understand, right . Exactly. Nobody else did understand. Reporter it was certainly a unique bond, and it rekindled the relationship they had before cari ever came along. What attracted you to her . She was fun to be around. She always wanted to do something. She always had an idea, you know, lets do this, lets do that. She was creative in that way. Reporter and their kids were about the same age. Now with caris nonstop harrassment, dave felt terrible. Shes afraid to go outside at night. And, you know, the only reason shes involved is because i went out and dated this other girl. Reporter by now dave and liz were regulars at the omaha pd, filing one complaint after another against cari. Like the time they reported that cari had broken daves apartment window. And thats when detective chris legrow stepped in to investigate. He said, yeah, its her, shes done this to me before. Identified the photo of her, shows me some Text Messages that she had made a text referencing the fact that she broke out his window. Reporter legrow could see the attacks were escalating, from angry texts to theft and then vandalism, and threats of 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 disguise the phones and computers her messages came from. I thought, well, maybe this must be some kind of avenue shes utilizing. Because, its just theres nothing there, we cant find her. Reporter weeks passed, and each time dave and liz were hit with an even more outrageous barrage, legrow would look again. And again, not find cari. And yet, it all seemed to be leading somewhere bad. Were dave and liz afraid . Oh, yes. Its not so much youre terrified of the individual, but its, like, youre on edge as to whats gonna happen next. Reporter and sure enough what happened next was terrifying. Early saturday morning, august 17th, liz called dave frantic. My house burned down. Oh my god, its that crazy person cari stalking me again. Wow. Reporter liz had been in the middle of moving out, she and her kids were already sleeping at their new place. But she went back to the old place that saturday morning to pick up more of their things. And instead she had to call the omaha fire department. They responded right away. And later, so did detective legrow. The inside of the house was pretty charred. And burnt. Serious fire. Smoke damage. Big damage. Sufficient. Yes. Really, it could have ended up burning down the house. But, just didnt quite get to that point. Reporter but it was deadly enough. Liz had two dogs, one cat, and a pet snake. All were still in the house. All of them were found dead. Neighbors across the street said they saw a woman in a car parked outside lizs house a few weeks before the fire. Detective legrow showed them a photo of cari. The neighbors said they couldnt be sure, but she had the same general appearance. But an email to dave made no secret of who did it. I am not lying, i set that nasty whores house on fire. I hope the whore and her kids die in it. And later, cari to liz. Hope you and your kids burn to death. Once you get into situations like arson or threats to an individuals life, or that those around them, their children, the exboyfriend, certainly youre gonna take that much more serious. Reporter suddenly the case against cari looked very serious indeed. But still, like smoke from the fire, she vanished. What i did was try and find some way of seeing if somebody saw her. And, again, came up with nothing. Over and over again, nothing. Reporter by this time, said dave, he was afraid shed try to attack his kids too. What did she say when she threatened your kids, for example . It was something along the lines of, slit your childrens throats. Wow. Yeah, thats pretty hard to read. Reporter it took a toll, said dave. For a while there i was drinking heavily. Which is not me. Theres never been a time in my life where i was a real drinker. And i was a drinker until the bar closed and going to work at 6 00 in the morning. Wow. And you bought a gun . Sure. Yeah. Why . For my safety, my childrens safety, for Just Protection in general because i didnt know. Reporter so dave and liz kept watch in the city, wary, fearful. While out in macedonia, caris family was coping with a whole different set of emotions. Emptiness, grief, and a terrible, gnawing uncertainty. Nancy had sent several pleading messages, come home. Cari, youre my daughter and ill always love you no matter what. We just need to see you, hear your voice, know where you are. I love you so much, youre my little girl. Come home. For a parent, for a mother, i dont know how how do you characterize this episode in your life . How do you talk about those feelings . Make sense of them . There was no making sense of it. Total loss. Reporter what happened to cari farver . And why . Coming up news like a lightning bolt for a family in anguish. Someone claimed to have seen cari. My heart was just racing like crazy. Reporter could it be, after all this time . 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Ah, its so fresh. And its going to last from wash to. Wear for up to 12 weeks. Right, freshness for weeks unstopables by downy. For a fresh too feisty to quit. Reporter where was cari farver . Everyone wanted to know, that was hard. Reporter christmas was once magic for max here in macedonia, a celebration of his amazing bond with his mother, of little things, like their familys gift opening traditions. At our house, instead of everyone just kind of going at once, we go by age and do rounds at christmas, and just going from me to grandma just seemed wrong. Reporter well, it was wrong, and you kind of had to bottle it up, didnt you . Kinda. He didnt show his emotion too much to me because he could he knew that i was reporter you were worried . I was really worried. But i found out from his girlfriends mother that he would go over to her house after school and stuff, to his girlfriends house, and her mother told me that he did a lot of crying at their house, and that bothered me, of course. Reporter there had been a sudden 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 a homeless shelter in omaha, and that we were to go pick her up. Reporter but what was happening in here when you oh, i just flutters. I mean, i my heart was just racing like crazy. Reporter the shelter was about an hour away. Nancy, who hadnt seen her daughter or heard her voice for months was too wrought up to drive so she asked her brother to take her. Oh, i was so tense, and it was just, you know, trying to catch your breath and just reporter did you rehearse what youd say . Oh, where have you been . Yeah, and i you know, its i dont care where youve been. Youre home. Reporter an investigator met nancy at the shelter. He had a photo of cari with him. The investigator went into the shelter and showed the picture and wanted to know if there had been anybody there like her, and they said she hadnt been there. Reporter whats that like . Well, then you know, then your hopes are dashed again. You just think, where can she be . Reporter theres a feeling that comes with realizing youre on a wild goose chase . Yes. I went home and i thought, i cant live with this anymore. This is just too much. Reporter again, nancy messaged cari. Cari we were at sienna house, where are you . Jimmy no response, but then a Facebook Post weeks later. I am 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 didnt want to. So when i am ready to come back home i will. I love you all very much, but i need time still to sort things out. Reporter then there were posts like this one liz is the ho that took my boyfriend away from me. Now ive met a really nice guy. Reporter nancy had to wonder, maybe it was self delusion, but these messages just didnt sound like cari. Because my daughter was so meticulous about grammar and spelling and the way it sounded. Reporter and this stuff was like was . Oh, it was just garbage. It was just reporter sort of chaotic . Yes, it was chaotic, and it just the language that was used and everything else, cari wouldnt have used any kind of language, definitely reporter unless she had become a different sort of person . Yeah. And that too, im thinking, is this the case . Reporter had her daughter had a total breakdown . What if caris disappearance was not what it seemed to be . What if cari was kidnapped . What if someone stole her identity . She asked the police about that. Reporter what did they say . And they said, yeah, well, well check it out. You know, that kind of thing. Reporter nothing came of it, but after caris father died, nancys exhusband, she had this weird dream. He came to me very vividly in the dream and said, he said, dont worry, nancy. Shes with me. That sounds silly, but thats when i knew. That because i knew she wouldnt just vanish. Reporter but, of course nancy didnt know for sure. 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. Reporter 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 . Reporter max messaged back. Adequate i have three questions. Reporter things only she would know. Yeah. Yeah. Things only she would know. Reporter max asked, one, what is my middle name . Two, what was our first boxers name . Three, who was my best friend as a little kid . Reporter and what was the response . Nothing. I never got a response to that one. Reporter which meant what . Was that his notinherrightmind 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 realized the guy wasnt worth it. And then the following year for mothers day. Happy mothers day, mom, how has max been . Reporter nancy frustrated replied. Call me, and ill gladly tell you about him. This is not talking, i need to hear your voice. Reporter 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. Reporter and youre the only guy in that apartment. 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. Reporter well, what did you think . I didnt know what the hell to think. Reporter coming up, daves stolen gun, could cari be behind it . Shes still active and sending Text Messages, sending pictures, or maybe it wasnt cari at all . Reporter soon police will be investigating a whole new suspect. When dateline continues. She can post out here like she does in the city. Hey twelve likes. What . Likes wont get you didly around these parts. Yaaw nope youre going the wrong way talking to his horse . When you really, really want the best, switch to verizon unlimited and get up to 300 off the new iphone. I tabut with my back paines, i couldnt sleep and get up in time. Then i found aleve pm. Aleve pm is the only one to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Continuing now, Computer Programmer cari farver had vanished, leave her mom and son in anguish. I just knew something was wrong. Where can she be . she seemed to be leaving computer clues, a stormy trail of texts, emails, and threats. I was like, oh my god, what in the hell . Reporter a mountain of hightech evidence, and soon, a digital detective would be on it. By day i do i. T. Work and by night i fight crime. You sound like a superhero. Reporter a whole new twist was coming. Oh jesus ive been shot in the leg they had two officers with guns drawn. Pointing at you . Yeah. Here again, Keith Morrison. Reporter 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 a vis got hooked on it. Wed heard some stuff, you know, just you know, water cooler talk, i guess. Yeah. About the case. About this strange crazy woman. Yeah. It was interesting. It piqued our interests. And so we requested to take a look at it. Reporter 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 . 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 gonna work it until he came to a dead end. I was gonna 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. She certainly seemed alive. Maybe shes alive. But shes also missed so many significant events. And hadnt physically been seen by anybody. And we started from scratch. Started reading. Reviewing all the old material. Uhhuh. Reading all the reports. Looking through the phone downloads, listening to any interviews that had been recorded, just diving in. Reporter of course they spoke to dave kroupa. No doubt in his mind cari was alive and crazy. He was transparent, he gave us access to his whole email account. 11,000 emails that he had saved over the years. Could be more. Wow. Reporter 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. I was in the hallway talking with a county attorney, and another investigator was walking down the hall with liz to his office. Wow. 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. Reporter this was odd, her complaint wasnt against cari, it was someone else. Amy flora, thats the mother of daves children. Reporter wait. Amy . Not cari . First detective avis did a kind of psychic doubletake. Then he asked if he could be the one to interview liz. Whos your exboyfriend . Dave kroupa. Dave cooper . Kroupa. Thats your ex. And he has kids with amy flora. Mmhmm. Reporter liz told detective avis that her onagain, offagain 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 . 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 reporter 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 sudden, 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. 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. Cari and dave dated for two weeks . Mmhmm. And she 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 reporter 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. Ive been shot in the leg. Reporter coming up somebody in the park . What, armed and dangerous . Yes. Reporter a shooter on the loose. And the prime suspect . All i heard was open up, please. And two officers with guns drawn. Pointing at you . Yes. With my moderate to severe crohns disease,. I was always searching for ways to manage my symptoms. I thought i had it covered. Then i realized managing was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said humira was for people like me who have tried other medications,. But still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. In clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers,. Including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions,. And new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb,. Hepatitis b, are prone to infections,. Or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Is the assailant still nearby . Mujer . Or a female . A female. Reporter 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. Reporter so somebody in the park on foot and, what, armed and dangerous . Yes. Reporter while other cops searched for the shooter, detective Matthew Kuhlmann checked on liz at the hospital. You could tell that she you know, she was in pain. Reporter i cant imagine. Obvious wound to her leg. Reporter 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. 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 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. Reporter a few minutes later, a City Police Task force surrounded amys apartment. And i kinda seen somebody leaning against my building. And i said, whos there . And all i heard was, open up, police. So i opened the door and they had two officers with guns drawn. Reporter pointing at you . Yes, yeah. Reporter what did they say to you . They had said that i was accused of shooting liz. Reporter 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. Reporter did you go to big lakes park that day . Um, no. Reporter 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. I feel like its just written on the wall what it is. Its amy shot you with daves gun, isnt it . Pretty much, thats what im thinking. Dave still doesnt think so. Reporter you seemed like the friendly cop. Or the dumb one, ill be whatever she wanted, as long as she kept telling us information. Reporter 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. She shot herself, is what i thought. Reporter 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 we looked at the date that was taken. And it was taken on Christmas Eve of 2012. Reporter wasnt that when her car was actually missing . Yeah, it hadnt been recovered till january of 2013. Uhhuh. 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. Reporter but that wasnt all. Remember that threatening photo cari emailed to dave, of a woman bound and duct taped in the trunk . 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. Its beyond our expertise and thats reporter well, i was gonna say, how well do you know computers and social media and all of that nonsense . 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. Reporter tony kava, whos he . Your cave by day, i do i. T. Work, and ive done that for about 15 years. And then by night, i fight crime, so [ laughter ] reporter you sound like a superhero. Reporter anthony kavas day job is i. T. Supervisor for pottawattamie county. But at night, for a dollar a year, hes a reserve sheriff deputy. Reporter i mean, how much stuff did you have to go through . It was,um, terrabytes worth of information. Maybe about three dozen email accounts, a dozen Facebook Accounts and a number of different apps. Reporter and in his tiny office kava sat, hour after hour, late into the night, deciphering enormous amounts of digital data. It might take her five minutes to create a fake email account. It might take me you know 15 hours to prove that its actually her. Reporter among those many accounts was a youtube account with this video. The title of the video is husbands cheating place. And that video showed the apartment of dave kroupa. Reporter but the ip address where that video was uploaded was where liz lived. So again it was another arrow pointing at liz. Reporter painstakingly, arrow by arrow, anthony kava compiled the evidence. His conclusion every one of those threatening emails, 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 earthbound evidence. Remember that one unidentified fingerprint found in a mint container in caris otherwise spotless suv . We asked our crime scene tech, hey, can you compare that fingerprint to the known prints of lids, see what you come up with. It was a match. This lady who should have had very little interaction with cari should had no reason to ever be in her vehicle. Only met her in passing one time. Reporter yeah . But now, her fingerprint is in her car. Reporter liz in caris suv. Liz impersonating cari online. There was no logical explanation for it, unless we think liz may have been involved with making cari disappear. Reporter a case about to dive right through the looking glass. And on the other side . Hard to believe. Reporter coming up why else would you disguise yourself as cari if you werent responsible for it . Reporter what had really happened to cari . Police hatch a bold new plan to finally get to the bottom of it all. Im investigator doty, i work here for the Sheriffs Office. Reporter when dateline continues. Getting your flu shot at walgreens is easier than ever. Just walk right in and pay zero dollars with most insurance. Plus, when you get a flu shot at walgreens, you help provide a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need through the un foundation. Its that easy to get your flu shot and make a difference. So swing by your local walgreens today. Walgreens. At the corner of happy healthy. There are mcpick 2 for 5 deals on all sides, favorites everywhere. Mcnuggets and big mac its good crowd cheers get your Fan Favorites on the mcpick 2 menu. Choose any two for just five bucks. They did it ooooh my let me get a mcpick 2 vo more dper rollres for mom bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. 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And for us that was the best choice. Learn more about our Breast Center at cancercenter. Com slash philadelphia. Reporter by the time these two county detectives started looking into the strange case of but, always the optimist, he decided to try one more time to reach her on facebook. I was at that point. It was just a lastditch effort. Just hoping something would happen. If this is really you, please come back, i want you to be at my graduation. Reporter when she didnt respond, how did that feel . I west ham united i wasnt really surprised, like i said, i knew it wasnt her. Reporter 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 . Her father died. Reporter yeah. 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 she was alive. Reporter suddenly ca 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. 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 . Reporter all of that is so counter intuitive and so bizarre that, you know, you wouldnt be expected to believe such a thing. No. Reporter it was stunning. Really. Liz apparently impersonating cari for years sending thousands of texts and emails in her name. But now they had a bigger question and a much bigger problem. 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. Reporter 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 expartner 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 . We needed something more. So, we still werent quite sure how to get to that point. And then liz herself, by accusing amy of shooting her gave them their big idea. And thats when we introduced jim to liz. Well, im investigator doty. I work here for the Sheriffs Office. Reporter a little over a week after the shooting in the park, liz arrived at the sheriffs station wearing her work uniform. I told you i was looking into a missing persons case briefly on the phone. Reporter he told her there was a break in the case. There are some been some remains that have been located. Ok. Reporter it was a ruse of course. Were waiting on the lab results to make a positive id but the initial indications that these remains are cari. Ok. Reporter 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. I didnt know he was dating anybody else at the time. So she came out and i was going in. And she made a smart comment to me. Whatd she say to you . Called me a [ bleep ]. Ok. 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. Ok. Thats the only time youve ever seen her in person . Yup. Reporter 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. She was with him for 12 years. And she still goes in and out of his life all the time, so yeah. So you think she couldve been the person that did some of that stuff to you . 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. Reporter detective doty pretended to agree. Im thinking if she was bold enough to go and shoot you, she could easily have been bold enough to do something to cari. Reporter of course, he said, hed need to prove it. If we had messages from her saying, hey, i did this, or i did that, you know, i could easily Start Building that case. Right. 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. And apparently it was. Reporter liz agreed to help with the investigation and she limped away. And she became a little deputy for you . 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I dont even think about cigarettes anymore. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Many insurance plans cover chantix for a low or 0 copay. Reporter when cari farver never returned to little macedonia, iowa, back in 2012, cops and neighbors alike seemed wheres she from, they all kinda believed that, too, and nancy never could stand up and argue. Reporter nancy felt lonely indeed, until one day detective doty knocked on her door. I was a little bit standoffish because been down that road before . Yeah. Finally he said to me, he said, well, i want you to know that i dont think she left on her own. I tell ya, my attitude just changed. Reporter the very thing shed suspected they saw what you had seen all along . Right. So then they then the investigation really got going. Reporter 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. 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. Okay. Reporter and what do you know, within days, liz began forwarding them emails. 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 emails and numbers you and dave thought were cari to get rid of you, liz, but didnt work too well. When they first started coming in they were pretty vague. Reporter so detective doty spoke to liz again. They needed more, he told her. So you guys want me to try and email her back . And thats im leaving that in your court, liz. I mean, if thats something you would feel okay doing, uh, thatd be really helpful for us. Reporter liz said shed try. Caris family some closure would be nice, probably. Yeah, that that true. Get, uh, her family some closure. Reporter so liz said she sent this email 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 . Reporter and 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. Reporter to see that it was working must have been enormously exciting . It felt good. Reporter a couple of days later, dave kroupa called detective avis to say hed just had a disturbing conversation with liz. She told me that the sheriffs had found remains, like somebodys dead, 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. Reporter dave was understandably shaken up. Avis couldnt tell him much, but he did drop a big hint. Id be damn near moved in with with amy if i were you. And okay. Uh, since liz did come and tell you this, i would avoid her like the plague right now. Okay. Reporter 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. 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. [ crying ] reporter detective doty told her he still needed more evidence. So liz gave them access to her email account. And over the next month emails 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 we had to find evidence that would match what shes telling us to confirm that what shes telling us is true. Reporter they 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. Took out the passenger seat, pulled off the fabric of that, and theres a dark, red stain right on that seat, large stain. Reporter they tested it, human blood. And dna confirmed it was caris blood. Reporter thats huge. It was. We highfived. [ laughter ] but we didnt really know what to do next for sure. Reporter but they were sure they had to move fast, because it appeared liz was scouting a new target. We would see her circle amys apartment multiple times a day. Reporter 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. What do you think happened to cari farver . I dont know. I dont even know i dont know if what amys saying is true. I dont know. Okay. Im more scared that somethings going to happen to me and then my kids arent going to have anybody. Reporter the omaha detective added some pressure. Why, he asked, was her fingerprint in caris car . I dont know, but ive never been in her car. I dont even know what car she drives. Reporter she denied everything. The finger is pointing right at you. Then im done talking and im going to have my attorney, because i didnt do anything. Reporter by the end of the night she bonded out and the county attorney wanted more time to review the evidence. Reporter what was it like there waiting for that, was it frustrating . It it was. Reporter months went by. Max, who hadnt heard about any of that investigation, graduated from high School Without his mom. That was the real kinda stake in the heart, but cause reporter well, god knows if there was any occasion she was going to attend, it certainly wouldve been your graduation. Yeah. Reporter summer came and went, another winter set in. And then december 22, 2016, four years after cari farver vanished, after reviewing all of the evidence the county attorney finally felt there was enough. Liz golyar was arrested for murder. The best part of it was being able to go to nancy and tell her, weve arrested somebody for the murder of your daughter. Reporter that was a big day for her. That was what made working this whole case worth it. Reporter what did it feel like driving out there to see them . Couldnt drive fast enough. Reporter it was big news for dave, too. 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. Reporter liz sat in jail while the prosecutors prepared for a trial they knew would not be easy. Reporter well, yeah, no body cases are tough, right . Yeah, and circumstantial. It was very circumstantial. Reporter but then as the trial date was bearing down, a teeny tiny memory card yielded an amazing discovery. Reporter which was just basically, just bs luck you ever got that, right . Last minute . I dont think its luck. I think it was divine intervention. Reporter coming up a signature tattoo, the ultimate computer clue reporter it turns up on a picture . Of a dead body . Yeah. Reporter holy cow would cari farver get justice at last . 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Ith. Or this john smith. Or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana Medicare Advantage members. No, its this john smith. Who we paired with a humana team member to help address his own specific health needs. At humana, we take a personal approach to your health, to provide care thats just as unique as you are. No matter what your name is. Weve had our fair share of homicides, and bizarre cases. But this, certainly in all my experience, tops the charts for most bizarre. Even for seasoned prosecutors Brenda Beadle and 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. This is a bizarre and twisted case of a fatal attraction. Reporter nevertheless, on may 10, 2017, they put liz golyar on trial for the murder of cari farver. Its about an obsessive woman that would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Reporter 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 emails 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. One of the items was a shower curtain. Reporter yeah. 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. Reporter 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 eemp emailed to dave. He thought it was a threat from cari. In fact, it was sent from an email account created by liz. All these pieces together made a big difference. Reporter 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. We know by examination of cari farvers known facebook that she logged into her facebook at 6 39 a. M. That morning. About two minutes later she logged off. She was supposed to leave for work, but never made it. She was intercepted. Something happened. That something was the defendant. Reporter hard to know exactly what liz did to cari, but it didnt take her too long because at 9 54 a. M. Cari farvers cell phone is being used to access facebook. Reporter and at that moment it appeared, cari unfriended dave. 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. Reporter and from then on in cyberspace, liz became cari. All for the purpose for the reason of convincing people, her friends, her family relatives, everyone, that she was still alive. Reporter nancy went to court every day for the trial, heard the details for the very first time. When i heard all of those what this person was doing in her name, it just made me so ang angry because cari, she didnt deserve that at all. Reporter so, strong case . The prosecutors hoped so, though nobody cases are tough to prove. But was it luck . Divine intervention . Before the trial began, detective avis and techguru 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. Tony removed the external sd card, the memory. Reporter ah, yeah . And had been deleted and reformatted. Reporter blank, or so it seemed, until kava took a closer look. Pay dirt. There were, i want to say thousands of pictures that he was able to locate. Reporter thousands of photos that liz thought she had deleted. 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. Reporter dark lines . They looked more closely. Those lines were veins on what looked like someones foot, someones deceased foot. Avis called caris mom nancy. Nancy was able to email a few pictures, and sure enough, cari has that same tattoo on her left foot. Reporter wow. Identical. Reporter and remember the yin yang tattoo mentioned in one of those possibly confessional emails . Lo and behold, it turns up on a picture. Yeah. Reporter of a dead body . Yeah. Reporter holy cow. That was caris too. The Tattoo Parlor kept a record. My first thought when i saw those photographs was that this defendant had taken a trophy, or trophies of the person she had killed. Reporter the motive, a very old one, jealousy. It was really all about dave kroupa. She did it, because she wanted this man. Reporter jealousy makes people do strange things, but thats just why so much . What why . I think it snowballed. I think once she did it 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. Dave kroupa heard it all, and finally understood. 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. Reporter and lizs defense attorney James Martin Davis agreed. It was like a movie. A fictional one. 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. Reporter without that . No murder case. Defense attorney, you may you may have camcorders and you may have smartcards, 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 thats that cant convict. Reporter and then the judge retired to think about it, and returned to an anxious courtroom. Max, inside the courtroom, waited for the words. It was nerveracking. Reporter and then finally, an answer. The court finds, and it judges the defendant guilty, reporter guilty of firstdegree murder for killing cari farver and seconddegree 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 longedfor words from the judge. 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. Reporter you cant grieve, really, until you know, and now they did. Itll never go away, but at least we can deal with it now, have to deal with it. Reporter so important, said nancy, to finally set the record straight about a loving mother, and a good woman, who never abandoned anyone. And i think it wouldve been plrnt to cari too, because she would have wanted people to say, this was not me. Reporter max is in college now studying Software Engineering just like cari did. 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. Reporter and inspired your love of them. Uhhuh. She definitely did. I have her to thank for what im going down now. Reporter i think shed be pretty proud of you. I hope so. Reporter thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again next friday at 9 8 00 central, and of course ill see you each weeknight for nbc nightly news. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, goodnight. Tonight, the latest victim of the gun violence in philadelphia. Is a 6 yearold boy. That child is being treated at hospital right now. Police scouring the scene for any clues. Drew smith is live near the scene ato bring us the breaking details. Fortunately we know the child is expected to be okay. Just 6 yearold. The gunman is it still out there. Thats right. Urgent search happening now. For the shooter. Who sprayed bullets down here on the street. You can sew theres police tape up here on 24th street. We saw police in the School Playground with flashlights. Searching all over for this guy. Around 8 00 several neighbo