Man Killed Missing California Mom to Hide a Dark Secret: DA

Nikki is still not home. Nikki is still. out there somewhere and we want her. back. >> A missing California woman has never. been found, but authorities in Shasta. County have announced they believe she. is dead and her own husband is. responsible. Now, many in the community. had suspected him from the start and say. his arrest means they are one step. closer to getting justice. We have got. the latest developments in the case of. Nikki Salee McCain and we are talking. with her own sisters about their journey. so far and what comes next. Welcome to.

Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. [Music]. When we first told you about Nikki. Syain's disappearance from her home near. Reading, California, there really wasn't. a lot of information out there. We knew. Nikki, a 39-year-old mom of four, was. reported missing by her sister on May. 22nd, 2024. We knew that Shasta County. investigators were trying to figure out. what happened to her. We knew that her. husband, Tyler Scott McCain, had been.

facing charges in connection with. domestic violence, an incident in. November of 2023. We know that those. charges ended up being dropped because. Nikki wasn't available to testify. But. here's where things changed. During a. news conference that was organized by. Nikki's family to keep Nikki's story in. the public eye, we got to say Tyler. looked arguably visibly uncomfortable as. he spoke to reporters. >> First of all, I would like to thank the.

sheriff's office, FBI, um for getting. involved. Um. any efforts that um that might help. bring uh my wife home, you know, safely. Um, we we miss you. Um, I don't really know what to say. I haven't been in the public eyes and uh. I haven't done very well with it. I. apologize to everyone um especially my.

children um my wife's family mine as as. well. Um, I'm just here in support. So, any. anything that that I can do, I want to. do that. So, >> okay. Take over. >> Thank you, T. Thank you. >> And in March of this year, the district. attorney's office announced that despite. Nikki's body not being found, they were.

investigating this case as a homicide. And around that same time, according to. news station KC, the FBI and agents from. the Department of Homeland Security, they served a search warrant on the. Oolinda Road home. Nikki's family, their. friends, they pushed very hard for. answers here. They've conducted. searches. They've held candlelight. vigils. They've spread the word about. Nikki's disappearance across the. country. And on Wednesday, August 20th, they and the public finally got.

muchneeded answers to at least some of. their questions. Why? Shasta County. officials announced on Wednesday that. they had arrested Tyler McCain, that he. had been arrest that he had been. arrested and charged with Nikki's murder. along, by the way, with a slew of other. charges. Now, he is being held without. bail and his first court appearance is. scheduled for this afternoon. But. according to the district attorney, this. is the first time a nobody murder case. has been charged in this county. So we.

want to take a look at this updated. timeline from the Shasta County. Sheriff's Office and the District. Attorney's Office because we think it's. important to get perspective here. So. Nikki was last seen in public at the. Mercy Medical Center in Reading on. Friday, May 17th, 2024. It's believed. that she was at home after that and her. phone apparently connected to the. network at her house just after 3:00. a.m. on Saturday, May 18th, but no one. heard from or saw Nikki again. One of. her sisters, Khloe, reported her missing.

on May 22nd, and Shasta County deputies. served a search warrant on Saturday, May. 25th. I want you to take a listen, though, to what Sheriff Michael Johnson. had to say at Wednesday's news. conference. A day after taking the. missing person's case, detectives served. a search warrant at Nikki and Tyler's. residence. Various items of evidentiary. value were seized as evidence. However, Nikki was not located. On May 25th, 2024, Nikki's vehicle that Chevy. Avalanche was located by a citizen off.

of Highway 36 in an area near Platina, kind of on the border of Shassa and Taha. counties. Detectives and crime scene. invest in investigators processed the. vehicle and located physical evidence. which indicated foul play. The area where Nikki's vehicle was. located was searched extensively by. sheriff's office employees and our. search and rescue teams, but again, Nikki was not located.

Since the start of this investigation, detectives and law enforcement and. allied agencies have worked tirelessly. to locate Nikki and to determine the. events surrounding her disappearance. Detectives have served search warrants, conducted numerous field searches, multiple interviews of member of family. members, friends, and acquaintances. All. to no avail. We still have not located. Nikki. Based on the evidence gathered,

information learned from interviews, and. the fact that no one in Nikki's family. has seen or heard from Nikki since her. disappearance, the detectives has. determined that Nikki is a victim of. homicide. Detectives also further concluded that. Nikki's husband, Tyler Scott McCain, is. responsible for Nikki's death and. disappearance. Detectives recently obtained a murder. arrest warrant for Tyler McCain. And. today at about 10:15 a.m. Tyler McCain.

was arrested. He was ultimately booked in the Shast. County Jail with no bail for the murder. of Nikki. Let me break that down a. little bit. Okay, so first let's talk. about the evidence that police. apparently found when they located. Nikki's truck. According to a press. release from the DA's office, quote, on. Saturday, May 25th, 2024, Nikki. Chevrolet Avalanche was located off the. roadway near Highway 26 and Beum Road. close to the Shasta Tama County border. after a citizen reported seeing it in.

the area. An overwhelming odor of. decomposition was emitting from the. truck bed, which had an enclosed tano. style covering. A white sheet with. apparent blood and various staining was. located in the truck bed. Multiple. items, including the sheet and apparent. blood, were submitted to the California. Department of Justice Bureau Forensic. Services, where testing confirmed the. blood belonged to Nikki. Further. forensic analysis of items recovered. from the vehicle's interior and truck.

bed provided overwhelming support that. Tyler McCain was the primary source of. DNA on items unrelated to blood or. bodily fluids. H So you have District. Attorney Stephanie Bridget who also. spoke at that news conference and. provided a little bit more information. As the sheriff said, her body has not. been found and it is still our hope that. she will be located. But under the laws. of the state of California, we are not.

required to have a person's body in. order to charge murder. That's what we. call a uh nobody homicide case. That is. what we've filed. And I'm sure many of. you are asking, no, we've never filed. that type of case in Shasta County. before. Um, but we are going to work. very hard on this case. And to me, despite not finding her body, we have. been provided with overwhelming evidence.

to prove that not only is Nikki dead, but that Tyler McCain is responsible for. her murder. Now, according to the DA, it. is believed that Tyler killed Nikki to. keep her from testifying about graphic. and brutal domestic violence that was. happening behind closed doors. And the. press release got into more detail. Quote, "A confidential informant. provided a statement to detectives. reporting that Tyler McCain admitted to. killing Nikki on May 18th, 2024 after a.

domestic violence incident. Further. investigation revealed a history of. domestic violence between Tyler McCain. and Nikki dating back to approximately. 2020. On December 1st, 2023, Nikki filed. a report with the Shasta County. Sheriff's Office following a domestic. violence incident with Tyler McCain the. week prior. The sheriff's deputy. contacted Nikki at Mercy Medical Center, where she was seeking treatment and. observed obvious injuries to Nikki's. face, including blackened eyes and other.

facial trauma. Nikki stated on November. 29th, 2023, she was physically assaulted. by her husband, Tyler McCain, at their. home for approximately 3 hours. During. this time, Tyler McCain struck Nikki in. the face multiple times, pulled her. hair, poured large amounts of water over. her, bound her ankles and wrists. together with tape, and covered her. mouth with tape. Nikki stated based on. the events she was in fear for her life. and believed she was going to die. Now, that is just so chilling considering.

what he's accused of doing right now. And I can't imagine what it is like to. live through something like that, assuming these allegations are true. But. Tyler was charged with felony domestic. violence for the attack. He pleaded not. guilty. Those charges were dropped in. July of 2024 after Nikki went missing, right? No one to testify about it. But. now they have been refiled. And the DIA. further explained this, explained the. vast assortment of charges that Tyler.

faces right now as he sits behind bars. with no bail. >> Count one in this complaint charges. murder, but it also has an enhancement. that goes with it that the murder was. committed with the intent to prevent. testimony. And that's to prevent the. testimony of Nikki McCain in the. domestic violence case that was pending. at the time that she went missing. Count two through five are domestic. violence charges for McCain's assault on.

Nikki occurring December 2nd of 2023. Those are the domestic violence charges. that were pending at the time that she. went missing. Those are the same charges that my. office dismissed in July of 2024, shortly after she went missing. We are refiling all of those charges. They include corporal injury to a. spouse, false imprisonment, criminal.

threats, assault, and assault with force. likely to cause great bodily injury. We. have also filed additional charges. Counts 6 through eight arise out of a. search warrant that was served on Tyler. McCain's home shortly after Nikki went. missing. And as a result of that search, he is facing illegal possession of. firearm and illegal possession of. ammunition after a criminal protective. order had been issued protecting Nikki. McCain prior to her going missing.

Count nine charges forgery occurring May. 29th, again after Nikki went missing. around May 18th. Shortly after Nikki was reported. missing, this forgery charge results out. of a forge signature on a joint tax. return check that we believe that Tyler. McCain forged her signature to cash that. check.

Counts 10 through 12 are for various. violations occurring on April 1st of. this year after Nikki um had been. reporting reported missing for almost an. entire year. McCain was observed. throwing items out of his vehicle and. when he was pulled over on his. possession was a burnt California. driver's license for Nikki McCain. >> So, here's the thing. We go back to. April and the DA's office revealed that. Tyler had been acting suspiciously while.

out on the road and that helped them. uncover yet more evidence that he was. allegedly involved in Nikki's. disappearance. So you go to April 1st, 2025, there was a traffic stop that was. conducted on Tyler McCain near Highway. 299 and Dusty Oaks Trail. And this is. said that this was after observations of. being unable to maintain traffic lanes. and throwing unknown objects out of the. vehicle. During the traffic stop, detectives located Tyler McCain's wallet. in his back right pocket. Upon further. inspection, detectives located Nikki's.

California driver's license, which had. partial burn damage to it. A records. check confirmed Tyler McCain had a. suspended driver's license and multiple. convictions for driving on a suspended. license. By the way, we were able to see. those convictions on Tyler McCain's. Truthfinder report. All we had to do was. put in his name, location, popped right. up in the criminal history section. You. can see how many times he's been. arrested and convicted for driving. without a valid license. And let me just.

tell you, long crime actually partner. with Truthfinder. We use it to get. details on people involved in our. stories. But even if you don't work in. true crime, it can be an excellent. resource to give you some peace of mind. Why? Because it's one of the largest. public record search services in the. United States. And with a paid. subscription service, you can get access. to unlimited reports about almost. anyone. So if you're interested right. now, little side note, you can get 50%. off of your first month of confidential. background reports. Just go to. truthfinder.com/lc. sidebar. So throughout the search for. Nikki, online slooh have played a very.

big role. They were sussing out. information and possible leads on where. Nikki's body might be. But I will tell. you, the online community also seemed to. aim a lot of their anger over a lack of. answers from the sheriff's office. And. the sheriff spoke about that during the. news conference. These cases are. layered, meticulous, require months of. investigation, hundreds and hundreds of. personnel hours, not just from. investigators, but from law enforcement. boots on the ground, from support. services, from forensic evidence all.

across the board. It is uh very labor. intensive and it is crucial that all. that evidence is collected, preserved. and processed accordingly to make the. case. Despite the sc the scrutiny, criticisms, and the incorrect conclusions that uh. people opine on social media, uh these. detectives and the law enforcement. agencies involved continue to work.

tirelessly on the case. I can tell you. that probably every day, with the. exception of maybe a few, somebody from. some agency involved in this. investigation was working on the Nikki. McCain case. We have worked on this case for over her. disappearance. We've used search and. rescue, used volunteers, friends, family, advocates within the community. have all contributed and looked in. drainage ditches, properties, rural. areas, waterways trying to locate Nikki.

for the family and trying to give us. that next piece in this case. I understand from the outside for people. that are not involved in law enforcement. or who are tracking the case, it may. seem that sometimes nothing is being. done or there is little progress being. made. But especially in these public. interest cases where emotions run high, people. scrutinize and and are are um very quick.

to judge on what's going on and they. want information. They want us to. release details. They want to know. what's going on. It's because of these. the complexity of investigations like. this that that uh that information and. the integrity of the details are not. released because we need to make it to. the finish line like we are here today. with an arrest warrant with a suspect. identified booked into our jail and. we'll continue with a court process. which is crucial that we are able to.

prove the case and present the evidence. and and protect that that information. >> So, right now, Tyler is facing life in. prison without the possibility of parole. if he's convicted of murder. But I want. to continue this conversation and I have. two very special guests who are joining. me. I am fortunate to be joined now by. Nikki's two sisters. We have with us. Khloe Sy and K. Sale Ford who have. worked tirelessly to get Nikki's story. out there, bring us updates, to talk.

about how they and the family are doing. right now. They spoke with us uh on an. earlier episode of Sidebar. Uh thank you. both so much for coming for coming on. I. know this is not easy any part of the. process, but I I mean this is a huge. development. Chloe, I'll start with you. How are you feeling since the. announcement of Tyler's arrest? >> I'm feeling all type of emotions. I am. I'm a little bit relieved because this. is one step closer towards justice, but. I'm also just really sad because it's. just the reality of things and so it's.

kind of setting in and it's it's it's. definitely real. >> I mean, Kay, what do you think about. this? He was a part of your family. I. mean, did you suspect that he was. involved in Nikki's disappearance? This. is a major major development. We were. always um suspicious of um of him being. involved. Uh but you know, without an. official arrest, we there were still. other possibilities. But having u and. reading about some of the evidence that.

the detectives have found um and it's. hard it's hard to think um you know it's. hard to think that you know there. otherwise. So um unfortunately we we did. have some suspicions that he was. involved. So, uh, this definitely, uh, unfortunately confirms it for us. >> Did you ever, um, K, did you ever see. any kind of red flags with him during. the relationship? Personally, did you. witness anything? >> There were some occasions. Um, but what.

we have realized is that there was um. there was two sides of him. One that was. very charming and very likable and um, very trustworthy. And that was part of. why I was hesitant to immediately assume. that he was involved. Um, but I I think. that even speaks uh more loudly to to. who he is as a person where he fooled. us. So Nikki easily was fooled by by him. and how he had been able to um kind of.

not not really shown a ton of guilt for. this for the crime. Um, so it's it's. heartbreaking um, just because we knew. him so well and you know and his his. children love him and it so it's it's. it's heartbreaking for for those around. him and those who love him. Chloe has. what have police told you regarding. their theory of how he uh, allegedly. killed your sister? I mean, have they. given you a theory about what happened. in specifics? Is there anything you can. share with us? >> They haven't really given us a theory.

Um but so far um they have told us uh in. the media release uh of everything that. they did find in the evidence. And um I. think um I think one of the most just. heartbreaking. evidence that they found was when they. found her truck and when uh law. enforcement could smell the overwhelming. um smell of decomposition. I think um. that was that was really hard to read.

>> Chloe, the it's interesting you say that. about the information they've been. giving you giving the public because. there has been a lot of backlash against. the sheriff's office. There is this. claim of a lack of transparency. The. sheriff even spoke about it at the news. conference. What has been your reaction. to that? >> I think that I understand everything now. and a little bit in the beginning too. I. did feel like they were keeping a lot. from us. I didn't understand. Um, but as.

everything's unfolding, I understand why. they weren't as transparent in the. beginning just because to protect the. inter, you know, the integrity of the. investigation and they they do work so. hard, but I um they don't get enough. credit for that. But they are working. really really hard. They have to be very. tight lipped about situations like this. because to protect the the. investigation. So, I think that um they. have been working very very hard. It's. just they had to keep their their lips. sealed.

>> Kay, as we laid out, this is not just. one episode here. This story is about an. a trail of alleged domestic violence. that Nikki was apparently enduring uh. allegedly at the hands of her own. husband. How much did you was that a. shock to you when you were hearing about. this? Is there anything that you can. share about what you knew or might have. suspected um about this domestic. violence or these claims of domestic. violence? >> No, we we we knew there were arguments.

We knew that there were um fights um and. you know the accusations of infidelity. Um but we kind of initially kind of. assumed they were just exactly that like. fights they got through them. um when he. admitted to having affairs, they. reconciled. So, we assumed it was just. um verbal verbal fights, arguments, things like that. Um marital things we. didn't realize the extent of the the. arguments and that they had gotten.

physical. Um and I know the more um we. didn't know about the more it escalated, the more it became it became more and. more violent. Um, and then when the. children are out of the home, I um I I. feel that there was less less of a. reason for them to I guess for him to. keep it um at a minimum. I think he he. he felt. Yeah, I think it got a lot worse. >> Chloe, there's what information is being.

released by law enforcement and then. there's also what people have been. speculating about, right? And the. sheriff addressed that. these theories. that have been circulating online. pointing the finger at various groups. saying there's been some sort of cover. up which he said is categorically. untrue. What has that been like for you. and how have you been able to parse out. credible leads from what is potentially. a barrage of misinformation? >> I trust law enforcement and it just kind.

of makes me have a better um better. filter. I'm like, "Okay, so these um. these rumors, things that are posted. online, those aren't true." And I know. that law enforcement's working very. hard, so I trust what they shared with. us and we can kind of filter out, okay, so this person is involved and this. person's not involved. >> I'm want to ask both of you this. Um, you know, K, this is a very big. development now. This is the start of. the new chapter, right? This is the. start of the legal chapter, the legal. process. and assuming he decides to, you.

know, fight these charges, this could go. on for quite some time. Um, how are you. and your family doing right now at this. point? Um, how are you preparing to move. forward as this case moves forward? >> We're we're we're still absorbing the. news and it's it like I said, it's mixed. emotions and we're preparing to see this. through um to be there in the for the. for the long run. Um, and we're we're.

just um we're just making sure. that we are supporting each other. through through this and that we are. talking about um not just the trial, but. what we're feeling and how we can. support each other and how we can. utilize the support from friends and. family in the community. Um, but we're. we're ready for the fight. We're in this. for the long haul. >> Chloe, how about yourself? You know, I I. always say I didn't come this far to. only come this far, and if this is what.

it takes, we're we're going to keep. fighting. Um the having the community. support really helps. And so we we're. ready. We're ready to go on to the next. step. >> And talking about that, Chloe, I mean, this is such a horrific situation and. it's not over for a number of reasons. And one of the most tragic aspects about. this is that Nikki's body is still out. there somewhere. Um, what are the. efforts to try to locate her remains?

>> Law enforcement did remind us that. they're still going to work very, very. hard to try to relocate my sister. Even. though um, we have an arrest, they're. going to still keep trying. And there's. people in the community that have been. helping us, volunteer searchers, and. they're not giving up. They're still, you know, messaging us and saying, "Hey, there's this spot that we want to check. out. Let's let's plan a search there.". So, we we're still working diligently. and try to try try to locate her body. and her remains. >> The the sheriff's office says the search. for Nikki's body is going to be their. top priority and that anybody who has.

information about the case or where. Nikki's remains may be, they're urged to. call uh the Shusta County Major Crimes. Unit at the number that we're going to. put up there. Um authorities are. offering $30,000 for any information. leading to Nikki's location. K, do you. have any theories? Have you heard. anything? Do you know if there's any. leads, any tips that seem credible at. this point? You obviously don't have to. share them, but uh do you feel confident. that Nikki's body will be recovered? >> I feel confident that we will recover um.

what happened to her. Um we've heard. many theories um even that her body may. not be recoverable. Um and we're. prepared for, you know, th those types. of um if that ends up being what happens. or what happened. Um, we've heard many. different uh theories and I think a lot. of them they they make sense to us like. it could be a possibility. Um, but I. also feel that um they they may not have. expected this an arrest to have happened.

um with it being a homicide and nobody. So, I think people who um who may know. what happened or who may know where. she's located, um I think they're. feeling the pressure and I think they. know that they, you know, even if they. weren't involved, but if they know. something, I think they're feeling the. confidence to speak up and share what. they know. >> And just to follow up, K, do you feel. confident in prosecutors securing a. conviction here? because a no body case. quite unique in that area and it's. sometimes not the easiest case to. prosecute. But based on what you've seen.

in this case and your belief about what. happened, do you feel confident uh in. prosecutors securing a conviction. against Tyler? >> I do feel confident with that. Um I know. they need to they had a had to have a. good amount of evidence to even um. consider this a homicide without a body. um and and to to make an arrest. they. have a significant amount of evidence. and the even the little bit that they. released in the press release, I know. that there's a lot more evidence to be.

shared. Um, and I think that I think. that they they have a strong case, very. strong prosecutors, um, and an amazing. investigator that's been a detective. that's been working on this case from. the very beginning. Um, so yeah, I I do. think that um they're going to do a good. job um prosecuting the case and uh we. will get the answers that we're looking. for. >> Now, before we wrap things up, we talked. so much about the legal case. I want to. put that to the side. I want to just for. anybody who doesn't know, I want you to.

explain a little bit more about who. Nikki was. Um Chloe, I'll start with you. for our viewers, our listeners. Um, what. can you share about Nikki, your. relationship with Nikki, what we should. know about Nikki? >> Nikki is she's one of seven children. She's um one of the oldest in the. family. Um Nikki was such a loving, kind. person. She always um she always wanted. to spread kindness and she was so funny.

and she's just the type of person that. would do anything for anyone. She was, you know, a person who was always down. for whatever you needed. She was always. there for you. Um, she was just a very. kind person. >> Yeah. She she was uh very genuine. And I. think that that speaks to how many. people have rallied around her, those. who who knew her, grew up with her, went. to school with her, friends and family, um, from out of the area. Um, her her energy was very contagious. It.

was, like I said, very genuine. It was. um a little a little a little naive at. times, but it was very genuine. And I. think um that's still that energy is. still radiating from from her. Um even. those who have never met her are are. some of the strongest advocates for her. So um that that is why she has such a. strong so many people supporting her and. wanting justice for her because she was. such she touched so many people because. of her genuine energy that she shared. with people. sounds like an incredible.

person. Um, Khloe K, again, I'm so sorry. for your loss. I'm so sorry you're going. through this process. Uh, I'm happy to. hear that you have a a very strong. support system as well, which is going. to be important as you go through this. Um, but thank you so much for taking the. time to come on here, particularly with. this new development. We are going to. stay on top of this story and obviously. you have an open platform to come back. on here as this case progresses. But, uh, Khloe and Kay, thank you both so. much. Thank you, Jesse. Thanks for.

having us on. >> And that is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank. you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. I'm Jesse. Weber. I'll speak to you next time. One. more time. But that's all we and that's. all we have for you right now here on. Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much. for joining us. And as always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your. podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to. you next time. All right, there we go. Thank you.

20 minutes. [Music].