‘The Disappearance of Cari Farver’: Where Is Shanna Golyar Today?
Lifetime’s latest “ripped from the headlines” movie, The Disappearance of Cari Farver, tackles the strange, twisted case of an Iowa woman who went missing in 2012.
Cari Farver vanished after spending the night at the home of Dave Kroupa, a man she’d recently started dating. Soon after, Kroupa began receiving disturbing text messages from Farver. Then, Shanna “Liz” Golyar, another woman Kroupa had been seeing, also started receiving harrassing messages from Farver. Had a jealous Farver turned on Kroupa and Golyar for some reason, then gone off the grid? Or was something more sinister afoot? It took years for the shocking truth to come to light.
The Disappearance of Cari Farver stars Rebecca Amazallag as Farver, Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford as Kroupa, and Alicia Witt as Golyar. It premieres Saturday, October 8 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
Cari Farver disappeared in 2012
When Kroupa, an Omaha mechanic, met Farver, a single mom, sparks flew immediately. The pair embarked on a low-commitment relationship. Each agreed that they weren’t looking for anything serious.
Both Kroupa and Farver seemed to be on the same page as far as their romance. So he was surprised when he got a strange text message from one day in November 2012. Farver indicated she wanted to move in together. Kroupa replied that he wasn’t interested. He received a hostile message back from Farver.
Kroupa never saw Farver again. But the aggressive messages, which came from various accounts linked to the now-missing woman, continued for years. Kroupa’s ex-girlfriend Golyar also became a target of Farver’s attacks.
Meanwhile, Farver’s family received messages from her saying that she’d decided to quit her job and move out of state. “It was totally off the wall,” Farver’s mother Nancy Raney said in an episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered that focused on the case.
Shanna Golyar was convicted of murdering Cari Farver
Raney reported her daughter missing shortly after she disappeared. But police in Iowa didn’t seem too concerned, Farver’s mother told 20/20, especially once they learned Farver had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At the same time, Farver’s messages to Kroupa became increasingly disturbing, and he came to believe he was the victim of a stalker.
Then, in 2015 two detectives in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, decided to take a fresh look at the case of the missing single mom. They found evidence that Golyar was not a victim of Farver’s harassment, but rather the person responsible for her disappearance. Police came to believe that she had been impersonating Farver for years and was actually the one behind the hostile messages sent to Kroupa and others.
As police dug into the case, Golyar started to shift the blame for the messages to Amy Flora, Kroupa’s ex and the mother of his kids. Golyar’s attempts to frame Flora ultimately led to her being arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Where is Shanna Golyar today?
Police found circumstantial evidence indicating Golyar had killed Farver, including incriminating photos of a decomposing foot with a tattoo that matched one Farver had. Some of Farver’s possessions were also found in Golyar’s home. However, Farver’s body has never been found. Nonetheless, Golyar was tried and convicted of murder in 2017. She received a life sentence and is currently incarcerated at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York, Nebraska.
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