Shanna Golyar Murdered Cari Farver & Stole Her Identity to Cover Up the Crime

Cari Lea Farver, a 37-year-old woman from Iowa, disappeared on November 13, 2012, after she was last seen leaving her boyfriend Dave Kroupa’s house in Omaha, Nebraska, on her way to work in that city. She was reported missing by her mother a few days later to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but the case soon went cold.

In a strange twist, it appeared that Farver was alive and active on Facebook, but because investigators couldn’t confirm that it was actually Farver writing the posts, she remained listed as a missing person, Iowa Cold Cases reported. It wasn’t until December 22, 2016, that Shanna “Liz” Golyar was arrested and charged with Farver’s murder, despite Farver’s body not being found. Farver had been dating Golyar’s ex-boyfriend Kroupa for a few weeks, prosecutors said.

Golyar was charged with first-degree murder and was accused by prosecutors of posing as Farver online to cover up her crime, Omaha World-Herald reported at the time.

Farver Went Missing on November 13, 2012, & Is Believed to Have Been Killed in the 24 Hours Following Her Disappearance

Shortly after Golyar’s arrest, police said they believed Farver had been killed on November 13 or 14, according to the Omaha World-Herald. Although Farver’s body has not been found, prosecutors said Golyar’s memory card had photos of Farver’s decomposing foot, which had a tattoo, and thigh.

Golyar was also found to have sent an email from a fake account posing as another woman detailing the murder, KETV wrote from the trial. In those emails, Golyar wrote that Farver had been stabbed in the chest and stomach, was burned and put in garbage bags and then in a dumpster, prosecutors said, according to Omaha World-Herald.

Golyar was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Farver as well as second-degree arson on May 24, 2017. After reading the verdict, Douglas County Judge Timothy Burns said, “Cari Farver did not voluntarily disappear and drop off the face of the Earth, very sadly, she was murdered,” KETV reported.

According to the outlet, Golyar’s defense lawyer James Martin Davis praised the prosecution after the verdict. “In my three or four decades of practicing law it’s one of the most powerful presentations of circumstantial evidence that I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Golyar Assumed Farver’s Identity Online for Years & Also Confessed to the Crime While Posing as Another Woman

In Golyar’s preliminary hearing, detectives outlined a series of texts and emails sent by Golyar under various assumed identities, including under Farver’s identity, in an attempt to cover up her crime. Golyar’s motive, detectives said, was that she was jealous of Farver who was dating her ex-boyfriend, Omaha World-Herald reported.

Farver was last seen leaving her boyfriend’s — Golyar’s ex-boyfriend’s — home on November 13 and later that day, Kroupa received a text from Farver’s number ending the relationship. About a month later, law enforcement said that Kroupa and Golyar began to date again, according to Omaha World-Herald. However, he continued to receive about 10,000 emails supposedly from Farver for the next three years.

Farver’s boss also told law enforcement that after a couple of days of missing work, the company got a text from Farver’s number saying she was quitting and had moved to Kansas, and instead referring Golyar as her replacement, the outlet reported.

In the months that followed, Golyar made several reports to law enforcement accusing Farver of trespassing, arson and destroying her property. Authorities also said that Golyar wrote 11 emails and forwarded them to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office under the identity of the boyfriend’s ex-wife. These emails outlined Farver’s murder and cover-up, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

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