Devastated family members of a mother-of-four who has been missing for more than a year have shared their heartache and anger after her husband was arrested for her murder and his alleged motive revealed by police.
Nikki Cheng-Saelee McCain was last seen visiting a relative in a Redding, California, hospital on May 17, 2024. She returned home to her husband, Tyler McCain, but the 39-year-old stopped replying to texts and calls the next morning, and was reported missing by her sisters four days later.
Her Chevrolet Avalanche was found abandoned on a roadside 30 miles from her home on May 25.
Nikki’s family immediately suspected the worst. Her disappearance came just two weeks before McCain was slated to appear in court to face four counts of domestic violence. Nikki was set to testify against McCain, but the charges were dropped after she vanished.
Her sisters, Chloe Saelee and Kaye Saelee Ford, waited in agony as the months passed without updates.
However, on Wednesday came a dramatic breakthrough. Prosecutors announced McCain had been charged with Nikki’s murder, sharing for the first time the evidence that led to his arrest.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett told gathered reporters that McCain allegedly murdered Nikki to prevent her from testifying against him and then disposed of her remains in a still undetermined location.
Authorities detected an ‘overwhelming’ stench of decomposition in Nikki’s truck and discovered a blood-soaked sheet in the truck’s bed. McCain also allegedly confided in an unidentified source that he killed Nikki during a domestic violence incident on May 18, 2024, Bridgett said.
For Nikki’s siblings, the details were hard to hear but ratified what they’d suspected all along. What infuriates them, they told the Daily Mail, is how little value McCain seemingly placed on their beloved sister’s life.
Nikki Cheng-Saelee McCain was last seen visiting a relative in a Redding, California, hospital on May 17, 2024
Her husband, Tyler McCain, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with her murder
Before police raided the home he shared with Nikki, McCain broke his silence publicly for the first time
‘Throughout this, I’ve always taken a matter-of-fact approach to the details, separating the facts from my personal feelings and emotions,’ said Kaye. ‘But hearing about the blood, the DNA, the decomposition, and knowing that was confirmed to be my sister, that was so emotional.
‘But it’s also given me confidence. This evidence is just the tip of the iceberg, and I know that they have even more evidence that is stronger and that will make sure he’s convicted.’
The family said police confirmed their suspicion that McCain killed Nikki over the prospect of facing jail time for domestic violence.
They described the motive as shockingly trivial – the possibility of a short jail sentence – compared to the value of her life.
Even though they knew nothing could ever justify her sister’s killing, they almost hoped there might be a deeper explanation. But the fact that there wasn’t has left them furious and sickened.
‘To think her life was just worth so little to him, that he felt entitled to kill her because he wanted to avoid a little bit of jail time, is just disgusting,’ said Kaye.
‘This is someone who has children, who was part of our family… It’s unimaginable to think that someone we knew could not only be capable of something like this, but also be so cold about it.
‘Clearly, we never knew him at all; the person we saw was just a façade.’
McCain’s arrest came five months after police, along with the FBI and Homeland Security, served a search warrant at the home he shared with Nikki in Anderson.
After that search, investigators ruled that Nikki was the victim of a homicide but declined to release further information at the time.
On Wednesday, police revealed they found an ‘overwhelming’ stench of decomposition in Nikki’s Chevrolet Avalanche and a blood-stained sheet in the truck’s bed
Nikki last contacted her sister, Chloe Saelee (left) in the early hours of May 18, 2024. She vanished shortly after
McCain had broken his silence for the first time only four days earlier at a press conference, saying at the podium: ‘I’m just here in support, so anything that I can do, I want to do that […] I haven’t been in the public eye, and I haven’t done very well with it. I apologize to everyone, especially my children.’
He also shared a brief message for Nikki, saying simply: ‘We miss you.’
With McCain now behind bars, the attention for Nikki’s family shifts to finding where her body was dumped so they can bring her home and finally lay her to rest.
Until then, the family says they will never be able to achieve any semblance of closure or move past the nightmare of the last 16 months and counting.
Exhaustive efforts have already been exerted to find Nikki, but each search has so far come up empty.
Chloe and Kaye believe McCain can help end their suffering, and the suffering of his and Nikki’s four young children.
‘You took her away from us, and now it’s time to do the right thing. You at least owe us that,’ shared Chloe. ‘Just tell us where she is.’
Kaye added: ‘We want closure not just for us, but for their children. They’re in the most difficult position, because they’re divided between the love they have for both parents.
‘It’s important for them to be able to mourn their mom properly and lay her to rest. That’s important for all of us, but especially them.’
Police say McCain killed Nikki to prevent her testifying against him in a domestic violence case
He faced domestic violence charges after he allegedly severally injured his wife in a three-hour attack in December 2023
An attorney for McCain has not returned a request for comment.
He is currently being held without bond at Shasta County Jail.
McCain has been charged with murder. Prosecutors said they would pursue a special circumstance allegation that he killed Nikki to stop her from testifying.
Prosecutors said they will also refile domestic violence charges that were dropped last year. Those counts included corporal injury to a spouse, false imprisonment, criminal threats and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury.
McCain will also be charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition after a criminal protective order, forgery, and various traffic violations, prosecutors said.
Investigators said there were allegations of domestic violence against McCain dating back to 2020.
Chloe previously told the Daily Mail that her sister’s relationship became increasingly toxic and tumultuous during the pandemic.
In December 2023, Nikki was hospitalized with severe injuries she said were inflicted by McCain. Her sister Chloe, who accompanied her, recalled barely recognizing her.
A deputy noted Nikki’s eyes were both blackened and swollen, and her face showed extensive trauma. Nikki told him her husband had attacked her the night before in a violent outburst.
She said McCain came home in a strange mood, locked the doors, and suddenly jumped on her, pinning her to the ground.
He dragged her, pulled her hair, and repeatedly struck her in the face, she claimed. Nikki described his eyes as ‘glazed’ and ‘scary,’ and said she believed he intended to kill her.
At one point, she alleged, he tried to wrap something around her neck to choke her. After three hours, Nikki escaped while McCain was in another room and fled to the hospital.
McCain denied assaulting her, instead suggesting she had been in a fight with another woman. He later gave conflicting statements, at first claiming Nikki was having an affair and then insisting their relationship was happy.
He was arrested and charged with four felony counts of domestic violence. He pleaded not guilty. The case was dropped in July 2024 after Nikki’s disappearance, a decision that sparked outrage in the community.
On Wednesday, Sheriff Michael Johnson said McCain’s arrest came as a result of rigorous police work conducted by numerous agencies.
However, he emphasized their work is only half done.
‘Nikki is still not home,’ said Johnson. ‘Nikki is still out there somewhere, and we want her back. And if you’re watching and you have information and you know where she is, please come forward.’
