A California husband has been arrested for the murder of his missing wife, days after opening up to the public about missing her and offering his support.
On Wednesday, police charged Tyler McCain with the murder of mother of four, Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain, according to FOX 40.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett said, the defendant’s motive had been to keep his wife from testifying against him for domestic abuse.
Nikki’s body has still not been located.
CrimeOnline previously reported that Nikki vanished on May 17, 2024. The Redding Police Department said she last spoke to her family that same day before someone picked her up from a home in Redding, near the Win-River Casino.
Her truck was also reported missing, but police later found it, a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche with California license plate DP154UT, on May 25, 2024, in western Tehama County, according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
Shasta County authorities later reclassified Nikki McCain’s disappearance as a homicide.
On March 25, 2025, the sheriff’s office announced that they had identified “persons of interest” in Nikki’s death.
McCain had been arrested and charged on December 2, 2023, for false imprisonment, corporal injury to a spouse, assault with force, and criminal threats.
On May 7, 2024, he pleaded not guilty, and a little over a week later, Nikki vanished.
The domestic violence charges were previously dropped when Nikki failed to show up to testify against him.
DailyMail reported that an “overwhelming” smell of decomposition was found by law enforcement in the trunk of Nikki’s truck, along with a blood-soaked sheet.
An unidentified source allegedly was told by Tyler McCain that he killed his wife on May 18, 2024, during a domestic violence incident.
“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 Saelee Ford, Nikki McCain’s sister.
She went on to say, “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.”
FOX 40 reports that Tyler McCain is being held with no bail at the Shasta County Jail.
Since Nikki McCain’s body has not been found, the investigation remains open, and SCSO’s reward of up to $30,000 still stands.
If anyone has any information on where Nikie McCain is located, they are encouraged to contact the Major Crimes Unit by email at [email protected] or phone at 530-245-6135 and reference case number SCSO24-002069.
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[Feature Photo: Tyler McCain/Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and Nikki Saelee-McCain/Handout]
