She didnt want to be found . Exactly. Reporter a mom turned ghost. Was she missing or hiding . I wanted to know. Reporter taunts. Threats. Violence. My pant leg is soaked with blood. Oh jesus reporter a deadly mystery that would link three moms, and one man. You were the last one to see her yes. It was as if i had already done something, and he already knew it. He was drilling me with them policeman eyes. This was almost an obsession, to get this solved. Reporter a heartstopping case of jealousy, secret identity, and murder. Its like, youre on edge as to whats going to happen next reporter im lester holt, and this is the season premiere of dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with scorned. Reporter it was dark when they started searching dark and cold. The fifth of december, 2015. Just across the nightblack missouri from omaha, back and forth went the chopper, as squad cars prowled the park big lake park, iowa looking for a shooter. [ ripping ] [ moaning ] 911. Whats the address of your emergency . Ive been shot in the leg. Reporter looking for whoever shot her, the woman whod come out here alone to clear her mind, get that nemesis out of her head, and instead was bleeding through a hole shot clean through her thigh. [ crying ] [ heavy breathing ] is there any serious bleeding . Um, my my pant leg is soaked with blood. [ crying ] oh, jesus. Reporter oh, she knew who did it, she said, as they patched up her wounded leg. She knew all too well how deadly that crazy woman could be. So she gets to shoot somebody, and then she gets to kill another person. And then she gets to move in with dave, and she gets to be free. And you guys arent arresting her. Reporter she . Who was she, that furious woman scorned . And what horrors was she capable of to eliminate her rivals . To win or punish the one man she so desperately wanted, the man who didnt want her . It began, as these things often do, on an innocent and ordinary day in omaha, nebraska, three years earlier. The fall of 2012. Im workin, im behind the counter, im doin ten things. Reporter it happened in an auto repair shop, to a mechanic named dave kroupa. She walks in, i see her, we meet eyes. And just for a moment i kinda stop. And i go, well, hello. Reporter he was working. She want her suv repaired. And, you know, in the back of my mind im thinkin, wow, shes gorgeous. But im at work representin the company i work for. Thats off the table. Its not a possibility. Reporter but did you detect a little, sort of, signal comin back your way i thought i did. Reporter and then a few weeks later, it seemed like fate. Dave went on a dating website, and there she was her profile. Her picture. Her name cari. He started typing. I just said, hey, i know you. Haha. And she replied same thing. Reporter and then, before long, cari came into his shop again. Without sayin anything, theres kinda some sparks flyin. Were lookin at each other like were both tryin wantin to say somethin. And and we did. And we exchanged phone numbers. Reporter they had dinner. The food didnt matter. And we were very [ sighing ] i would say, enthralled with each other. Reporter he invited cari back to his place, and she agreed. And thats when Something Else happened. Didnt seem so important not then. Not like it would later. Just as they walked into the apartment, the doorbell rang. It was daves exgirlfriend liz, here to pick up some things shed left behind in his apartment. Awkward, but cari just laughed. Bowed out. She said, ah, i i get it. Its not a big deal. I im gonna go home. You call me when youre done dealin with this mess. Reporter so dave escorted cari to the door. And her and liz passed each other at that moment. There were no words spoken. Reporter did it start then, at that moment . Later, once liz left his apartment, dave called cari. And she invited me out to her place. Which was, like, an hour drive outside of town. Cari, when i got to her place were there 20 minutes makin coffee bs ing. And of course pretty soon were on the couch. And and were gettin a little closer. Now, at this point, we havent even kissed. And she turns to me, and she said, look, if were gonna have sex, thats all it is. Period. Theres nothin more to it. Reporter huh. And asked me, are you good with that . Is that gonna be a problem . And of course my eyes lit up. And im like, bing, i hit the powerball. Reporter because dave felt exactly the same way. As a man i want companionship. So im always lookin for a girlfriend. But never a committed relationship. Reporter and you let them know that this is the way its gotta be. That was the first conversation. Yeah. Take it or leave it, thats how it is. Reporter but with cari, he didnt have to bring it up. It was all her and and we hit it off right from there. Reporter cari told him she was a Computer Programmer. Her office was close to his apartment. They met there often. Made love. Talked. She was extremely intelligent. She was much smarter than i am, just in general. She just she had a brain on her. Reporter different than the women you had dated before . The majority of em, yeah. Yeah, she well, for instance, what she did for a living programming. I considered myself a little bit of a computer nerd. But compared to her i didnt even know what a computer was. Reporter dave reconsidered his no commitment rule. A rule hed broken before with a woman named amy flora. They had two kids together. But it didnt last. After 12 years, you would think there would be some kind of a proposal or something. But like i said, hes kind of [ laughter ] emotionless. So reporter he really didnt wanna get married . No. And i wanted to eventually be married, you know. I mean, every girl does. Reporter well, i mean everybody wants their fairytale wedding. Reporter amy and dave stayed friendly for the sake of their kids. And amy knew about daves other women. Heard about cari. Reporter you expected you would meet her at some point if if it continued . Well, if it continued, yeah, i wouldve liked to have met her. Reporter but amy didnt meet cari. Not then. No idea what was coming. Early that november of 2012, cari told dave she had a big project at work. Shed stay over at his place instead of driving home to the country every night. And so they began their work week together. And then, on tuesday november 13th i gave her a kiss on the way out the door. You know . Like, hi, see you later, honey. That kinda thing. You know, it was almost like a that sorta 50s tv show garbage. Reporter that doesnt sound like a guy whos got no attachments well, i didnt say honey. But thats the way it came across. You know . Reporter right. Okay, right. But she brought that outta me. Thats why i say, with cari it was potential that long term it might have been different. Reporter so when you went off to work that day, you were in a pretty good mood. Oh, hell yeah, i was in a great mood. I had this beautiful lady who was gonna be at my house when i got home. I dont know who wouldnt smile about that. Reporter dave was at his shop by 6 30. Entirely unprepared. And then by 10 00 i receive a text from her that says, do you wanna move in with me . Or, should we need to move in together. Or something along those lines. Reporter really . But i immediately, i text her back, no. Im not interested. Weve known each other two weeks. Its not gonna happen. As soon as i text her back i get a text back that says, fine. I dont ever wanna see you again. Go away. Im dating somebody else. I hate you. On and on and on and on and on. Reporter weird. Very weird. Very, what is goin on here . But i was at work. It was very busy. I didnt have time for that nonsense. So in the back of my mind im thinkin, phew. I dodged a bullet there. Reporter oh, but he didnt. No. Now, it was just beginning. Who was this mysterious woman named cari . When we come back reporter so this is the woman from hell now . All of a sudden she was about to vanish in a very mysterious way. I started to get Text Messages saying that she was going to kansas to live. Totally off the wall reporter where is she . I didnt know what to think at that point. Is is the story o. Not this john smith. Or this john smith. Or any of the other hundreds of john smiths that are humana Medicare Advantage members. No, its this john smith. Who we paired with a humana team member to help address his own specific health needs. At humana, we take a personal approach to your health, to provide care thats just as unique as you are. No matter what your name is. Introducing the all new with nine chicken tenders. [slap] or six pieces of chicken. [slap] or twelve hot wings. [slap] or popcorn nuggets. Now get out there and have fun woo, lets go its Finger Lickin good you shouldnt have to sacrifice wfor your wireless bill. Ooookay. Get unlimited data for 50 a month with the cricket unlimited 2 plan. Cricket wireless. Lots of vitamins a and c. And only 50 calories a serving. Good morning indeed. V8. The original way to fuel your day. Unlike ordinary diapers with two layers, pampers have three pampers. Absorbent layers to stay up to three times drier, so babies can sleep soundly all night. Wishing you love, sleep and play. Pampers. Reporter dave kroupa, the man who liked his sex Life Reporter dave kroupa, the man who liked his sex life uncommitted, was confused. The woman whod seemed to share his philosophy had turned on him, was behaving like a woman who expected something from him, like a woman scorned. Suddenly she wanted to move in. And when he refused, she responded with a nonstop staccato of angry, often misspelled texts. Cari. Now that name sounded like his personal horror show. So this is the woman from hell now. All of a sudden. Yeah. Or in the course of a couple of hours. Wow. Reporter maybe to dave in omaha, thats how it seemed. Here, in this tiny, sweet farming town called macedonia, iowa. I think theres only around 250 people that live there now. Its very its just home. Reporter home to cari. Cari farver. And where she was raised by her stepfather mark and her mother nancy, who would stick with cari through it all. But of course, theyd always known there was Something Different about cari. She felt like she wanted to do her own thing. And sometimes that that doesnt always go well . Always go well, yeah. Reporter thing is, cari was smart. Super smart. School was easy. But then, so were boys. Guys were just drawn to her. And she liked it. Yeah. She did. Hello cari reporter but there was Something Else about cari, said her friend holly drummond. Brainy, yes, but she sometimes made dubious choices. Like when she was away at college. And there was this guy, one of a parade of guys. She would constantly talk about this night where they were all dressed up. And it was midnight. And they were walking in the streets with a bottle of champagne. I mean, she made it sound like she made it sound like a romantic movie. Reporter it didnt last. Even when cari found out she was pregnant. Did it come as a surprise . Yes. Yeah. I was just i knew what she was gonna have to go through because i had been divorced with children, young children. And its hard. Its not easy. Reporter she moved home, took computer courses. And she named the baby maxwell. Everyone called him max. She was such a good mother. but i know she had so much on her plate, too, at that time when Keith Morrison its a lot to do. She was going to school and everything else. But she did very well. She held up very well. Reporter except, that is, for the mood swings. The dreadful depressions. She just would go under the covers and sleep. And shes just, you know, shed hibernate. Shed close herself off from everything. Its hard for a mother to watch your daughter. Yeah. Go through that. It is. Trying to get it out of her. You know, what can i do . And theres really nothing that i can do or say. Reporter but, it got better. Once cari was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, medication evened things out. And cari and max settled into an apparently happy and successful life. And then, that inexplicable turn. Cari had just started that hitech job of hers in omaha. She really liked that job. What was she doing . She was computer programming. Reporter and then, november 2012, she took on that big project. Max was a teenager then. He understood about her long hours, and how shed decided to stay in the city for a few days. He didnt ask about the man shed be staying with. I didnt know dave at the time. I just had heard of a dave. That was about it. She didnt talk about him . No. Usually, things like that she didnt really talk to me about. Reporter dave, thats all her family knew. She was she was in a very good place. I mean, she had been for a long time, and i didnt think too much about it. Reporter and so that weekend, nancy picked up max and later cari drove off to omaha. To spend the week with dave. She didnt text me or anything that that monday. And then i started getting Text Messages, saying that she had quit her job. She was going to kansas to live. And what was it like to get that . It was totally off the wall. Reporter that was about the same time dave was getting those angry texts, though nancy had no idea about that. Anyway, caris news came as a big surprise to nancy. Though to max, maybe not so much. cause she had something down in kansas that she was gonna be going and interviewing for after those few days at work. Reporter his mom had mentioned a possible job change. Shed even discussed with him staying with grandma to finish high school. And then, early that weird week. I got a text saying, hey, the i got a second interview. Reporter but shed be back from kansas on the weekend, she texted for a family wedding. At which max was an usher. But, as the bride walked down the aisle, no sign of cari. I was just like, okay, shes just running late. Shell be at the reception. Shell be there for the party and everything. But at the party, i remember probably every five, ten minutes, i was glancing back at the door just hoping. Where is she . Yeah. Just wondering where she was. I just kept saying, oh, shell be here any minute, be here any minute. Midnight got around and she wasnt there. And i had i didnt know what to think at that point. Reporter coming up unsettling doubts about caris story. Was she moving or was she missing . I could just feel it in my bones. Something wasnt right here. I wasnt sure what was going on. It scared me tremendously. I thought ive got to do something reporter when dateline continues. O something. 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It s the area that flooded this past winter displacing hundreds of people. Reporter long as he could remember, max farver believed he knew his mom cari as well as anybody possibly could. We were definitely really i was her Second Opinion on most things. Reporter so when cari was a no show at the wedding, max knew something was way off. I wasnt sure what was going on but that i just knew something was wrong. I could just feel it in my bones. There was something something wasnt right here. Reporter nancy didnt tell her grandson about the truly disturbing text shed received from cari. This one didnt say anything about a new job. Instead, cari texted she broke up with her boyfriend, and was thinking about checking into a mental hospital. Reporter thatd scare you . Yes. It scared me tremendously. Reporter by boyfriend did she mean this mysterious dave . Did you know how to reach this guy . No. I didnt. Reporter or even what his last name was . Unhuh. I didnt know how to start looking for her. Reporter so what is that like . Its hell. Its just frustration and just helplessness. Reporter so, before dropping off max at the wedding, she called the county Sheriffs Office to file a missing persons report. They took down all the information, of course. And they couldnt they didnt really offer too much. Reporter well, i guess they thought, well, shes a grown woman, and she can yeah. Reporter leave if she wants to leave . Right. Reporter nancy told the deputies about caris struggles with bipolar disorder. And heres what they told her, said nancy. Well, shes probably off her medicine. And, you know, these things happen. And so theres that happens a lot. Reporter nancy tried calling. But cari just wouldnt pick up. She did respond to texts, but sent mixed messages. Im moving down with this dave. I had no idea who this dave was. Reporter it was confusing. Did she have some sort of mental breakdown . Cari quit her job in omaha, sent her company a text to let them know and texted her mom that she was taking that job in kansas and moving away and had sold her furniture. She attached a photo of a check from the buyer. Cari wanted nancy to let the buyer pick it up out in macedonia, and take it away. And i said, absolutely not. I said, either you call me, you come see me. Im not doing anything until i hear you. And thats when the nasty texts started coming. Reporter what did she say then . That i was a bad mother. She said, im gonna take max and were gonna leave. Reporter cari texted max too and let him know. Youre coming with me. You have no choice. Im the adult here and what i say goes. Reporter just trying to imagine what it was like to be you in the middle of that situation. It was a bit scary because we all thought that someone might come at school to try to get me. Because the school would legally have to let them let me go with them. Yeah. Like if my mom showed up. Reporter max was scared. Had no idea what was going on with his mom. And he wanted to stay with his grandparents. Ive heard all of these Horror Stories about people having these personality changes and going off the deep end. And i thought, ive got to do something about max. Ive got to keep him safe. Reporter nancy applied for temporary guardianship of max. That must be so weird . Oh reporter fraught . Yes and just wondering, what am i doing to my daughter if if we were doing this. The