Overview

• Tyler McCain was booked into the Shasta County Jail without bail and is scheduled for arraignment on Friday.
• The district attorney plans a special-circumstance allegation that the killing was to prevent testimony, with refiling of 2023 domestic-violence counts and added firearms and forgery charges.
• Prosecutors say a confidential report indicates McCain admitted to killing his wife during a domestic violence incident.
• Investigators cite evidence from her abandoned Chevy Avalanche near the Shasta-Tehama county line, including a decomposition odor and a blood-stained sheet that matched Nikki’s DNA, as well as his DNA on other items.
• Authorities reclassified the case as a homicide after a March 2025 search with FBI and Homeland Security assistance; her body remains missing, and a reward of up to $30,000 is offered for information.