Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that the late 2012 disappearance and death of single mother Cari Farver comprises one of the most bizarre cases to have ever come to light. This much has actually even been evidenced through ‘Lover, Stalker, Killer’ plus ’20/20: A Tangled Web,’ especially as they shine a light upon how she was subsequently impersonated for years. Yet at the front and center of it all was the man she’d been dating for a mere two weeks — auto repair worker, devoted father of two, as well as unapologetically unattached bachelor Dave Kroupa.
Who is Dave Kroupa?
It was back in early 2012 when Dave relocated from his base in Wisconsin to near his ex-partner’s home state of Iowa so as to be closer to their kids, unaware his world would soon turn upside down. The truth is he was dedicated to being a kind, loving, present father and had even managed to land a great job as an auto repair shop supervisor in Nebraska to provide for them relatively quickly. But alas, this new place still hit him with loneliness, driving him to sign up for online dating sites while specifying he was only looking for something entirely flirty, fun, and casual at the time.
That’s how Dave came across recently single mother of two Shanna “Liz” Golyar on Plenty of Fish, just for their online conversations to fast lead to an in-person date at a local Omaha establishment. “She seemed very cool, very down to Earth,” he candidly expressed in the aforementioned Netflix original documentary. “… It turns out that we had a lot in common. We both liked sci-fi action movies, heavy metal. She liked motorcycles, I had motorcycles. It was a match made in heaven. We both had a son and a daughter. We were both lonely… We really hit it off. She was very smiley, energetic, full of life.”
It thus comes as no surprise Dave and Liz didn’t take long to make their connection physical, yet the former still vehemently maintained he was not interested in a serious, “tied down” relationship. Hence, of course, he was dating around, leading him to unabashedly cont act 37-year-old mother of one Cari Farver on a site after he’d already met her at his repair shop as a customer weeks prior. “Our first date was pretty good,” the former said in the production. “… Her spirit and her drive definitely marked her out differently from the rest of the women I’d met. She was smart and sexy, not in my league.”
Nevertheless, Dave invited Cari back to his place in the hopes of continuing their first date, unaware Liz would also unexpectedly show up to pick up something she’d left behind and come across the duo. The new woman hence left, only to later invite her date to her Macedonia, Iowa home, where they mutually agreed neither wanted to be monogamous in any way, shape, or form before going further. However, these lovers did spend the ensuing two weeks basically tied at the hip considering she worked three blocks from his apartment and was often invited to spend the night, even just to talk.
Though everything changed on the morning of November 13, 2012, mere hours after Dave headed to work upon giving Cari a kiss as she suddenly texted him suggesting they should move in together. He actually replied, “I thought we talked about this,” only to then receive a barrage of mean, rude, and outright disgusting texts from the single mother indicating she never wanted to see him again. His phone was pinging all morning, but all her stuff was gone by the time he returned home, making him both a little sad over their situation ending so abruptly but also really excited to move on.
Little did Dave know this ordeal was far from over — as days passed by, he actually began receiving countless additional cruel, nasty, and threatening text messages or e-mails signed by Cari. Even his ex-partner as well as Liz soon became targets of such vicious words, including assertions of wanting to kill their children, making him file a stalking claim with the Omaha Police Department. Yet the fact of the matter remains Cari had not been seen or vocally heard by anyone since that fateful morning he kissed her goodbye, so his mother had also already filed a missing persons report.
As per the documentary, despite this, Dave was certain Cari was the one harassing them as the verbiage of all their messages was the same, even if they came from different numbers or e-mail IDs. There was reportedly a period where he got over 30-40 texts plus 100 e-mails a day, that is, until his paranoia made him reach a near-breaking point and he decided to move from his old place. He’d also begun drinking a lot, which wasn’t helped by him essentially being surveilled, Liz’s home being set on fire, and his ex seemingly being followed, making him eventually move in with the latter for a while.
That’s when things came to a head — following Dave receiving over 50,000 texts as well as 18,000 e-mails from accounts associated with Cari’s name, it came to light his stalker was Liz all along. She wanted this father of two to herself, which is why she heinously killed Cari, ruined her reputation, and impersonated her for nearly four years before deciding to pin the blame on his ex, Amy Flora. She even went as far as to shoot herself in the leg for this, just for authorities to have already realized through IP addresses, blood stains, plus deleted images that she was the sole individual responsible.
Dave Kroupa Has Moved On With His Life
Despite the fact Liz was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder plus an additional 18-20 years for arson and framing in 2017, there’s still a dark cloud over Dave. “I don’t feel blameless in all of this,” he explained in ‘Lover, Stalker, Killer.’ “A lot of bad things happened to good people, all because of a series of events that I’m at the center of. The woman that I dated had goals, and was smiley and wanted to do something. She was just trying to make her way in this world… I’m very sorry for what happened. If I hadn’t met Cari, she wouldn’t have met Liz and this all wouldn’t have happened… But you don’t get that choice.”
Though Dave, still a Nebraska resident as well as a proud family man, has since managed to move on in life while still keeping the memories of the two weeks he spent with Cari alive in his heart. The auto repair professional actually has a partner named Margie Hover for over 8 years now, who has gradually been helping him heal from these old scars simply by being there and unwaveringly supporting him. In fact, according to People, he finally relaxed during a recent romantic trip to California, where he told his other half that although he’ll continue protecting his number, e-mail, and socials, he doesn’t “have to be looking over my shoulder” anymore.
Read More: Where Are Cari Farver’s Mom and Son Now?
