Shraman Mitra
When Carrie Olson met Timothy McVay for the first time, she believed he was the man of her dreams. Similarly, Timothy, a divorced father of two, appeared to be madly in love with Carrie, but their relationship reached a dead end when he remained firm on his decision to have no kids. ‘Dateline: Without a Trace: Carrie Olson’ chronicles how Carrie suddenly went missing from her house in December 2013 and how the ensuing investigation led straight to Timothy.
Who Is Timothy McVay?
When Timothy met Carrie for the first time, he was a divorced father of two who earned a living by hosting karaoke nights at local bars. Interestingly, people who knew Timothy described him as a lively individual, and Carrie loved how he would charm the karaoke contestants and even dance with them to sell his act. Besides, while Timothy seemed like a person who knew how to have fun, he also adored his sons and prioritized them above everything else.
Naturally, once Carrie witnessed Timothy’s caring ways, she fell further in love with him, and the talk even turned toward marriage. However, being divorced, Timothy claimed he did not want any more kids, which disappointed Carrie. The Quad Cities resident had dreamt of being a mother ever since she was a little girl, and Carrie was unwilling to give up her dream so easily. Hence, she decided to break off her relationship with Timothy, although the pair remained friends and would often call each other more than 20 times in a single day.
With time, Carrie met and fell in love with an Iraqi war veteran named Justin Mueller, who often struggled with sudden attacks of post-traumatic stress disorder. Although it did not take long for Justin to move in with Carrie, and the relationship appeared serious, most of the latter’s friends found the match to be quite strange. While Justin preferred to stay at home and spend time with his girlfriend, Carrie loved socializing and attending late-night parties. This soon created a rift between them, and Carrie’s friends mentioned that the couple would often find themselves embroiled in an altercation.
According to reports, Carrie was last seen by her boyfriend, Justin Mueller, on December 28, 2013, when the two got into an altercation over a minor issue. Surprisingly, that was the last time anyone ever saw her alive, as Justin later claimed that Carrie called him “stupid” and walked out of the house, never to return again. Besides, even though the disappearance was reported to the police, authorities were unable to trace her movements using CCTV footage.
Once law enforcement officials learned about Carrie’s relationship with Timothy McVay, they questioned the ex-boyfriend, only to realize that he was away in Las Vegas at the time of the disappearance. However, Timothy insisted that Carrie had gone to see him after storming out of her house on December 28 and that he had driven her back home the following day.
Timothy McVay is Still Behind Bars Today
Since Justin kept insisting that Carrie had not returned after walking out on December 28, the police kept a close watch on Timothy and soon discovered that he was using the missing person’s debit cards for purchases. Still, when questioned, Timothy insisted that it was usual for Carrie to lend him her bank cards, and since there was no evidence of foul play, authorities had to let him walk free. Eventually, in April 2014, a little more than three months after the incident, the police located Carrie’s body in Hastings, Minnesota, which was about 300 miles away from the Quad Cities.
However, even though an autopsy could not determine the reason for her death, the police were surprised to learn Timothy had boarded his flight to Las Vegas from Hastings shortly after Carrie went missing. Subsequently, using phone records and other evidence, the police drew up a timeline indicating Timothy had enough time to kill Carrie and drive her body to Hastings before getting on his flight.
On top of it, authorities also found a piece of cloth in the victim’s hair, which matched a carpet recovered from Timothy’s house. Hence, with enough evidence to warrant an arrest, authorities took Timothy McVay into custody and charged him for his role in the crime. When presented in court, Timothy insisted on his innocence and denied all involvement in the homicide. He even pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, but the evidence was strong enough to make the jury believe otherwise.
Consequently, after deliberating for some time, the jury convicted Timothy of first-degree murder as well as concealment of a homicidal death, which netted him a total sentence of 45 years in prison in 2014. Well, with parole currently out of the picture, Timothy remains behind bars at the Menard Medium Security Unit in Chester, Illinois, and will be eligible for parole in 2056.
Read More: Justin Mueller: Where is Carrie Olson’s Boyfriend Now?
