COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Cari Farver, a single mom from Macedonia, Iowa, went missing in 2012. At first, investigators thought she left by choice. She was also suspected of stalking a man that she had dated for a couple of weeks. But, what actually happened is stranger and more tragic. It's the subject of a new Netflix documentary, "Lover, Stalker, Killer."
- Cari was murdered by a woman who had dated the same man, although it took years for that to come to light.
- Two of the Pottawattamie County investigators who cracked the case — which had gone cold — say they want to keep Cari's memory alive.
- Sgt. Jim Doty and Special Dep. Anthony Kava helped to set up a scholarship fund in Cari's name at Iowa Western Community College: farverscholarship.org
- "At the end of the day, this was a lot more than just a TV show to entertain people. It was a real case with real victims: Cari's mom, her son, her family,” said Doty.
- "... And one of the other things that bugged us about this case is that there were all these criminal acts that were attributed to Cari and she was kind of blamed for them and it hurt her reputation and it wasn't deserved at all," said Kava.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
True crime stories are popular right now and there's a new one about a case from right here in Pott. County. I'm your southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter, Katrina Markel in Council Bluffs and I spoke to the investigators who are in the documentary, trending on Netflix, and they want people to know it's about a lot more than just entertainment.
Here's the story behind the film, "Lover Stalker Killer," and the Pottawattamie County investigators who cracked a complicated cold case.
"It's about the people that are actually affected by it, so the fact that we ended up in the spotlight, it's not a great place for us. It's not where we're used to being," said Pottawattamie County Special Deputy Anthony Kava.
There are twists and turns...
Cari Farver, a mom from Macedonia, Iowa, went missing in 2012.
She was the subject of a missing person case in Iowa and also the suspect in an Omaha stalking case.
The trail went cold until Sgt. Jim Doty and Special Deputy Anthony Kava re-opened it in 2015.
Two years later, Liz (Shanna) Golyar was convicted of killing Farver. She was seemingly jealous after they dated the same man.
The story has been on Dateline, 20/20, Netflix, but...
"At the end of the day, this was a lot more than just a TV show to entertain people. It was a real case with real victims: Cari's mom, her son, her family,” said Doty.
"... And one of the other things that bugged us about this case is that there were all these criminal acts that were attributed to Cari and she was kind of blamed for them and it hurt her reputation and it wasn't deserved at all," said Kava.
Kava, a cyber-investigator, feels a special connection to Cari, a fellow technology professional.
They set up a scholarship at Iowa Western Community College.
"It's for IT students just like Cari, so it's a great way for us to be able to do something in her name because in all this coverage sometimes the victims are forgotten," said Kava.
They've also had the opportunity to help others...
"We've been able to take some of the publicity we've got from this case and we've presented to law enforcement agencies across the world. Kind of telling them some of our lessons learned and some of the techniques we've used," said Doty.
Kava and Doty encourage contributions toFarverScholarship.org
Doty said, "Cari was a real person. She has real family members that were greatly affected by this and it's not just a sensational story for entertainment purposes."
In Council Bluffs, I'm your southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
