Lover, Stalker, Killer is the latest chilling true crime documentary to captivate Netflix audiences. As viewers work their way through the grisly case, they might find themselves wondering if Cari Farver was ever found after her sudden disappearance.
Lover, Stalker, Killer tells the true story of Farver, Shanna “Liz” Goylar, and Dave Kroupa, three individuals involved in a romantic entanglement that took a deadly turn. Unfortunately, deadly love triangles aren’t unheard of. The story of Candy Montgomery has been adapted multiple times after she killed her lover’s wife, though she claimed it was an act of self-defense. Even recently, the nation was shocked by the tragic murder of Moriah Wilson at the hands of Kaitlin Armstrong. Most of these stories follow a similar pattern, in which someone discovers their relationship isn’t exclusive and, instead of leaving their partner, makes the inexplicable decision to get revenge by murdering their partner’s other lover.
While Lover, Stalker, Killer does follow this pattern, it has a few additional elements that make it especially horrific.
The truth behind Cari Farver’s disappearance
Lover, Stalker, Killer is told from Kroupa’s perspective as he recounts how he became entangled in a murder and stalking case. In 2012, Kroupa was newly single after a long-term relationship and decided to start “casually” dating. He soon hit it off with Shanna “Liz” Golyar after meeting her on the dating site Plenty of Fish, although he says he told her he wasn’t looking for anything long-term or exclusive, which she seemingly agreed with. After he and Goylar had been dating for a short time, he met Farver, who he also began dating. The pair dated for two weeks. During this time, Goylar and Farver briefly crossed paths when Goylar showed up at Kroupa’s house when Farver was there.
Then, Farver disappeared without a trace. She was last seen leaving Kroupa’s house to go to work in November 2012. However, her disappearance wasn’t seriously investigated until three years later. The reason for the delayed investigation is that Farver was seemingly sending messages from her phone and e-mail long after she disappeared. In fact, she began using dozens of phone numbers and e-mail addresses to harass Kroupa with hundreds of threatening and bizarre messages. Farver’s family also received strange messages from her, as did Golyar. Golyar alleged Farver was stalking her and was responsible for her car being keyed, her pets being murdered, and, eventually, her house being set on fire.
In reality, though, Farver never sent a single message to her family, Kroupa or Golyar. She actually died the same day she left Kroupa’s house in 2012. The text messages were all sent by Golyar, who, for three years, sent messages pretending to be Farver in order to cover up the truth, which was that she murdered Farver. Not only had she sent the text messages, but Golyar burned down her own house, killed her own pets, and even shot herself in the leg as part of her unhinged scheme. She was finally tried for murder after police found photos on Golyar’s tablet of Farver’s deceased body and an e-mail confession, which revealed that Farver had been stabbed multiple times.
While Golyar is serving a life sentence, Farver’s family has not gotten full closure, as Farver’s body was never found. Only Golyar knows where Farver is, but to this day, she has refused to admit to the crime despite the evidence stacked against her. The closest thing investigators got to a confession was an email Golyar sent to herself, pretending to be Kroupa’s ex-girlfriend, Amy Flora. She tried to make the e-mail look like it was Flora confessing to the murder, which included gruesome details of her disposing of the body in the woods. Despite pretending to be another woman, investigators believed the e-mail did admit what actually happened to Flora. Golyar also had photos of Farver’s decomposing body, suggesting she kept it for some time. However, because of Golyar’s remorselessness and refusal to take accountability, Farver’s body will sadly likely never be found.
(featured image: Netflix)
