A California mom of four who vanished three months ago had planned to divorce her husband — who was facing trial after she accused him of tying her up and beating her for hours, according to her sister.
Just 10 days before she vanished, Saelee-McCain texted her family to say she was leaving her husband of 15 years, Tyler McCain, accusing him of ongoing horrific abuse, her sister, Chloe Saelee, told the US Sun.
Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain, 39, was last seen in Redding, just north of Sacramento, on May 17, according to local cops who later found her Chevy truck but are still searching for the 4-foot-11 mom.
“She was really excited. She was looking at furniture for a new place and she was ready to leave Tyler and divorce him for good,” Chloe said.
“She had plans to start over, to get her kids back, and she was ready and looking forward to it,” she said of the children removed from their care in 2022 because of the troubled home.
“She was really confident and determined – and she was ready to take those next steps, finally.”
Police were called to the missing mom’s home numerous times since 2020, when her husband became increasingly violent during the pandemic, the sister alleged.
McCain was then arrested last December and charged with felony domestic violence after Nikki accused him of tying her up and viciously beating her over three hours inside their home, according to court documents obtained by the Sun.
Nikki told the cops her husband “intended to kill her” — and she was beaten so savagely her sister said she didn’t recognize her when she saw her in the hospital.
“I was just in shock because I couldn’t believe how many injuries she had and how she could’ve survived,” the sister said. “It looked absolutely horrible.”
McCain was due in court to face four felony charges of domestic violence over the alleged attack — but the case was dropped after she vanished, the paper said.
He had pleaded not guilty to the attack, claiming that his wife got her injuries from a fight with someone else.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett acknowledged the pain caused by the decision to drop the charges, but said that legally their was no other option.
“In the United States everyone has a constitutional right to confront the witnesses against them,” Bridgett said last month.
“That means the accuser, the victim, must be present in trial to confront them and we haven’t been able to locate her.”
Bridgett noted that her office still has nearly 3 years to refile charges if the missing mom is found.
“And that is what we want to be able to do,” Bridgett said. “We want to pursue, preserve that ability to hold him liable for that case.”
McCain’s attorney did not immediately return requests for comment, the Sun said. The sheriff’s department leading the investigation has not said if it has any suspects in the missing-persons case.
