From left, Cari Farver, Dave Kroupa and Liz Golyar.Photo:Netflix; Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
Netflix; Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
“I was like, ‘What the hell?’ ” recalls Kroupa, 47, who was busy at work and wrote a dismissive reply. That apparently uncorked a well of anger in Farver, who replied: “I hate you.” “You ruined my life.” “I never want to see you again.”
“All morning my text messages were pinging, pinging, pinging, and it’s all this nasty stuff,” says Kroupa, who was annoyed but also relieved to have discovered so quickly that Farver—whom he would never see again—was not the woman for him. “I’m thinking, ‘Wow, I dodged a bullet.’ ”
But nothing could have been further from the truth. Over the next four years Kroupa became the target of a campaign of terror. He received more than 18,000 intimidating emails and some 50,000 texts from accounts associated with Farver. He also was deluged with phone calls and threats against his on-again, off-again lover Shanna “Liz” Golyar as well as his former partner Amy Flora and the two children they share.
The harassment resulted in vandalism, burglary, arson—and a murder. Kroupa moved out of state and changed his phone number and email address but could not escape his stalker until police made a shocking arrest in 2016. Now Kroupa is telling his story in the new Netflix documentaryLover, Stalker, Killer, premiering Feb. 9. “She ruined my life,” he tells PEOPLE, “as much as you can without actually killing me.”
In early 2012, Kroupa moved from Wisconsin to Nebraska after getting out of a long-term relationship and decided to give online dating a try.
Dave Kroupa and Liz Golyar.Netflix
Netflix
Soon Golyar, whom Kroupa continued to date, was also receiving frightening messages. “We’d be hanging out on a Saturday, and both of our emails would start blowing up at the same time,” says Kroupa.
Police were unable to pinpoint the source of the messages, despite the fact that the texts made it clear the person sending them was often within sight of Kroupa, Golyar, his former partner Flora and their two children. Kroupa believed the case had gone cold—but the dangerous behavior escalated.
In April 2015, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office detectives Ryan Avis and Jim Doty began looking into Farver’s disappearance and came to the devastating conclusion that she had most likely been dead since that fateful day in Nov. 2012, when the text messages to Kroupa began.
Sgt. Jim Doty.Netflix
“This is a once-in-a-career type of case,” Doty, who is now a sergeant at the department, tells PEOPLE. “I think Liz was stone-cold. Anything she did to show kindness was an act and she had an ulterior motive to get something she wanted out of it. I think deep down, she’s just evil and cold.”
Although they knew Golyar was the culprit, detectives didn’t have enough evidence to arrest her immediately. But in Dec. 2015, Golyar unsuspectingly helped make the case against herself when she was shot in the leg and blamed Flora, who she claimed was now harassing her too. The officers quickly discovered that Golyar shot herself and was trying to frame Flora in the same way she framed Farver for years.
Top left: Liz Golyar’s house after it was set on fire. Top right: Dried blood found under Cari Farver’s seat covers in her vehicle. Bottom right: Kroupa’s stalker left menacing messages scrawled on the walls of his home. Bottom right: Detectives recovered deleted photos from an SD card, including one of a decomposing foot with a tattoo like Farver had.Netflix; Pottawattomie County Sheriff’s Office; Netflix (2)
Netflix; Pottawattomie County Sheriff’s Office; Netflix (2)
For more on Dave Kroupa’s story,subscribe now to PEOPLE, or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.
Armed with a slew of search warrants, investigators found communications software that allowed Golyar to mask her identity for years and to schedule texts and emails in advance in an effort to impersonate Farver. Even more troubling was the grisly evidence they unearthed pointing to Golyar’s involvement in the sudden disappearance—and murder—of Farver, her romantic rival. Detectives told Kroupa that Golyar was responsible for the years of harassment and for murdering Farver.
Liz Golya at the Douglas County courthouse in Omaha on May 10, 2017.RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
RYAN SODERLIN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Farver’s body was never found, but authorities believe Farver was killed within days of the 2012 fateful encounter in Kroupa’s apartment building. “Up till then, every time Cari’s name came up I wanted to throw up,” says Kroupa. “Then to learn that she’s not only not at fault, but she’s been murdered? And Liz, the person who I leaned on, was responsible for killing Cari? It’s still hard to even process.”
Liz Golyar’s mug shot.Nebraska Department of Correctional Services / PCSO
Nebraska Department of Correctional Services / PCSO
Golyar was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree arson at trial in 2017 and sentenced to life without parole plus 20 years for arson.
Dave Kroupa.Netflix
According to Kroupa’s current girlfriend Margie Hover, who lives with him in Nebraska, it was only on a trip to California that she noticed Kroupa was finally able to relax. “He said, ‘I don’t have to be looking over my shoulder,’ ” she tells PEOPLE.
Still, Kroupa closely guards his phone number and email address. “I don’t mind watching a movie with a terrible twist,” he says, “but I never want that in my life again."
Lover, Stalker, Killerpremieres Friday, Feb. 9 on Netflix.
source: people.com
