Dateline Originals: Something About Cari – Ep. 3: The Circle Expands

Released: February 4, 2026
Host: Keith Morrison (NBC News)

Episode Overview

In the third installment of “Something About Cari,” the investigation into the disappearance of Cari Farver and the menacing campaign against Dave Krupa and Liz Goliar escalates sharply. The circle of suspicion widens, following a fire at Liz Goliar’s home that investigators suspect may be no accident. New voices enter as law enforcement struggles to keep up with a web of accusations, threats, and shifting blame. The episode tracks the fallout from the fire, the entanglement of new people in the crosshairs, and pivotal shifts in the police’s approach to the baffling Farver case.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Suspected Arson at Liz Goliar’s Home

• Opening Scene: The episode opens with the Omaha Fire Department responding to a call from Liz, who finds her home full of smoke upon returning to collect the last of her belongings before moving (01:32).

  • Notable Quote – Keith Morrison:
    "Somebody set Liz Goliar's house on fire." (02:21)

• On-Scene Investigation:

  • Fire Battalion Commander Shane McClanahan assesses the scene. He finds no active fire but detects significant smoke and a heavy soot layer, the fire extinguished long before firefighters arrived (03:05 – 05:47).
  • Remarkable fire scene evidence: a red gas can and lighter fluid left on the main floor, not typically found there (05:34 – 06:00).

• Determining Arson:

  • Multiple points of origin for the fire, suggesting it was set intentionally—classic “arson 101” (06:35).
  • A trained canine unit finds ignitable liquids at six different spots in the basement (07:31).
  • Tragedy: Liz’s pets–two dogs, a cat, and a snake–succumb to smoke inhalation (07:06).

• Amateur Mistake Saves the House:

  • The perpetrator left all the windows closed in the basement, starving the fire of oxygen and preventing the home from being destroyed (08:27).

2. The Escalating Harassment and Stalking

• Immediate Suspicions:

  • Liz blames Carrie Farver for the fire, stating a history of harassment and destruction of property (04:04).
  • Email evidence: an email, purporting to be from Carrie, threatens Liz and her children with death by fire:
    "Hope you and your kids burn to death." (09:23)
  • Investigators note that with threats escalating to violence, their seriousness increases (09:44).

• The Aftermath—Liz Goes Into Hiding:

  • Liz, fearing for her and her children's safety, flees Omaha for Council Bluffs, Iowa, and moves in with her friend and former roommate Todd Butterbaugh (12:15).
  • Todd describes their relationship as non-romantic, mainly helping Liz out while often babysitting her children and lending support (14:02, 14:30).

• Ongoing Trouble for Liz:

  • Bizarre incidents persist, such as a suspicious pizza delivery that precedes a theft of electronics from the house (16:27 – 16:53).
  • Liz attributes all this trouble to Carrie, but others remain skeptical.

3. Dave Krupa’s Perspective—A Life Under Siege

• Dave’s Ordeal:
  • Krupa endures relentless threats, vandalism, and personal attacks (17:00+).
  • Carrie’s threats expand to target his children, leading Dave to purchase a gun for protection (18:29).
  • He ultimately joins Liz in Council Bluffs, thinking it might help him reclaim normalcy and see his children.

4. Amy Flora Gets Drawn In

• Amy’s Side of the Story:
  • Dave’s ex-partner, Amy, explains her relationship history with Dave and the desire for marriage that never materialized (22:15 – 22:46).
  • After the move, Amy and Dave see more of each other, much to “Carrie’s” displeasure.
  • Amy details the flood of hostile, intimidating messages she receives, sometimes as many as 50-60 per day, forcing her to repeatedly change her phone number and become hyper-vigilant about her safety (23:40 – 24:36).
  • Notable Quote – Amy Flora: “I was constantly looking over my shoulder.” (24:39)

5. New Investigative Direction: Is Carrie the Villain—Or the Victim?

• Case Stagnation and Fresh Eyes:

  • By 2015, the Carrie Farver missing person case is more “office chatter than active case” (25:35).

  • Detectives Doty and Avis from Pottawattamie County take a renewed interest, deciding to pursue parallel investigations: one treating Carrie as alive and active, the other assuming she is not (26:54).

  • Notable Quote – Detective Avis:
    “Maybe she's alive, but she's also missed so many significant events and hadn't physically been seen by anybody… so we didn't want to have tunnel vision down one.” (27:15)

• Digital Evidence Overload:

  • Detectives delve into thousands of emails and data dumps from Dave and Liz’s devices—11,000 emails saved by Dave alone (27:53 – 27:57).
  • They have not yet interviewed Liz when serendipity brings her to their office.

6. Liz Points the Finger at Amy

• Surprise Twist—Liz’s Accusation:

  • Liz arrives at the sheriff’s office to file a harassment report, unexpectedly, not against Carrie, but against Amy Flora, Dave’s ex (29:13).
  • Liz claims Amy has the motive to harass her and Dave, and that the three-year campaign attributed to Carrie never made sense for a brief relationship (31:32).
  • Notable Quote – Liz Goliar:
    “I would find it more reasonable to believe that his kid's mom [Amy]…” (31:38)

• Detectives’ Reaction:

  • While noting her claims, Detective Avis listens but remains skeptical as the case takes a potentially game-changing turn.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Keith Morrison on the central question:
  “Was Carrie Farver really the vengeful woman she seemed to be, or did she even exist?” (26:17)

• On the arson attempt:
  “It looked like a job done by an amateur fire bug. Whoever set the fire left all the windows closed in the basement, Ensuring that the fire would be starved of oxygen and thus unable to consume the entire house.” (08:27)

• Amy Flora on harassment:
  “I would get 50, 60 a day, just while I was at work… over a period of several months, until I finally changed my phone number. And then it would stop for a while. And then somehow she found the new one...” (23:59–24:17)

• Detective Avis on investigative approach:
  “Detective Doty thought the smart idea was not to have tunnel vision…” (26:54)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [01:32]: Omaha Fire Department responds to Liz Goliar’s burning home
• [06:14–07:13]: Discovery of arson evidence; death of Liz’s pets
• [09:23]: Read-aloud of harassing email, “Hope you and your kids burn to death”
• [12:15]: Liz flees to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to live with Todd Butterbaugh
• [14:02]: Todd and Liz’s roommate dynamics, and Todd’s mixed expectations
• [16:27]: Burglary after pizza delivery, another mysterious incident in Liz’s life
• [18:29]: Dave Krupa describes being forced to buy a gun for his family’s safety
• [22:15–23:03]: Amy Flora recounts her past relationship with Dave
• [23:40–24:36]: Amy details the barrage of threatening messages and impact on daily life
• [26:03]: Detectives Doty and Avis begin to reconsider the entire case
• [29:13]: Liz files a harassment complaint against Amy Flora, shifting suspicion

Conclusion / Lead-In

As law enforcement expands its focus, the story’s web grows ever more tangled. With Liz now accusing Amy, and the police reconsidering every assumption they’ve had about Carrie Farver, the investigation stands at a crossroads: Was Carrie even alive, or was a bigger deception at play? The episode teases even greater upheaval to come—with more violence, twists, and revelations on the horizon.

Next Episode Preview:
“Coming up in future episodes…” features harrowing hints: a shooting, interrogations, and a case that approaches its break point (32:33).

This summary captures all major developments, key testimony, and investigative twists in Episode 3 of “Something About Cari,” spotlighting the methods, suspicions, and emotional toll on all involved.