Episode 367: An Arrest: Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain

The First Degree

Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek

True Crime, Society & Culture, News

4.5 • 10K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When we first covered the disappearance of 39-year-old mother of four, Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain, in episode 330, her case was still classified as a missing persons investigation. Months later, everything has changed. Authorities have reclassified the case as a homicide, Nikki’s husband Tyler has spoken publicly for the first time, and now he’s been arrested and charged with her murder. In this update episode, Jac and Lex revisit Nikki’s story, track the dramatic turns since March, and explore how media attention and relentless advocacy from Nikki’s family have kept the case alive, and helped push it forward. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The first degree.
0:02.0	First degree.
0:03.0	First degree.
0:04.0	First degree.
0:05.0	First degree.
0:06.0	First degree.
0:07.0	The first degree.
0:08.0	You see it on the news.
0:10.0	You see it on the paper.
0:11.0	You see it on Facebook.
0:13.0	These things are supposed to happen in movies, not in real life.
0:20.0	Despite the scrutiny criticisms and the incorrect conclusions that people opine on social media,
0:30.6	these detectives and the law enforcement agencies involved continue to work tirelessly on the case.
0:38.0	I can tell you that probably every day,
0:41.4	with exception of maybe a few,
0:43.6	somebody from some agency involved in this investigation
0:46.8	and protect that information.
0:50.6	There's also, I want to also address the rumors
0:53.1	surrounding the Reading Rancheria and the
0:56.6	scrutiny that the tribe faced in people saying that there was a cover up and they were not
1:01.9	cooperating in law enforcement and this was all part of a bigger conspiracy.
1:07.1	I can tell you right now all those rumors also are false.
	...

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