Carrie Elaine Olson, Tim McVay: ‘Dateline’ Presents Karaoke Murder Case On NBC’s Saturday Night Mystery ‘Without A Trace’

The Carrie Elaine Olson, Tim (Timothy) McVay karaoke murder case will be profiled on the next Dateline NBC. Carrie Olson’s story began in December 2013, when she vanished from her Davenport, Iowa, home. The 29-year old woman was missing for months before her body was found in a heavily wooded area in Minnesota in April 2014. Her body, which was identified by a tattoo, had apparently been there since she disappeared but was hidden under the snow. Olson’s ex-boyfriend, Tim McVay, was arrested and found guilty in her death. Her live-in-boyfriend, Justin Mueller, was finally cleared after months of gossip, according to Iowa Cold Cases.

All of Carrie Olson’s friends describe her the same way—as a woman who was fun to be around, a vivacious person who loved to give her friends big hugs. Olson loved three things, her parents, her friends, and her precious dog. Always a daddy’s girl, Carrie Olson eventually wanted to find a nice man to spend her life with. Carrie thought she’d found it in Tim McVay—a man she met at Jimmie O’s Karaoke Saloon. Tim McVay had an electrifying personality. McVay had studied theology with hope of becoming a full time minister, but later found his calling working as a Karaoke DJ around the Quad Cities area. And they say, he was really something.

Always entertaining and dancing with the customers, he seemed to be a natural as he lead karaoke in the bars and saloons around town. It was that magnetic personality that first drew Carrie to Tim, plus she thought he was incredibly cute. And with Carrie’s bubbly and friendly personality, the two seemed like the perfect couple, at first.

But,there were some issues. First, Tim McVay was divorced and was the father of two children. He was also a decade older. Carrie Olson was ready to marry and spend the rest of her life with him. But, Tim McVay made it very clear that he was not looking to be a father for the third time, which dashed Carrie Olson’s hopes of making a family with him.

It was shortly after the breakup that she began dating Justine Mueller. Muller was very different from Tim. Her friends say Muller seemed like a nice quiet guy, but he wasn’t as much fun to be around. Often quiet and reserved, he seemed like the exact opposite of what Carrie would have wanted out of a man. She thought she could make it work, but just after moving in with Mueller, the situation worsened. All of their differences became readily apparent. He always wanted to stay home, while Carrie always wanted to go out. And she needed more excitement and more sex than Justin was offering. Aside from that, Justin did little things to annoy her, which would often cause Carrie Olson to leave her home upset.

The Iraqi war had left Justin a bit shell shocked. But it wasn’t just that. In general, he just wasn’t the fun loving, gregarious guy that she wanted. And It became blatantly obvious to all of Carrie Olson’s friends that she wasn’t happy with Justin at all. They didn’t worry too much about it—just domestic stuff that most couples go through, they believed. But when Carrie Olson failed to show up to work at her father’s store, and no one had heard from her, sheer panic set in.

The family immediately began doing everything possible to find her. Her best friend, Amanda, created a Facebook page (Find Carrie Olson) and helped pass out missing fliers. She also contacted Dateline NBC. According to police, Justin stated that he had not seen Carrie in two days. He also told them that she seemed annoyed with him when she left. Police also contacted Carrie’s ex boyfriend, Tim McVay, who was in Las Vegas at the time of her disappearance.

Tim McVay told police that he had no idea where Carrie was, and that the last time he saw her was on Saturday when she arrived at his place to talk to him about the problems going on at home with Justin. Police also learned from Tim that he supposedly dropped her off at home the next day, then used her car with Carrie’s permission. But, Justin said Carrie never returned home that weekend.

Police got a big lead when someone tried to use Carrie’s credit cards. That person turned out to be Tim McVay who was captured on surveillance video trying to use her credit cards at a gas station and trying to remove money from her bank account. The missing persons case became more bizarre after a patron at the karaoke bar captured video of Tim McVay singing “I Used to Love Her, But I Had to Kill Her” by Guns and Roses. The police had all they needed when the fibers from a carpet found in Carrie Olson’s hair matched fibers from the carpet at Tim McVay’s home.

With this evidence and more, police arrested Tim McVay and charged him with murder. A jury found McVay guilty and sentenced him to 45 years in prison, where he remains today. To see just how police investigated the case, be sure to watch Dateline NBC tonight at 8/7 central. Now, read Inquisitr’s Dateline coverage of Johnny Hincapie and Russell Williams.

Timothy McVay Bench Trial

[Image via Locate The Missing/Facebook].