Judge sets Tyler McCain trial for March

A trial date has been set for the case against Tyler Scott McCain, the man charged with killing his wife, Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain. 

More than a year after Saelee-McCain went missing, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tyler McCain for her murder this past August. The filing against him includes 12 charges and multiple special allegations, including one that he killed his wife to prevent her from testifying against him in court over domestic violence charges. 

The jury trial was supposed to start on Nov. 18, but it was postponed last month at the request of McCain’s lawyer, Michael Borges, who asked for more time to prepare for the case given the abundance of documentation provided by the prosecution. Today, after some back and forth between Borges and the case’s judge, Shasta Superior Court Judge Adam B. Ryan, the trial date was set for March 17, 2026. 

Attorney Sarah Murphy from the Shasta District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case on behalf of the people of California, expressed concern for the March 17 date, saying that Borges is already representing another large case at that time. 

Judge Ryan questioned Borges, saying he felt the attorney hadn’t provided enough reliable information to prove the trial date needed to be moved back so far. But after Borges said that March 17 is the “soonest date I could have,” Judge Ryan agreed to it.

A trial readiness hearing will be held on March 11 to ensure both parties are prepared for the trial. 

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