Shasta District Attorney files motion to disqualify Tyler McCain’s defense attorney

During a brief court hearing today, September 2, Tyler Scott McCain appeared in court as his defense attorney, Michael Borges, spoke on his behalf. 

McCain is being charged with the murder of his wife, Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain who went missing on May 18, 2024 shortly before she was scheduled to testify against her husband on felony domestic violence charges. The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office called her disappearance a homicide in March of this year but did not arrest McCain until last month. He’s being held without bail in the Shasta County Jail.

Late last week, the Shasta District Attorney’s Office filed a motion requesting that McCain’s defense attorney, Michael Borges, be disqualified from the case. The reason is not yet apparent. Court documents have been redacted from public view and no specifics were mentioned during today’s hearing. 

Borges filed his opposition to that motion during today’s hearing, approaching the clerk’s desk and handing over paperwork to both the judge and the prosecution’s attorneys, Sarah Murphy and Toby Powell. 

Powell read briefly through Borges’ motion, telling the Honorable Judge Thomas L. Bender that the document responded to only one of the two reasons why the prosecution thinks Borges should be disqualified. 

Asked to respond, defense attorney Borges noted with mild annoyance that he doesn’t believe there are any valid reasons he should be disqualified and that his motion addresses that point. Attorneys can be disqualified due to a conflict of interest or other ethical issue that might impact their role in the trial.

Judge Bender, a visiting retired judge from Madera County, expressed uncertainty about next steps as he spoke to attorneys for both sides in front of a small crowd of several dozen people, including the media. He said a motion to disqualify a defense attorney is a rare event which he has never before ruled on.

His remarks hinted at the delicate nature of deliberations moving forward, asking if the attorneys would like the hearing on the motion to be held privately, out of the public’s view. 

Borges said it’s the prosecution that faces the burden of proving their motion that the courts should open an inquiry into disqualifying him. The law is fairly clear on the specifics of when that conversation should happen privately, he said, indicating that he would offer a warning to the court if a matter comes up during the hearing that he feels should be discussed “in camera,” a legal term meaning the matter would be discussed only between the attorneys and the judge.

McCain, who wore a dark blue shirt and pants and orange socks, was shackled both wrists to waist and at the ankles. He spoke only a few brief words during the hearing. He will return to court tomorrow, September 3, at 9:30 a.m. to be present for further discussion of the motion to disqualify his defense attorney. 

In addition to murder, McCain is being charged with a special allegation that he killed his wife to prevent her testimony against him. The DA’s Office has also refiled the felony domestic violence charges that were previously dismissed when Saelee-McCain disappeared and was unable to testify. 

Her body has not been found. It’s the first time the Shasta DA’s Office has prosecuted a “no body” murder case.

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