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The upcoming episode of People Magazine Investigates: Crimes of the 2010s is all set to cover the murder of Tim McNamara and its link to his niece (and wife) Tracy Nessl. The case dates back to 2014 and remains unsolved to this day. There have been numerous assumptions, with suicide being a big possibility, about the case, but so far, no one has been prosecuted for the murder.
The upcoming episode of People Magazine Investigates: Crimes of the 2010s, titled The Deadliest Taboo, will cover this case in detail. This episode airs on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 8.00 PM EST. The synopsis for the same reads:
"Fights over land and money divide an eastern Washington family amidst allegations of incest, betrayal, and murder. Was a taboo romance to blame for one father's death? Or are there deeper issues at play?"
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Tim McNamara's case ultimately yielded no results, and Tracy Nessl went on to continue her life. Though an arrest warrant has been issued for Nessl, she remains in Soap Lake as of today and continues maintaining the orchard for Tim.
Ahead of the episode, let us dive into the case and look at Tim's murder and Tracy's possible involvement.
Who is Tracy Nessl and how is she linked to Tim McNamara's murder?
Tim hailed from Soap Lake, Washington, and was raised in a privileged household. By the time he came across Tracy, he had gone through three divorces and had multiple children from them. Tracy was actually Tim McNamara's biological niece. She was the daughter of Tim's brother.
But she never knew Tim as her uncle and when they got introduced later in life, they fell for each other. Of course, this relationship was a huge taboo in the community, and the pair were soon forced to move outside.
They moved to Belize in Central America, where they opened a bed and breakfast on a ranch they purchased. Things were seemingly going well for the odd couple when Tracy called the police on December 25, 2014. She claimed that she found Tim face-up on the ground with a gunshot wound.
She alleged that Tim heard some dogs barking and went out to check with his handgun. Moments later, she heard a gunshot wound and came back to discover her husband dead. While it was initially ruled as a suicide, forensic reports claimed that it was possibly a homicide.
After Nessl initially alleged that the police officer on the case demanded money from her, an arrest warrant was taken out on her on May 26, 2015. But by then, Tracy had already left Belize and returned to her husband’s farm in Soap Lake.
Tim’s children also filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit in September that year. Tim's children kept alleging that Tracy had killed him just before his insurance policy expired for financial gain. However, nothing of this was ever proven, and Tracy remains free in Soap Lake as of now.
Tracy Nessl was eventually ordered to pay $3.3 million in damages, $725,000 to each of Tim’s children, $1.8 million in additional damages, and $77,000 in economic damages to the estate in the civil lawsuit. But no criminal charges were held against her and Tracy Nessl continues to remain in Soap Lake, where she tends to her late husband's orchards.
The upcoming episode of People Magazine Investigates: Crimes of the 2010s will cover this case in more detail.
