MISSING: Marilyn “Niqui” McCown

The gist

Nikki McCown vanished on July 22, 2001, from a Richmond, Indiana laundromat while doing laundry. Though corrections officer Tommy Swint became the primary suspect after his DNA linked him to a 1991 murder and he died by suicide before arrest, newly uncovered case files reveal other suspicious individuals and unexplored leads. Crime Junkie's expanded investigative team found evidence suggesting Nikki's fiancé Bobby Webster may have been present at the laundromat, that coworker Darlene Williams had undisclosed connections to the case, and that crucial searches near an apartment complex where Nikki's abandoned car was found were never completed.

Key takeaways

• The car appeared 3.5 months later: Nikki's GMC was abandoned at Meadows of Catalpa Apartments in Dayton, Ohio on November 3, 2001—40+ miles from where she disappeared—with a damaged door lock, missing stereo, and her laundry basket still inside with folded clothes
• Bobby Webster showed suspicious behavior: Nikki's fiancé returned her engagement ring within days, attempted to get her tuition refund, canceled their wedding venue, watched the movie The Gift (about a missing fiancée) repeatedly, and wore her rings around his neck; a witness placed him at the laundromat talking to Nikki around the time she vanished
• Tommy Swint had a violent history no one disclosed: A corrections officer obsessed with Nikki, he later matched DNA evidence in a 1991 strangulation murder (Tina Marie Ivory), but no definitive physical evidence connected him to Nikki's disappearance; he died by suicide in 2010 before arrest
• Darlene Williams' role remains unclear: A fellow prison employee and affair partner of Tommy's, she claimed Nikki called her from an unknown location between 3:30-6 PM the day she vanished (the call's purpose—discussing vitamins—seemed questionable); she called out of work the day after Nikki disappeared and lived less than a mile from where the GMC was found
• Critical searches may never have happened: Police noted canine alerts indicating possible remains in wooded areas adjacent to Darlene's property and near Meadows of Catalpa, but records don't confirm whether investigators ever followed up on these leads
• Bobby later confessed to following Nikki: In a 2021 phone call, Bobby told a childhood friend (Kim) he'd been stalking Nikki and Tommy, claiming they were lovers, though he'd never disclosed this to police in 2001
• An anonymous 2003 letter tried to redirect investigation: Someone sent an unsigned letter alleging the prison warden had a secret relationship with Nikki, but investigators dismissed it as a hoax designed to mislead the case

Notable quotes

"I hope it's another guy. I can deal with that pain." — Bobby Webster, in a 2001 police interview, expressing hope Nikki had run off with someone else rather than something worse happening

"He was not coming into my home. Whatever darkness he was carrying, I wanted no part of it." — Kim, after an eight-hour phone call with Bobby in which he allegedly confessed to stalking Nikki

"No matter what, come hell and high water, we're gonna get answers." — Peyton McCown, Nikki's daughter, on the family's commitment to finding out what happened to her mother

Worth a full listen?

Listen if you're invested in cases with evolving suspects and new investigative techniques revealing hidden details, or if you want to understand how a podcast's own growth led to uncovering information police may have missed—but know that this episode ends without definitive answers about Nikki's fate.