The Murder of Christie WIlson case summary
On October 5th, 2005, at 1:15 am, Christie Wilson walked out of a casino in Placer County, California, and disappeared. Over the next few days, investigators spent hours reviewing video footage and interviewing people, trying to identify a man who sat with Christie at several gaming tables and ultimately walked out the doors with her. That man was finally identified as Mario Garcia, a local health care executive with a wife and family and a dark past. Garcia was found guilty of murder by a jury about a year-and-a-half later, after a 3-month trial. This case, though, was about Christie, and investigators never gave up trying to find Christie’s body for her family. You’ll hear about that work, and through determination, hard work, and a little help from technology, Christie’s body was found buried on Garcia’s property, recovered, and given back to her family.
Presenter's Bio
Lieutennant Nuno Tavares
NUNO TAVARES, Lieutenant (Retired), Placer County District Attorney’s Office 916-251-6947 nunotav@icloud.com
Nuno Tavares retired as Lieutenant with the Placer County District Attorney’s Office in 2023 after 27 years in law enforcement. He oversaw various units, including cold case homicide, special investigations, fraud, and the Special Projects Unit.
Before joining the management ranks, Lt. Tavares was assigned numerous positions, including over ten years on narcotics task forces. He also investigated auto theft, crimes against persons, public assistance fraud, and cold-case homicide. In 2007, Lt. Tavares was one of the lead investigators in Placer County’s only “no body homicide,” securing a conviction and sentencing the defendant to 53 years. His cases received national and international coverage and were covered by several crime shows, such as CBS 48 Hours, Forensic Files, True TV, Discover ID, and the Oxygen Network. He has also received various local and statewide law enforcement awards. In 2021, he was awarded the Investigative Excellence award from the International Homicide Investigators Association in Washington, DC.
Since 2007, Lt. Tavares has been a certified law enforcement instructor for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). As a POST instructor, he teaches for the Institute of Criminal Investigation’s Core Detective school, Homicide Investigation course, and Science Based Interviewing. Tavares has received the statewide award for excellence in training for POST.
Lt. Tavares has earned a Master of Arts in Leadership from St. Mary’s College of California. Lt. Tavares enjoys traveling, cooking, and playing drums in his spare time.
