Wealthy man found dead after marrying his niece

In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: Tim McNamara owned a successful apple farm in Washington, and in his 60s, he found the new apple of his eye. Her name was Tracy Nessl, and she happened to be his niece.

Tim and Tracy reconnected at his daughter’s wedding, and the two had an instant spark. I interviewed Tracy in 2016, and she told me she and Tim were “spiritually connected” and a perfect match. They each got divorced from their respective spouses and began their scandalous relationship in 2012.

Then, after they were together for a few months, Tim transferred all his property into Tracy’s name — and that comprised a lot of land. Their relationship caused some strife in the family, so Tim and Tracy packed their bags and moved from Washington to Belize in 2013. There, they bought a large parcel of land in the hopes of one day owning and operating their own inn.

The couple tied the knot, and Tim left his entire estate to his new bride.

Even though they lived in a place that looked like paradise, trouble was starting to brew below the surface.

On December 25, 2014, Tracy was apparently making dinner when she heard a loud noise. When she went outside to check, she found her husband on the porch with a gunshot wound to his head. She apparently got on the ground and lay down next to him for a long time before calling paramedics.

He was transported to a hospital, where he died.

Tracy told police in Belize her husband killed himself, and before long, she was on a flight back to Washington. The forensics report, however, determined Tim could not have fired the fatal shot based on evidence found at the scene. Belize Police issued a warrant for her arrest in May 2015, but Tracy was never extradited.

Tim’s children became convinced Tracy killed him for financial gain, especially because he left her his entire estate and nothing to his children. They filed a civil lawsuit against Tracy to get money and assets back using something called the Slayer Statue, which means a person cannot benefit from obtaining property if they killed someone to get it.

Tracy went to trial in March 2022, and on March 25, 2022, she was convicted of criminal murder in civil court. As a result of the guilty verdict, Tim’s family received over $3 million in damages.

Let’s take a look back at this case involving an illicit relationship and a family’s fight for their own closure.