The lawyer representing Tyler McCain, the Shasta County man facing trial on charges of murdering his wife Nikki Cheng Orn Saelee-McCain two years ago, has filed a motion asking the high-profile trial set to begin in late August be delayed.
McCain’s defense attorney, Michael Borges, also said that he plans to file a motion to move the trial out of Shasta County. “I believe it is unlikely that a fair and impartial jury can be found within Shasta County,” he wrote. Because he has been representing other clients in court, Borgess said he needs “additional time to investigate and file a motion to change the venue for trial.”
Borges made the motion for a continuance on Thursday, July 27 to the Shasta County Superior Court.
A hearing on the motion is scheduled to take place on August 10 before Shasta County Superior Court Judge Adam Ryan, according to court documents.
If Ryan approves the continuance, it would be the second delay in the high-profile murder trial related to the presumed death of Saelee-McCain. She was first reported missing in May 2024. Her case was ruled a homicide 10 months later. Her body has not been found.
McCain was accused of murder and domestic violence in August 2025. Investigators believe Tyler McCain killed his wife to stop her from testifying in a domestic violence case she had filed against him.
Borges said in his court filing asking for a continuance in the McCain case that he has been engaged in two other major criminal trials locally, one that concluded on April 30 and another that finished up on June 11.
In the McCain trial, “The amount of material that has been provided to counsel exceeds 5,000 printed pages and more than one terabyte of data,” Borges wrote.
“Hundreds of tips and interviews, along with many hours of surveillance footage, were gathered by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office in its search for Ms. Saelee-McCain. Additional time is needed to complete counsel’s review of the material provided by the District Attorney so far.”
Borges also wrote that additional time is needed to raise more funds to pay for the services of a private investigator and expert forensic scientist and laboratory to assist in McCain’s defense.
At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing that lasted eight days at Shasta County Superior Court in September 2025, Judge Thomas L. Bender announced that there was enough evidence for Tyler McCain to go to trial.
Tyler McCain has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
McCain continues to be held without bail in the Shasta County Jail, according to the jail’s website.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, reports on major trials happening in Shasta County Superior Court, writes about restaurants and handles whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Defense seeks delay in start of Tyler McCain murder trial
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
