Who killed Tara Ord-Sidarovich and where are they now? Whereabouts explored ahead of NBC Dateline episode

Tara Ord-Sidarovich (Image via datelinenbc@ Instagram)
Tara Ord-Sidarovich (Image via datelinenbc@ Instagram)

NBC's upcoming episode of Dateline focuses on the shocking death of 19-year-old Tara Ord-Sidarovich in Florida.

Subsequent investigations revealed the involvement of David Ray McMannis and Phillip Barr in the incident. Barr is currently serving his sentence at the Dade Correctional Institution in Homestead. McMannis is being held at Northwest Florida Reception Center in Washington County.

Titled The Knock at the Door, the upcoming episode will see Keith Morisson delving deep into the circumstances surrounding the death and the investigation that followed.

Read further ahead to find out how Tara Ord-Sidarovich died and various other details pertaining to the case.


When did Tara Ord-Sidarovich go missing? Details of the disappearance explored

Tara Ord-Sidarovich was a teenager from Florida who reportedly worked at the Golden Isle Jewelry store. On October 1, 2001, Tara mysteriously went missing.

Her siblings, Veronica and Paul Ord, could not find her after they stepped out of their school bus. Tara's car was still parked in the driveway. After a while, when Tara did not return home, her mother complained to the police. Reportedly, Tara had told her colleagues that she was off to pick up her paycheck but never returned.

Authorities couldn't find any solid evidence and for months, there was no news on Tara. Nine months after she went missing, her remains were discovered near Burnt Store Road in Punta Gorda, Florida, and it was revealed that she died due to blunt force trauma on the ribs. The police soon launched an investigation but couldn't come up with any substantial leads, and the case ultimately went cold.

As per the Dateline episode, three veteran detectives were then asked by a new sheriff in town to reopen cold cases. The trio began with the Tara Ord-Sidarovich case, and began looking into two men named David Ray McMannis and Phillip Barr, who'd gone to Tara's home for plumbing-related work before she disappeared. Phillip was the owner of a septic tank company in Florida, where David worked.

Per News-Press, a man named Michael Artell contacted the police after watching a case covered in a true crime show in 2007 to help them with some information. Artell had allegedly met Phillip Barr in jail after the latter was arrested for a check-fraud case. He told authorities that he'd suspected Barr's involvement in the disappearance and murder of Tara Ord-Sidarovich while the two were in jail.

The police eventually obtained more crucial pieces of evidence linking the murder to both Phillip and David Ray, leading to their arrest in 2012. David was reportedly arrested in Cumberland and subsequently extradited to Florida, where the crime took place.


When were Phillip Barr and David Ray McMannis convicted?

Phillip Barr and David Ray McMannis had separate trials. In October 2015, a jury found Barr guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison. He is reportedly serving his sentence at the Dade Correctional Institution in Homestead.

David Ray McMannis was also found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in Florida in 2017. He subsequently received a life sentence without parole. McMannis is reportedly being held at the Northwest Florida Reception Center in Washington County.

Don't miss the new Dateline episode, scheduled to air on NBC on Friday.

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