Dateline: The Knock At The Door - 5 harrowing details about Tara Ord-Sidarovich's murder, explored

Dateline has covered some of the most heartbreaking cases of all time, and the brutal slaying of Tara Ord-Sidarovich, a 19-year-old resident of Punta Gorda, Florida is no exception. The teenager's sudden disappearance led her family, friends, and investigators to initiate an extensive search, only to discover her skeletal remains.

Tara's remains were eventually discovered in a wooded area, followed by the arrest of two men—David McMannis and Phillip Barr. As revealed in Dateline: The Knock At The Door these men showed up at the victim's house on the day she was nowhere to be found.

This case goes back to October 1, 2001, when young Tara, known for her charismatic personality vanished without a note. The investigators believed it was another missing person case and that Tara would eventually be found safe.

However, months passed but there was no clue about Tara's whereabouts. Since her family wasn't also threatened or asked to pay ransom, it was clear that she wasn't abducted and something tragic had happened to her.

Cadaver dogs and search teams were tasked with searching different areas. A reward of $5000 was also offered in return for a clue about Tara, but it wasn't until 2002 that her dead remains were found buried near Burnt Store Road in Punta Gorda.

Keep reading to learn more about this which was covered on Dateline in 2022.

Five harrowing details about the Tara Ord-Sidarovich murder case on Dateline

Tara (right) with her mother (left) (Image Source: Dateline NBC)

As mentioned earlier, Dateline: The Knock At The Door covers the Tara Ord-Sidarovich murder case in detail, revealing the youngster's disappearance and the shocking discovery of her dead body remains.

Soon after finding Tara's remains, an autopsy was conducted and it revealed that she had suffered a forceful strike to the ribs. This proved that she was murdered, and the killers have been escaping justice since October 1, 2001.

However, a man finally came up with a piece of information in 2007. He was a friend of Phillip Barr and while in jail for some other crime, Barr was worried about getting caught in Tara's murder.

The Dateline episode explained that Barr and McMannis planned to rob Tara's house but she caught them on time. As a result, a violent struggle broke out, leading to Tara's slaying.

Sadly, this isn't all about the case. Here are five harrowing details about Tara Ord-Sidarovich's murder case on Dateline:

1) Tara’s body was abandoned in a hastily dug grave

One of the most startling details about Tara's murder is how her remains were found. The Dateline episode explained that her family spent over ten months to know what happened to Tara and where she was.

Little did they know that the killers would discard Tara as if she were nothing and eventually leave her to rot in an unmarked burial site. For months, nobody could find that her skeletal remains were hidden in a remote wooded area east of Burnt Store Road in Charlotte County.

Also Read: Dateline: Mystery On The Mississippi - 5 harrowing details about Cory Lovelace's tragic fate, explored

2) The chilling scene at Tara's house

They found the door open (Image Source: NBC)

When Tara’s siblings arrived home on October 1, 2001, they found an eerie and unsettling scene. Their TV was on, the front door was left open, and Tara's car was still there, parked outside the house.

The girl didn't even take her purse, which suggested that she didn't go out willingly, and something was terribly wrong. Not only this, investigators also pointed out muddy footprints inside the house.

Shockingly, it didn't belong to any of Tara's family members of her. This chilling detail hinted at an intruder, igniting suspicion that someone entered the house forcefully or when Tara was so busy that she didn't knew about the entry.

3) Tara likely knew she was in danger

The young woman finally got justice (Image Source: NBC)

As shown in the Dateline episode, Tara was home alone when David McMannis and Phillip Barr knocked on her door as repairmen. Since there was no sign of forced entry, she believed the men had come for the plumbing work and let them inside.

Tara wasn't aware of Barr and McMannis' sinister plan, and by the time she realized she was in danger, it was already too late. No one was there to help her and it would have been nearly impossible to call for help when she was targeted.

4) A haunting prison confession

One of the most haunting aspects of the case was how the investigators learned about the suspects. It was in 2007 when an inmate Michael Artell informed that his friend Phillip Barr talked about Tara's murder case.

The reason why Artell revealed this was because "a little girl was killed", and he said, "He [Barr] was worried about them finding evidence on this crime." Additionally, Barr’s ex-girlfriend also opened up about seeing him with a huge bloody package on the day of the murder, which he claimed to be a dead hog.

5) The murderers barely showed remorse over Tara's death

Despite being arrested and facing trials, David McMannis and Phillip Barr barely showed any guilt for killing an innocent young woman. Initially, they weren't found guilty of the crime, but justice was ultimately served.

While Phillip Barr was given a life sentence in 2015, David McMannis was also given the same punishment in 2017. Following their conviction, Tara's family was finally relived and her mother stated: