Kelli Bordeaux 

Who Was Kelli Bordeaux?

Kelli Bordeaux, who was only 23 at the time of her death, was known to be a perky and determined young woman. She was a short and attractive blonde from St Cloud, Florida, and had been a cheerleader in high school where she also competed in track, and was a straight-A student.

She decided that her personality made her a good fit for the military and chose that career path; specifically, she wanted to be a combat medic so that she would still be able to help people. So she went through basic training and boot camp before being stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

But Kelli Bordeaux’s Personal Life Was Complicated…

The 23-year-old Soldier had never had any shortage of suitors due to her good looks and fun personality, but unfortunately, this sometimes made for a complex love life.

She was married to a man named Mike Bordeaux and had been for about two years before her death. He moved to North Carolina with her when she got her job, and they lived in an off-base apartment together. But all was not picture perfect. Mike struggled to get a job in North Carolina and began drinking.

There was a major strain on their marriage at this point and so Kelli Bordeaux and Mike decided to “take a break” soon after moving. Mike went back to Florida, and Kelli stayed in their new apartment.

But what Mike didn’t know was that Kelli had been having an affair for a year with a man named Justin Thompson. They had met when she still lived in Florida, and Justin still resided in St Cloud although he would make weekend trips up to Fayetteville to visit Kelli at her station.

A week before Kelli Bordeaux’s death, she would actually tell Mike that they were over and she wanted a divorce. She had intended to choose Justin. But she would never have time to build a life with him…

Nicholas Holbert Had Taken An Interest In Kelli Bordeaux

About a week before Kelli Bordeaux’s disappearance, she had been at a bar in Froggy Bottoms with Justin during one of his weekend visits. While they were getting drinks, they met a man named Nicholas Holbert, who worked there.

Nicholas gave Kelli Bordeaux his number for her to contact him if there was ever anything she needed, and Kelli took it while thinking they could be friends and drinking buddies since she didn’t know many people in the area. Nicholas secretly wanted them to be more than friends.

Justin didn’t like Nicholas and told Kelli that she should be careful around him because he seemed “creepy.” But she didn’t heed his warnings.

One Week Later, Kelli Would Go Missing

Kelli Bordeaux and Nicholas made plans to go drinking in Froggy Bottoms on Ramsey street near Interstate 295 the next Friday. Nicholas would be Kelli’s ride. She thought it was a friendly outing, but Nicholas thought of it as more of a date. But either way, on April 13, 2012, Kelli would be seen alive for the final time.

Before she left her house, she would text several people. Firstly, she would text her sister a selfie, which showed off her outfit, with the caption “Does this look OK?”. Her sister would reply with, “Yeah, you look cute.”

She would also text Justin, informing him of where she would be. Justin told her to be careful and to bring her pepper spray. She continued to text Justin throughout the night, and one of her last messages was telling him to call her. He, unfortunately, missed that message until later in the evening, when it would be too late.

He did receive one last text at the end of the night. However, that contradicted what she had told him earlier. He received a message from Kelli Bordeaux’s phone that said, “Got home safe, I’m going to bed I’m tired and drunk call me tomorrow.”

After that night, nobody could get a hold of Kelli, and she didn’t show up for work on Monday. She was swiftly reported missing, and a two-year-long search to find her would begin.

There Were Three Main Suspects

Although officials assigned to the case were determined to leave no stone unturned, their main three suspects were the three most prominent men in Kelli’s recent personal life. Mike, Justin, and Nicholas were all under heavy scrutiny.

Mike and Justin were able to come up with alibis, but although Nicholas claimed that he had simply dropped Kelli off near her home, he couldn’t prove anything. And he was the last known person to see her alive.

The text that Justin received at the end of the night did hint that she had made it home safely, but when investigators showed this text to Kelli’s sister, they would be told that she didn’t believe Kelli actually sent that message herself. According to her, Kelli always texted in complete sentences, and that last text didn’t match her normal style at all.

And Nicholas Had A Disturbing Past

When detectives began looking into Nicholas’s background, they learned that he had previously been in prison for five years after being convicted of taking liberties with a 5-year-old when he was 16 years of age.

After being released from prison as a registered sex offender, he mostly just wandered from place to place, eventually finding a job at Froggy Bottoms and making his home in the woods behind the bar.

He was staying in his car, which he would park under a parachute and tarp that he had draped over two trees. The police would search this car, but the investigation wouldn’t turn up much because of his car’s filthy state. There was so much trash and filth inside that finding things like DNA was next to impossible.

But because of his past, the police were able to detain Nicholas for a little over a year. There was just one issue, although all the fingers were pointed at Nicholas, he refused to confess to Kelli’s murder. So the police were eventually forced to let him go since they had no concrete evidence.

A Man Named David Marshburn Would Get Nicholas To Confess

David was a private investigator who made his living as a bounty hunter. He saw Kelli Bordeaux’s case on the news and immediately launched his own secret investigation independent of the police’s official one.

Any rules or regulations didn’t bind David, but he shared the police’s passion for finding out the truth. So when Nicholas was released from prison, David began to befriend him. Even going so far as to give him money for food and paying off his bail. This method might seem strange, but it was effective.

For almost a year, David kept getting closer and closer to Nicholas. He would play mind games with Nicholas and manipulate him until, eventually, he got what he wanted. Nicholas trusted David enough to confess.

He would even lead David to the body, and David would report the spot to the police. When they showed up, Nicholas told them everything…

Kelli Bordeaux Had Found Out About Nicholas’s Past

At some point in the night, Kelli found out about Nicholas’s record as a sex offender. After she told him that she wanted to go home, Kelli confronted him about it, being obvious about her disgust.

According to Nicholas, he had lost his temper at that moment and hit her, which resulted in her being knocked out. He put her in his car and drove her to the woods where he stayed. She woke up soon after and began to scream. Nicholas said he quickly knocked her out again.

Autopsy findings were consistent with this type of injury. Kelli had died from blunt force trauma to the head.

In the earlier hours of April 14, in 2012, Nicholas had buried Kelli Bordeaux in a shallow grave in a wooded area off River Road near Interstate 295, about 4 miles from the bar.

The Trial Was Simple

Since the police had a confession, Nicholas had no choice but to accept a plea deal for first-degree murder, of which he was convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And Kelli Bordeaux’s family now has closure about what happened.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What day was Kelli Bordeaux’s body found?

A: May 13, 2014, was the day that Nicholas Holbert confessed to David Marshburn and led him to approximately where the body was. They would officially find her body and report it to the police the next day.

Q: Did Kelli Bordeaux divorce her husband?

A: No, she told her husband that their marriage was over, but the pair didn’t have a chance to officially divorce.

Q: Was it ever proven if Kelli Bordeaux’s last text was from her?

A: Nicholas Holbert later admitted that he sent that last text to avoid suspicion.

Q. How was Nicolas caught?

A. A man named David Marshburn conducted his own secret investigation that ultimately ended up with the 28-year-old sex offender confessing to the murder of Kelli Bordeaux. He received a life sentence for the murder.