Shivangi Sinha
Kelli Bordeaux was a U.S. Army soldier working as a medic stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She informed her partner that she was going out for drinks and later sent a text saying she had returned home safely but was never heard from again. The police suspected that Kelli had not sent the text; instead, it was sent by someone involved in her disappearance. NBC’s ‘Dateline’ episode ‘Deep in the Woods’ highlights the extensive efforts and collaboration between the police and independent investigators that ultimately led to the apprehension of Kelli’s killer.
Kelli Bordeaux was Last Seen at a Bar in Fayetteville
Kelli Marie Henson Bordeaux was born in Osceola County, Florida, on December 27, 1988. She grew up with her older siblings, Olivia Cox and Matt Henson, and was always the adored and cherished youngest child. Her parents, Johnna and Paul Henson, provided every opportunity for their children, and Kelli thrived as an academically gifted student. She pushed her limits and worked diligently to build a successful career. From a young age, Kelli decided to join the Army and began working towards that goal. She seemed to find happiness in her personal life when she married Mike Bordeaux on June 10, 2010. In 2011, she fulfilled her aspiration by joining the Army.
After completing her basic training, Kelli was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. However, soon after her deployment, her marriage began to deteriorate. She attempted to salvage their relationship by having her husband move to North Carolina, but their efforts were unsuccessful, and they divorced on April 14, 2012. Meanwhile, Kelli had been reconnecting with an old friend, Justin Thompson, from her hometown in St. Cloud. As soon as her marriage ended, Justin and Kelli rekindled their romance and started a relationship. On April 14, 2012, she informed Justin over text that she was going to Froggy Bottoms bar on Ramsey Street in north Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Around 1 am, Kelli texted him that she’d reached home safely. However, Justin found the phrasing of the text unusual and suspected that she had yet to send the text. When Justin tried calling Kelli the next day, she did not respond. As his concern grew, he informed her family, who also tried contacting her, but to no avail. Her family promptly reported the 23-year-old missing to the local police, initiating a missing person investigation. Despite their efforts, the case went cold due to a lack of leads. However, on May 14, 2014, Kelli’s remains were discovered buried in the woods near the bar where she was last seen. The coroner’s report determined she had died from blunt force trauma to the head.
A Private Investigator Aided in Finding Kelli Bordeaux’s Killer
When Kelli Bordeaux first went missing, the police were surprised that no one had seen her. They began by talking to her family members, who informed them about her recent divorce. Her ex-husband, Mike Bordeaux, still claimed he loved her, but the police suspected he had a motive to kill her. The family, along with Mike, flew from Florida to Fayetteville, where the police interrogated Mike. He told them he was in Florida when she disappeared, and his alibi checked out. The police then moved on to question Kelli’s boyfriend, Justin Thompson, who provided the police with some crucial information.
Justin mentioned that a few weeks before Kelli disappeared, he had visited her, and they had gone to the same bar one night. There, they met a bartender named Nicholas Holbert, who befriended them. Justin said that he didn’t get a good vibe from him but added that Kelli was friendly and confident, chatted with him, and even got his number if she decided to return to the bar. Justin added that she didn’t go alone on the night Kelli went to the bar; she had told him that Nicholas would be there and that they planned to hang out afterward. He also showed the police the late-night text she had sent and expressed his suspicion that Nicholas might be involved in her disappearance.
Meanwhile, detectives, locals, Kelli’s family, and members of the Army conducted a ground search in the woods near the bar, hoping to find her, but nothing came to light. The police spoke with Nicholas, who told them he lived in a trailer in the woods near the bar. He admitted seeing Kelli the day she disappeared and claimed he had even dropped her off at home. Holbert reiterated this story to news channels covering the case. With no body or concrete evidence, the police couldn’t charge anyone, and the search for Kelli continued.
Days turned into months, and the momentum of the case slowed down. However, a bounty hunter and private investigator named David Marshburn, who had seen the news about Kelli’s disappearance, was particularly moved by her story. He was determined to provide answers to Kelli’s family. When he saw Nicholas Holbert on TV, David had a hunch that Holbert was lying and knew more about Kelli’s disappearance. A background check revealed that Nicholas was a registered sex offender who had previously been charged and arrested. He realized that finding Kelli’s body was crucial for securing a conviction against Nicholas.
David tirelessly searched for her, accompanied by his assistant, Marsha Ward, and his dog, Cass. Despite spending two years and thousands of dollars on the search, he had yet to find any leads. Realizing he needed to take drastic measures, David drafted a fake plea bargain. He approached Nicholas Holbert and told him the police knew he had killed Kelli, offering a deal where if Nicholas revealed the location of her body, he would only serve a few years in jail. Nicholas was not convinced and rejected the offer. David then had his wife create a fake indictment paper accusing Nicholas of murder.
When he showed this to Nicholas, the latter agreed to the plea deal and led them to Kelli’s body. In May 2014, Nicholas took David to the area near the woods by the bar and confessed to what had happened. He explained that on the night he met Kelli, she discovered he was a sex offender and confronted him, shouting angrily. Enraged, he hit her, rendering her unconscious, and took her to his trailer in the woods. When she regained consciousness and started crying again, Nicholas confessed he repeatedly hit her in the head, killing her. He then buried her body nearby.
Although Nicholas insisted he couldn’t recall the grave’s exact location, he indicated it was nearby. David and his dog Cass began searching the area Kelli’s killer had pointed towards. On May 14, they discovered a shallow grave where Kelli had been buried. David sent photos of the site to the police, who then arrived and arrested Nicholas Holbert. The remains were identified as Kelli’s, and Nicholas was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Read More: Nick Holbert: Where is Kelli Bordeaux’s Killer Now?
