Nicholas Michael Holbert is under arrest and charged with first degree murder after police in North Carolina located the remains of Pfc. Kelli Bordeaux, a Fort Bragg soldier who disappeared more than two years ago.
Bordeaux’s remains were found Wednesday in a wooded area near Interstate 295, roughly four miles from the bar where she was last seen alive on April 14, 2012.
Police had interviewed 27-year-old Nicholas Michael Holbert several times in connection with Bordeaux’s disappearance, but did not have evidence to charge him.
But on Wednesday it was Holbert who “shared vital information” on the scene where Bordeaux’s body was discovered, police said.
“This is a very sad recovery in that we all hoped Pfc. Bordeaux was alive and well,” said Fayetteville Police Chief Harold Medlock. “But we also are comforted in this community that we have taken an individual off the streets who has created this terrible tragedy.”
Kelli Bordeaux was last seen at just after 1 am leaving a bar called Froggy Bottoms. Police later found two text messages on her phone, including one that claimed she had arrived home. Investigators said they don’t believe Bordeaux sent that message.
Nicholas Michael Holbert worked as a bartender at Froggy Bottoms, and said he have Bordeaux a ride home .
“As soon as you drive into the entrance to Meadowbrook, she said stop right here,” Holbert, a registered sex offender, told a news station in 2012. “So I stopped and she said, ‘I’ll walk home.’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ I said I figured she didn’t want me to know where she lived, or somebody was there and she didn’t want to be seen together.”
As news of spread that her body had been discovered, Kelly Bordeaux’s family expressed anger toward Holbert for not coming forward sooner.
“I think my initial reaction was I was more mad than anything,” said Kelli’s sister, Olivia Cox. “I mean, why today of all days what made you decide to say something and on top of that what made you wait so long. We literally have been through hell and back begging and pleading and praying just trying to bring her home.”
Nicholas Michael Holbert was being held at the Cumberland County jail Wednesday night with no bond for the murder of Kelli Bordeaux.
