Over the years, Dateline has brought several true crime cases to the light on NBC. The Dateline episode titled Deep in The Woods took an incisive look into the disappearance and subsequent murder of United States Army medic Kelli Bourdeaux back in 2012. She was twenty-three at the time of her death.
Kelli Bourdeaux went missing on April 14, 2012, and she was last seen at the now-closed Froggy Bottoms bar with Nicholas Holbert, who also used to work there. Following several twists and turns, a private investigator named David Marshburn was eventually able to bring the case home when he convinced Holbert to confess his crime of kidnapping and murdering Bourdeaux.
The official synopsis of the Dateline episode reads:
""Police have a suspect, but can’t solve the case, until an unorthodox private investigator steps in to help," NBC said in promotional materials."
Here are five chilling details from the Dateline episode that recount the crime and its aftermath.
1) Nicholas Holbert first approached Kelli Bourdeaux a week before murdering her
According to the testimony of Kelli Bourdeaux's secret boyfriend, Justin Thompson, he and Kelli had visited the bar named Froggy Bottoms near Interstate 295 a week before her disappearance and murder. It was then that Holbert, who was a bartender, had first approached her. He had mentioned that he worked there and that she could contact him if needed. Little did she know that such a casual acquaintance would later prove to be the beginning of her end.
2) Dateline revealed that Nicholas Holbert was a prior sex offender
According to the Dateline episode, Nicholas Holbert had a prior record as a sex offender, and he was arrested once for not declaring himself to be a registered sex offender. This could have led Kelli to unwittingly believe him to be harmless, especially as the Froggy Bottoms bar was near her residence, and she felt safe there, according to a report by The Hunter.
3) Kelli's secret boyfriend received mysterious text messages from her on the night of her disappearance
Although Kelli was married to Mike Bourdeaux, the two had hit a rough patch and had separated, with Mike living in Florida. At the time of her disappearance and death, Kelli had been seeing Justin, who belonged to her hometown. On the night of her disappearance, Justin was at a concert and received strange texts from Kelli's phone.
One text read:
"Hey call me. Call me. Call me."
A little later into the night, he received another text which stated:
"Got home safe I'm going to bed I'm tired and drunk call me tomorrow".
4) David Marshburn took it upon himself to solve the case
David Marshburn is a professional bounty hunter and private investigator. He first came across the case in the Spring of 2012 while watching the news. Speaking about why he picked up the case, he stated to The Hunter:
"Because she was a young female ... Fort Bragg soldier. It's a story, she's one of ours that protect us. So I felt the need to protect her. I'm thinking, 'You can help find this person ... That's what you're good at, do it.'"
5) Nicholas Holbert was finally tried and convicted for the murder of Kelli Bourdeaux
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David Marshburn took it upon himself to solve the case when the police had hit a dead end. He befriended Holbert and eventually was able to extract a confession out of him. He also made Holbert point out the shallow grave in the woods behind his trailer park from where Kelli's remains were found. Holbert was subsequently tried and convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
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