yes, i am. facing the possibility of the death penalty, nick hoblert pleaded guilty to kidnapping and killing kelli in exchange for a life sentence. i wanted my sister. i didn t want her body, i wanted her. so what happens to nicholas hoblert isn t going to change what he s done. whether he says he s sorry, whether it doesn t matter. for david marshburn, his remarkable work was done. case closed, justice served. kelli bordeaux was finally home. but he says solving her case left him with mixed emotions. once we got finished, we were depressed. it was a depression like you would not believe. because we went from two years, nonstop, kelli, kelli, kelli, kellie. do you think this case ever would have been solved without you? no. i don t think that nick would have ever told anyone unless they were his friend. but he did tell me. for the family of kelli
story just didn t add up, and now a total stranger was ready to prove it. once again here s andrea canning with deep in the woods. autumn, 2012. kelli bordeaux had been missing for months. the searches continued but were winding down and so was hope. privately, many around town felt kelli would never be found. but in the forest outside fayetteville there was someone still secretly searching for her. no one knew, not police, not even kelli s family. his name was david marshburn. he didn t know kelli, but had an intense interest in her case from the day she disappeared. she was in the military. you just don t up and disappear.
and knocked on the door. and he answered the door, and i said, hey, nick, i m david marshburn, i m a private investigator, i m here to try to find kelli bordeaux and i think you can help me. his strategy was simple, trick holbert into thinking he was an ally. it was basically telling him, i m your angel, i m your help, let me help you. help him how though? for people to see the light that he was not guilty. and he buys that? hook, line and sinker. so now the bounty hunter and the prime suspect talked. over the next few months marshburn gradually started to win holbert s confidence, coaxing him to confess about what really happened to kelli bordeaux. i had to get into his mind and see what he was about. did you think that he was going to just confess to you? uh-huh, i knew that. i didn t know how i was going to get it out of him. at this point police were
back in florida, kelli s boyfriend, justin thompson, had been living in limbo with a bad case of survivor s guilt. i could have done more. somehow i should have done better. i should have told her don t go, argued about it. i don t know. what was the waiting like, and the not knowing? terrible. just like slams on the brakes. in your life you can t do anything. i honestly didn t think we would ever find her. really? what was going to change? but little did justin know things were about to change. up in fayetteville, private investigator david marshburn had befriended nick holbert, the prime suspect in kelli s disappearance. marshburn was working practically 24/7 to get a confession. chasing every clue holbert dropped. we go talk to him and then we d go out and try and figure
then came an unlikely break. in may 2013, nick holbert was released from jail after being locked up on that parole violation. if holbert was happy, david marshburn was thrilled because now he could deal with him face-to-face. so just a day after his release marshburn pulled up to the house where holbert was staying. i dve never talked to a killer. have you? i work for dateline. oh, yeah. i take that back. what were you nervous about, that he would try to hurt you or just that the stakes are high here? sort of like a star struck, you know what i mean? you re like, wow, it is happening. marshburn took a deep breath