Autopsy reveals Fort Bragg soldier Kelli Bordeaux died from blunt force trauma to her head
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- An autopsy released Friday revealed Fort Bragg soldier Kelli Bordeaux died from blunt force trauma to her head.
After a two-year investigation, Fayetteville police found Pfc. Bordeaux's remains in a shallow grave this past May in a wooded area one mile north of Interstate 295 on River Road with the assistance of the man accused of killing her.
The suspect 27-year-old Nicholas Holbert -- who had long been a person of interest in the case -- told ABC11 in 2012 in an exclusive interview just days after Bordeaux went missing that he met Bordeaux at Fayetteville night spot Froggy Bottoms on April 14, 2012 and drove her home that night. He denied having anything to do with her disappearance.
The spot Holbert claimed he dropped off Bordeaux is about a quarter mile from her apartment on Water Trail Drive. He claimed he figured there might be someone at the apartment she didn't want him to see, so he left.
Bordeaux's remains were found less than a 10-minute drive away from the bar where she was last seen alive. According to the autopsy report, she was struck multiple times in the face before being buried.
Holbert is charged with first-degree murder. He's a registered sex offender who was convicted as a 16-year-old of indecent liberties with a 5-year-old child. He's been in and out of jail over the past two years.
Bordeaux was assigned to Fort Bragg's 601st Area Support Medical Company, 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion, 44th Medical Brigade, as a health service specialist. Bordeaux, a native of St. Cloud, Fla., joined the military in April 2011. She arrived at the unit in November 2011.
