Suspected Kelli Bordeaux killer could face death penalty

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., May 16 (UPI) -- The man suspected of killing a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina could face the death penalty, prosecutors said.

Nicholas Holbert, 27, was charged with murder and kidnapping Wednesday after what is believed to be the body of Army Pfc. Kelli Bordeaux was discovered in a wooded area near the bar in Fayetteville where she was last seen in 2012.

Holbert made his first appearance in court Thursday, where prosecutors said they were considering seeking the death penalty.

"As the investigative file comes in we'll review the investigation to see if any factors exist and then we'll present that at a hearing later on in the process," Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West told the Fayetteville Observer. "Ultimately it will be a Superior Court judge's decision but we'll have to review that file to see what, if any, aggravating circumstances could possibly make it a capital murder case."

"Ultimately it will be a Superior Court judge's decision but we'll have to review that file to see what, if any, aggravating circumstances could possibly make it a capital murder case," West added.

Medical examiners have yet to confirm that the remains found Wednesday are in fact those of Bordeaux, but police said evidence at the scenes leads them to believe it is her.