Page 3 - Sensing Nick News Today

>> were you obsessed? >> when i have somebody im hunting down, i dont stop till i get em. >> isnt that being obsessed? >> i dont know. dedicated. >> get the answers you need. >> im not going to stop until i do get the answer or the answer comes. >> reporter: but holbert, still, wasnt providing any answers about kelli. who had now been missing some-18 months. by this time, marshburn had spent thousands of hours and some $40,000 trying to crack holbert. he was losing hope and considered quitting. ...

Estranged husband and her boyfriend checked out, police suspected a man named nick holbert had the answer. a convicted-sex offender. nick told detectives he drove kelli home from the bar that night but never touched her. to police, the story just didnt add up. and now, a total strange was ready to prove it. once again, heres andrea canning with "deep in the woods." >> reporter: autumn, 2012. kelli bordeaux had been missing for months. the searches continued, but were winding down. and so was hop...

But no trace of kelli. >> i got really frustrated and disappointed. and i -- im at my whits end. >> reporter: 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 never talked to a killer. have you? >> i work for "dateline....

He believed it, to a point. but then, he threw it back at me, after looking at it for about-five minutes. said, no, theyll just take it back. >> reporter: marshburn thought that wasnt exactly the reaction of an innocent man. now, he was fully convinced nick holbert had killed kelli. but he needed to get holbert to reveal where he buried her body. >> how can i be his friend? and i had to do some things, say some crap that i just didnt believe. but i had to do it to play the part. >> reporter: mar...

Kelli. >> do you think this case ever would have been solved without you? >> no. i dont think that nick would have ever told anyone, unless they were his friend. but he did tell me. >> reporter: for the family of kelli bordeaux, the loss, the pain, the sorrow, never goes away. but david marshburn at least gave them a chance to heal. >> he ended a suffering for my family. where were sitting here, agonizing for these last two years. he was the one that was able to come and end that for us. and to ...

Investigator, david marshburn, had befriended nick holbert, the prime suspect in kelli disappearance. marshburn was working practically 24/7 to get a confession. chasing every clue holbert dropped. >> wed go talk to him. and then, we would go out and try and figure it out. we knew we were going on wild-goose chases. we had to do it. i mean, what else you got? >> reporter: marshburn needed to turn up the heat on holbert and had an idea. >> nick was always worried law enforcements watching. >> tha...

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