LAS VEGAS (AP) - The killing of a 32-year-old father after a supervised visit with his young son and estranged wife was an “execution” by the man’s former mother-in-law, who is a retired Las Vegas police detective, a prosecutor told a judge Tuesday.
No argument or commotion was heard before Pamela Rene Bordeaux shot Sean Babbitt 10 times following Babbitt’s weekly visit with his nearly 4-year-old son at Bordeaux’s northwest Las Vegas home, prosecutor John Fattig told a judge.
“She executed this man,” Fattig said, describing several of Babbitt’s fingers as having been “blown off” during the Monday morning shooting. Babbitt died of gunshots to the head and torso, Fattig said.
Several of Babbitt’s relatives, who identified the victim for reporters, gasped and sobbed as Fattig identified some of Babbitt’s wounds as “defensive in nature.”
Bordeaux, 55, who was booked into jail under the name Pamela Schoening, stood in custody behind a glass partition and told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman she uses the name Bordeaux.
Fattig said the retired detective told arriving officers that she killed Babbitt. She is being held without bail.
Bordeaux was represented by a deputy public defender but told the judge she plans to hire a lawyer for her defense. She was not asked to enter a plea, and Zimmerman set a Thursday date for prosecutors to file what Fattig said will be a murder charge
“Certainly this is a first-degree murder case. There’s no indication (Bordeaux) was attacked in any way,” the prosecutor said. “The visitation was over. The mother of the child left the room, did not hear any dispute, did not hear any physical confrontation pre- the attack at all.”
Babbitt’s ex-wife and son were upstairs when Fattig said Bordeaux emptied her gun at Babbitt.
Babbitt’s stepfather, Daniel Mandarino, suggested to reporters that friction developed after Babbitt filed documents to increase his one-hour weekly visitation time with his young son.
Babbitt worked as a limousine dispatcher and an Uber driver and paid child support, his stepfather said.
“They received it last week, because he started getting phone calls from his ex-wife,” Mandarino said. “This is just shocking. Sean filed for more time with (his son) … and this is what happened.”
Bordeaux retired in 2017 after nearly 25 years as a Las Vegas police officer, said Officer Alejandra Zambrano, a department spokeswoman.
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