In 2010, Nathan Paet was 28-years-old & living with his wife of eight years & high school sweetheart, 28-year-old Michelle. The two had met & fallen in love while living on the small island of Guam in the Pacific ocean. Nathan loved his home of Guam & the surfing & swimming that went with it. At this time they lived in Las Vegas with their four kids aged between two & nine.
Nathan was a member of the US Air Force & had fought in the Iraq War & was currently working as a supply technician at the Nellis Air Base in Las Vegas; he proudly wore his uniform & worked hard to support his family. Nathan was working shifts at night & shuttling his children to & from school during the day.
On the night of December 1, 2010, Nathan was getting ready to head out to start his shift, dressed in his camouflage uniform that he always wore. Nathan was running late that night & rushed to the door after he said goodbye to his family. He entered the garage where he was ambushed with five shots that entered his back. Nathan somehow found the strength to stumble back into the house where he collapsed in front of his wife & children. A frantic Michelle called 911 at 11:31 pm & told the dispatcher that her husband had just walked into the garage. She said he was bleeding. As Michelle screamed, “Oh my God” you could tragically hear the children crying in the background. She explained that he was bleeding out of his mouth, his eyes were open but he was not speaking. She was told to start CPR & Michelle explained that he was wearing his military uniform. The dispatcher told Michelle to take the uniform off & that when she cried that he had been shot in his stomach. As the children continued to cry, Michelle started CPR.
Paramedics arrived & at 11:47 pm & Nathan was rushed to University Medical Center. In the meantime, Michelle called Nathan’s family in Guam to let them know what was happening. Michelle spoke to her father-in-law who then called Nathan’s mom, Carmelita, who was just finishing her shift at work. When she received the devastating news, she immediately told co-workers that she needed to leave. Carmelita called Michelle who was hysterical & told her that she needed to pray that Nathan would live through this.
Tragically, at 12:49 am, now in the early hours of December 2, 2010, Nathan was pronounced dead. Nathan’s parents were devastated, Carmelita indicating that her heart didn’t just break, but it shattered. She couldn’t understand who would have wanted to hurt her son & she knew he wasn’t involved with any criminal activity.
Within the hour, an investigation began at Nathan & Michelle’s quiet, remote suburban community of Mountain Edge, about 10 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. When investigators arrived, they noted that the garage door was open & the lights were on in the garage; a large amount of blood was on the garage floors, on the car inside, on walls & into the house. The trial of blood led into the house to where a military uniform laid, soaked on the floor. Police initially suspected that this could have been a carjacking gone wrong.
Nathan’s cell phone, car keys & wallet were found & nothing seemed to have been taken. They believed that Nathan must have been targeted & began speaking with neighbors who had also called 911 about hearing gunshots. Some calls indicated that they had seen a sports car speed off. They specified that it was black & they saw the car start, the lights automatically turned on, they then turned off & the car sped away.
Detectives also spoke with Michelle to try to learn more about her husband as well as put a timeline together of Nathan’s recent activity. Michelle told detectives that she was going to school in the evenings & had gotten off work at about 3:30 pm that day in order to make it to class. She said while she was tied up with school & work, Nathan took care of the kids during the day. Nathan worked the night shift in order to accommodate his wife’s schedule. Michelle normally got home from school at about 10:40 pm & Nathan left at 10:45 pm in order to make his 40 minute drive to the Air Force base & clock in at 11:30 pm.
Michelle told investigators that they basically high five each other as one comes in & the other goes out; they give each other a kiss & Nathan is on his way. Michelle explained that the evening was not typical since she left school early at 5:30 pm because she felt sick. She said she, Nathan & the kids had fallen asleep in the living room at about 7 or 8 pm & Nathan’s phone alarm hadn’t gone off as it normally did. She said she woke Nathan up at 11 pm & told him that he was late so he jumped up & into action. At 11:25 pm Nathan called a co-worker to let them know he would be late & headed upstairs to take a shower & get dressed. He came downstairs to make his way to the garage to put his boots on & get in his truck which he parked in the driveway.
At 11:30 pm, the time he would normally clock in at work, he was ready to go. Michelle remembers hearing the garage door open so she said she laid back down next to her daughter on the couch. She said at that point, she heard two bangs but didn’t go outside because her kids had gotten startled. She said she heard the garage door to the house open & Nathan walked in & just dropped. This was when Michelle called 911.
Detectives began to question Michelle about the status of her marriage with Nathan & she said that it was good & although they didn’t see each other very much during the week, they made sure to spend time together on weekends as a family. Nathan’s life had revolved around his wife & his children. Police looked into Nathan’s digital footprint to understand what kind of life he led. As they scoured his phone, the only thing that stood out to investigators was that Nathan seemed like a dedicated family man & contained nothing but photos of his family. When Michelle was questioned about the possibility of any extramarital affairs, she said that they had been faithful to one another & they agreed that if either even thought about it, they would talk about it first.
Michelle admitted that she did have a tendency to get flirtatious with men but there was no one specific. She said that they had been struggling financially since she had been out of a job & his paycheck only went so far. She said that despite their struggles, she didn’t believe that Nathan had owed anyone money. In the meantime, within hours of learning of their son’s death, Carmelita & her husband made their way to the airport to travel from Guam to Las Vegas in order to be there to help Michelle with the kids as they all grieved. Nathan was Carmelita’s youngest son who everyone adored. Eric Paet, Nathan’s brother said that he always loved to joke & have fun & Nathan had been the best man at his wedding since they were so close as they grew up. The family was exceptionally close & they found any reason to get together.
Nathan & Michelle moved to the mainland after he joined the military. Veronica, Eric’s wife & Nathan’s sister-in-law explained that Nathan & Michelle seemed to be an amazing team. In 2009, just before Nathan was deployed to Iraq, they purchased their home in Mountain Edge which was perfect to host their family. When Nathan came back from deployment, Eric & Veronica planned to host Thanksgiving from their home in San Diego, 300 miles from Las Vegas. Nathan explained that they just couldn’t afford to make the trip so instead, Eric & Veronica offered to come to them. When they arrived, Eric & Veronica could see that they were struggling, the pantry & refrigerator somewhat bare. They also sensed that Nathan & Michelle’s relationship was strained. As Eric tried to get his brother alone to talk, he noticed that Michelle consistently inserted herself to prevent their conversation. As they left to go back to San Diego, Eric could sense that Nathan wanted to talk but struggled to do so & only a few days later, Nathan was gone & he & Veronica wondered if it had something to do with their financial troubles.
When detectives asked Michelle if she knew anyone who drove a black car, she told them that her co-worker at her telemarketing job, Michael Rodrigeuz did. She was asked what their relationship was like & she said that they were only co-workers but he was one of the people she tended to flirt with. On December 3, 2010, detectives went to Michelle’s business address & they immediately noted a black Cadillac in the parking lot. Police waited four hours for a man matching the description that Michelle provided for Michael came out, got in the car & pulled away. Police pulled him over & he agreed to come into the station for questioning. As he talked, he said that he was a convicted felon who had served time for forgery & theft & was now working & engaged to be married. He said he was trying to work out his bad habits before he got married & he had been involved in a one-night stand with someone named Shannon who he had met at Walmart two days earlier. Shannon had previously worked in the pornography business. He rattled off the names of additional women & mentioned Michelle’s name. When police asked about their relationship, he said that they were a little more than friends since they had confided in each other, Michelle saying that she felt unloved in her marriage as well as their financial struggles. They asked if they had been intimate & he said they’d only joked about it.
Police wanted the details of Michael’s whereabouts on the night that Nathan was murdered & he said that at 9 pm, he saw Shannon at Walmart & they ended up going to the Sunset Station Hotel & Casino & checked in between 11 pm & 12 am, but likely closer to 11 pm. He said he had video proof from their time together. He said that the exact details of the night were hazy as he’d been drinking but Shannon would be able to verify additional details. Police quickly contacted Shannon who confirmed this story. He said he & Michelle had spoken that day before Michelle left sick from work. He said she’d later texted him about a work client named Van Dyke though was unable to recall specifics about the contract she was referring to.
Michelle had given detectives permission to search her cell phone & at 11:12 pm on December 1, Michael texted Michelle & told her he hoped she was feeling better & he was finishing up the contract for tomorrow. Detectives wanted to clarify why Michael was communicating with Michelle about a contract in the midst of the timeframe he indicated he & Shannon were checking into the hotel. He said he knew that Michelle was struggling financially & he was trying to get money into her pocket. At 11:24 pm Michelle texted Micahel & said that she couldn’t go to sleep right now because she’d gotten woken by a man screaming, “I’m late!” as he rushed out the door. Six minutes after this text had been sent, Nathan was shot & killed in his garage.
At this point detectives made it clear to Michael that they believed he absolutely had something to do with Nathan’s murder but at the time, they didn’t have enough evidence to make an arrest. At this point, detectives looped back to Michelle. On Tuesday, December 7, six days after Nathan was killed, a memorial was held by the US Air Force in Nathan’s honor & family & friends filled though pews while Michelle was nowhere to be found.
When Michelle had picked Carmelita up at the airport, she noticed that her daughter-in-law’s actions seemed very rehearsed & theatrical. When detectives spoke with Michelle, they noticed that despite her cries, there were no tears.
When Michelle was asked to take a polygraph test, she refused. Carmelita encouraged her to do it to get it over with since she had nothing to hide. On December 7, the same day as Nathan’s memorial, detectives contacted Michelle to speak with her again. Carmelita drove her to the station & Michelle told detectives that she just wanted to get on with her life & raise her kids & began to talk about her relationship with Michael Rodriguez. She said he would frequently compliment her & tell her how beautiful she was & their relationship quickly became sexual. In October 2010, Michelle said that she & Michael were drinking in his car as she complained that Nathan’s paychecks weren’t covering their bills. Michael pointed out that Nathan likely had a military life insurance policy & “we” can get rid of him.
Nathan’s life insurance policy was worth $650,000. Michelle said she objected to this idea but Michael wouldn’t listen. He planned to get a friend to “handle everything” & she would have nothing to do with it. The plan was to make it look like a robbery gone bad & all Michelle had to do was unlock Nathan’s truck so that Michael & a second person could lay in wait & kill Nathan when he got inside. She said she went along with the idea but secretly tried to sabotage the plan & didn’t unlock the truck like she agreed. She said she’d also turned Nathan’s alarm off to intentionally make him late for work so he wouldn’t be outside when planned.
When Nathan didn’t come out at 10:45 pm like he normally did, Michael began texting Michelle a little after 11 pm. When police first saw that Michael texted Michelle at 11:12 pm about finishing the contract, this was a code for the contract to kill Nathan. At 11:14 pm, Michael texted, “If you don’t feel up to it, let me know & you can take a few days to rest up. I appreciate your help.”
Michelle said she waited until 11:15 pm to wake Nathan to allow the hit men time to leave & believed that he was gone. At 11:19 pm Michelle responded to Michael, “My husband just woke me up & he’s trying to rush out the door. I guess he’s late. Lol. Sorry that contract is a pain.” She explained to detectives that with that text, she was trying to save her husband. She said that the “sorry” was about making them come out when it wasn’t going to happen & that she didn’t want it to happen.
At 11:21 pm, Michael responded, “I got it covered. Just get some rest.” Three minutes later, at 11:24 pm, Michelle responded, “Can’t go back to sleep right now. Got woken up from a man screaming “I’m late.” He’s rushing out the door. Lol.” Detectives felt that these texts proved that Michelle was very much a part of the plan to kill her husband & telling Michael “he’s leaving now” was her way of telling him to get ready. Six minutes later at 11:30 pm, the neighbors heard the sound of gunshots. At 11:31 pm, Michelle made her 911 call.
She told detectives that she was someone that was easily convinced & Michael had taken advantage of her good nature. She said she would do everything she could to get Michael behind bars & she was allowed to leave the station. Thirty minutes later, Michelle was brought back in after she had told a police officer outside the station that she wanted to hurt herself & was taken to a hospital & placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold. In the meantime, Shannon came to the station & claimed she was fearful for her life & had no idea what she’d gotten herself into. She said that what she was asked of had nothing to do with murder.
Shannon said that on December 1, 2010, the day that Nathan was killed, she’d gone to her friend Jessica’s apartment. Jessica asked her that if police ask, she is to say that she was with Michael that night. She was told that Michael & Jessica’s boyfriend Corry were planning to rob a heroin dealer after Shannon specifically asked if their plan involved someone getting hurt. Shannon said she was doing drugs that night so the details were hazy but she did remember that Jessica started a fire in the fireplace at some point & Michael & Corry rushed into the apartment. She said they took their clothes off & put them in the fire & feeling scared, Shannon left with Michael. This was when Michael asked if Shannon could be her alibi for that night as they checked in to the Sunset Station Hotel & pretended to be a couple.
Hotel security video showed Shannon & Michael arrive at 12:02 am & enter their hotel room at 12:10 am which Michael hoped had given him a solid alibi. Once in the room, they became intimate while Michael filmed the encounter. The next morning, while it was still dark, Michael left & came back with Jessica & Corry & they all checked out at 7 am. The next day, Shannon was contacted by a detective & confirmed Michael’s story. This was when Shannon learned they were investigating a murder. She contacted Jessica to get some answers & when Michael learned of this, he demanded to meet with her. When they spoke, Michael admitted to murdering a co-worker’s husband because he was abusing his wife. Michelle admitted that Nathan had never been physically abusive toward her.
As Shannon continued to talk to Michael, she began to realize that he & Michelle had a relationship & Michelle appeared to be in on the plan since he focused on the money she stood to inherit. Shannon said that Michael destroyed her phone before she left their meeting. Later that night, Michael, Jessica Austin & Corry Hawkins were arrested. Michelle was arrested after she was released from the hospital. When investigators questioned Michelle again, they wanted to understand what she planned with Michael after Nathan was gone. She said Michael hoped that in a year or two they could get married & live happily ever after. She continued to insist that she hadn’t wanted to murder plan to go through.
Michael went to trial five years later & Shannon served as the star witness & said that Michael admitted he’d shot a man. His defense attorney claimed it was Corry Hawkins. Michael was found guilty of first-degree murder & conspiracy & sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Michelle pleaded guilty of first-degree murder & conspiracy. The Paet family requested that the death penalty be removed as a possibility; their culture doesn’t believe in this idea of “eye for an eye” or playing God. They felt Michelle knowing that her children would grow up without her was satisfying enough. She was sentenced to life without parole as was Corey Hawkins who also pleaded guilty. In exchange for her cooperation, Jessica Austin was offered a deal after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy. She was given probation.
Carmelita had her son’s body transported back to his home country & laid to rest in Guam. Nathan’s parents took custody of the children because she felt that was what he would have wanted.
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