It’s inconceivable that Michelle, married to Staff Sergeant Nathan Paet, would plan with her boyfriend to kill her husband just so she could claim benefits and life insurance. One evening, Officer Nathan kissed his kids goodbye and headed to his car to go to work extra shifts to make more money for his wife and children. Just then Michelle sent a text message on her mobile phone. Minutes later, the sound of gunfire filled the night air and Nathan staggered back into the house with his body filled with bullets…
Nathan (pictured above with his adulterous wife) collapsed to the floor and ‘died’ minutes later as his horrified family watched on. But many didn’t know that the answer would lie in the text message Michelle sent as her husband walked out the door. In 2010, Michelle and Nathan Paet were living in Las Vegas with their four children aged between two and nine after falling in love as highschool sweethearts.
Nathan joined the US Airforce and served loyally, working to make enough money to take care of his family but his wife Michelle is insatiable, she had her heart and eyes on big cash, and started dating a man she worked with at a telemarketing company. Michelle’s secret boyfriend is 36yrs old Michael Rodriguez (pictured right with her), for six months they had a passionate s*x-filled love affair, while she kept pretending to be a good and faithful wife.
The Plan
Michelle wanted to be with Michael, but she wasn’t willing to walk away from her marriage without some huge money. She knew she’d be in line for $400,000 (£303,000) from the military in the event of Nathan’s death and a life insurance policy worth $250,000 (£190,000).
She wanted Nathan dead but Nathan wasn’t aware that his wife was even cheating on him, talk more of planning his murder, so he continued to work so as to take care of his “loving wife” and children. This gave Michelle and her lover the perfect space and time to plan Nathan’s murder.
On the night of 1 December 2010, he got ready to go to work. He dressed in his camouflage uniform, as always, and prepared for the night shift. Outside, Michael pulled up in his black Cadillac and lay in wait. His phone received a message – it was from Michelle.
“He’s rushing to get out of the door. LOL,” it read.
Nathan said goodbye to his family and walked out to the garage, then Michael shot him five times in the back. Nathan was such a strong man that he found the strength to stagger back to the house where he collapsed in front of his wife and children.
Michelle pretend to be distraught and cried and cried in front of her children and medical personnel. In a shamelessly heartless move, a few hours later after her husband was confirmed dead, she sent a smiley face text message to her boyfriend.
Police suspected his wife and started a serious investigation. Before long, Michelle crumbled when questioned by police and admitted that she and her lover had been planning for Nathan’s murder for two months.
On his part, it was not easy for Michael to confess at first, as she claimed he was having s*x with another woman in a hotel in Las Vegas during the shooting of Nathan, but the woman, an ex-p*rn star, said she’d been offered money by Michael to give him an alibi. He had told her he was about to come into a large amount of cash.
Investigation & Judgement
Michelle and Michael were charged with Nathan’s murder. In September 2015, Michael received life in prison without the chance to appeal or parole while Michelle pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and to first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon.
Michelle broke down in tears as she faced Nathan’s parents. “I’m sorry,” she wept. “I love you guys and I love my kids, and I hope that this is closure for you. I was emotionally vulnerable to Michael,” she said. “I made a huge mistake and a really bad choice and I’m truly sorry.”
“As a woman of faith, I forgive you because your soul clearly needs forgiveness,” Nathan’s mum said to Michelle.
The judge said:
“You were much more involved than you’re willing to admit.”
Hence, Michelle who is now 33 yrs old, was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. The Judge said, Michelle was stupid to kill her husband for a man she’d known just six months.