LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The lawyers representing a retired Las Vegas police detective accused of killing her former son-in-law say the victim exhibited 'deviant behavior' and the execution narrative put out by the district attorneys office is not an accurate assessment.
Defense Attorneys Robert Draskovich and Michael Horvath say their client, Pamela Bordeaux, was a grandmother trying to protect her family when she fatally shot Sean Babbitt inside her home Tuesday.
"In this case, we have a 55-year-old grandmother who is defending not only herself but her grandson," said Draskovich.
"It is a tragedy, but we are compounding the tragedy by the charges she is currently facing," added Draskovich.
Draskovich said there are major red flags with the case, beginning with the brief police report.
The report reveals few details about what led up to the shooting, but it does mention there was on-going custody agreement between Bordeaux's daughter and Babbitt for their 3-year-old son.
The agreement included a one hour, supervised, weekly visit at Bordeaux's home at 7 a.m. on Mondays, according to Las Vegas police.
"That is a big red flag," said Draskovich.
"The default position in this state is joint, unsupervised custody," added Draskovich.
"In this case, he had one hour per week, and you have to ask yourself, why?" said Draskovich.
Babbitt's family spoke to reporters outside of court Thursday revealing the custody agreement was something Sean was trying to change.
They described him as a gifted musician and a prodigy with the guitar.
They said he had a passive personality.
"It was very much like Sean to do what his wife wanted, he didn't complain a lot," said Sean's step-father Dan Mandarino.
Mandarino said the custody agreement made in 2015 came as a surprise to Sean's side of the family.
"You basically get one hour a week, supervised, and he has to go to counseling -- for what, I don't know," added Mandarino.
Bordeaux's attorneys said Sean had a dark side that his family likely did not know about.
"Obviously this young man was dealing with deviant behavior, and that is why he had supervised, one-hour visits per week and no more," said Draskovich.
When 13 Investigates pressed defense attorneys for specifics, they declined to reveal details, citing their own on-going investigation.
"But facts are facts and often times, families are the last to know what's really going on," added Draskovich.
Babbitt's family believes the custody battle over the three-year-old child was a driving force behind the shooting.
"He served them with papers, and he would have gotten more access [to his son] but the next visit he was murdered," said Mandarino.
Bordeaux is held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center and is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, April 30.
