For this case, I watched an episode of Nightmare Next Door. It’s season 9 episode 8, titled ‘Murder in Omaha.’
An aspiring actress is found dead in her home.
Background
Pasinetta Daphne Fitzgerald was born on July 18, 1965. She had lived in Omaha, Nebraska her whole life. At the time of her death, she was a 40-year-old single mother of a 13-year-old son.
Pasinetta owned her own daycare, and was an aspiring actress in the local theater scene. Pasinetta was also very involved in her church.
Pasinetta was described as very educated and independent.
The Discovery
On Sunday, February 26, 2006, Pasinetta’s mother, Beverly, tried to contact her. Beverly said Pasinetta was supposed to act in a play at the church, and pick up her son from a friend’s house after. Pasinetta didn’t show up, and wasn’t answering her phone.
Beverly said she had a gut feeling that something wrong. Beverly asked her step-son to drive her over to Pasinetta’s home. They tried knocking on her front and back doors, but there was no answer.
Beverly contacted the Omaha police, and they arrived immediately. They entered the house, while Beverly waited outside.
The police walked to the basem*nt, and saw a pair of feet. Pasinetta was found deceased lying on her basem*nt floor.
The Crime Scene
Sergeant Todd Kozelichki noticed that there were several pieces of drywall and clumps of hair on the staircase. The police also noted that Pasinetta had probably been dead for 12-24 hours.
Pasinetta was still wearing her pajamas, and was found lying on a comforter. She had abrasions and scrapes to her arms and legs. She also had a cut lip, a wound on her forehead, and had been strangled.
Near Pasinetta’s body, the police found a men’s watch. There was also black plastic near her from a nearby air compressor. The police believed that Pasinetta had been hit in the head and strangled with the hose from the air compressor.
The watch was collected. The police searched the rest of the house. They noted that there was no forced entry. But, the police did discover that Pasinetta had been living with someone. A pair of men’s jeans were found in the closet. The jeans had a rip and some blood on them. The jeans were also collected.
The Live-in Boyfriend
Sadly, the police had to break the news to Beverly that her daughter was dead.
They also asked her who else was living in the house. Beverly said that Pasinetta had been dating a man named Patrick Bauldwin for about 2 years. Beverly said she didn’t know much about the relationship, but Patrick had moved in, and helped with the daycare. Patrick was also an Army veteran.
The news spread quickly about Pasinetta’s death. At the crime scene, Patrick’s siblings walked over to the police. Patrick’s sister, Michelle, told the police that Patrick had been with family all weekend celebrating a birthday. They were asked if they could have Patrick come in for an interview, and they agreed to bring him in.
Patrick did arrive at the station with his brothers later that night. He seemed emotional and upset, and was asked where he was that weekend. The police believed the time of death was around 5:30pm on Saturday, February 25, and 5am on Sunday, February 26.
Patrick said he had been with his family all weekend. He said the last time he saw Pasinetta was Saturday before she left for play practice.
Patrick was asked about the men’s watch, but he said he didn’t wear anything like that. He was also asked about the pair of jeans, which he admitted were his. Patrick said he had cut himself fixing the garage door. He said he had been with one of Pasinetta's neighbors at the time.
Patrick’s cut on his leg was photographed. He agreed to give a sample of his DNA, and was allowed to leave the station.
The Other Suspects
The police were able to speak to Patrick’s brothers, who corroborated his alibi.
Patrick had mentioned to the police that Pasinetta had known a man that was involved in a gang, and had a long criminal history. But, this man was cleared, as he had been in jail on gun charges, and had been in jail for awhile.
The police interviewed Pasinetta’s neighbor. The neighbor admitted that he had been with Patrick when he fixed the garage door, but left before Patrick had cut himself. He did tell the police that after Patrick hurt himself, he wouldn’t shut up about it.
The police asked Beverly about anyone else that was in Pasinetta’s life. Beverly did give them a few names of people that Pasinetta acted with. The police learned from them that after play practice, some of the actors had been hanging out and drinking. One of Pasinetta’s friends, Michael, had also been there. They left in separate cars around 3:30am on February 25.
Michael admitted that he followed Pasinetta home to make sure she arrived safely, since they had been drinking. He said they arrived at Pasinetta’s house around 3:45am. He watched her walk inside, and he left.
Michael was asked about the watch, but he also said it wasn’t his. Michael gave a sample of his DNA, and said he had been at home the rest of the weekend. He was eventually cleared as a suspect.
In the show, they mentioned that Pasinetta had been having a relationship with her landlord. However, there’s not much information about it. If there had been a relationship, this person was cleared as a suspect.
A Cold Case
A few weeks after Pasinetta’s murder, the DNA results came back. The DNA on the air compressor was from Pasinetta and Patrick, which didn’t seem odd as they both lived in the house.
The only blood on Patrick’s jeans was his own. The police had also scraped under Pasinetta’s fingernails. The DNA under her nails was from her, Patrick, her son, and unidentified DNA.
Pasinetta’s case ended up going cold for 2 years until 2008. The Omaha police opened a cold case unit led by Lieutenant Ken Kager. Pasinetta’s case was at the top of their list.
The police knew they were very close to solving the case. They decided to look back over the evidence, especially Patrick’s jeans and Pasinetta’s pajama top. The DNA analyst noticed that on Pasinetta’s shirt, there were small blood spots. It was sent in for testing, as well as Patrick’s jeans.
The police also looked back through old interviews, and re-interviewed Michelle, Patrick’s sister. During her first interview, she had said that Patrick asked to borrow her car around 10pm on February 25. Michelle said Patrick was gone until about 2am on February 26. Patrick had told her that he wanted to play pool with some friends.
Three months later, the DNA results came back. Pasinetta’s blood had been found on the knee area of the jeans. A mixture of Pasinetta’s and Patrick’s blood was found on her pajama shirt.
The Conviction
During his interrogation with the police, Patrick denied hurting Pasinetta. The police told him that his blood was on the front of her shirt. Patrick said he didn’t believe that, and doubted their findings.
In 2009, Patrick was arrested and charged with first degree murder.
Patrick’s trial began on August 31, 2010. He pled not guilty. His defense was that he didn’t do it.
The prosecution’s theory was that Patrick was a jilted boyfriend. Patrick had contacted Michael, Pasinetta’s friend, and asked him to stop following her. The prosecution said that Pasinetta was most likely over the relationship, and wanted to end it.
On September 14, 2010, Patrick Bauldwin was found guilty of second degree murder. He was sentenced to life without parole.
In 2012, Patrick’s appeal was denied. He still denies being the killer.
There are still questions about the men’s watch that was found, and about the unidentified DNA.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think Patrick killed Pasinetta. The Omaha police worked hard for several years to finally give Pasinetta’s family justice for her. Patrick couldn’t face that the relationship was over, and instead took a mother away from her son. Beverly knew that someday the truth would come out, and it did.
Sources
https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/pasinetta-daphne-fitzgerald-prince-birth-1965-deat/192616789
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ne-supreme-court/1609370.html
https://fox42kptm.com/archive/suspect-arrested-for-murder-of-omaha-actress
https://thecinemaholic.com/pasinetta-prince-murder-where-is-patrick-bauldwin-now/
https://fox42kptm.com/archive/dna-evidence-helps-police-make-arrest-in-2006-murder
