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Man Gets Life Without Parole For Cantonment Double Murder

A Cantonment man was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole Friday for a 2015 double murder on Jacks Branch Road.

Chad Mark Fontenot, 45,  was indicted on two counts of first degree murder in the death of Kim Boswell and Wendell Nichols. They were found shot to death at Boswell’s home on Jack’s Branch Road on December 13.

Prosecutors had announced that they would seek the death penalty for Fontenot, but he pleaded guilty under an agreement not to receive death.

“I offer my deepest, heartfelt apologies for my horrific actions,” he said through tears following the sentencing. “I am very sorry.”

After receiving a 911 call on December 13, 2015 , about 8:15 p.m. from Fontenot reporting the shooting, deputies arrived at the home in the 900 block of Jacks Branch Road to find Fontenot standing the garage where he was taken into custody without incident.

Inside the home, deputies discovered the bodies of  Nichols, age 50 of Cantonment, on the living room couch and Boswell, age 46 of Cantonment, in a bedroom. Both were pronounced deceased at the scene.

Fontenot was transported to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to be interviewed after telling he deputies that he knew what he did and was willing to cooperate, according to an arrest report. He requested a lawyer once at the Sheriff’s Office, ending the interview.

Nichols’ girlfriend told deputies that she had been dating him for about two weeks and he was living with Boswell while he recuperating from a recent injury. The witness said Boswell and Fontenot were in a relationship, but they were constantly arguing and that Fontenot was very controlling and aggressive with Boswell. Nichols’ girlfriend said she received a text from him about 4 p.m. saying that he was sick of hearing Boswell and Fontenot argue and that he wished he had never moved in.

Nichols’  girlfriend called him at 8 p.m. and spoke for him for just under eight minutes. She told investigators that she heard a loud bang, a woman screaming and then the phone disconnected. She attempted to call Nichols and Boswell several times without success.

When investigators searched the home, they found a revolver sitting on top of  freezer in the garage. The revolver contained four spent casings and five unspent casings, according to an arrest report.

For additional photos from the scene, click here.

Pictured top inset: Chad Fontenot reacts during his sentencing Friday afternoon. Courtesy Ryan Beard, WEAR TV. Pictured top and bottom: The murder scene December 2015 on Jacks Branch Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.