ST PAUL, Minn. — A jury found Nicholas Firkus guilty of murdering his wife and staging a break-in and struggle in their St. Paul home back in 2010.
Firkus was found guilty of both first- and second-degree murder after about four-and-a-half hours of jury deliberation. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Apr. 13 where he faces life in prison.
No charges were filed at the time of Heidi Firkus' death, and the investigation eventually went cold. That was until St. Paul homicide sergeant Niki Sipes put "fresh eyes" on the case in 2019. St. Paul police, the FBI and agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) put together enough evidence to charge Nicholas Firkus with first-degree murder in 2021.
"Today, a Ramsey County jury found Nicolas Firkus guilty of the premedicated murder of his wife, Heidi, on April 25, 2010 in their Saint Paul home," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement. "We are very grateful to the Saint Paul Police Department and the FBI for their diligent investigative work. I am also very grateful for the prosecutors, victim advocates, paralegals, and support staff in my office, who worked so tirelessly in their efforts to seek justice for Heidi. While nothing will bring Heidi back to her family and friends, we do hope this verdict provides them with some measure of closure."
According to a criminal complaint in the case, Nicholas Firkus originally claimed an intruder had broken into the couple's St. Paul home on April 25, 2010. Firkus claimed he'd heard a noise, grabbed a shotgun and woke up his wife. The complaint said Nicholas Firkus initially told dispatchers that the intruder grabbed his gun and shot Heidi, but later changed his story to say he struggled with the intruder over the gun, and his finger slipped and hit the trigger as they wrestled for control, striking Heidi. Firkus also had a gunshot wound to his leg.
The complaint says investigators did not find any signs of struggle in the home, and the angle of Heidi Firkus' gunshot wound did not support her husband's story.
According to the complaint, investigators discovered Nicholas Firkus was in significant debt at the time of the shooting, and the couple was due to lose their home to eviction the next day, unbeknownst to his wife.
Prosecutors presented evidence and called witnesses over the course of 10 days of testimony to try to prove Nicholas Firkus staged a burglary, shot Heidi in the back and himself in the leg, and tried to pin the blame on an intruder no one else saw.
Firkus' defense attorneys insisted the break-in did happen, but that St. Paul Police zeroed in on the husband instead of pursuing a would-be burglar.
The trial took place in Ramsey County Chief Judge Leonardo Castro's courtroom with about 75 spectators filling the seats and oftentimes additional spectators standing in the back, audibly reacting to several questions from attorneys and answers from witnesses.
The prosecution rested its case late Thursday morning after the testimony of St. Paul Police Sgt. Nichole Sipes, who picked up the cold case and gave it a second look in 2021. Sipes' investigation finally led to criminal charges against Firkus, who long had been St. Paul Police's only suspect.
The state's theory was that Firkus killed his wife out of shame and fear. Their house was foreclosed and they were set to be evicted one day after the incident, and prosecutors say Firkus never informed his wife. They also presented witnesses who testified that the Firkuses would do anything to stay in the marriage because they considered it a "holy sacrament."
High-profile defense attorney Joe Friedberg called a close friend of Heidi and Nick's, Hilary Autry, as his first witness.
Autry testified that while driving together, Heidi pointed out an apartment near the neighborhood of Dale and Grand to her and said that's where she and Nick were interested in moving.
The defense implied with the witness that Heidi was aware she and Nick would be packing up and moving out of their house on Minnehaha Avenue.
In cross-examination, prosecutor Rachel Kraker pointed out Autry was holding hands with Nicholas Firkus' mother in the hallway prior to her testimony. And by introducing emails Autry and their group of friends sent in the weeks leading up to Heidi's death, Kraker pointed out that two of Autry's friends -- but not Heidi -- were planning to move on the weekend Heidi was killed. Not only did Heidi not say she was moving, but she offered to help one of those friends with their move.
Kraker is a seasoned senior assistant county attorney in Hennepin County who is assisting Elizabeth Lamin in Ramsey County with the case.
The final witness in the trial was Brandon O'Connor, who was staying in the house next door to the Firkuses the morning of the shooting.
O'Connor told police that day that he heard two shots, then a male voice say something to the effect of "you shot me" or "you shot her."
"And you've got no dog in this fight?" Friedberg asked.
"No," O'Connor responded.
O'Connor's memories may have faded over time and he gave slightly differing versions of what he heard to police, reporters and defense attorney investigators over the years.
In cross-examination, Lamin highlighted O'Connor's testimony that after hearing the shots, he looked out the window but saw no one running from the Firkus' home.
Concerning what he heard the voice yell, O'Connor testified it matched what Nick Firkus can be heard yelling in the 911 call.
During its closing arguments on Friday, the state painted a picture of Heidi Firkus as a person beloved by many, married to a man with secrets. "It was not a fictitious stranger, it was the stranger she married," said prosecutor Rachel Kraker, alleging that Nick Firkus hid the couple's mounting financial woes from Heidi and that the couple was going to lose the home they lived in.
Kraker told jurors that Heidi had friends and co-workers who adored her, a core group that would support her. “She was fun. She was wonderful and if people had to pick a side, it was going to be hers.” Kraker said that Nick Firkus took Heidi's life to save his reputation. “This is not just about being kicked out of a house. This is about being exposed and Nick Firkus could not let that happen.”
The state then referenced a mountain of evidence introduced during the trial, ranging from police interviews with the defendant about the alleged intruder to DNA from the crime scene and a journal entry in which Nick Firkus considers telling Heidi about their disastrous financial situation. They argued that the staging of the fatal shooting proves premeditation, the necessary element for a first-degree murder conviction.
"The darkness of shame, guilt, and desperation can cloud a person’s mind, can let them think they have choices that are bad choices but it doesn’t mean Nick Firkus didn’t plan what he meant to do that morning," Kraker argued. "He may have intended to take his life as well and changed his mind. We’ll never know. But he absolutely made the decision to end his wife’s life and for that, he is guilty."
The prosecution rested shortly after 10 a.m.
The defense began its closing argument by asserting that Nick and Heidi Firkus were a loving couple, and that the state is asking them to speculate and draw a conclusion that Nick acted irrationally and planned a murder.
“You don’t kill the love of your life to spare yourself from momentary embarrassment,” insisted defense attorney Robert Richman.
Richman assailed the state for lack of hard evidence and what he called "psychobabble" in trying to explain its theory that Nick Firkus killed Heidi because they were going to lose their home. The defense also showed photos of the crime scene to support Nick's story that an intruder is responsible for his wife's death, and said police never considered another suspect.
Finally, Richman reminded the panel that Nick Firkus is presumed innocent according to the law, with the burden of proof falling on the prosecution to prove the fatal shooting didn’t happen the way he said it did. If there is even a possibility there was an intruder, Richman insisted, then Nick Firkus must be found not guilty.
“The issue is not whether Heidi knew about the foreclosure... the issue is, has the prosecution proven that there was no intruder, that Nick killed his wife in cold blood?" Richman asked. "For 13 long years, Nick Firkus has waited to clear his name. His life is now in your hands. It’s long past the time for justice to be done in this case. There is only one verdict consistent with the evidence. Nick Firkus is not guilty."
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: