Naman Shrestha
In ABC’s ’20/20: Stranger In The House,’ the primary focus is on the tragic 2010 death of Heidi Firkus in her Saint Paul, Minnesota, home that she shared with her husband, Nicholas “Nick” Firkus. For years, despite the police’s best efforts, the investigation lacked evidence or leads to crack the case. However, Nick’s inconsistent statements and a story filled with holes made him a person of interest from the get-go. When his second wife spoke to the authorities after the divorce, they had enough incriminating evidence against him to pursue a case.
Nick Firkus Claimed an Intruder Was Responsible For Heidi Firkus’ Murder
Born on February 25, 1983, Nicholas “Nick” James Firkus was a high school junior when he first met Heidi Marie Erickson at church. As they felt sparks flying between them, they began dating in August 2003. A couple of years later, in 2005, the two tied the knot surrounded by their family and friends. At the time, he worked for his father’s carpet cleaning business. In 2007, the couple bought a house in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Unfortunately, within the next two years, the couple had taken out two mortgages, after which the bank sent them foreclosure notices. According to Nick, Heidi knew about the foreclosure and that the home was sold in the summer of 2009, but the authorities had reason to believe that the embarrassment of losing the home to foreclosure led Nick to kill his wife.
On the fateful morning of April 25, 2010, Heidi called 911 and said, “Someone’s trying to break into my home.” About a minute later, Nick also placed a call to the authorities and stated, “Somebody just broke in my house and shot me and my wife.” When the authorities arrived at the scene, she was found shot to death, while Nick had a gunshot wound in his leg and was taken to the hospital. After his treatment, he was questioned at the police station regarding the incident. He told the detectives that when he heard a noise coming from the front door in the morning, after which he grabbed his shotgun and instructed Heidi to call 911. In the initial version of his story, the intruder managed to grab his shotgun and shot his wife. However, he changed his story and claimed that he and the intruder got into a struggle over the shotgun, during which his finger slipped and ended up pulling the trigger, hitting Heidi in the back.
Nick Firkus’ Second Wife Discovered His Lies and Informed the Authorities
As per his account, the trigger was pulled once again during the struggle, and this time it hit him in the leg. However, the detectives found no signs of struggle in the home, and the angle of Heidi’s gunshot wound didn’t match his story. He also told them that the couple had to leave the house the day after the murder. The investigators noticed that the house was fully furnished and didn’t look like it was set to be vacated, leading them to believe that Heidi was unaware of the foreclosure. A few months later, Nick began dating Rachel Sanchez, whom he married and with whom he had three children in the following years.
Since there were no signs of a forced entry and only Nick’s DNA was present in the shotgun, he was considered a person of interest. However, the authorities couldn’t arrest him due to a lack of evidence. When Rachel found a letter indicating that their house was facing foreclosure, she confronted him about it and eventually divorced him. She even recorded multiple arguments that she had with him over his habit of lying to her. After she reported his behavior to the authorities, they had enough evidence against him. Thus, on May 19, 2021, Nick was arrested and charged with first and second-degree murder.
Nick Firkus is Currently Incarcerated at a Minnesota Prison Facility
Several months after his arrest, in late January 2023, Nicholas Firkus stood trial for the murder of his first wife, Heidi Firkus. During the 11-day trial, the prosecution presented a series of evidence against the defendant, telling the jury that Nick was embarrassed and ashamed about the financial situation, so much so that it drove him to murder. They also argued that the state of the crime scene didn’t match his story about the struggle and the intruder. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Nick had no reason to commit the murder and that Heidi was aware of the foreclosure. In the end, on February 10, 2023, the jury deliberated for four hours before reaching the final verdict. As a result, he was convicted of first and second-degree murder.
About two months later, on April 13, Nick’s sentencing hearing took place. Heidi’s brother, Peter Erickson, took the stand and delivered a victim impact statement, stating, “Because of the lies we were told as early as the day after her murder, along with the pressures to believe them, it’s been virtually impossible to find closure to our grief as the shock begins after Heidi’s murder. The realization quickly set in that everything Nick was telling us betrayed who I knew my sister to be.” Her mother, Linda Erickson, also stated, “Because of the unthinkable actions of one person, she was robbed and those who loved her were robbed of participating in that adventure with her.” However, Nick manintained his innocence and stated, “my body is condemned to serve for another man’s crime, but my soul is free.” Ultimately, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Following his sentencing, Nick filed a motion with the help of his defense counsel, seeking the overturning of his conviction. His attorney released a statement, “Nick Firkus is an innocent man who has spent the last 3 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. We disagree with the decision of the Supreme Court. Everyone who knows Nick knows he could never kill his wife.” In the appeal, the defense argued that the case heavily relied on circumstantial evidence. In late February 2026, the appeal was rejected and Nick’s conviction was upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court. As of today, Nicholas Firkus is serving his sentence at Minnesota Correctional Facility – Rush City in Chisago County, Minnesota.
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