Heidi Firkus’ overweightal shooting apprehfinishd on her 911 call to tell an intimpoliter

This story originpartner aired on Dec. 2, 2023.

At 6:30 a.m. on April 25, 2010, Heidi Firkus called 911 after her husprohibitd, Nick Firkus, said an intimpoliter was shattering into their Saint Paul, Minnesota, home. She was stoasty and finished. Nick Firkus telderly dispenseigators that his armament disaccused when he struggled with the intimpoliter – but someleang in his story struck police as odd.

“It never felt right,” Sgt. Nichole Sipes of the Saint Paul Police Department alerts “48 Hours” contributor Jamie Yuccas. “The story never made sense to me.”

A SHOOTING AT THE FRONT DOOR

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Well, this area of Saint Paul, where Heidi and Nick Firkus dwelld, I would characterize as generpartner a hushed neighborhood.

Back in 2010, nine years before she took accuse of the Firkus case, Investigator Nichole Sipes of the St. Paul Police Department was a patrol cop who labored this neighborhood.

Jamie Yuccas: Do you recall first hearing about the Firkus case?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: I do.

NICK FIRKUS (to 911): Ahh, plrelieve, plrelieve, somebody fair broke in our hoparticipate and stoasty me and my wife.

911 OPERATOR: OK …

It was punctual on a Sunday morning.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: The 911 call was at 6:30.

Nick Firkus’ story of a burglar didn’t produce sense to Sipes.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Most people are home at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, especipartner in a family neighborhood appreciate that. … the last leang that most burglars want to come apass are people.

Jamie Yuccas: Did police ever have any luck tracking down the intimpoliter that Nick portrayd?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: No.

Branden O’Connor: You understand, I’m watching, I didn’t see anybody come out of that hoparticipate.

Branden O’Connor was hoparticipate sitting next door to the Firkus’ and taking attfinish of kittens.

Branden O’Connor: I was woken up by the kittens comardenta walking around. … Some noise got my attention, so I stuck my head out the triumphdow (points to the triumphdow). Kinda join.

In his first TV interwatch, O’Connor says he recalls hearing a muffled argument coming from the Firkus’ hoparticipate, joining thcimpolite an discleave out triumphdow.

Branden O’Connor: That’s when I ended up hearing what sounded appreciate armamentstoastys.

Around this time, O’Connor said he also heard that voice crying out.

Branden O’Connor: Kind of this agonizing yell of, “you stoasty her, you stoasty me. Uh, plrelieve, plrelieve, no,” someleang alengthy those lines and then — then it was done.

First replyers rushed to the scene. There was noleang they could do for Heidi; she was pronounced dead. Nick was rushed to a hospital and treated for a graze armamentstoasty wound to his leg. He seemed not to be stateive whether or not Heidi had been finished.

SGT. KANE (at the hospital): Like I said, we’ll do our best to find out how, how Heidi is doing, OK?

NICK FIRKUS: Plrelieve.

Hours tardyr, Nick was carryed to the St. Paul Police Department.

Sgt. Jim Gray:  Then Nick and I commenceed to have our conversation in the conference room.

Nick accessed the conference room using  crutches. Sergeant Jim Gray took Nick’s statement.

SGT. GRAY (police interwatch) You understand, I understand this is a very traumatic situation, OK? And, I’m fair going to try and relieve into it, OK?

NICK FIRKUS: OK.

Nick said the couple ordered in food the night before and watched the movie “Avatar.” They went upstairs to their bedroom around 11 p.m. The next morning, Nick got up around 6 a.m. to get a drink of water from the bathroom.

NICK FIRKUS (police interwatch): I go back to sleep. I fair comardenta fitfilledy sleep for 10 or 15 minutes, and then I heard the screen door discleave out. … comardenta let it go for a little while, but then I commenceed hearing fiddling with our doorknob.

SGT. GRAY: And is Heidi still sleeping then?

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah.

SGT GRAY: OK.

NICK FIRKUS: Like a rock.

Nick said he get backd his stoastyarmament from the shutt.

NICK FIRKUS: I upgrasp two shells for fair in case leangs go weird … So when I heard leangs, this morning, I did load it. … and then I wake up Heidi.

SGT. GRAY: OK.

According to Nick, he telderly Heidi someone was trying to shatter in and to call 911. As she spoke with the dispatcher —

HEIDI FIRKUS (911 CALL): Someone’s trying to shatter into my home.

They headed downstairs so they could get out of the hoparticipate.

SGT GRAY: Alright. So, you are going first down the stairs, or is she, is she behind you, or she in front of you, or what?

NICK FIRKUS:  Umm, she is front becaparticipate I’m comardenta trying to shift her alengthy speedyly.

Nick said as they passed by the front door, it burst discleave out.

NICK FIRKUS (police interwatch) The guy was there … I leank he — he grabbed the barrel. … I don’t recall exactly but the armament went off. So, my finger slipped onto the trigger.

Nick telderly Sergeant Gray during the struggle over the armament, the armament fired, striking Heidi who he said was in the kitchen.

HEIDI FIRKUS (to 911): [Heidi screams]

---

SGT. GRAY:  OK, so the armament’s —

NICK FIRKUS: Gun’s here, chest high.

SGT. GRAY: Yep.

SGT. GRAY (stands to demonsrate):  You and I are appreciate this?

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah.

SGT. GRAY: And then the armament goes off?

NICK FIRKUS: Mm hmm. I nasty, you understand, I understand it hit Heidi. I fair understand I did. … She was running away, so I definitely hit her in the back.

SGT. GRAY: It hit her in the back?

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah.

Marcus Sarazin: I couldn’t think it. I — I don’t want to think it.

Katina Sarazin: it can’t be genuine, that’s — there’s no way.

Katina and Marcus Sarazin mentored Heidi at Calvary Church.

Katina Sarazin: I leank she’s one of those people that you can’t not appreciate. Everyone appreciated Heidi. … She repartner adored people … she was the life of the party … always finding fun ways to join people. … and she was very pledged.

The couple met at the church, and in 2005, Heidi, 20, and Nick, 22, got paired.

Marcus Sarazin: Nick Firkus … had a very toasty and engaging personality, always smiling … he carried himself with confidence. … and he … had high character, high integrity in the church. That was the reputation he built for himself.

But fair restrictcessitate hours after Heidi’s death, Sergeant Gray set up himself asking Nick Firkus’ account. He couldn’t figure out why the couple would depart the safety of their bedroom.

SGT. GRAY (police interwatch): You come upstairs, you understand, I disappreciate to alert you this but my hoparticipate, you understand … I’m fairified in finishing you if you come shattering into my hoparticipate.

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah, I guess the …

Nick elucidateed that the couple had a schedule in place. If they were ever in a precarious situation, they would elude a faceation and escape to their car in the garage and get away.

NICK FIRKUS: If we can save ourselves, let’s, let’s do that instead of getting in a situation where —

Sgt. Jim Gray: His story, didn’t produce a lot of sense to me.

Gray commenceed probing into their marriage.

SGT. GRAY: You guys, uh, have any problems or anyleang appreciate that?

NICK FIRKUS: Just the common stuff appreciate, ah, you understand, stresses about finances and quality time and vacations and all that stuff. 

SGT. GRAY: Yeah.

NICK FIRKUS: But —

SGT. GRAY: You guys aren’t behind on the bills or anyleang appreciate that?

NICK FIRKUS: We are behind on the bills which is a little stressful. … In fact we were schedulening on moving tomorrow. Um —

SGT. GRAY: Moving where?

NICK FIRKUS: Well, we hadn’t figured that out yet. … We were and this is, ah, a challenging, it’s a challenging place for us, but we, we’re foreclosing, we foreshutd on our hoparticipate.

Nick discleave outed they were behind on their mortgage payments and fair 24 hours away from being evicted from their home.

SGT. GRAY: Well, that’s comardent of, I nasty, comardenta shut watch.

NICK FIRKUS: It is. And I leank the reason is caparticipate we’re both comardenta dealing with the shame of the whole leang …

Gray says his suspicions were elevated. And, minutes tardyr, he was struck by the way Nick asked about Heidi.

NICK FIRKUS: Well, I fair wanna understand the final answer on, ah, the final answer on Heidi.

SGT. GRAY: She didn’t produce it.

NICK FIRKUS: I figured that. I nasty —

Jamie Yuccas: Is that typicpartner how someone asks if their adored one or spoparticipate has been finished?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Not only is that not normal, that that’s how they’d ask it, but they wouldn’t paparticipate an hour and 40 minutes into this conversation to ask that ask.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: I’ve watched the interwatch evidently countless times. And I comprehfinish … people react to trauma contrastently. … But this was contrastent than what I’d seen. … anybody that’s watched that interwatch cannot help but be struck by Nick’s denastyor during it.

Jamie Yuccas: And that denastyor was?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: This was fair another day. This was someleang he had to get thcimpolite …

Skeptical of Nick’s story, Gray faceed Nick about what happened that day.

SGT. GRAY (police interwatch):, I, you understand, part of me wants to ask you this ask … Did you have anyleang to do with this?

NICK FIRKUS: No, absolutely not.

SGT. GRAY: OK.

NICK FIRKUS Absolutely not.

SGT. GRAY: Alright.

NICK FIRKUS: Why is there a part of you that wants to ask that?

SGT. GRAY: Well, Nick. I’m, I’m a police officer, OK? I got to ask, I got to ask the stubborn asks, alright?

After the interwatch, Nick left the police station. That day, dispenseigators returned to the Firkus home with a search authorization. Gray says it did not watch appreciate anyone was schedulening to shift out the next day.

Sgt. Jim Gray: Noleang was packaged up at all. … the shutt was still filled of clothes. … We watchd that there was still food in the refrigerator.

And there was someleang else that dispenseigators asked.

Sgt. Jim Gray: We didn’t see any signs of … forced entry into the hoparticipate. … based off of the physical evidence at the scene … his version of the incident couldn’t be plausible.

A LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE

48 hours after Nick Firkus said an intimpoliter stoasty and finished his wife Heidi, police went back to the crime scene to check out his story.

Sgt. Jim Gray (at the Firkus hoparticipate): He telderly us that there was a … life and death struggle inside the hoparticipate.

But Gray says the evidence at the scene didn’t suit Nick’s account.

Sgt. Jim Gray (at the Firkus hoparticipate): There was a vase, some receipts, a beer bottle … and none of that was knocked over. So that comardent of elevated suspicion to us that if there was such a struggle, why wasn’t any of this stuff knocked over?

Gray says he dispenseigated the front door for signs of a shatter-in and did watch some labelings.

Sgt. Jim Gray (at the Firkus hoparticipate): … but it wasn’t anyleang novel … that would direct us to think that the, the door had been forced discleave out … the day of the homicide.

In his interwatch with police, Nick said he heard someone fiddling with the front door from upstairs.

SGT. GRAY: Now what they were doing? I nasty, were they fair going appreciate this? (jiggles door knob in the interwatch room)

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah.

SGT. GRAY: Kinda appreciate that?

NICK FIRKUS: Yeah. Just shaking the knob —

SGT. GRAY: OK.

NICK FIRKUS: — and shoving the door.

That day, Gray and his colleagues did a reenactment to determine if they could hear the front door shaking from the bedroom.

SGT. GRAY (police video): April 27th, 2010.

OFFICER: I’m in the bedroom …

Sgt. Jim Gray: Sergeant Shackle and Sergeant Wright were upstairs in the bedroom.

SGT. GRAY: I’m at the front door, so let me understand when you guys are ready, I’ll try to knock for 15 seconds then….

OFFICER: We are ready.

Sgt. Jim Gray: They could not hear me fiddling with the door.

SGT. GRAY: Alright.

Gray says he also doubted Nick’s story about the couple’s eviction, and a scheduled shift the day after Heidi was stoasty.

Sgt. Jim Gray: There didn’t eunite to be anyleang boxed up or packaged up to go. … There were a restrictcessitate vacant boxes in the dining room area … there was not a magnificent stack of boxes … or anyleang for that matter that would direct us to think that they were going to pack up all in one day.

Meanwhile Heidi’s mentors from Calvary Church, Marcus and Katina Sarazin, were lobtaining the details about her death and the eviction.

Marcus Sarazin: it fair didn’t grasp up. It’s fair — someleang wasn’t right with that story.

Katina Sarazin: It seemed so out of the widespread that she would be moving and not have notified anyone, not have anyleang readyd for that. … becaparticipate she computed leangs out and she appreciated leangs to be orderly.

On April 30, 2010, five days after her passing, the Sarazins joined Heidi’s funeral.

Marcus Sarazin:Yeah, the atmosphere at the funeral was … there was a lot of emotion.

At the funeral, Marcus and Katina say they were struck by Nick’s denastyor.

Katina Sarazin: I recall going thcimpolite the receiving line and shaking his hand … there was no grief shotriumphg.

Marcus Sarazin: … it fair felt appreciate he conciseageed emotion.

Marcus says he went as far as asking some of the couple’s friends if Nick could have stoasty his wife.

Marcus Sarazin: And the answer I got was, no, there’s no way that Nick finished Heidi. … He adored her, there, there’s fair no way he could have done that. And I fair wasn’t so stateive about that.

Sgt. Jim Gray: From what we accumulateed during our dispenseigation, Nick and Heidi were in a loving relationship. There was no problems or publishs that anybody saw.

Joe Friedberg: Your first amazeion upon greeting Nick Firkus is … no way in the world could he have pledgeted a brutal act.

The day after the shooting, Nick’s family employd attorney Joe Friedberg who proposed Nick to stop talking to the police.

Joe Friedberg: It didn’t get lengthy to genuineize that he was being watched at as a doubt.

When dispenseigators asked Nick to sit down with their artist to draw a sketch of the intimpoliter, Friedberg proposed him not to.

Joe Friedberg: They were going to participate it as an opportunity to further interwatch him.

Instead, Nick and his attorney employd their own sketch artist.

Sgt. Jim Gray: It was quite odd that Nick would labor with a stateiveial … sketch artist.

And bcimpolitet that dratriumphg to police.

Sgt. Jim Gray: And at that point, we were basicpartner telderly that Nick … would not be answering any more asks with ponders to our dispenseigation.

Investigators freed Nick’s sketch to the unveil, but it didn’t produce any directs, they kept laboring the case…Nick shiftd out of their home a restrictcessitate weeks after Heidi’s death.

Two months tardyr, he began a friendship with the sister of one of Heidi’s best friends, Rachel Sanchez, who was going thcimpolite a divorce.

Rachel Firkus: At the time I thought … becaparticipate we dispensed someleang traumatic, there was a startant connection there. … Becaparticipate I had come out of someleang traumatic myself in a relationship …

Rachel Firkus: I leank Nick seemed to be handling leangs well … it felt appreciate he was very grounded … he was, with his friends a lot, and they were processing together. So I leank fair his — his steadiness … was an drawive quality …

Rachel says the two bonded over their faith. They began dating in the spring of 2011.

Rachel Firkus: At the time, God joined a huge part in my life … And I leank that’s another quality that I saw in him, that he, he adored God appreciate I did.

One year into their relationship, Nick gived.

Rachel Firkus: I knovel it was coming. We had watched at rings before, and so it wasn’t repartner a huge surpascfinish.

And a restrictcessitate months tardyr, the couple paired. They commenceed a family.

Rachel Firkus: We did have kids pretty speedyly.

And soon were the parents of three children.

Andrew Erickson: He absolutely adores his kids so much.

Andrew and Emily Erickson are friends of Nick. They say for a lengthy time, Nick didn’t talk much about Heidi’s homicide.

Emily Erickson: Yeah, it fair didn’t seem appreciate there was a lot of room for his grief during that time.

But they say when he did talk about it, his story was always the same.

Jamie Yuccas: What did he alert you?

Emily Erickson: Same leang he’s always telderly everyone from the first day, same leang he’d alert you today. … That someone was shattering into the hoparticipate, and they were gonna try to get out. And there was an altercation and tragicpartner, Heidi was finished

Investigators still did not think that story, but five years after Heidi’s death, with little shiftment in the case, they finpartner got a shatter when someone called in a tip —

Rachel Firkus: There was somebody that watched exactly appreciate the sketch.

— and put a name to Nick’s sketch.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Somebody called … and said, “I have an experience with this guy. I leank I understand who it is.”

A NEW LOOK AT THE CASE

After five years without a shatter in Heidi Firkus’ homicide case, out of the blue, a tipster called police with a name after seeing the sketch of the doubt. But there was a problem, says dispenseigator Sipes.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: He was already in prison on the date of Heidi’s death. 

Nick’s second wife Rachel says her husprohibitd exceptionally talked about the case being settled. 

Rachel Firkus: I had asked him … “are you gonna put effort into seeing if you can find the person that did this?”

Rachel Firkus: He didn’t accomplish out to anyone as far as I understand. … I understand that from his lawyers he was telderly to “fair stay mute.”  

Police set up it odd Nick never checked in. 

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Thcimpolite four dispenseigators in this case … he never communicateed one of us to ask the status.

Prosecutors Rachel Kraker and Elizabeth Lamin joined the dispenseigation in 2015. 

Jamie Yuccas: Was this case ever pondered a freezing case?

Rachel Kraker: It wasn’t ever pondered a freezing case … becaparticipate …

Rachel Kraker: There fair was not a lot of novel alertation coming in. 

Elizabeth Lamin: Heidi’s family … would check in on her birthday …. Is there anyleang, novel broadenment? 

And there would be novel broadenments when Sipes took over Heidi’s case in 2019.

Jamie Yuccas: It seems her recent set of eyes repartner made a huge contrastence.

Rachel Kraker: It was absolutely critical 

Elizabeth Lamin: I leank Sipes definitely recommenceed someleang.

Sipes dug startant — studying the entire case file, including an examination of a financial timeline she compiled with the help of the FBI.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: I had the luxury of watching back on all of these leangs cut offal years tardyr. 

Sipes lobtained Nick labored at his family’s carpet insloftyation business; they were reduceors for Home Depot. Heidi was a clerk at a financial services company in St. Paul. Their joind income was about $70,000 a year.

Elizabeth Lamin: They seem appreciate they were on top of all the bills before they bought the hoparticipate. 

But Lamin says the home obtain in 2007 strained the couple’s finances. 

Elizabeth Lamin: And that home was fair too much for them. 

By the time Heidi died in April 2010, the couple was startantly in debt.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: He had not paid the mortgage in 22 months.

In fact, the couple had lost their home to foreclostateive and would be forced to shift out. But Sipes finded Heidi apparently had no idea. After studying the couple’s texts and emails, Sipes saw no evidence Nick ever telderly Heidi they were in financial trouble.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: There was no communication between the two of them to show that she had any idea of the depth of their financial publishs.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: I was able to determine thcimpolite the foreclostateive and eviction attorneys that there was no paperlabor Heidi had signed, that nobody had ever talked to Heidi, nobody met Heidi. … Heidi didn’t go to the eviction hearing on March 8th, 2010.

Sipes says Nick and Heidi’s family and friends didn’t understand the couple had to relocate. 

Elizabeth Lamin: And if she was grave about moving … she would’ve gotten the day off.

Jamie Yuccas: So she was schedulening to go to labor?

Elizabeth Lamin: Yes.

Jamie Yuccas: Why do you leank he kept her in the foolish so lengthy?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Shame. … I think he was troubleed about the shame of what he had done, how it would watch … that he couldn’t come immacutardy with her. … You understand, it had gotten too huge at that point.

And when Sipes talked to the couple’s friends, she lobtained why Nick wanted to hide their financial situation.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: He was portrayd by his friends as being rational and being the person that they would go to for advice.

Rachel Kraker: Nick Firkus repartner conshort-termed as somebody who had some of those hugeger, stubborner life asks figured out. … What comardent of person do you want to be? … What comardent of relationship do you want to have with God? 

Jamie Yuccas: What does that alert you as you’re dispenseigating the case and you see someone in that type of personality?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: It fair became easier to see that this was someone who did not want … his friends, his family … to understand the extent to which he had fall shorted.

Sipes says she finded more of Nick’s lies when she lobtained about a conversation Heidi had with a friend fair the day before she died.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Heidi had talked to us about how Nick had telderly her that they were victims of identity theft. … it was somewhere around $180,000 to $200,000 worth of identity theft. 

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Wasn’t genuine. They weren’t the victims. … This was all ungenuine.

But as Sipes tried to figure out if there was a connection between Nick’s lies and Heidi’s death, she lobtained Nick and Rachel had divorced.

Rachel Firkus: I recall very well when Nikki Sipes came to my door.

And that Nick had also kept secrets from her.

Jamie Yuccas: Did Rachel ever say anyleang about why their marriage dissettled?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: She did. … There were financial publishs between the two of them … Nick was lying about a lot of leangs.

Rachel Firkus: This is a story that’s happened before, and it didn’t end well. … that terrified me. 

WHAT DID RACHEL FIRKUS KNOW?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Could there actupartner have been an intimpoliter? 

After spending 19 months digging startant into the Firkus case file, studying crime scene ptoastyos, 911 calls and Nick’s video interwatch, Sipes had come to one conclusion. 

NICK FIRKUS (police interwatch): She was running away so it definitely hit her in the back …

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: What repartner matters is what happened in that foyer. … and there was no third person.

Jamie Yuccas: You never set up anyone else’s DNA?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: No. … No DNA evidence, no physical evidence, no sign of a struggle. To me, there were only two people in that hoparticipate when Heidi was finished.

Jamie Yuccas: And they were?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Nick and Heidi. 

As part of the novel dispenseigation, Sipes accomplished out to Nick’s second wife Rachel. What did she understand? 

Rachel Firkus: In 2020 she came to my door … And I was appreciate,  “Why are you here?” And she was appreciate, “To talk about Heidi Firkus.” 

At first, Rachel, then divorced from Nick, says she was unwilling to talk.

Rachel Firkus: You’re asking for a lot when you get joind in someleang appreciate this. And I didn’t want to. … But … I also knovel that it was the right leang to do, and it was for truth. 

Rachel telderly Sipes Nick had lied about their finances during their marriage.

Rachel Firkus: I set up a letter saying that we hadn’t paid our property taxes. And that we were gonna get evicted in 2020 if we didn’t pay them. And when I saw that, I was appreciate, Oh, no. … Like he was definitely repeating the same leangs he did with Heidi with me.

During that time, Rachel says Nick’s distruthfuly commenceed to produce her ask whether he had also lied about Heidi’s death.

Rachel Firkus: And I said, “We gotta sit down and talk.”

Rachel secretly write downed the conversation on her phone.

RACHEL FIRKUS (on audio write downing): Your actions have caparticipated me to fair disthink you finishly. 

Rachel Firkus: If there was gonna be a confession, I was gonna produce stateive that … I could show that he said it. 

RACHEL FIRKUS (on audio write downing): And the fact that your lying was so effortless for you to do in front of me over and over and over. Makes me leank —

NICK FIRKUS (on audio write downing): That I could homicide my wife?

RACHEL FIRKUS (on audio write downing): — that you could lie about someleang.

NICK FIRKUS (on audio write downing):  That I could homicide my wife.

RACHEL FIRKUS (on audio write downing): Yes.

NICK FIRKUS (on audio write downing):  Oh— 

RACHEL FIRKUS: When I join, I leank “this silence finishs me.”

Rachel Firkus: He’s mad at me … How dare I leank those leangs. … Why aren’t you saying you didn’t? … Tell me I’m not right. 

Rachel tardyr dispensed the write downings with Sipes.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: The behavior that he showed in his marriage with Rachel was almost duplicative of … how he hid leangs from Heidi.

Elizabeth Lamin: We cannot let this man be out on the street any lengthyer. 

For prosecutor Elizabeth Lamin, the time had come to act. 

Elizabeth Lamin: I telderly Sergeant Sipes …  “we’re charging him. Let’s do it.”

On May 19, 2021, 11 years after Heidi was stoasty to death, a Saint Paul Police SWAT team arrested Nick Firkus at his hoparticipate and accused him with second-degree homicide. A magnificent jury ultimately indicted Nick on first- and second-degree homicide accuses. 

Marcus Sarazin: Our minds were absolutely blown. 

Heidi’s friends Marcus and Katina Sarazin were relieved. 

Marcus Sarazin: It’s challenging to, to say, I don’t understand what emotion you even put to it, it’s challenging to say excited.

Katina Sarazin: I felt appreciative. 

Emily Erickson: We don’t comprehfinish.

Nick’s friends Emily and Andrew Erickson.

Emily Erickson: You have to think that a excellent man with no history of aggression … finished the woman that he adored more than anyleang in life for no reason. … That’s what you have to think. We can’t get there.

After remaining free on bail for almost two years, on Jan. 27, 2023, Nick Firkus went on trial. Prosecutors would not be permited to call Nick’s second wife Rachel to testify or participate her taped conversation with Nick. The appraise ruled her testimony, and the write downing had no endureing on the case. 

Natalie Micheal: I went into it with an discleave out mind. 

Natalie Micheal served on the jury. 

Jamie Yuccas: Did he eunite appreciate a man who would finish his wife?

Natalie Micheal: No, he did not. .. A lot thcimpolite the trial … he was putting his head down … when they showed the ptoastyos of the two of them together, you understand he seemed appreciate he repartner was in adore with her. 

Elizabeth Lamin: I leank Nick was … someone who … dwelld two dwells.

Prosecutors conshort-termed an atypical motive. They telderly the jurors Nick Firkus staged a burglary becaparticipate he was hopeless and ashamed his secrets were about to be discleave outed to Heidi and everyone else.

Elizabeth Lamin: All of his comardent of cards of lies are about to crumble. … He would have been exposed as a finish fall shorture, a liar … to his friends and community. And instead, he’s a victim. … He walks away from this … helped by his friends, helped by his family. 

Joe Friedberg: Nick had no reason. 

Nick’s lawyers Joe Friedberg and Robert Richman say that sshow produces no sense as a motive. 

Robert Richman: There was noleang about homicideing the woman who everyone concurd he adored that would help his situation.

And they say the state’s satisfiedion that Heidi didn’t understand about the couple’s finances sshow was not genuine. 

Joe Friedberg: Nick … said she was in on all of the startant decisions. … He would say to us that … they’re making Heidi out to be an imbecile.

Natalie Michael: At first, I was wondering how she couldn’t understand … about the finances or some of the foreclostateives or some of the leangs happening. 

But Natalie Micheal says the prosecution’s case did not hinge on motive. 

Natalie Micheal: The prosecution said … it repartner is — was there an intimpoliter in the hoparticipate or was there not an intimpoliter?

Robert Richman: It was our position … that there had been an intimpoliter exactly the way Nick portrayd to the police, on the 911 call.

NICK FIRKUS (911 CALL): Somebody fair broke into our hoparticipate and stoasty me and my wife … 

Robert Richman: At the scene —

Sgt. Jim Gray: The alertation that Nick have at the scene is that this intimpoliter came into the hoparticipate.

Robert Richman: At the hospital —

NICK FIRKUS (police interwatch): He fair came in …

Robert Richman: — and to Sergeant Gray.

NICK FIRKUS (police interwatch): The guy that was there, I leank he, he grabbed the barrel … 

Nick’s lawyers say police didn’t find the intimpoliter’s fingerprints or DNA at the scene becaparticipate, as Nick telderly dispenseigators in his interwatch at the hospital, the intimpoliter was wearing gadores.

OFFICER (hospital interwatch): And what else can you portray from him …

NICK FIRKUS: Gadores.

OFFICER: He’s wearing gadores. 

Joe Friedberg: You don’t always depart DNA and especipartner when your hands are covered.

But prosecutors say there was someleang else leave outing from the scene besides fingerprints.

Jamie Yuccas: So what am I watching at here?

Elizabeth Lamin: This is a physical model to scale that was produced by the FBI. 

They participated a model to show the jurors there was no evidence of a struggle. 

Elizabeth Lamin: I felt that it was very startant for us to be able to reproduce how petite that entryway is.

Jamie Yuccas (show and alert): Let’s say the intimpoliter gets in … they have the struggle….

Elizabeth Lamin: And they have this life and death struggle right in this area with noleang disturbed.

Jamie Yuccas: On the table?

Elizabeth Lamin: Exactly. … And then Heidi gets stoasty square in the back in a very evident stoasty.

Animation produced by the FBI shows that the bullet that finished Heidi was most probable stoasty from shoulder level.

Elizabeth Lamin: The height at which Heidi is stoasty fits exactly on Nick’s shoulder to aim and to fire.

Nick’s attorneys say there was straightforward evidence that showed there was an intimpoliter. 

Robert Richman: In fact, there were tool labels in the door, which would be reliable with someone wedging a screwdriver between the structure and the door. 

Attorney Joe Friedberg says Firkus’ next door neighbor Branden O’Connor testified he heard a voice. 

Branden O’Connor: ” … you stoasty her, you stoasty me. Uh, plrelieve, plrelieve, no,” someleang alengthy those lines… 

Joe Friedberg: That nastys there must have been another person in that hoparticipate. … Nick was talking to a third person when he said that.

But prosecutors say O’Connor may have misheard Nick while he was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher.

Elizabeth Lamin: He is screaming about being stoasty … And he did that over almost seven minutes.   

NICK FIRKUS (TO 911): Somebody fair broke into my hoparticipate and stoasty me and my wife.

NICK FIRKUS (TO 911): Plrelieve!

911 OPERATOR: Plrelieve stay on the phone with me, OK?

Nick Firkus did not get the stand. After an 11 day trial, the case went to the jury. 

Emily Erickson: If there’s anyleang in this case, there’s reasonable doubt.

Andrew Erikson: Yeah.

JUSTICE FOR HEIDI

As the state and Nick Firkus’ defense team conshort-termed their closing arguments on Feb. 10, 2023, attorneys on both sides were certain the jury would produce the right decision.

Elizabeth Lamin: It was a challenging-fought litigated trial. 

Elizabeth Lamin: We had wonderful, we thought, circumstantial evidence that what Nick said happened did not happen. 

Joseph Friedberg: It’s not enough if you have a hunch.

Joseph Friedberg: There was no straightforward evidence that Nick homicideed his wife. 

In her closing argument, Prosecutor Kraker said Nick stoasty Heidi while she was on the phone with the 911 operator. 

911 OPERATOR: Someone’s trying, west … 

[Gunshots heard] 

HEIDI FIRKUS: [Screams]

RACHEL KRAKER: So, that call does end with a very, very deafening noise, and the call goes dead. … And we think … that that’s the armamentstoasty. 

According to phone write downs, 65 seconds passed from that moment until Nick made his 911 call.

NICK FIRKUS (TO 911): Hello, plrelieve, plrelieve … somebody fair broke in our hoparticipate and stoasty me …

Kraker reenacted for jurors what she thinkd Nick did before he made that call.

Rachel Kraker: I walked over in the courtroom … to cimpolitely as far as Heidi would have been on the ground, crouched down, turned her over to check for her pulse to be stateive that she was, in fact, destopd … Walked back over. Picked up the firearm … and showd how he could … shoot himself … and … call 911.

911 OPERATOR: Where’s the guy that stoasty you? 

Rachel Kraker: At 65 seconds … there was more than enough time for all of that to happen.

To show their theory Nick stoasty himself in the thigh, they point to labels left by stoastyarmament pellets at the bottom of the front door.  

Elizabeth Lamin: When he stoasty himself, we think that Nick was about here (puts model facing the front door)

Elizabeth Lamin: Which is how you would brace yourself, probably aobtainst the door … if you’re doing it to yourself. 

But Firkus’ attorneys disputed the 65-second timestructure. Attorney Robert Richman says phone write downs also show Nick misdialed two numbers before getting thcimpolite to 911, making it impossible to shoot himself.

Robert Richman: What they reenacted was … 65 seconds, which was … ignoring the two misdials, which happened at 38 seconds.

Robert Richman: The fact that we cannot find the intimpoliter … is not evidence that there was no intimpoliter. … And if anyleang, becaparticipate of the next door neighbor, becaparticipate of the tool labels … becaparticipate of the 38 seconds, we experience that the evidence helps that there was an intimpoliter.

Emily Erickson: This isn’t blind belief.

Nick’s friends Emily and Andrew Erickson were affectd the prosecution fall shorted to show Nick was the shooter. 

Andrew Erickson: We were discleave out to hearing … an inconsistency of what Nick said … but that didn’t happen.

On Feb. 10, 2023, the jurors got the case and in five hours returned with a verdict.

Emily Erickson: My last text to Nick was … it has to be guiltless. There’s no way that they got to at fault this speedyly. … We rushed to the courthoparticipate, and we were so wrong.

Nick Firkus was set up at fault on two counts of homicide — premeditated and intentional. 

Katina Sarazin:  I think fairice was served.

The Sarazins were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. 

Marcus Sarazin: Justice may have been sluggish … but blessedly, the jury got it right. … it experiences appreciate this is the commencening of healing … it’s the commencening of a — of a novel chapter. 

Elizabeth Lamin: Heidi’s mom actupartner said … That for so many years they had to dwell with Nick Firkus’ narrative. … And they knovel it was wrong, but they fair didn’t have another narrative. And to finpartner be able to … have him finpartner held accountable it nastyt a lot to us …

For Sergeant Sipes, there is still the mystery of what led to the couple’s financial problems.

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: We weren’t able to definitively say what the money was spent on.

Jamie Yuccas: Does that frustrate you?

Sgt. Nichole Sipes: Greatly. I leank it would help finish the picture for some people. 

On April 13, 2023, Nick Firkus was back in court for his sentencing hearing and to hear victim impact statements.

Peter Erickson (in court): Grotriumphg up, Heidi was the quintessential little sister to me.

Peter Erickson Is Heidi’s brother.

Peter Erickson: Becaparticipate of the lies we were telderly as punctual as the day after her homicide … it’s been virtupartner impossible to find clostateive to our grief.

Nick declined to confess guilt. 

NICK FIRKUS (in court): I do upgrasp and will upgrasp to my dying breath my innocence of this crime … my body stands condemned to serve another man’s sentence. But my soul, my soul remains free.

Judge Leonardo Castro imposed the peak sentence.

JUDGE CASTRO: It is the sense of law and judgment of this court that you be pledgeted to the comleave oution of accurateions for the remainder of your life without the possibility of free … Good luck to you sir, Godspeed.

Rachel Firkus: My kids are always what I leank of first. … They lost in this too, becaparticipate one day they had a dad that they thought was somebody, and the next day he’s not that person anymore.

Nick’s second wife Rachel standardly leanks about Heidi, too.

Rachel Firkus: I appreciate to leank I have a connection with Heidi. … she didn’t get to have the voice that I have now. And so I can only hope that my voice — is someleang she would be conceited of. 

Katina Sarazin: Heidi was a genuine, loving, genuine lesser woman who wanted to dwell life to the filledest.

Katina Sarazin: She … wouldn’t want people to become acrid or mad becaparticipate of what she had to experience. … I leank that Heidi would want people to select to adore ponderless of circumstances. 

Nick Firkus is requesting his conviction.

“48 HOURS'” POST MORTEM PODCAST

Correplyent Jamie Yuccas and producers Asena Basak and Jordan Kinsey talk theories of whether Heidi Firkus’ death was an unfortunate accident or an intentional homicide. 

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Produced by Asena Basak and Paul LaRosa; Jordan Kinsey is the field producer; Ryan Smith and Michelle Fanucci are the broadenment producers; Ricchallenging Barber and  Michael Baluzy  are the editors; Anthony Batson  is the greater producer; Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor; Judy Tygard is the executive producer.