Heidi Firkus Wiki – Heidi Firkus Biography
The 40-year-old husband from St. Paul, Minnesota, who was found guilty in April 2010 of killing his first wife while attempting to frame a nonexistent Black man, was given a life without parole term on Thursday.In February, Nicholas “Nick” Firkus was found guilty of fatally shooting Heidi Firkus, 25, with a shotgun as the couple was secretly facing foreclosure and eviction from their home. It took more than ten years for a jury to find that a murder had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
However, it’s also possible that the defendant would still be at large if his second wife had not exposed him for the massive deception that it turned out to be.In a soon-to-air broadcast of ABC’s 20/20, it is revealed that Nick Firkus first met Rachel Firkus (née Watson) only a few months after Heidi Firkus was fatally murdered. After being married in August 2012, the couple had three children.
Heidi Firkus Age
Heidi Firkus was 25 years old.
Heidi Firkus Cause of Death
According to Rachel, when she discovered a notification indicating that they would lose their home to foreclosure as a result of unpaid property taxes, she began to have doubts about her husband’s role in Heidi’s death. “I live with this person, and I was unaware that this was taking place. She reportedly told ABC, “I have children with this individual, and the last time he had financial issues, a lot of things went wrong.
Then, as reported by ABC, a telling interaction occurred.The union disintegrated in 2018. Three years later, in May 2021, Nick Firkus was charged with murder in the second degree for the first time in what the authorities called a “decade-old mystery.”Firkus allegedly tried to accuse a “black guy” of shooting him and Heidi during a home invasion, according to a criminal complaint.
“He said that he had grabbed his shotgun and that he and his wife were attempting to flee through the detached garage’s back door. He claimed that when he turned around while they were going to the garage, the suspect had already taken the shotgun from him and was shooting both him and his wife. NICHOLAS FIRKUS replied that he was unsure of the suspect’s race when asked whether he was black or white.
According to the complaint, he claimed that the suspect was covering his head. The victim hurriedly cried out to the dispatcher on April 25, 2010, during a 911 call that was recorded and used as trial evidence, “Someone’s trying to break into my home.” Before she was slain, her wailing and laboured breathing could be heard. She was obviously afraid.
Police claimed that during a subsequent interview with Nick Firkus at the hospital, he made an untrue attempt to blame a Black guy for the incident. He claimed that Heidi had stopped by the front entrance to get her wallet, which was lying on the table there. He claimed that the door opened at this same moment, revealing a black man standing inside who was approximately 6’1″ or 6’2″ tall and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt that was tightly pulled over his face.
He claimed that after dropping his jeans and the other man grabbing the shotgun’s barrel, they struggled and the shotgun fired when his finger slid off the trigger. He claimed that Heidi was wounded by the gunshot and fell to the ground. He said that during their struggle for the shotgun, the gun accidentally discharged a second time, striking Nicholas Firkus in the leg. He claimed that after falling, the man fled out the front door.
The murder’s compelling financial motivation was later made clear, according to the detectives. According to the complaint, NICHOLAS FIRKUS informed police that they were being foreclosed upon, that they would inform their family and friends that day, and that they also intended to move later that day. Additionally, NICHOLAS FIRKUS stated that he and Heidi were in arrears on their debts, that their home had been foreclosed upon, and that they needed to vacate the property the following day.
He said that they had kept their home’s foreclosure and need to vacate from friends and relatives a secret. They intended to pack up their home on Sunday and Monday morning, store some items in the garage for later retrieval and find accommodations. On April 26, 2010, the day after the slaying, Fikrus, according to the lawsuit, had done “absolutely no packing” and had kept Heidi fully in the dark about the fact that they were about to be evicted:
Rachel Firkus said on ABC’s 20/20 that she had a completely different perspective on the 2010 murder after discovering Nick Firkus telling a substantially similar falsehood. Nick Firkus was indicted by a grand jury in September 2021 and charged with first- and second-degree murder.The defendant was found guilty after an 11-day murder trial that started in February 2022.
Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Rachel Kraker reportedly said at trial, where she assisted Ramsey County prosecutors in obtaining the conviction, “He took Heidi’s life and saved his reputation.” Jurors and prosecutors both agreed that Nick killed Heidi out of a desperate attempt to hide his debts and impending financial ruin. After the defendant’s conviction, the victim impact statements of his loved ones and friends tore through him.
“It’s been practically impossible for us to find closure to our grief when the shock begins after Heidi’s murder because of the lies we were given starting the day after her murder and the demands to believe them. According to Peter Erickson, Heidi’s brother, “I rapidly realised that everything Nick was telling us opposed who I knew my sister to be. ”
To me and everyone else who actually knew and loved Heidi, the fact that he had the audacity to peddle a story that was so obviously inconsistent with her character was, and still is, very much insulting and offensive.” “I really miss my sister,” he continued. With tears allegedly in her eyes, Heidi’s mother Linda Erickson said that the defendant’s “unthinkable actions” had deprived her daughter and her loved ones of “participating in that adventure [of life] with her.”
She remarked of Heidi that “she looked forward to being a mother.”Jessie Bain reportedly added, “Because of Nick Firkus I never get to see my friend again,” according to CBS. Nick Firkus is responsible for Heidi missing out on a lot. In her obituary, Heidi Firkus was referred to as a “joyful child of God.” “As a young girl, Heidi gave her life to the Lord Jesus Christ and walked obediently with Him.
According to her obituary, she adored and was adored by her family and many devoted friends. Nick Firkus, on the other hand, reportedly maintained his denial of guilt up until the very end, saying, “My body is condemned to serve for another man’s crime, but my soul is free.” The convicted killer is currently depicted in updated mugshots in the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ records following his incarceration in the state’s St. Cloud facility:
