Jury finds Nick Firkus guilty of the 2010 murder of his wife
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A jury found a 39-year-old man accused of killing his wife nearly 13 years ago guilty Friday evening.
Nick Firkus shot Heidi Firkus in the back in April of 2010, but wasn't charged until May of 2021.
After a number of witnesses took the stand on Thursday, Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro scheduled closing arguments for Friday morning. The courtroom was so packed, that people were sitting on the floor. Both the prosecution and the defense spoke for more than an hour- using various forms of evidence to their benefit.
The State went first, arguing that Nick Firkus took Heidi's life to save his reputation. They say the couple had been having money problems for some time, and Heidi knew about them. But prosecutors say, what she didn't know was that Firkus hadn't paid the mortgage in 22 months and that their home had been foreclosed. Records show they were a day away from being evicted. They asked the jury to focus on the element's surrounding Heidi's death, saying Firkus was worried his wife be upset if she found out, and that he would lose friends and standing at his church. Prosecutors argued that Firkus's fear and shame of being exposed as a fraud led to the shooting.
But his attorneys say that's not true and that someone else played a role in Heidi's death. On the morning of April 25, 2010, Firkus told his wife that a burglar was trying to break into their home. So he grabbed his gun and followed Heidi downstairs while she called 911.
Firkus's defense team says that he was struggling with an intruder when the shotgun in his hand went off twice.
One of those shots went through Heidi's back, killing her while she was on the phone with 911. Another shot went through Firkus's leg. During closing arguments, attorney Robert Richman argued that Heidi knew about the impending eviction and financial problems and that killing her didn't make sense because it wouldn't have saved Firkus's reputation. He added that friends talked about how strong of a relationship the Firkus's had, and after 13 years- there still isn't substantial evidence to convict Nicholas Firkus.
Firkus was found guilty on one count each of first-degree and second-degree murder. His sentencing is set for April 13.
