1 00:00:07,517 --> 00:00:14,620 ♪ >>> THERE IS A SAYING HERE IN 2 00:00:14,655 --> 00:00:17,379 MINNESOTA, MINNESOTA NIGHTS. AND THAT MINNESOTA NIGHTS ONLY 3 00:00:17,413 --> 00:00:22,827 GOES SO FAR. AND HEIDI FIRKUS, SHE WENT ALL 4 00:00:22,862 --> 00:00:26,034 THE WAY. SHE WAS GENUINE, AND SHE LOVED 5 00:00:26,068 --> 00:00:28,068 DEEP. >> SHE DEFINITELY LIVED A LIFE 6 00:00:28,103 --> 00:00:30,482 OF LOVE. THAT WAS THE MARK THAT SHE LEFT. 7 00:00:30,517 --> 00:00:37,413 AND THAT'S HARD TO LET GO. >> YOU KNOW, THIS IS A TERRIBLE, 8 00:00:37,448 --> 00:00:40,896 TERRIBLE INCIDENT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE HOPING TO FIND 9 00:00:40,931 --> 00:00:46,724 OTHER PHYSICAL EVIDENCE THAT MIGHT LEAD US IN A DIRECTION TO 10 00:00:46,758 --> 00:00:51,068 OUR SUSPECT. >> APRIL 5th, 2010 AT 6:30 A.M., 11 00:00:51,103 --> 00:00:54,241 HEIDI FIRKUS CALLS 911. >> SOMEONE TRIED TO BREAK INTO 12 00:00:54,275 --> 00:00:57,000 MY HOME. >> SHE TELLS THE STATE PATROL 13 00:00:57,034 --> 00:01:00,344 DISPATCHER THAT SOMEONE IS TRYING TO BREAK IN TO HER HOUSE, 14 00:01:00,379 --> 00:01:04,000 AND SHE'S TRYING TO GIVE HER ADDRESS. 15 00:01:04,034 --> 00:01:11,068 WHILE SHE'S ON THE PHONE, YOU CAN HEAR A LOUD NOISE AND THE 16 00:01:11,103 --> 00:01:14,655 PHONE GOES DEAD. APPROXIMATELY A MINUTE LATER, 17 00:01:14,689 --> 00:01:21,103 NICHOLAS FIRKUS CALLS 911, SAYS THAT HE AND HIS WIFE HAVE BOTH 18 00:01:21,137 --> 00:01:23,241 BEEN SHOT. >> SOMEONE HAS BROKEN IN AND 19 00:01:23,275 --> 00:01:27,241 SHOT ME AND MY WIFE. >> ARE YOU IN SAINT PAUL, SIR? 20 00:01:27,275 --> 00:01:31,241 >> PARAMEDICS TOOK NICK TO THE AMBULANCE AND TRANSPORTED HIM TO 21 00:01:31,275 --> 00:01:33,827 REGIONS HOSPITAL. HE HAD BEEN SHOT IN THE LEG. 22 00:01:33,862 --> 00:01:38,172 >> HEIDI WAS STRUCK IN THE BACK AS SHE WAS TRYING TO FLEE 23 00:01:38,206 --> 00:01:41,310 TOWARDS THE KITCHEN. >> IT WAS A SHOTGUN BLAST THAT 24 00:01:41,344 --> 00:01:44,655 KILLED HER RIGHT AWAY. THE SHOTGUN WAS LAYING INSIDE 25 00:01:44,689 --> 00:01:48,000 THE FRONT DOOR AREA. THERE IS A FOYER. 26 00:01:48,033 --> 00:01:51,033 NICK SAID HE HEARD SOMEBODY FIDDLING AROUND WITH THE DOOR 27 00:01:51,068 --> 00:01:55,310 AND THAT HE THEN ARMED HIMSELF WITH A SHOTGUN AND THAT NICK AND 28 00:01:55,344 --> 00:01:57,448 THE INTRUDER STRUGGLED OVER THE SHOTGUN. 29 00:01:57,482 --> 00:02:00,758 THE RESPONDING OFFICERS WENT UP AND DOWN THE BLOCK, TRYING TO 30 00:02:00,793 --> 00:02:03,068 TALK TO NEIGHBORS. >> I WAS NEXT DOOR HOUSE SITTING 31 00:02:03,103 --> 00:02:10,068 WHEN THE CRIME HAPPENED. REALLY ALL I HEARD WAS KIND OF 32 00:02:10,103 --> 00:02:15,068 THIS AGONIZING YELL OF, YOU SHOT HER, YOU SHOT ME. 33 00:02:15,103 --> 00:02:19,103 >> IT NEVER FELT RIGHT. THE STORY NEVER MADE SENSE TO 34 00:02:19,137 --> 00:02:22,586 ME. HE TELLS INVESTIGATORS THAT HE 35 00:02:22,620 --> 00:02:26,379 GRABBED A SHOTGUN, LOADED IT WITH TWO SHELLS AND PROCEEDED TO 36 00:02:26,413 --> 00:02:29,689 HAVE HEIDI GO DOWN THE STAIRS IN FRONT OF HIM TOWARDS THE VERY 37 00:02:29,724 --> 00:02:32,689 DOOR THAT THIS ALLEGED BURGLAR WAS AT. 38 00:02:32,724 --> 00:02:37,275 WHY HE WOULD SEND THE UNARMED PERSON DOWN IN FRONT OF YOU IS 39 00:02:37,310 --> 00:02:40,448 BEYOND ME. TO ME, THERE WERE ONLY TWO 40 00:02:40,482 --> 00:02:42,067 PEOPLE IN THAT HOUSE WHEN HEIDI WAS KILLED. 41 00:02:42,103 --> 00:02:45,275 >> AND THEY WERE? >> NICK AND HEIDI. 42 00:02:45,310 --> 00:02:49,344 >> IN ORDER TO BELIEVE THAT NICK KILLED HEIDI, YOU HAVE TO 43 00:02:49,379 --> 00:02:53,758 BELIEVE THAT A GOOD MAN WITH NO HISTORY OF VIOLENCE KILLED THE 44 00:02:53,793 --> 00:02:57,724 WOMAN THAT HE LOVED MORE THAN ANYTHING IN LIFE FOR NO REASON. 45 00:02:57,758 --> 00:03:03,448 THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE. WE CAN'T GET THERE. 46 00:03:03,482 --> 00:03:08,551 ♪ 47 00:03:08,551 --> 00:03:18,379 ♪ 48 00:03:49,758 --> 00:03:54,689 >>> WHILE THIS AREA OF SAINT PAUL WHERE HEIDI AND NICK FIRKUS 49 00:03:54,724 --> 00:03:58,517 LIVED I WOULD CHARACTERIZE GENERALLY A QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD. 50 00:03:58,551 --> 00:04:04,137 >> BACK IN 2010, 9 YEARS BEFORE SHE TOOK CHARGE OF THE FIRKUS 51 00:04:04,172 --> 00:04:09,931 CASE, DETECTIVE OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS A PATROL COP WHO 52 00:04:09,965 --> 00:04:12,379 WORKED THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. >> DO YOU REMEMBER FIRST HEARING 53 00:04:12,413 --> 00:04:14,586 ABOUT THE FIRKUS CASE? >> I DO. 54 00:04:14,620 --> 00:04:16,206 >> PLEASE! PLEASE! 55 00:04:16,241 --> 00:04:20,000 SOMEBODY JUST BROKE IN THE HOUSE AND SHOT ME AND MY WIFE. 56 00:04:20,034 --> 00:04:21,724 >> IT WAS EARLY ON A SUNDAY MORNING. 57 00:04:21,757 --> 00:04:28,689 >> THE 911 CALL WAS AT 6:30. >> NICK FIRKUS' STORY OF A 58 00:04:28,724 --> 00:04:33,000 BURGLAR DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. >> MOST PEOPLE ARE HOME AT 6:30 59 00:04:33,034 --> 00:04:37,379 ON A SUNDAY MORNING, ESPECIALLY IN A FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE 60 00:04:37,413 --> 00:04:38,931 THAT. THE LAST THING BURGLARS WANT TO 61 00:04:38,965 --> 00:04:41,448 ENCOUNTER ARE PEOPLE. >> DID POLICE HAVE ANY LUCK 62 00:04:41,482 --> 00:04:45,241 TRACKING DOWN THE INTRUDER THAT POLICE DESCRIBED? 63 00:04:45,275 --> 00:04:47,344 >> NO. >> I DIDN'T SEE ANYBODY COME OUT 64 00:04:47,379 --> 00:04:50,448 OF THAT HOUSE. >> BRANDON O'CONNOR WAS HOUSE 65 00:04:50,482 --> 00:04:55,206 SITTING NEXT DOOR TO THE FIRKUS AND TAKING CARE OF KITTENS. 66 00:04:55,241 --> 00:04:57,724 >> I WAS WOKEN UP BY THE KITTENS WALKING AROUND. 67 00:04:57,758 --> 00:05:01,689 SOME NOISE GOT MY ATTENTION, SO I STUCK MY HEAD OUT THE WINDOW, 68 00:05:01,724 --> 00:05:05,068 KIND OF LISTENED. >> BRANDON SAYS HE RECALLS 69 00:05:05,103 --> 00:05:09,620 HEARING A MUFFLED ARGUMENT COMING FROM THE FIRKUS' HOUSE, 70 00:05:09,655 --> 00:05:11,620 LISTENING THROUGH AN OPEN WINDOW. 71 00:05:11,655 --> 00:05:14,551 >> THAT'S WHEN I ENDED UP HEARING WHAT SOUNDED LIKE 72 00:05:14,586 --> 00:05:16,517 GUNSHOTS. >> AROUND THIS TIME, BRANDON 73 00:05:16,551 --> 00:05:19,379 SAID HE ALSO HEARD THAT VOICE CRYING OUT. 74 00:05:19,413 --> 00:05:27,310 >> KIND OF THIS AGONIZING YELL OF, YOU SHOT HER, YOU SHOT ME, 75 00:05:27,344 --> 00:05:30,379 PLEASE, PLEASE, NO, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. 76 00:05:30,413 --> 00:05:36,275 AND THEN -- THEN IT WAS DONE. >> FIRST RESPONDERS RUSHED TO 77 00:05:36,310 --> 00:05:39,482 THE SCENE. THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO 78 00:05:39,517 --> 00:05:41,827 FOR HEIDI. SHE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD. 79 00:05:41,862 --> 00:05:46,862 NICK WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL AND TREATED FOR A GRAZED GUNSHOT 80 00:05:46,896 --> 00:05:50,586 WOUND TO HIS LEG. HE SEEMED NOT TO BE SURE WHETHER 81 00:05:50,620 --> 00:05:53,965 OR NOT HEIDI HAD BEEN KILLED. >> LIKE YOU SAID, WE'LL DO OUR 82 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,379 BEST TO FIND OUT HOW HEIDI IS DOING, OKAY? 83 00:05:57,413 --> 00:06:01,310 >> HOURS LATER, NICK WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE SAINT PAUL 84 00:06:01,344 --> 00:06:04,206 POLICE DEPARTMENT. >> THEN NICK AND I STARTED TO 85 00:06:04,241 --> 00:06:07,034 HAVE OUR CONVERSATION IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM. 86 00:06:07,068 --> 00:06:10,448 >> SERGEANT JIM GRAY TOOK NICK'S STATEMENT. 87 00:06:10,482 --> 00:06:15,724 >> THIS IS A VERY TRAUMATIC SITUATION, OKAY? 88 00:06:15,758 --> 00:06:19,034 >> NICK SAID THE COUPLE ORDERED IN FOOD THE NIGHT BEFORE AND 89 00:06:19,068 --> 00:06:23,689 WATCHED THE MOVIE "AVATAR." THEY WENT UPSTAIRS TO THEIR 90 00:06:23,724 --> 00:06:27,275 BEDROOM AROUND 11:00 P.M. THE NEXT MORNING, NICK GOT UP 91 00:06:27,310 --> 00:06:30,241 AROUND 6:00 A.M. TO GET A DRINK OF WATER FROM THE BATHROOM. 92 00:06:30,275 --> 00:06:35,275 >> I GO BACK TO SLEEP. I FITFULLY SLEEP FOR 10 OR 15 93 00:06:35,310 --> 00:06:37,275 MINUTES, AND I HEARD THE SCREEN DOOR OPEN. 94 00:06:37,310 --> 00:06:40,137 I TRIED TO LET IT GO FOR A LITTLE WHILE. 95 00:06:40,172 --> 00:06:46,206 BUT THEN I STARTED HEARING FIDDLING OUR DOORKNOB. 96 00:06:46,241 --> 00:06:51,517 >> IS HEIDI STILL SLEEPING THEN? >> YEAH, LIKE A ROCK. 97 00:06:51,551 --> 00:06:55,862 >> I KEPT TWO SHELLS FOR IT. SO WHEN I HEARD THINGS THIS 98 00:06:55,896 --> 00:06:59,724 MORNING, I DID LOAD IT. AND THEN I WAKE UP HEIDI. 99 00:06:59,758 --> 00:07:03,310 >> ACCORDING TO NICK, HE TOLD HEIDI SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO 100 00:07:03,344 --> 00:07:07,965 BREAK IN AND TO CALL 911. AS SHE SPOKE WITH THE 101 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,758 DISPATCHER, THEY HEADED DOWNSTAIRS SO THEY COULD GET OUT 102 00:07:10,793 --> 00:07:13,517 OF THE HOUSE. >> WHAT ADDRESS ARE YOU AT? 103 00:07:13,551 --> 00:07:15,655 >> ALL RIGHT. SO ARE YOU GOING FIRST DOWN THE 104 00:07:15,689 --> 00:07:20,206 STAIRS OR IS SHE BEHIND YOU OR IS SHE IN FRONT OF YOU OR WHAT? 105 00:07:20,241 --> 00:07:23,655 >> SHE'S IN FRONT BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO MOVE HER ALONG 106 00:07:23,689 --> 00:07:25,206 QUICKLY. >> NICK SAID AS THEY PASSED BY 107 00:07:25,241 --> 00:07:30,586 THE FRONT DOOR IT BURST OPEN. >> THE GUY THAT WAS THERE, I 108 00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:33,310 THINK HE GRABBED THE BARREL. I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY, BUT 109 00:07:33,344 --> 00:07:38,275 THE GUN WENT OFF. MY FINGER SLIPPED OUT OF THE 110 00:07:38,310 --> 00:07:40,379 TRIGGER. >> NICK TOLD SERGEANT GRAY 111 00:07:40,413 --> 00:07:44,068 DURING THE STRUGGLE THE GUNFIRED, STRIKING HEIDI WHO HE 112 00:07:44,103 --> 00:07:45,551 SAYS WAS IN THE KITCHEN. >> OKAY. 113 00:07:45,586 --> 00:07:49,655 SO THE GUN IS HERE CHEST HIGH. >> YEAH. 114 00:07:49,689 --> 00:07:51,896 >> YOU AND I ARE LIKE THIS? >> YEAH. 115 00:07:51,931 --> 00:07:55,344 >> I KNOW IT HID HEIDI. I HAD NO IDEA. 116 00:07:55,379 --> 00:07:58,206 SHE WAS RUNNING AWAY. IT HIT HER IN THE BACK. 117 00:07:58,241 --> 00:08:00,413 >> IT HID HER IN THE BACK? >> YEAH. 118 00:08:00,448 --> 00:08:05,103 >> I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. I DIDN'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT. 119 00:08:05,137 --> 00:08:07,931 >> IT CAN'T BE TRUE. THAT'S -- THERE IS NO WAY. 120 00:08:07,965 --> 00:08:14,896 >> KATINA AND MARCUS MENTORED HEIDI AT CAL VARY CHURCH. 121 00:08:14,931 --> 00:08:18,172 >> I THINK SHE'S ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN'T NOT LIKE. 122 00:08:18,206 --> 00:08:22,137 EVERYBODY LIKED HEIDI. >> SHE GENUINELY LOVED PEOPLE. 123 00:08:22,172 --> 00:08:26,310 SHE WAS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, ALWAYS FINDING FUN WAYS TO 124 00:08:26,344 --> 00:08:28,896 ENGAGE PEOPLE. AND SHE WAS VERY LOYAL. 125 00:08:28,931 --> 00:08:34,000 >> THE COUPLE MET AT THE CHURCH. AND IN 2005, HEIDI, 20, AND 126 00:08:34,034 --> 00:08:38,448 NICK, 22, GOT MARRIED. >> NICK FIRKUS HAD A VERY WARM 127 00:08:38,482 --> 00:08:42,275 AND ENGAGING PERSONALITY. ALWAYS SMILING. 128 00:08:42,309 --> 00:08:46,448 HE CARRIED HIMSELF WITH CONFIDENCE AND HAD HIGH 129 00:08:46,482 --> 00:08:48,344 CHARACTER, HIGH INTEGRITY IN THE CHURCH. 130 00:08:48,379 --> 00:08:51,000 THAT WAS THE REPUTATION HE BUILT FOR HIMSELF. 131 00:08:51,034 --> 00:08:55,034 >> BUT JUST A FEW HOURS AFTER HEIDI'S DEATH, SERGEANT JIM GRAY 132 00:08:55,068 --> 00:08:58,827 FOUND HIMSELF QUESTIONING NICK FIRKUS' ACCOUNT. 133 00:08:58,862 --> 00:09:02,965 HE COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THE COUPLE WOULD LEAVE THE SAFETY OF 134 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,379 THEIR BEDROOM. >> WHEN YOU GO UPSTAIRS, I HATE 135 00:09:05,413 --> 00:09:10,655 TO TELL YOU THIS, BUT MY HOUSE, I'M JUSTIFIED IN KILLING YOU, IF 136 00:09:10,689 --> 00:09:13,896 YOU COME BREAKING IN MY HOUSE. >> NICK EXPLAINED THE COUPLE HAD 137 00:09:13,931 --> 00:09:17,206 A PLAN IN PLACE. IF THEY WERE EVER IN A 138 00:09:17,241 --> 00:09:20,344 PRECARIOUS SITUATION, THEY WOULD AVOID A CONFRONTATION AND ESCAPE 139 00:09:20,379 --> 00:09:23,034 TO THEIR CAR IN THE GARAGE AND GET AWAY. 140 00:09:23,068 --> 00:09:26,896 >> IF WE CAN SAVE OURSELVES, LET'S DO THAT INSTEAD OF GETTING 141 00:09:26,931 --> 00:09:29,965 INTO A SITUATION LATER. >> HIS STORY DIDN'T MAKE A LOT 142 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,931 OF SENSE TO ME. >> SERGEANT GRAY STARTED PROBING 143 00:09:32,965 --> 00:09:35,344 INTO THEIR MARRIAGE. >> DID YOU GUYS HAVE ANY 144 00:09:35,379 --> 00:09:39,137 PROBLEMS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. >> JUST THE NORMAL STUFF LIKE, 145 00:09:39,172 --> 00:09:48,034 YOU KNOW, STRESSES ABOUT FINANCES AND QUALITY TIME AND 146 00:09:48,068 --> 00:09:52,931 VACATIONS AND ALL THAT STUFF. >> BUT YOU GUYS AREN'T BEHIND IN 147 00:09:52,965 --> 00:09:55,724 THE BILLS OR ANYTHING? >> WE ARE BEHIND ON THE BILLS, 148 00:09:55,758 --> 00:09:58,827 WHICH IS STRESSFUL. IN FACT, WE WERE PLANNING ON 149 00:09:58,862 --> 00:10:01,206 MOVING TOMORROW. >> MOVING WHERE? 150 00:10:01,241 --> 00:10:04,896 >> WELL, WE HADN'T FIGURED THAT OUT YET. 151 00:10:04,931 --> 00:10:09,241 AND THIS IS A HARD PLACE FOR US. WE FORECLOSED ON OUR HOUSE. 152 00:10:09,275 --> 00:10:13,517 >> NICK REVEALED THEY WERE BEHIND ON THEIR MORTGAGE 153 00:10:13,551 --> 00:10:15,172 PAYMENTS. AND JUST 24 HOURS AWAY FROM 154 00:10:15,206 --> 00:10:20,034 BEING EVICTED FROM THEIR HOME. >> WELL, THAT'S KIND OF -- I 155 00:10:20,068 --> 00:10:21,620 MEAN, KIND OF CLOSE NOTICE. >> IT IS. 156 00:10:21,655 --> 00:10:25,482 I THINK THE REASON IS BECAUSE WE'RE BOTH KIND OF DEALING WITH 157 00:10:25,517 --> 00:10:32,034 THE SHAME OF THE WHOLE THING. >> GRAY SAYS HIS SUSPICIONS WERE 158 00:10:32,068 --> 00:10:33,793 RAISED. HE WAS STRUCK BY THE WAY NICK 159 00:10:33,827 --> 00:10:40,344 ASKED ABOUT HEIDI. >> I JUST WANT TO KNOW THE FINAL 160 00:10:40,379 --> 00:10:45,793 ANSWER ON HEIDI. >> SHE DIDN'T MAKE IT. 161 00:10:45,827 --> 00:10:48,000 >> I FIGURED THAT. I MEAN -- 162 00:10:48,034 --> 00:10:52,482 >> IS THAT TYPICALLY HOW SOMEONE ASKED IF THEIR LOVED ONE OR 163 00:10:52,517 --> 00:10:58,034 SPOUSE HAS BEEN KILLED? >> NOT ONLY IS THAT NOT TYPICAL, 164 00:10:58,068 --> 00:11:01,310 BUT THEY WOULDN'T WAIT AN HOUR AND 40 MINUTES INTO THIS 165 00:11:01,344 --> 00:11:03,551 CONVERSATION TO ASK THAT QUESTION. 166 00:11:03,586 --> 00:11:06,275 >> I HAVE WATCHED THE INTERVIEW OBVIOUSLY NUMEROUS TIMES. 167 00:11:06,310 --> 00:11:10,344 AND I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE REACT TO TRAUMA DIFFERENTLY. 168 00:11:10,379 --> 00:11:14,310 BUT THIS WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I HAD SEEN. 169 00:11:14,344 --> 00:11:19,896 ANYBODY THAT'S WATCHED THAT INTERVIEW CANNOT HELP BUT BE 170 00:11:19,931 --> 00:11:22,310 STRUCK BY NICK'S DEMEANOR DOING IT. 171 00:11:22,344 --> 00:11:25,344 >> AND THAT WAS? >> THIS WAS JUST ANOTHER DAY. 172 00:11:25,379 --> 00:11:29,172 THIS WAS JUST SOMETHING HE HAD TO GET THROUGH. 173 00:11:29,206 --> 00:11:30,896 >> SERGEANT GRAY CONFRONTED NICK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. 174 00:11:30,931 --> 00:11:34,655 >> PART OF ME WANTS TO ASK YOU THIS QUESTION. 175 00:11:34,689 --> 00:11:36,103 DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS? 176 00:11:36,137 --> 00:11:38,034 >> NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT. >> OKAY. 177 00:11:38,068 --> 00:11:41,517 >> ABSOLUTELY NOT. >> ALL RIGHT. 178 00:11:41,551 --> 00:11:44,379 WHY IS THERE A PART OF YOU THAT WANTS TO ASK THAT? 179 00:11:44,413 --> 00:11:46,620 >> WELL, NICK, I'M A POLICE OFFICER, OKAY? 180 00:11:46,655 --> 00:11:51,206 I GOT TO ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS, ALL RIGHT? 181 00:11:51,241 --> 00:11:54,862 >> AFTER THE INTERVIEW, NICK LEFT THE POLICE STATION. 182 00:11:54,896 --> 00:12:03,586 THAT DAY, INVESTIGATORS RETURNED TO THE FIRKUS HOME WITH A SEARCH 183 00:12:03,620 --> 00:12:05,379 WARRANT. GRAY SAYS IT DID NOT LOOK LIKE 184 00:12:05,413 --> 00:12:07,586 ANYONE WAS PLANNING TO MOVE OUT THE NEXT DAY. 185 00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:09,586 >> NOTHING WAS PACKAGED UP AT ALL. 186 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:12,655 THE CLOSET WAS STILL FULL OF CLOTHES. 187 00:12:12,689 --> 00:12:14,724 THERE WAS STILL FOOD IN THE REFRIGERATOR. 188 00:12:14,758 --> 00:12:18,172 >> AND THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE. >> WE DIDN'T SEE ANY SIGNS OF 189 00:12:18,206 --> 00:12:20,482 FORCED ENTRY INTO THE HOUSE. BASED OFF OF THE PHYSICAL 190 00:12:20,517 --> 00:12:23,068 EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE, HIS VERSION OF THE INCIDENT COULDN'T 191 00:12:23,103 --> 00:12:29,379 BE PLAUSIBL. >>> WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NICK'S 192 00:12:29,413 --> 00:12:42,413 STORY ABOUT THE 193 00:12:42,448 --> 00:12:47,793 >>> 48 HOURS AFTER NICK FIRKUS SAID AN INTRUDER SHOT AND KILLED 194 00:12:47,827 --> 00:12:51,000 HIS WIFE HEIDI, POLICE WENT BACK TO THE CRIME SCENE TO CHECK OUT 195 00:12:51,034 --> 00:12:53,517 HIS STORY. >> HE TOLD US THERE WAS A LIFE 196 00:12:53,551 --> 00:12:56,034 AND DEATH STRUGGLE INSIDE THE HOUSE. 197 00:12:56,068 --> 00:12:59,344 >> BUT SERGEANT GRAY SAYS THE EVIDENCE AT THE CRIME SCENE 198 00:12:59,379 --> 00:13:02,517 DIDN'T MATCH NICK'S ACCOUNT. >> THERE WAS A VASE, SOME 199 00:13:02,551 --> 00:13:05,724 RECEIPTS, A BEER BOTTLE, AND NONE OF THAT WAS KNOCKED OVER. 200 00:13:05,758 --> 00:13:10,793 SO THAT KIND OF RAISED SUSPICION TO US THAT IF THERE WAS A 201 00:13:10,827 --> 00:13:13,241 STRUGGLE, WHY WASN'T THIS STUFF KNOCKED OVER? 202 00:13:13,275 --> 00:13:15,896 >> SERGEANT GRAY SAYS HE EXAMINED THE FRONT DOOR FOR 203 00:13:15,931 --> 00:13:20,344 SIGNS OF A BREAK-IN AND DID NOTICE SOME MARKINGS. 204 00:13:20,379 --> 00:13:23,206 >> BUT IT WASN'T ANYTHING NEW THAT WOULD LEAD US TO BELIEVE 205 00:13:23,241 --> 00:13:26,413 THAT THE DOOR HAD BEEN FORCED OPEN THE DAY OF THE MURDER. 206 00:13:26,448 --> 00:13:30,068 >> IN HIS INTERVIEW, NICK SAID HE HEARD SOMEONE FIDDLING WITH 207 00:13:30,103 --> 00:13:34,275 THE FRONT DOOR FROM UPSTAIRS. >> ARE YOU JUST GOING LIKE THIS? 208 00:13:34,310 --> 00:13:36,275 >> YEAH. >> KIND OF LIKE THAT? 209 00:13:36,310 --> 00:13:39,137 >> YEAH. JUST SHAKE THE KNOB AND SHOVING 210 00:13:39,172 --> 00:13:41,103 THE DOOR. >> THAT DAY SERGEANT GRAY AND 211 00:13:41,137 --> 00:13:43,896 HIS COLLEAGUES DID A REENACTMENT. 212 00:13:43,931 --> 00:13:48,344 >> APRIL 27th, 2010. >> TO DETERMINE IF THEY COULD 213 00:13:48,379 --> 00:13:50,172 HEAR THE FRONT DOOR SHAKING FROM THE BEDROOM. 214 00:13:50,206 --> 00:13:54,206 >> I'M IN THE BEDROOM. >> THEY WERE UPSTAIRS IN THE 215 00:13:54,241 --> 00:13:56,241 BEDROOM. >> I'M AT THE FRONT DOOR. 216 00:13:56,275 --> 00:13:58,275 LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU GUYS ARE READY. 217 00:13:58,310 --> 00:14:00,965 I'LL TRY TO KNOCK FOR 15 SECONDS THEN. 218 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:08,310 >> WE ARE READY. >> THEY COULD NOT HEAR ME 219 00:14:08,344 --> 00:14:10,379 FIDDLING WITH THE DOOR. >> ALL RIGHT. 220 00:14:10,413 --> 00:14:14,862 >> SERGEANT GRAY SAYS HE ALSO DOUBTED NICK'S STORY ABOUT THE 221 00:14:14,896 --> 00:14:18,275 COUPLE'S EVICTION. IN A SCHEDULED MOVE THE DAY 222 00:14:18,310 --> 00:14:21,137 AFTER HEIDI WAS SHOT. >> THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE 223 00:14:21,172 --> 00:14:24,482 ANYTHING BOXED UP OR PACKAGED UP TO GO. 224 00:14:24,517 --> 00:14:29,482 THERE WERE A FEW EMPTY BOXES IN THE DINING ROOM AREA. 225 00:14:29,517 --> 00:14:33,034 THERE WAS NOT A GRAND STACK OF BOXES OR ANYTHING FOR THAT 226 00:14:33,068 --> 00:14:35,724 MATTER THAT WOULD LEAD US TO BELIEVE THEY WERE GOING TO PACK 227 00:14:35,758 --> 00:14:40,206 UP ALL IN ONE DAY. >> MEANWHILE, HEIDI'S MENTORS 228 00:14:40,241 --> 00:14:45,586 FROM CALVARY CHURCH WERE LEARNING THE DETAILS ABOUT HER 229 00:14:45,620 --> 00:14:49,172 DEATH AND THE EVICTION. >> IT JUST DIDN'T ADD UP. 230 00:14:49,206 --> 00:14:52,206 JUST SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT WITH THAT STORY. 231 00:14:52,241 --> 00:14:55,068 >> IT SEEMED SO OUT OF THE ORDINARY THAT SHE WOULD BE 232 00:14:55,103 --> 00:14:59,793 MOVING AND NOT HAVE NOTIFIED ANYONE, NOT HAVE ANYTHING 233 00:14:59,827 --> 00:15:03,793 PREPARED FOR THAT BECAUSE SHE PLANNED THINGS OUT, AND SHE 234 00:15:03,827 --> 00:15:08,206 LIKED THINGS TO BE ORDERLY. >> ON APRIL 30th, 2010, FIVE 235 00:15:08,241 --> 00:15:14,379 DAYS AFTER HER PASSING, THEY ATTENDED HEIDI'S FUNERAL. 236 00:15:14,413 --> 00:15:17,793 >> THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE FUNERAL WAS THERE WAS A LOT OF EMOTION. 237 00:15:17,827 --> 00:15:23,758 >> AT THE FUNERAL, MARCUS AND KATINA SAY THEY WERE STRUCK BY 238 00:15:23,793 --> 00:15:27,275 NICK'S DEMEANOR. >> I REMEMBER GOING THROUGH THE 239 00:15:27,310 --> 00:15:29,068 RECEIVING LINE AND SHAKING HIS HAND. 240 00:15:29,103 --> 00:15:34,000 THERE WAS NO GRIEF SHOWING. >> IT JUST FELT LIKE HE LACKED 241 00:15:34,034 --> 00:15:37,137 EMOTION. >> MARCUS SAYS HE WENT AS FAR AS 242 00:15:37,172 --> 00:15:41,068 ASKING SOME OF THE COUPLE'S FRIENDS IF NICK COULD HAVE SHOT 243 00:15:41,103 --> 00:15:42,965 HIS WIFE. >> AND THE ANSWER WAS, NO, THERE 244 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,620 WAS NO WAY THAT NICK KILLED HEIDI. 245 00:15:45,655 --> 00:15:47,724 HE LOVED HER. THERE IS NO WAY HE COULD HAVE 246 00:15:47,758 --> 00:15:51,034 DONE THAT. I WASN'T SO SURE ABOUT THAT. 247 00:15:51,068 --> 00:15:54,103 >> FROM WHAT WE GATHERED DURING OUR INVESTIGATION, NICK AND 248 00:15:54,137 --> 00:15:56,655 HEIDI WERE IN A LOVING RELATIONSHIP. 249 00:15:56,689 --> 00:16:01,000 THERE WAS NO PROBLEMS OR ISSUES THAT ANYBODY SAW. 250 00:16:01,034 --> 00:16:07,551 >> YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION UPON MEETING NICK FIRKUS IS NO WAY IN 251 00:16:07,586 --> 00:16:09,689 THE WORLD COULD HE HAVE COMMITTED A VIOLENT ACT. 252 00:16:09,724 --> 00:16:18,000 >> THE DAY AFTER THE SHOOTING, NICK'S FAMILY HIRED ATTORNEY JOE 253 00:16:18,034 --> 00:16:20,965 FRIEDBERG WHO ADVISED NICK TO STOP TALKING TO THE POLICE. 254 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:25,206 >> IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO REALIZE THAT HE WAS BEING LOOKED 255 00:16:25,241 --> 00:16:28,000 AT AS A SUSPECT. >> WHEN INVESTIGATORS ASKED NICK 256 00:16:28,034 --> 00:16:33,965 TO SIT DOWN WITH THEIR ARTIST TO DRAW A SKETCH OF THE INTRUDER, 257 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,344 FRIEDBERG ADVISED HIM NOT TO. >> THEY WERE GOING TO USE IT AS 258 00:16:37,379 --> 00:16:38,862 AN OPPORTUNITY TO FURTHER INTERVIEW HIM. 259 00:16:38,896 --> 00:16:44,310 >> INSTEAD, NICK AND HIS ATTORNEY HIRED THEIR OWN SKETCH 260 00:16:44,344 --> 00:16:46,310 ARTIST. >> IT WAS QUITE ODD THAT NICK 261 00:16:46,344 --> 00:16:48,931 WOULD WORK WITH A PRIVATE SKETCH ARTIST. 262 00:16:48,965 --> 00:16:52,482 >> AND BROUGHT THAT DRAWING TO POLICE. 263 00:16:52,517 --> 00:16:56,000 >> AND AT THAT POINT, WE WERE BASICALLY TOLD THAT NICK WOULD 264 00:16:56,034 --> 00:17:00,034 NOT BE ANSWERING ANY MORE QUESTIONS WITH REGARDS TO OUR 265 00:17:00,068 --> 00:17:02,827 INVESTIGATION. >> INVESTIGATORS RELEASED NICK'S 266 00:17:02,862 --> 00:17:06,862 SKETCH TO THE PUBLIC, BUT IT DIDN'T GENERATE ANY LEADS. 267 00:17:06,896 --> 00:17:12,034 THEY KEPT WORKING THE CASE. NICK MOVED OUT OF THEIR HOME A 268 00:17:12,068 --> 00:17:19,000 FEW WEEKS AFTER HEIDI'S DEATH. TWO MONTHS LATER, HE BEGAN A 269 00:17:19,034 --> 00:17:23,241 FRIENDSHIP WITH THE SISTER OF ONE OF HEIDI'S BEST FRIENDS, 270 00:17:23,275 --> 00:17:25,068 RACHEL SANCHEZ, WHO WAS GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE. 271 00:17:25,103 --> 00:17:28,827 >> AT THE TIME I THOUGHT BECAUSE WE SHARED SOMETHING TRAUMATIC, 272 00:17:28,862 --> 00:17:32,344 THERE WAS A DEEP CONNECTION THERE BECAUSE I HAD COME OUT OF 273 00:17:32,379 --> 00:17:35,448 SOMETHING TRAUMATIC MYSELF IN A RELATIONSHIP. 274 00:17:35,482 --> 00:17:39,241 I THINK NICK SEEMED TO BE HANDLING THINGS WELL. 275 00:17:39,275 --> 00:17:42,310 IT FELT LIKE HE WAS VERY GROUNDED. 276 00:17:42,344 --> 00:17:44,896 HE WAS WITH HIS FRIENDS A LOT, AND THEY WERE PROCESSING 277 00:17:44,931 --> 00:17:49,172 TOGETHER. SO I THINK JUST HIS -- HIS 278 00:17:49,206 --> 00:17:51,551 STEADINESS WAS AN ATTRACTIVE QUALITY. 279 00:17:51,586 --> 00:17:55,413 >> RACHEL SAYS THE TWO BONDED OVER THEIR FATE. 280 00:17:55,448 --> 00:17:58,275 THEY BEGAN DATING IN THE SPRING OF 2011. 281 00:17:58,310 --> 00:18:03,551 >> AT THE TIME, GOD PLAYED A BIG PART IN MY LIFE, AND I THINK 282 00:18:03,586 --> 00:18:07,413 THAT'S ANOTHER QUALITY THAT I SAW IN HIM, THAT HE LOVED GOD 283 00:18:07,448 --> 00:18:10,172 LIKE I DID. >> ONE YEAR INTO THEIR 284 00:18:10,206 --> 00:18:12,551 RELATIONSHIP, NICK PROPOSED. >> I KNEW IT WAS COMING. 285 00:18:12,586 --> 00:18:17,379 WE HAD LOOKED AT RINGS BEFORE. AND, SO, IT WASN'T REALLY A HUGE 286 00:18:17,413 --> 00:18:19,344 SURPRISE. >> AND A FEW MONTHS LATER, THE 287 00:18:19,379 --> 00:18:21,620 COUPLE MARRIED. THEY STARTED A FAMILY. 288 00:18:21,655 --> 00:18:24,724 >> WE DID HAVE KIDS PRETTY QUICKLY. 289 00:18:24,758 --> 00:18:28,344 >> AND SOON WERE THE PARENTS OF THREE CHILDREN. 290 00:18:28,379 --> 00:18:30,793 >> HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES HIS KIDS SO MUCH. 291 00:18:30,827 --> 00:18:35,241 >> ANDREW AND EMILY ERICKSON ARE FRIENDS SOFT NICK. 292 00:18:35,275 --> 00:18:39,689 THEY SAY FOR A LONG TIME NICK DIDN'T TALK MUCH ABOUT HEIDI'S 293 00:18:39,724 --> 00:18:41,000 MURDER. >> YEAH. 294 00:18:41,034 --> 00:18:43,793 IT JUST DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF ROOM FOR HIS GRIEF 295 00:18:43,827 --> 00:18:46,000 DURING THAT TIME. >> BUT THEY SAY WHEN HE DID TALK 296 00:18:46,034 --> 00:18:48,206 ABOUT IT, HIS STORY WAS ALWAYS THE SAME. 297 00:18:48,241 --> 00:18:52,620 >> WHAT DID HE TELL YOU? >> SAME THING HE'S ALWAYS TOLD 298 00:18:52,655 --> 00:18:57,172 EVERYONE FROM THE FIRST DAY, SAME THING HE'D TELL YOU TODAY, 299 00:18:57,206 --> 00:19:00,586 THAT SOMEONE WAS BREAKING INTO THE HOUSE AND THEY WERE GOING TO 300 00:19:00,620 --> 00:19:05,827 TRY TO GET OUT AND THERE WAS AN ALTERCATION AND TRAGICALLY HEIDI 301 00:19:05,862 --> 00:19:09,689 WAS KILLED. >> INVESTIGATORS STILL DID NOT 302 00:19:09,724 --> 00:19:13,482 BELIEVE THAT STORY. BUT FIVE YEARS AFTER HEIDI'S 303 00:19:13,517 --> 00:19:17,448 HEALTH, WITH LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE CASE, THEY FINALLY GOT A 304 00:19:17,482 --> 00:19:19,000 BREAK. SOMEONE CALLED IN A TIP. 305 00:19:19,034 --> 00:19:22,241 >> THERE WAS SOMEBODY THAT LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE THE SKETCH. 306 00:19:22,275 --> 00:19:24,620 >> AND PUT A NAME TO NICK'S SKETCH. 307 00:19:24,655 --> 00:19:27,586 >> SOMEBODY CALLED AND SAID, I HAVE AN EXPERIENCE WITH THIS 308 00:19:27,620 --> 00:19:42,551 GUY. I THINK I KNOW WHO I 309 00:19:42,551 --> 00:19:43,827 GUY. I THINK I KNOW WHO I 310 00:19:43,862 --> 00:19:48,206 >>> AFTER FIVE YEARS WITHOUT A BREAK IN HEIDI FIRKUS' MURDER 311 00:19:48,241 --> 00:19:51,862 CASE, OUT OF THE BLUE, A TIPSTER CALLED POLICE WITH A NAME. 312 00:19:51,896 --> 00:19:55,724 AFTER SEEING THIS SKETCH OF THE SUSPECT. 313 00:19:55,758 --> 00:20:00,620 BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM, SAYS INVESTIGATOR SIPES. 314 00:20:00,655 --> 00:20:05,586 >> HE WAS ALREADY IN PRISON ON THE DAY OF HEIDI'S DEATH. 315 00:20:05,620 --> 00:20:10,206 >> NICK'S SECOND WIFE, RACHEL, SAYS HER HUSBAND RARELY TALKED 316 00:20:10,241 --> 00:20:14,137 ABOUT THE CASE BEING SOLVED. >> I HAD ASKED HIM, ARE YOU 317 00:20:14,172 --> 00:20:16,793 GOING TO PUT EFFORT INTO SEEING IF YOU COULD FIND THE PERSON 318 00:20:16,827 --> 00:20:19,206 THAT DID THIS. HE DIDN'T REACH OUT TO ANYONE AS 319 00:20:19,241 --> 00:20:22,137 FAR AS I KNOW. I KNOW THAT FROM HIS LAWYERS HE 320 00:20:22,172 --> 00:20:26,344 WAS TOLD TO JUST STAY SILENT. >> POLICE FOUND IT ODD NICK 321 00:20:26,379 --> 00:20:32,620 NEVER CHECKED IN. >> THERE WERE FOUR INVESTIGATORS 322 00:20:32,655 --> 00:20:35,482 ON THIS CASE. HE NEVER CONTACTED ANY ONE OF 323 00:20:35,517 --> 00:20:38,448 US. >> THUZ WITH CASE CONSIDERED A 324 00:20:38,482 --> 00:20:42,344 COLD CASE? >> THE PROSECUTORS JOINED THE 325 00:20:42,379 --> 00:20:47,034 INVESTIGATION IN 2015. >> THERE JUST WAS NOT A LOT OF 326 00:20:47,068 --> 00:20:51,689 NEW INFORMATION COMING IN. >> HEIDI'S FAMILY WOULD CHECK 327 00:20:51,724 --> 00:20:53,241 IN. ON HER BIRTHDAY, IS THERE ANY 328 00:20:53,275 --> 00:20:57,310 NEW DEVELOPMENT? >> AND THERE WOULD BE NEW 329 00:20:57,344 --> 00:21:02,931 DEVELOPMENTS WHEN THE DETECTIVE TOOK OVER HEIDI'S CASE IN 2019. 330 00:21:02,965 --> 00:21:06,275 >> SEEING IT WITH A FRESH SET OF EYES MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. 331 00:21:06,310 --> 00:21:10,413 >> IT WAS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL. >> I THINK SIPES RESTARTED 332 00:21:10,448 --> 00:21:12,241 SOMETHING. >> SHE DUG DEEP, REVIEWING THE 333 00:21:12,275 --> 00:21:17,068 ENTIRE CASE FILE, INCLUDING AN EXAMINATION OF A FINANCIAL TIME 334 00:21:17,103 --> 00:21:19,448 LINE SHE COMPILED WITH THE HELP OF THE FBI. 335 00:21:19,482 --> 00:21:23,275 >> I HAD THE LUXURY OF LOOKING BACK ON ALL OF THESE THINGS 336 00:21:23,310 --> 00:21:28,793 SEVERAL YEARS LATER. >> SHE LEARNED NICK WORKED AT 337 00:21:28,827 --> 00:21:31,448 HIS FAMILY'S CARPET INSTALLATION BUSINESS. 338 00:21:31,482 --> 00:21:34,068 THEY WERE CONTRACTORS FOR HOME DEPOT. 339 00:21:34,103 --> 00:21:38,103 HEIDI WAS A CLERK AT A FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANY IN SAINT PAUL. 340 00:21:38,137 --> 00:21:41,310 THEIR COMBINED INCOME WAS ABOUT $70,000 A YEAR. 341 00:21:41,344 --> 00:21:46,896 >> THEY SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE ON TOP OF ALL THE BILLS BEFORE THEY 342 00:21:46,931 --> 00:21:50,068 BOUGHT THE HOUSE. >> BUT THE HOME PURCHASE IN 2007 343 00:21:50,103 --> 00:21:55,137 STRAINED THE COUPLE'S FINANCES. >> AND THAT HOME WAS JUST TOO 344 00:21:55,172 --> 00:21:58,034 MUCH FOR THEM. >> BY THE TIME HEIDI DIED IN 345 00:21:58,068 --> 00:22:01,965 APRIL OF 2010, THE COUPLE WAS DEEPLY IN DEBT. 346 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,965 >> HE HAD NOT PAID THE MORTGAGE IN 22 MONTHS. 347 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,758 >> IN FACT, THE COUPLE HAD LOST THEIR HOME TO FORECLOSURE AND 348 00:22:10,793 --> 00:22:16,793 WOULD BE FORCED TO MOVE OUT. BUT SIPES DISCOVERED HEIDI 349 00:22:16,827 --> 00:22:20,034 APPARENTLY HAD NO IDEA. AFTER REVIEWING THE COUPLE'S 350 00:22:20,068 --> 00:22:26,068 TEXTS AND E-MAILS, SHE SAW NO EVIDENCE NICK EVER TOLD HEIDI 351 00:22:26,103 --> 00:22:28,275 THEY WERE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE. >> THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION 352 00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:32,068 BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM TO INDICATE SHE HAD ANY IDEA THE 353 00:22:32,103 --> 00:22:37,034 DEPTH OF THEIR FINANCIAL ISSUES. I WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THROUGH 354 00:22:37,068 --> 00:22:39,965 THE FORECLOSURE AND EVICTION ATTORNEYS THAT THERE WAS NO 355 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:44,758 PAPERWORK HEIDI HAD SIGNED, THAT NOBODY EVER TALKED TO HEIDI, 356 00:22:44,793 --> 00:22:47,793 NOBODY MET HEIDI. HEIDI DIDN'T GO TO THE EVICTION 357 00:22:47,827 --> 00:22:51,965 HEARING ON MARCH 8th, 2010. >> NICK AND HEIDI'S FAMILY AND 358 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,965 FRIENDS DIDN'T KNOW THE COUPLE HAD TO RELOCATE. 359 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,034 >> AND IF SHE WAS SERIOUS ABOUT MOVING, SHE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN 360 00:22:59,068 --> 00:23:01,689 THE DAY OFF. >> SO SHE WAS PLANNING TO GO TO 361 00:23:01,724 --> 00:23:02,862 WORK? >> YES. 362 00:23:02,896 --> 00:23:05,896 >> WHY DO YOU THINK HE KEPT HER IN THE DARK SO LONG? 363 00:23:05,931 --> 00:23:09,034 >> I BELIEVE HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE SHAME OF WHAT HE HAD 364 00:23:09,068 --> 00:23:12,620 DONE, HOW IT WOULD LOOK, THAT HE COULDN'T COME CLEAN WITH HER. 365 00:23:12,655 --> 00:23:16,034 YOU KNOW, IT HAD GOTTEN TOO BIG AT THAT POINT. 366 00:23:16,068 --> 00:23:21,068 >> AND WHEN SIPES TALKED TO THE COUPLE'S FRIENDS, SHE LEARNED 367 00:23:21,103 --> 00:23:24,241 WHY NICK WANTED TO HIDE THEIR FINANCIAL SITUATION. 368 00:23:24,275 --> 00:23:29,000 >> SHE WAS DESCRIBED AS HIS FRIENDS AS BEING WISE AND BEING 369 00:23:29,034 --> 00:23:32,172 THE PERSON THEY WOULD GO TO FOR ADVICE. 370 00:23:32,206 --> 00:23:35,965 >> NICK FIRKUS PRESENTED AS SOMEBODY THAT HAD THE BIGGER, 371 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,931 TOUGHER LIFE QUESTIONS FIGURED OUT. 372 00:23:37,965 --> 00:23:41,137 WHAT KIND OF PERSON DO YOU WANT TO BE, WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP 373 00:23:41,172 --> 00:23:44,862 DO YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH GOD. >> WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU AS 374 00:23:44,896 --> 00:23:47,896 YOU'RE INVESTIGATING THE CASE AND YOU SEE SOMEONE IN THAT TYPE 375 00:23:47,931 --> 00:23:51,862 OF PERSONALITY? >> IT JUST BECAME EASIER TO SEE 376 00:23:51,896 --> 00:23:56,172 THAT THIS WAS SOMEONE WHO DID NOT WANT HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY 377 00:23:56,206 --> 00:23:58,931 TO KNOW THE EXTENT TO WHICH HE HAD FAILED. 378 00:23:58,965 --> 00:24:04,000 >> SIPES SAYS SHE DISCOVERED MORE OF NICK'S LIES, WHEN SHE 379 00:24:04,034 --> 00:24:07,172 LEARNED ABOUT A CONVERSATION HEIDI HAD WITH A FRIEND JUST THE 380 00:24:07,206 --> 00:24:11,275 DAY BEFORE SHE DIED. >> HEIDI HAD TALKED TO US ABOUT 381 00:24:11,310 --> 00:24:15,034 HOW NICK HAD TOLD HER THAT THEY WERE VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT. 382 00:24:15,068 --> 00:24:21,620 IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND $180,000 TO $200,000 WORTH OF IDENTITY 383 00:24:21,655 --> 00:24:22,655 THEFT. WASN'T TRUE. 384 00:24:22,689 --> 00:24:24,931 THEY WEREN'T THE VICTIMS. THIS IS ALL UNTRUE. 385 00:24:24,965 --> 00:24:29,482 >> BUT AS SIPES TRIED TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE WAS A CONNECTION 386 00:24:29,517 --> 00:24:33,241 BETWEEN NICK'S LIE AND HEIDI'S DEATH, HE LEARNED NICK AND 387 00:24:33,275 --> 00:24:38,586 RACHED HAD DIVORCED. >> I REMEMBER VERY WELL. 388 00:24:38,620 --> 00:24:42,586 >> AND THAT NICK HAD ALSO KEPT SECRETS FROM HER. 389 00:24:42,620 --> 00:24:46,931 >> DID RACHEL EVER SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WHY THEIR MARRIAGE 390 00:24:46,965 --> 00:24:48,896 DISSOLVED? >> SHE DID. 391 00:24:48,931 --> 00:24:51,517 THERE WERE FINANCIAL ISSUES BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM. 392 00:24:51,551 --> 00:24:53,827 NICK WAS LYING ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS. 393 00:24:53,862 --> 00:24:58,275 >> THIS IS A STORY THAT'S HAPPENED BEFORE, AND IT DIDN'T 394 00:24:58,310 --> 00:25:13,310 END WELL. THAT TERRIFIED ME. 395 00:25:13,310 --> 00:25:19,620 END WELL. THAT TERRIFIED ME. 396 00:25:19,655 --> 00:25:22,827 >>> COULD THERE ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN AN INTRUDER? 397 00:25:22,862 --> 00:25:27,310 >> AFTER SPENDING 19 MONTHS DIGGING DEEP INTO THE FIRKUS 398 00:25:27,344 --> 00:25:32,862 CASE FILE, REVIEWING CRIME SCENE PHOTOS, 911 CALLS -- 399 00:25:32,896 --> 00:25:36,034 >> DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT SHE WAS WEARING? 400 00:25:36,068 --> 00:25:37,689 >> -- AND NICK'S VIDEO INTERVIEW. 401 00:25:37,724 --> 00:25:42,689 >> SHE WAS RUNNING AWAY. >> INVESTIGATOR NICOLE SIPES HAD 402 00:25:42,724 --> 00:25:45,551 COME TO ONE CONCLUSION. >> WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS WHAT 403 00:25:45,586 --> 00:25:49,862 HAPPENED IN THAT FOYER, AND THERE WAS NO THIRD PERSON. 404 00:25:49,896 --> 00:25:51,517 >> YOU NEVER FOUND ANYONE ELSE'S DNA? 405 00:25:51,551 --> 00:25:54,827 >> NO. NO DNA EVIDENCE, NO PHYSICAL 406 00:25:54,862 --> 00:25:58,034 EVIDENCE, NO SIGN OF A STRUGGLE. TO ME, THERE WERE ONLY TWO 407 00:25:58,068 --> 00:26:00,517 PEOPLE IN THAT HOUSE WHEN HEIDI WAS KILLED. 408 00:26:00,551 --> 00:26:04,551 >> AND THEY WERE? >> NICK AND HEIDI. 409 00:26:04,586 --> 00:26:08,896 >> AS PART OF THE NEW INVESTIGATION, SIPES REACHED OUT 410 00:26:08,931 --> 00:26:15,034 TO NICK'S SECOND WIFE, RACHEL. WHAT DID SHE KNOW? 411 00:26:15,068 --> 00:26:19,482 >> IN 2020, SHE CAME TO MY DOOR, AND I WAS LIKE WHY ARE YOU HERE? 412 00:26:19,517 --> 00:26:22,689 SHE WAS LIKE TO TALK ABOUT HEIDI FIRKUS. 413 00:26:22,724 --> 00:26:26,275 >> AT FIRST RACHEL, THEN DIVORCED FROM NICK, SAID SHE WAS 414 00:26:26,310 --> 00:26:28,724 RELUCTANT TO TALK. >> YOU ARE ASKING FOR A LOT WHEN 415 00:26:28,758 --> 00:26:30,689 YOU GET INVOLVED IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS. 416 00:26:30,724 --> 00:26:34,482 AND I DIDN'T WANT TO. BUT I ALSO NEW IT WAS THE RIGHT 417 00:26:34,517 --> 00:26:37,655 THING TO DO AND IT WAS FOR TRUTH. 418 00:26:37,689 --> 00:26:41,827 >> SHE TOLD SIPES NICOLAIED ABOUT THEIR FINANCES DURING 419 00:26:41,862 --> 00:26:44,827 THEIR MARRIAGE. >> I SAW A LETTER SAYING WE 420 00:26:44,862 --> 00:26:47,965 HADN'T PAID OUR PROPERTY TAXES AND WE WERE GOING TO GET EVICTED 421 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,655 IN 2020 IF WE DIDN'T PAY THEM. >> WHEN I SAW THAT I WAS LIKE, 422 00:26:51,689 --> 00:26:54,689 OH, NO. LIKE HE WAS DEFINITELY REPEATING 423 00:26:54,724 --> 00:26:57,827 THE SAME THINGS AS HE DID WITH HEIDI WITH ME. 424 00:26:57,862 --> 00:27:02,965 >> DURING THAT TIME, RACHEL SAYS NICK'S DISHONESTY STARTED TO 425 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,655 MAKE HER QUESTION WHETHER HE HAD ALSO LIED ABOUT HEIDI'S DEATH. 426 00:27:07,689 --> 00:27:11,206 >> AND I SAID, WE GOT TO SIT DOWN AND TALK. 427 00:27:11,241 --> 00:27:15,517 >> RACHEL SECRETLY RECORDED THE CONVERSATION ON HER PHONE. 428 00:27:15,551 --> 00:27:20,551 >> YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CAUSED ME TO JUST DISTRUST YOU COMPLETELY. 429 00:27:20,586 --> 00:27:22,965 >> IF THERE AS GOING TO BE A CONFESSION, I WAS GOING TO MAKE 430 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,724 SURE I COULD PROVE HE SAID IT. >> AND THE FACT THAT YOUR LYING 431 00:27:26,758 --> 00:27:31,655 WAS SO EASY FOR YOU TO DO IN FRONT OF ME OVER AND OVER AND 432 00:27:31,689 --> 00:27:40,586 OVER MAKES ME THINK -- >> THAT I COULD MURDER MY WIFE? 433 00:27:40,620 --> 00:27:48,586 >> THAT I -- THAT YOU COULD LIE ABOUT SOMETHING. 434 00:27:48,620 --> 00:27:51,172 >> THAT I COULD MURDER MY WIFE? >> YES. 435 00:27:51,206 --> 00:27:53,689 >> WHEN I LISTEN, THE SILENCE KILLS ME. 436 00:27:53,724 --> 00:27:58,482 HE'S ANGRY AT ME. HOW DARE I THINK THOSE THINGS? 437 00:27:58,517 --> 00:28:00,413 WHY AREN'T YOU SAYING YOU DIDN'T? 438 00:28:00,448 --> 00:28:04,620 TELL ME I'M NOT RIGHT. >> RACHEL LATER SHARED THE 439 00:28:04,655 --> 00:28:07,241 RECORDINGS WITH INVESTIGATOR SIPES. 440 00:28:07,275 --> 00:28:11,724 >> THE BEHAVIOR HE EXHIBITED IN HIS MARRIAGE WITH RACHEL WAS 441 00:28:11,758 --> 00:28:14,931 ALMOST DUPLICATIVE OF HOW HE HID THINGS FROM HEIDI. 442 00:28:14,965 --> 00:28:19,482 >> WE CANNOT LET THIS MAN BE OUT ON THE STREET ANY LONGER. 443 00:28:19,517 --> 00:28:24,448 >> FOR PROSECUTOR ELIZABETH LAWMAN, THE TIME HAD COME TO 444 00:28:24,482 --> 00:28:26,896 ACT. >> I TOLD SERGEANT SIPES WE'RE 445 00:28:26,931 --> 00:28:28,344 CHARGING HIM. LET'S DO IT. 446 00:28:28,379 --> 00:28:36,344 >> 11 YEARS AFTER HEIDI WAS SHOT TO DEATH, ON MAY 19th, 2021, A 447 00:28:36,379 --> 00:28:40,413 SAINT PAUL POLICE SWAT TEAM ARRESTED NICK FIRKUS AT HIS 448 00:28:40,448 --> 00:28:43,379 HOUSE AND CHARGED HIM WITH SECOND-DEGREE MURDER. 449 00:28:43,413 --> 00:28:47,793 A GRAND JURY ULTIMATELY INDICTED FIRKUS ON FIRST AND 450 00:28:47,827 --> 00:28:51,068 SECOND-DEGREE MURDER CHARGES. >> OUR MINDS WERE ABSOLUTELY 451 00:28:51,103 --> 00:28:54,689 BLOWN. >> HEIDI'S FRIENDS, MARCUS AND 452 00:28:54,724 --> 00:28:56,965 KATINA, WERE RELIEVED. >> IT IS HARD TO SAY. 453 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,068 I DON'T KNOW WHAT EMOTION YOU EVEN PUT TO IT. 454 00:28:59,103 --> 00:29:01,344 IT IS HARD TO SAY EXCITED. >> YEAH. 455 00:29:01,379 --> 00:29:03,379 I FELT GRATEFUL. >> WE DON'T UNDERSTAND. 456 00:29:03,413 --> 00:29:06,034 >> NICK'S FRIENDS EMILY AND ANDREW. 457 00:29:06,068 --> 00:29:08,517 >> YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT A GOOD MAN WITH NO HISTORY OF 458 00:29:08,551 --> 00:29:12,896 VIOLENCE KILLED THE WOMAN THAT HE LOVED MORE THAN ANYTHING IN 459 00:29:12,931 --> 00:29:15,068 LIFE FOR NO REASON. THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE. 460 00:29:15,103 --> 00:29:18,482 WE CAN'T GET THERE. >> AFTER REMAINING FREE ON BAIL 461 00:29:18,517 --> 00:29:25,965 FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS, ON JANUARY 27th, 2023, NICK FIRKUS WENT ON 462 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,344 TRIAL. PROSECUTORS WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED 463 00:29:28,379 --> 00:29:34,000 TO CALL NICK'S SECOND WIFE RACHEL TO TESTIFY OR USE HER 464 00:29:34,034 --> 00:29:36,827 TAPED CONVERSATION WITH NICK. THE JUDGE RULED HER TESTIMONY 465 00:29:36,862 --> 00:29:41,034 AND THE RECORDING HAD NO BEARING ON THE CASE. 466 00:29:41,068 --> 00:29:44,758 >> I WENT IN TO IT WITH AN OPEN MIND. 467 00:29:44,793 --> 00:29:47,137 >> NATALIE MICHAEL SERVED ON THE JURY. 468 00:29:47,172 --> 00:29:50,689 >> DID HE APPEAR LIKE A MAN WHO WOULD KILL HIS WIFE? 469 00:29:50,724 --> 00:29:54,413 >> NO, HE DID NOT. >> A LOT THROUGH THE TRIAL HE 470 00:29:54,448 --> 00:29:57,068 WAS PUTTING HIS HEAD DOWN. WHEN THEY SHOWED THE PHOTOS OF 471 00:29:57,103 --> 00:30:01,724 THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, HE SEEMED LIKE HE REALLY 472 00:30:01,758 --> 00:30:07,103 WAS IN LOVE WITH HER. >> I THINK NICK IS SOMEONE THAT 473 00:30:07,137 --> 00:30:12,000 LIVED TWO LIVES. >> THEY TOLD THE JURORS NICK 474 00:30:12,034 --> 00:30:15,896 FIRKUS STAGED A BURGLARY BECAUSE HE WAS DESPERATE AND ASHAMED. 475 00:30:15,931 --> 00:30:19,965 HIS SECRETS WERE ABOUT TO BE REVEALED TO HEIDI AND EVERYONE 476 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,000 ELSE. >> ALL OF HIS CARDS OF LIES ARE 477 00:30:22,034 --> 00:30:25,310 ABOUT TO CRUMBLE. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AS A 478 00:30:25,344 --> 00:30:31,034 COMPLETE FAILURE, A LIAR TO HIS FRIENDS AND COMMUNITY. 479 00:30:31,068 --> 00:30:35,793 AND, INSTEAD, HE'S A VICTIM. HE WALKS AWAY FROM THIS 480 00:30:35,827 --> 00:30:39,000 SUPPORTED BY HIS FRIENDS, SUPPORTED BY HIS FAMILY. 481 00:30:39,034 --> 00:30:46,586 >> NICK HAD NO REASON. >> NICK'S LAWYERS JOE FRIEDBERG 482 00:30:46,620 --> 00:30:50,034 AND ROBERT RICHMOND SAY THAT MAKES NO SENSE. 483 00:30:50,068 --> 00:30:54,482 >> THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT MURDERING THE WOMAN EVERYONE 484 00:30:54,517 --> 00:30:57,379 AGREED HE LOVED THAT WOULD HELP HIS SITUATION. 485 00:30:57,413 --> 00:31:00,482 >> AND THEY SAY THE STATE'S CONTENTION THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW 486 00:31:00,517 --> 00:31:03,551 ABOUT THE COUPLE'S FINANCES SIMPLY WAS NOT TRUE. 487 00:31:03,586 --> 00:31:08,413 >> NICK SAID SHE WAS IN ON ALL OF THE MAJOR DECISIONS. 488 00:31:08,448 --> 00:31:14,000 HE WOULD SAY TO US THAT THEY'RE MAKING HEIDI OUT TO BE AN 489 00:31:14,034 --> 00:31:16,379 IMBECILE. >> AT FIRST I WAS WONDERING HOW 490 00:31:16,413 --> 00:31:19,758 SHE COULDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE FINANCES OR SOME OF THE 491 00:31:19,793 --> 00:31:21,241 FORECLOSURES, SOME OF THE THINGS HAPPENING. 492 00:31:21,275 --> 00:31:25,517 >> BUT NATALIE MICHAEL SAYS THE PROSECUTION'S CASE DID NOT HINGE 493 00:31:25,551 --> 00:31:29,034 ON MOTIVE. >> THE PROSECUTION SAID IT 494 00:31:29,068 --> 00:31:32,827 REALLY IS WAS THERE AN INTRUDER IN THE HOUSE OR WAS THERE NOT AN 495 00:31:32,862 --> 00:31:34,689 INTRUDER? >> IT WAS OUR POSITION THAT 496 00:31:34,724 --> 00:31:38,517 THERE HAD BEEN AN INTRUDER EXACTLY THE WAY NICK DESCRIBED 497 00:31:38,551 --> 00:31:43,793 TO THE POLICE ON THE 911 CALL. >> SOMEBODY JUST BROKE IN THE 498 00:31:43,827 --> 00:31:46,827 HOUSE AND SHOT ME AND MY WIFE. >> AT THE SCENE, THE INFORMATION 499 00:31:46,862 --> 00:31:50,137 THAT NICK GAVE AT THE SCENE IS THAT THIS INTRUDER CAME INTO THE 500 00:31:50,172 --> 00:31:51,689 HOUSE. >> AT THE HOSPITAL. 501 00:31:51,724 --> 00:31:55,793 >> HE JUST CAME IN. >> AND TO SERGEANT GRAY. 502 00:31:55,827 --> 00:31:59,413 >> GUY THAT WAS THERE, I THINK HE -- HE GRABBED THE BARREL. 503 00:31:59,448 --> 00:32:03,862 >> NICK'S LAWYERS SAY POLICE DIDN'T FIND THE INTRUDER'S 504 00:32:03,896 --> 00:32:10,965 FINGERPRINTS OR DNA AT THE SCENE BECAUSE, AS NICK TOLD IN 505 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,586 INVEST INVESTIGATORS, THE INTRUDER WAS 506 00:32:13,620 --> 00:32:15,896 WEARING GLOVES. >> GLOVES. 507 00:32:15,931 --> 00:32:21,862 >> SHEHE WAS WEARING GLOVES. >> YOU DON'T ALWAYS LEAVE DNA. 508 00:32:21,896 --> 00:32:23,724 ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR HANDS ARE COVERED. 509 00:32:23,758 --> 00:32:28,793 >> BUT PROSECUTORS SAY THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE MISSING FROM THE 510 00:32:28,827 --> 00:32:34,655 SCENE BESIDES FINGERPRINTS. >> THIS IS A PHYSICAL MODEL TO 511 00:32:34,689 --> 00:32:38,724 SCALE CREATED BY THE FBI. >> I FELT THAT IT WAS VERY 512 00:32:38,758 --> 00:32:42,896 IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO RECREATE HOW SMALL THAT ENTRYWAY 513 00:32:42,931 --> 00:32:45,827 IS. >> LET'S SAY THE INTRUDER GETS 514 00:32:45,862 --> 00:32:47,137 IN. THEY HAVE THE STRUGGLE. 515 00:32:47,172 --> 00:32:50,586 >> AND THEY HAVE THIS LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE RIGHT IN THIS 516 00:32:50,620 --> 00:32:53,551 AREA WITH NOTHING DISTURBED. >> ON THE TABLE. 517 00:32:53,586 --> 00:32:57,241 >> EXACTLY. >> AND THEN HEIDI GETS SHOT 518 00:32:57,275 --> 00:33:00,034 SQUARE IN THE BACK IN A VERY CLEAR SHOT. 519 00:33:00,068 --> 00:33:04,620 >> THIS ANIMATION CREATED BY THE FBI SHOWS THAT THE BULLET THAT 520 00:33:04,655 --> 00:33:08,655 KILLED HEIDI WAS MOST LIKELY SHOT FROM SHOULDER LEVEL. 521 00:33:08,689 --> 00:33:13,034 >> THE HEIGHT AT WHICH HEIDI IS SHOT FITS EXACTLY ON NICK'S 522 00:33:13,068 --> 00:33:18,034 SHOULDER TO AIM AND TO FIRE. >> NICK'S ATTORNEYS SAY THERE 523 00:33:18,068 --> 00:33:21,724 WAS DIRECT EVIDENCE THAT SHOWED THERE WAS AN INTRUDER. 524 00:33:21,758 --> 00:33:26,896 >> IN FACT, THERE WERE TOOL MARKS IN THE DOOR WHICH WOULD BE 525 00:33:26,931 --> 00:33:32,241 CONSISTENT WITH SOMEONE WEDGING A SCREWDRIVER BETWEEN THE FRAME 526 00:33:32,275 --> 00:33:39,793 AND THE DOOR. >> ATTORNEY JOE FRIEDBERG SAYS 527 00:33:39,827 --> 00:33:42,655 FIRKUS' NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR TESTIFIED HE HEARD A VOICE. 528 00:33:42,689 --> 00:33:44,655 >> YOU SHOT HER. YOU SHOT ME. 529 00:33:44,689 --> 00:33:47,344 PLEASE, PLEASE, NO, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. 530 00:33:47,379 --> 00:33:51,517 >> THAT MEANS THERE MUST HAVE BEEN ANOTHER PERSON IN THAT 531 00:33:51,551 --> 00:33:53,965 HOUSE. NICK WAS TALKING TO A THIRD 532 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:58,241 PERSON WHEN HE SAID THAT. >> BUT PROSECUTORS SAY BRANDON 533 00:33:58,275 --> 00:34:02,931 MAY HAVE MISHEARD NICK WHILE HE WAS ON THE PHONE WITH THE 911 534 00:34:02,965 --> 00:34:05,103 DISPATCHER. >> SOMEBODY JUST BROKE IN MY 535 00:34:05,137 --> 00:34:10,344 HOUSE AND SHOT ME AND MY WIFE. >> HE IS SCREAMING ABOUT BEING 536 00:34:10,379 --> 00:34:12,516 SHOT. AND HE DID THAT OVER ALMOST 537 00:34:12,551 --> 00:34:14,585 SEVEN MINUTES. >> PLEASE! 538 00:34:14,620 --> 00:34:19,344 >> STAY ON THE PHONE WITH ME, OKAY? 539 00:34:19,379 --> 00:34:22,379 >> NICK FIRKUS DID NOT TAKE THE STAND. 540 00:34:22,413 --> 00:34:26,516 AFTER AN 11-DAY TRIAL, THE CASE WENT TO THE JURY. 541 00:34:26,551 --> 00:34:31,620 >> IF THERE IS ANYTHING IN THIS CASE, THERE IS REASONABLE DOUBT. 542 00:34:31,655 --> 00:34:46,137 >> YEAH. >>> SEE MORE EVIDENCE 543 00:34:46,172 --> 00:34:54,585 >>> IT WAS A HARD FOUGHT 544 00:34:54,620 --> 00:34:58,896 LITIGATED TRIAL. >> AS THE STATE AND NICK FIRKUS' 545 00:34:58,931 --> 00:35:02,034 DEFENSE TEAM PRESENTED THEIR CLOSING ARGUMENTS ON FEBRUARY 546 00:35:02,068 --> 00:35:05,620 10th, 2023. >> WE HAD GREAT CIRCUMSTANTIAL 547 00:35:05,655 --> 00:35:08,551 EVIDENCE THAT WHAT NICK SAID HAPPENED DID NOT HAPPEN. 548 00:35:08,586 --> 00:35:14,275 >> ATTORNEYS ON BOTH SIDES WERE HOPE FUL THE JURY WOULD MAKE TH 549 00:35:14,310 --> 00:35:16,448 RIGHT DECISION. >> IT IS NOT ENOUGH IF YOU HAVE 550 00:35:16,482 --> 00:35:19,379 A HUNCH. THERE WAS NO DIRECT EVIDENCE 551 00:35:19,413 --> 00:35:26,448 THAT NICK MURDERED HIS WIFE. >> IN HER CLOSING ARGUMENT, 552 00:35:26,482 --> 00:35:31,862 PROSECUTOR CROCKER SAID FIRKUS SHOT HEIDI WHILE SHE WAS ON THE 553 00:35:31,896 --> 00:35:41,448 PHONE WITH THE 911 OPERATOR. >> SOMEONE IS TRYING WHAT? 554 00:35:41,482 --> 00:35:44,482 >> THAT ENDS WITH A LOUD NOISE AND THE CALL GOES DEAD. 555 00:35:44,517 --> 00:35:46,275 WE BELIEVE THAT THAT'S THE GUNSHOT. 556 00:35:46,310 --> 00:35:51,275 >> ACCORDING TO PHONE RECORDS, 65 SECONDS PASSED FROM THAT 557 00:35:51,310 --> 00:35:55,310 MOMENT UNTIL FIRKUS MADE HIS 911 CALL. 558 00:35:55,344 --> 00:35:57,724 >> PLEASE! PLEASE, SOMEBODY JUST BROKE IN 559 00:35:57,758 --> 00:36:01,137 THE HOUSE. >> CROCKER REENACTED FOR JURORS 560 00:36:01,172 --> 00:36:05,137 WHAT SHE BELIEVED NICK FIRKUS DID BEFORE HE MADE THAT CALL. 561 00:36:05,172 --> 00:36:08,827 >> I WALKED OVER IN THE COURTROOM TO ROUGHLY AS FAR AS 562 00:36:08,862 --> 00:36:11,448 HEIDI WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND, COUCHED DOWN, TURNED HER 563 00:36:11,482 --> 00:36:15,931 OVER TO CHECK FOR A PULSE TO BE SURE THAT HE WAS, IN FACT, 564 00:36:15,965 --> 00:36:22,448 DECEASED, WALKED BACK OVER, PICKED UP THE FIREARM AND 565 00:36:22,482 --> 00:36:25,137 DEMONSTRATED HOW HE COULD SHOOT HIMSELF AND CALL 911. 566 00:36:25,172 --> 00:36:27,000 >> WHERE IS THE GUY THAT SHOT YOU? 567 00:36:27,034 --> 00:36:30,344 >> AT 65 SECONDS, THERE WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME FOR ALL OF THAT 568 00:36:30,379 --> 00:36:33,000 TO HAPPEN. >> TO PROVE THEIR THEORY FIRKUS 569 00:36:33,034 --> 00:36:37,241 SHOT HIMSELF IN THE THIGH, THEY POINT TO MARKS LEFT BY SHOTGUN 570 00:36:37,275 --> 00:36:41,655 PELLETS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FRONT DOOR. 571 00:36:41,689 --> 00:36:48,206 >> WHEN HE SHOT HIMSELF, WE BELIEVE THAT NICK WAS ABOUT 572 00:36:48,241 --> 00:36:51,000 HERE, WHICH IS HOW YOU WOULD BRACE YOURSELF PROBABLY AGAINST 573 00:36:51,034 --> 00:36:53,482 THE DOOR IF YOU WERE DOING IT TO YOURSELF. 574 00:36:53,517 --> 00:36:57,172 >> BUT FIRKUS' ATTORNEYS CHALLENGED THE 65-SECOND TIME 575 00:36:57,206 --> 00:37:00,551 FRAME. ATTORNEY ROBERT RICHMOND SAYS 576 00:37:00,586 --> 00:37:04,896 PHONE RECORDS ALSO SHOW FIRKUS MISDIALED TWO NUMBERS BEFORE 577 00:37:04,931 --> 00:37:08,586 GETTING THROUGH TO 911, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SHOOT HIMSELF. 578 00:37:08,620 --> 00:37:15,586 >> WHAT THEY REENACTED WAS 65 SECONDS, WHICH WAS IGNORING THE 579 00:37:15,620 --> 00:37:22,206 TWO MISSED DIALS, WHICH HAPPENED AT 38 SECONDS, THE FACT THAT WE 580 00:37:22,241 --> 00:37:27,827 CANNOT FIND THE INTRUDER IS NOT EVIDENCE THAT THERE WAS NO 581 00:37:27,862 --> 00:37:30,965 INTRUDER. AND IF ANYTHING, BECAUSE OF THE 582 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,172 NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR, BECAUSE OF THE TOOL MARKS, BECAUSE OF THE 583 00:37:34,206 --> 00:37:38,758 38 SECONDS, WE FEEL THAT THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT THERE WAS 584 00:37:38,793 --> 00:37:41,862 AN INTRUDER. >> THIS ISN'T BLIND BELIEF. 585 00:37:41,896 --> 00:37:45,344 >> NICK'S FRIENDS EMILY AND ANDREW WERE CONVINCED THE 586 00:37:45,379 --> 00:37:48,103 PROSECUTION FAILED TO PROVE FIRKUS WAS THE SHOOTER. 587 00:37:48,137 --> 00:37:52,827 >> WE WERE OPEN TO HEARING INCONSISTENCY OF WHAT NICK SAID. 588 00:37:52,862 --> 00:37:58,413 BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. >> ON FEBRUARY 10th, 2023, THE 589 00:37:58,448 --> 00:38:02,827 JURORS GOT THE CASE. AND IN FIVE HOURS RETURNED WITH 590 00:38:02,862 --> 00:38:06,482 A VERDICT. >> MY LAST TEXT TO NICK WAS, IT 591 00:38:06,517 --> 00:38:10,068 HAD TO BE -- I SAID THERE IS NO WAY THEY GOT TO GUILTY THIS 592 00:38:10,103 --> 00:38:13,034 QUICKLY. WE RUSHED TO THE COURTHOUSE, AND 593 00:38:13,068 --> 00:38:17,206 WE WERE SO WRONG. >> NICK FIRKUS WAS FOUND GUILTY 594 00:38:17,241 --> 00:38:21,965 ON TWO COUNTS OF MURDER. PREMEDITATED AND INTENTIONAL. 595 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:28,034 >> I BELIEVE JUSTICE WAS SERVED. >> MARCUS AND KATINA WERE IN THE 596 00:38:28,068 --> 00:38:29,793 COURTROOM WHEN THE VERDICT WAS READ. 597 00:38:29,827 --> 00:38:33,275 >> JUSTICE MAY HAVE BEEN SLOW, BUT FORTUNATELY THE JURY GOT IT 598 00:38:33,310 --> 00:38:35,793 RIGHT. IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS THE 599 00:38:35,827 --> 00:38:41,034 BEGINNING OF HEALING. IT'S THE BEGINNING OF A NEW 600 00:38:41,068 --> 00:38:42,931 CHAPTER. >> HEIDI'S MOM ACTUALLY SAID 601 00:38:42,965 --> 00:38:46,896 THAT FOR SO MANY YEARS THEY HAD TO LIVE WITH NICK FIRKUS' 602 00:38:46,931 --> 00:38:48,655 NARRATIVE, AND THEY KNEW IT WAS WRONG. 603 00:38:48,689 --> 00:38:50,862 BUT THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER NARRATIVE. 604 00:38:50,896 --> 00:38:55,000 AND TO FINALLY BE ABLE TO HAVE HIM FINALLY HELD ACCOUNTABLE, IT 605 00:38:55,034 --> 00:39:01,379 MEANT A LOT TO US. >> FOR SERGEANT SIPES, THERE IS 606 00:39:01,413 --> 00:39:05,827 STILL THE MYSTERY OF WHAT LED TO THE COUPLE'S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. 607 00:39:05,862 --> 00:39:08,413 >> WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DEFINITIVELY SAY WHAT THE MONEY 608 00:39:08,448 --> 00:39:10,758 WAS SPENT ON. >> DOES THAT FRUSTRATE YOU? 609 00:39:10,793 --> 00:39:13,172 >> GREATLY. I THINK IT WOULD HELP COMPLETE 610 00:39:13,206 --> 00:39:17,724 THE PICTURE FOR SOME PEOPLE. >> ON APRIL 13th, 2023, NICK 611 00:39:17,758 --> 00:39:21,896 FIRKUS WAS BACK IN COURT FOR A SENTENCING HEARING AND TO HEAR 612 00:39:21,931 --> 00:39:25,413 VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS. >> GROWING UP, HEIDI WAS THE 613 00:39:25,448 --> 00:39:27,517 QUINTESSENTIAL LITTLE SISTER TO ME. 614 00:39:27,551 --> 00:39:30,000 >> HEIDI'S BROTHER, PETER ERICKSON. 615 00:39:30,034 --> 00:39:32,724 >> BECAUSE OF THE LIES WE WERE TOLD AS EARLY AS THE DAY AFTER 616 00:39:32,758 --> 00:39:36,034 HER MURDER, IT'S BEEN VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND CLOSURE TO 617 00:39:36,068 --> 00:39:39,517 OUR GRIEF. >> FIRKUS REFUSED TO ADMIT 618 00:39:39,551 --> 00:39:42,586 GUILT. >> I DO MAINTAIN AND WILL 619 00:39:42,620 --> 00:39:47,586 MAINTAIN TO MY DYING BREATH, MY INNOCENCE OF THIS CRIME. 620 00:39:47,620 --> 00:39:52,172 MY BODY IS TO SERVE ANOTHER MAN'S SENTENCE, BUT MY SOUL -- 621 00:39:52,206 --> 00:39:58,034 MY SOUL REMAINS FREE. >> JUDGE CASTRO IMPOSED THE 622 00:39:58,068 --> 00:40:00,793 MAXIMUM SENTENCE. >> IT IS THE SENTENCE OF LAW AND 623 00:40:00,827 --> 00:40:03,448 JUDGMENT OF THIS COURT THAT YOU BE COMMITTED TO THE COMMISSION 624 00:40:03,482 --> 00:40:09,655 OF CORRECTIONS FOR THE REMIAINDR OF YOUR LIFE WITHOUT THE 625 00:40:09,689 --> 00:40:13,482 POSSIBLY OF RELEASE. GOOD LUCK TO YOU, SIR. 626 00:40:13,517 --> 00:40:16,655 GOD SPEED. >> MY KIDS ARE ALWAYS WHAT I 627 00:40:16,689 --> 00:40:21,000 THINK OF FIRST. >> FIRKUS' SECOND WIFE, RACHEL. 628 00:40:21,034 --> 00:40:26,620 >> THEY LOST IN THIS, TOO, BECAUSE ONE DAY THEY HAD A DAD 629 00:40:26,655 --> 00:40:31,137 THEY THOUGHT WAS SOMEBODY, AND THE NEXT DAY HE'S NOT THAT 630 00:40:31,172 --> 00:40:33,655 PERSON ANYMORE. >> SHE OFTEN THINKS ABOUT HEIDI, 631 00:40:33,689 --> 00:40:35,551 TOO. >> I LIKE TO THINK I HAD A 632 00:40:35,586 --> 00:40:38,793 CONNECTION WITH HEIDI. SHE DIDN'T GET TO HAVE THE VOICE 633 00:40:38,827 --> 00:40:42,241 THAT I HAVE NOW. SO I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT MY VOICE 634 00:40:42,275 --> 00:40:44,034 IS SOMETHING SHE WOULD BE PROUD OF. 635 00:40:44,068 --> 00:40:51,551 >> HEIDI WAS A GENUINE, LOVING, SINCERE YOUNG WOMAN WHO WANTED 636 00:40:51,586 --> 00:40:55,137 TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST. SHE WOULDN'T WANT PEOPLE TO 637 00:40:55,172 --> 00:41:00,896 BECOME BITTER OR ANGRY BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE HAD TO EXPERIENCE. 638 00:41:00,931 --> 00:41:06,034 I THINK THAT HEIDI WOULD WANT PEOPLE TO CHOOSE TO LOVE 639 00:41:06,068 --> 00:41:08,413 REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES.