Heidi’s family talks 4 years after Heidi was murdered:
Joint press conference regarding State of Minnesota v. Nicholas Firkus case:
Case information and documents:
- Ramsey County Attorney’s Office press release (May 20, 2021)
- Criminal complaint outlining charges (May 17, 2021)
- Press conference regarding charging decision (May 20, 2021)
Nick married Rachel [Heidi’s friend] in 2012. They have 4 children and divorced in 2019. Firkus was arrested 19 May 2021 and charged with second degree murder. He’s had his first court appearance and bail us set at $3m.
St. Paul Police found a woman dead and her husband shot after responding to a burglary report at 6:30 a.m. April 25, 2010 in St. Paul.
Wcco.com
St. Paul Police are investigation a shooting the left a woman dead and her husband injured.
It happened around 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning in the 1700 block of West Minnehaha Avenue in St Paul.
Many who live along West Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul say they find it hard to believe someone in their neighborhood was shot and killed in their own home.
“They were very quiet. They would say hello but basically kept to themselves,” said neighbor Carrie Donovan.
St. Paul Police say they were called to the two-story home after a 911 call was made claiming someone was trying to break into the house.
The call was interrupted.
By the time police were dispatched, a second call came into 911 claiming shots were fired and two people were hit.
Heidi Firkus, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband, 27-year-old Nicholas Firkus, was taken to Regions Hospital where he was treated, released and then questioned by police.
Nicholas Firkus told investigators he and his wife Heidi were upstairs and heard a noise at the door.
He armed himself with a double barrel shotgun and he and his wife went downstairs to check things out.
“He was confronted by a man who was now coming through the front door of the home. A struggle ensued over the shotgun,” said Sgt. Paul Schnell. “The shotgun went off, the wife was shot. He said that the struggle continued at which time he was shot. The suspect then left the home and he went to tend to his wife.”
Police say Nicholas Firkus has a vague description of the man he says broke into his home.
“The home was secured, there was no sign of forced entry,” said Schnell.
Police say two shots were fired but so far their search of the home has not turned up evidence of a struggle.
“We have a report from this man. We have both he and his wife were shot and at this point in time investigators are going to follow the evidence in this case and there is a lot of processing to be done here,” said Schnell.
Nicholas Firkus told investigators the man who committed this crime was about 6-foot to 6-foot, 2 inches tall and weighing 200 to 220 pounds. He was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt but police say Nicholas Firkus could not determine the man’s race.
Investigators did recover the shotgun from the scene and will continue to process the house looking for clues they hope will lead them to a killer.
This is the seventh homicide this year in St. Paul.
Investigators say an autopsy will be performed on Heidi Firkus on Monday. By then processing of the scene should be complete. That’s when investigators say they will speak with Nicholas Firkus again.
St. Paul woman’s death ruled a homicide
Startribune.com [http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/92270894.html]
An autopsy showed that Heidi Marie Firkus, 25, died from a gunshot wound to her back, St. Paul police said Tuesday.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide, said spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell.
Firkus was shot in the kitchen of her home at 1794 W. Minnehaha Av. on Sunday during what her husband described as a struggle with an intruder over a shotgun.
Her husband, Nick, 27, told police that when he confronted the intruder at 6:30 a.m., the weapon fired, killing Heidi. He was wounded in the leg when the gun discharged a second time, he told police.
Schnell said police investigators cleared the scene about 2 p.m. Tuesday after two days of seeking clues at the house.
“There will be a considerable amount of lab processing that will take place,” he said.
No arrests had been made, he said.
Nick Firkus told police he confronted a tall intruder wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt. He was unable to provide details, including the assailant’s race, police said.
No evidence of a break-in was found, police said.
Husband Not Ruled Out In Unsolved St. Paul Murder
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) — One year after a St. Paul woman was shot in her home, police are still looking for her killer. Nick Firkus told police his wife, Heidi Firkus, was shot at home while he was fighting off an intruder. Detectives have not ruled out Nick Firkus as a suspect.
“This is a very complicated case,” said Senior Commander Bill Martinez of the St. Paul Police Department.
For the last year, Martinez has been focused on Heidi Firkus.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t touch this case, we think about Heidi and try to bring some justice to her and closure to her family,” said Martinez.
It was April 25, 2010, when officers arrived to her home on Minnehaha Avenue. She had been shot to death and her husband, Nick Firkus, was shot in the leg.
Nick Firkus told officers he was fighting off an intruder. A composite sketch was made and the public was asked to help.
“Typically we would get people calling saying, ‘I think this looks like this guy. I think it looks like this guy,’ but that has not happened,” said Martinez.
“Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Joe Friedberg, Nick Firkus’ attorney.
Detectives have yet to rule out Nick Firkus as a suspect. They’ve asked him to speak to police a second time. The last time they questioned him was shortly after his wife was killed.
“So there are a lot of questions we have that we’re still working to get answers to,” said Martinez
But Friedberg said he’s told his client not to talk.
“They’re looking to find a few little inconsistencies that they can use to claim that he’s lying and I’m not going to let that happen,” said Friedberg.
Detectives would also like Nick Firkus to answer questions about the couple’s financial problems. A search warrant filed last year shows the couple’s home was about to be foreclosed on April 26.
However, the warrant said nothing in the home had been packed. Heidi Firkus’ family also told investigators she wasn’t aware of the money issues.
Nick Firkus’ attorney said that’s not true.
“These are kids that decided they wanted out. They were underwater on their house and they lived in it rent free as long as they could and were going to move to an apartment,” said Friedberg.
“We aren’t rushing judgment on him,” said Martinez.
In a murder investigation, those closest to the victim are often put under the microscope, but Friedberg believes it’s time for police to start looking elsewhere.
“Everybody said that they had a great marriage. I don’t know what else we could do,” said Friedberg.
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