ST PAUL, MINNESOTA: After more than a decade of fruitless investigations and no suspects identified in the cold murder case of Heidi Firkus, all signs began to point toward her own husband, who was the sole other individual present with her on the fateful night in 2010.
This year, a verdict was finally reached in Heidi's homicide case, and her husband, Nick Firkus, received a life sentence for shooting her and then attempting to shift the blame onto an unidentified perpetrator.
NBC's true crime program 'Dateline' will present a special report on this case, exposing the web of falsehoods that surrounded Heidi's murder. The episode, titled '65 Seconds', is scheduled to air on the channel at 9 pm ET on Friday, October 20.
Why did it take 13 years to find Heidi Firkus' killer?
The most significant obstacle in the murder case of Heidi Firkus was the unidentified man whom Nick had claimed to be the perpetrator.
Heidi was killed in the early hours of April 25, 2010, by a gunshot in her back in St Paul, Minnesota.
Nick was the first to report it in a confusing 911 call, claiming that someone tried to break into their house and shot both him and his wife.
He sustained an injury through a gunshot in his thigh.
The major attention of the investigators was directed toward the headhunt of the alleged burglar or even murderer.
However, suspicions were not completely lifted off of Nick as his statement did not align with the crime scene and neighborhood investigation.
It was only in 2019 that a change of detectives and perspective gave the murder case a new direction. And this time, Nick's second ex-wife, Rachel Firkus, was there to add to suspicions against him.
How did Nick Firkus' second marriage lead him to jail?
During the early stages of the murder investigation, it came to light that Heidi and Nick were grappling with financial difficulties.
Following Heidi's tragic death, Nick entered a relationship with Rachel and eventually married her. They subsequently welcomed three children into their family.
While they had spent years together, Rachel only later found out that Nick had been financially irresponsible and had jeopardized the property of their own residence.
"I have children with this person, and the last time he had problems with finances, a lot of things went wrong," Rachel told ABC News.
When the new detective, Sergeant Nichole Sipes, joined the case, she sought after Rachel to collect more information on Nick, and it did not take them long to put connect the dots.
Later, in May 2021, Nick was finally arrested with charges of second-degree murder of Heidi, which was changed to first-degree by the grand jury.
They found him guilty without the possibility of parole in April 2023 despite his non-guilty plea. He received a life sentence in jail, which landed him in Rush City Correctional Facility.
