Jury finds Firkus guilty of murdering wife at St. Paul home in 2010
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More than a decade after it happened, jurors have found a man guilty of murdering his wife at their St. Paul home.
Early Friday evening, a Ramsey County jury found Nicholas Firkus guilty of both first-degree and second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his wife, Heidi.
The jury reached the decision less than five hours after receiving the case Friday.
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Firkus was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was read. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 13.
He faces life in prison for first-degree murder.
Nicholas Firkus sits in a Ramsey County courtroom during closing arguments in his murder trial on Feb. 10, 2023. (Sketch by Cedric Hohnstadt Illustration)
Heidi Firkus was shot and killed at her home on the 1700 block of Minnehaha Avenue West at about 6:30 a.m. on April 25, 2010, during what Nicholas Firkus claimed was a home invasion.
During closing arguments Friday morning, prosecutors said nobody had actually broken into the Firkus home, but rather, Nicholas was afraid over being exposed as a fraud.
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“It was not a fictional stranger who broke into home to be afraid of … it was the stranger she married,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Rachel Kraker told jurors.
“Nick Firkus did the unthinkable, he took Heidi’s life and saved his reputation,” Kraker added.
Firkus’ attorney, Robert Richman, told jurors that Heidi knew about their financial problems and several boxes showed that they were planning to move out.
“Nick and Heidi loved each other,” Richman said.
“He was hurrying her out to get out as quickly as possible,” he added.
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