Suvechha Sarkar
The quiet morning of April 25, 2010, in St. Paul, Minnesota, turned into a tragedy when 25-year-old Heidi Marie Firkus was shot dead inside her home. The initial investigation left authorities considering the possibility of an intruder breaking into her residence, but years later, the case took a shocking turn. ABC’s ’20/20: Stranger In The House’ focuses on the details surrounding her murder and the circumstantial evidence that pointed the investigators to someone closer to Heidi. It also features interviews with her loved ones and the officials who helped serve justice.
Heidi Firkus Met Her Untimely Demise From a Gunshot Wound in Her Home
Heidi Marie Erickson arrived as a ray of sunshine in the lives of John and Linda Erickson on December 14, 1984. Growing up in Ramsey County, Minnesota, she was always surrounded by the love and support of her parents and her beloved brothers, Peter and Joel Erickson. Heidi was also one of the favorite grandchildren of Mendell and Dorothy Erickson and Gene and Mary Rausch. Heidi had always been a woman of faith and was known for her outgoing and caring personality. During her freshman year in high school, she was volunteering with her church when she met Nicholas James Firkus, AKA Nick. Heidi and Nick quickly bonded over their shared faith before their relationship blossomed.
Ultimately, Heidi and Nick tied the knot in 2005 when they were 20 and 22, respectively. In the meantime, she began her career by working multiple entry-level jobs. Eventually, she gained experience, which paved the path for her to join a financial services company, Securian. In 2007, Heidi and Nick bought their own house and settled down in St. Paul, Minnesota. Things appeared to be going well until her life turned upside down on April 25, 2010. Around 6:30 am on that fateful day, Heidi frantically called 911, reporting that someone was trying to break into her home. Unfortunately, shortly after, the dispatcher heard a gunshot, followed by silence from Heidi before the call disconnected.
Reports state that around a minute later, Nick called 911 and claimed that he and Heidi had been shot by the intruder. When authorities and first responders rushed to the scene, Heidi was pronounced dead. They found that Nick had a graze wound to his upper left thigh and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Back at Heidi and Nick’s home, detectives discovered that the receipts, bottle, and vase in the entryway were undisturbed. Moreover, they noticed that there were reportedly no signs of forced entry and no additional DNA and fingerprints were recovered from the home. The autopsy report determined that her cause of death was a single gunshot wound in the back with a double-barreled shotgun.
Contradicting Accounts and Another Foreclosure Connected Nick Firkus to the Murder
At the beginning of the investigation, authorities questioned Nick, who claimed that he had woken up around 6 am on April 25, 2010, and was trying to go back to sleep when he heard the screen door of the ground floor open. According to reports, Nick claimed that he then grabbed his shotgun before he and Heidi made their way downstairs. He continued that they were in the entryway of their house when the intruder barged in through the front door. Police records suggest that Nick claimed that he and the intruder got into a serious struggle over the gun during which it accidentally went off. Nick told the officials that he knew it had hurt Heidi in the back since she was allegedly trying to escape from the garage.
Nick helped a sketch artist create a sketch of the intruder, as per reports. Although the authorities circulated the sketch through the media, it provided no further leads. Records suggest that he also revealed that he and Heidi were set to move out of their home on April 26 because they had received a foreclosure notice after their house was sold at a sheriff’s auction on June 4, 2009. In his statements, Nick claimed that he and Heidi didn’t tell any family and friends about the foreclosure because they were allegedly embarrassed about it. The case eventually stalled, but things changed when investigators found no emails or texts between Nick and Heidi, indicating that she knew about the foreclosure.
Investigative reports indicate that the officials noted none of Nick’s and Heidi’s belongings were packed at their home on April 25, 2010, which contradicted Nick’s statements that Heidi knew about the foreclosure. Furthermore, the items at the entryway of their home were undisturbed, suggesting no struggle. By the spring of 2011, Nick began dating Rachel Sanchez, and they married shortly after. Court records state that another breakthrough arrived in 2019 when detectives discovered from Rachel that she and Nick had gotten a divorce after she discovered that Nick had hidden the foreclosure of their home from her, and reportedly recorded the conversation between them while confronting him. Ultimately, on May 19, 2021, Nick was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Nick Firkus is Serving His Sentence at a Minnesota Prison Facility Today
Following Nick’s arrest, the grand jury upgraded his charges and indicted him on charges of first-degree and second-degree murder. His jury trial commenced in early 2023, during which the prosecution claimed that Nick had lied to the officials about the intruder because he wanted to stage a robbery and kill Heidi to hide his financial blunders. Court records state that they also presented evidence that the detectives had later received a tip about the alleged intruder when an individual identified the man from the sketch Nick had helped draw. The prosecution reportedly pointed out that the individual was originally in custody at the time of Heidi’s murder.
Moreover, the prosecution emphasized that there was no evidence that Heidi knew she and Nick were losing their home. They reportedly highlighted that there were no sounds of struggle on the 911 call. On the other hand, the defense maintained Nick’s innocence and alleged that an unknown intruder committed the crime. They insisted that the gun accidentally discharged during the struggle. Additionally, the defense contended that the case was based on circumstantial evidence and that there was no way Heidi didn’t know about the foreclosure, given all the documents about it lying around the house.
On February 10, 2023, Nick was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree murder. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2023. Following that, Nick filed an appeal, arguing that the case relied on circumstantial evidence, the trial court applied an incorrect legal standard in denying acquittal motions, and the evidence failed to exclude the possibility of an intruder. Ultimately, in February 2026, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld his judgment. As of writing, Nick is incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Rush City in Rush City, Minnesota.
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