A Minnesota man found guilty in his wife’s murder 13 years ago was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday.
Nicholas James Firkus was arrested in 2021, more than a decade after he told authorities that an intruder had broken into their St. Paul home.
He claimed he grabbed a shotgun and his wife Heidi Firkus, 25, was shot in the back, and he was shot in the leg in a struggle with the intruder on April 25, 2010.
No evidence suggested there had been a struggle at the scene, including no unidentified DNA on the gun.
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He was convicted of first and second-degree murder in February, which carries a mandatory life sentence, according to FOX 9.
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"Every birthday, every holiday, each and every holiday gathering, we recount our memories of Heidi over and over and over again," Heidi's brother Peter Erickson said in court. "And while there are plenty of good ones, the evil end to her story has always cast a shadow over what would otherwise be bright."
Following his sentencing, Firkus maintained his innocence.
"While I understand the jury’s verdict and the sentence you must give, I do maintain and will maintain until my dying breath my innocence of this crime," he said.
Investigators found that the couple’s home had been foreclosed on nearly a year before the murder, but Heidi didn’t know about it and Nicholas had been trying to delay the eviction.
