Husband of Heidi Firkus arrested 11 years after her shooting death in St. Paul home

St. Paul police on Wednesday arrested Nicholas James Firkus on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting death of his wife more than a decade ago.

A SWAT team took Firkus into custody at his home on Red Oak Drive in Mounds View while executing a sealed arrest warrant just after 5 a.m., said St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders.

The arrest comes 11 years after the death of Heidi Marie Firkus, then 25. She was shot in the back in the kitchen of the couple's home on the 1700 block of Minnehaha Avenue. Her death was ruled a homicide.

Firkus, 38, was interviewed at police headquarters after his arrest and was booked into the Ramsey County jail. He has been charged, but details have been sealed and are not expected to be released until Thursday when Firkus is scheduled to make his first court appearance, said Dennis Gerhardstein with the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.

"We're extremely grateful for all those who have worked so hard and long to get the case to this point," Heidi's family said in a statement. "We are hopeful that these charges will finally bring out the truth and result in justice for Heidi. Even though we know we can't have her back, we believe Heidi would want us to have the truth."

Nicholas Firkus' attorney Joe Friedberg said he could not comment on the case because he has not seen the complaint.

The case had puzzled police from the outset. At the time of the incident, Nicholas Firkus told investigators he grabbed a double-barreled shotgun and ran downstairs when he heard a noise about 6:30 a.m. on April 25, 2010. His wife followed him. Nicholas said he was struggling with an intruder when the gun went off. A bullet struck Heidi in the back, killing her. He was wounded in the leg when the gun discharged a second time as the struggle continued, he told police.

Police found no signs of a break-in and at the time found no witnesses who saw a burglar, according to an affidavit filed shortly after Heidi's death. The affidavit also suggested the couple was deeply in debt, about to be evicted from their home, and that Heidi was likely unaware of that.

"They have found no evidence that Heidi was in any way aware of the dire financial straits the couple was in, or the pending eviction/foreclosure scheduled for the following day," the document read. "The house was fully furnished and nothing was packed."

Nicholas and Heidi met at church and later married. Two years after her death, Nicholas remarried. Court records show the marriage dissolved in 2019. Nicholas and his second wife had three children when they divorced, court records show. He most recently worked as director of operations at Crew2, a Minneapolis company offering an array of home-related installation services.

News of Nicholas Firkus' arrest stirred up a range of emotion for those who knew Heidi.

Joe Bigalke played in concerts with Heidi when they were students at Roseville Middle and High schools. He said he has struggled with her death even after they lost contact after graduation.

"I hope for everyone that knew Heidi we can finally have closure on her case and that her love and kindness will live on forever," he said. "I was very saddened by the news of her death 11 years ago. I, too, was like, how could someone so vibrant be lost just like that? I still can't believe she is gone."

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768