Husband suspected of killing wife, lying about intruder | Forensic Files

the morning of April 25th 2010 it's 6:30 a.m. Heidi ferus calls 911 someone's trying to break into my
house she tells the state patrol dispatcher that someone is trying to break into her house and she's trying to
give her address 1794 haha while she's on the phone you can hear a loud noise and the phone goes dead well I
don't know where she went there 6 approximately a minute later Nicholas fcus calls 911 says that he and his wife
have both been shot somebody broken okay are you in St Paul sir St Paul fire paramedics took Nick out to
the ambulance and transported him to Region's hospital he had been shot in the leg Heidi was struck in the back as
she was trying to flee towards the kitchen it was a shotgun blast that killed her right away the shotgun was
laying inside front door area there's a little little foyer Nick gave a brief story he heard
somebody fiddling around with the door and that he then armed himself with a shotgun and that Nick and the Intruder
struggled over the shotgun the responding officers uh went up and down the block try to talk to
neighbors I was next door house sitting when the crime happened really all I heard was kind of this agonizing yell
of you shot her you shot me did police ever have any luck tracking down the Intruder that Nick described
no you know I'm looking I didn't see anybody come out of that house Brandon oconor was house sitting next door to
the fasses and taking care of kittens I was woken up by the kittens kind of walking around some noise caught my
attention so stuck my head out the window kind of listen Brandon says he recalls hearing a muffled argument
coming from the fergus's house listening through an open window that's when I ended up hearing what sounded like
gunshots when police first interviewed him Brandon said he also heard a male voice kind of this agonizing yell
of you shot her you shot me uh please please know something along those lines and then then it was done First
Responders rushed to the scene there was nothing they could do for Heidi she was
pronounced dead Nick was rushed to the hospital and treated for a graay gunshot wound to his leg he seemed not to be
sure whether or not Heidi had been killed like I said we'll do our best to find out how how heid do hours later
Nick was transported to the St Paul police department then Nick and I started to
have our conversation in the conference room Sergeant Jim Gray took Nick's statement you know I know this is a very
traumatic situation okay and I'm just going to try and ease into it okay so Nick said the couple ordered in food the
night before and watch the movie Avatar they went upstairs to their bedroom around 11:00 p.m. the next morning Nick
got up around 6:00 a.m. to get a drink of water from the bathroom go back to sleep I just kind of fitfully sleep for
10 or 15 minutes and then I heard the screen door open kind of let it go for a little while but then I started hearing
fing with our door knob and is Heidi still sleeping it yeah okay like a rock Nick said he retrieved his shotgun from
the closet I keep two shells for it just in case things go weird so when I heard
things this morning I did load it and then I wake up Heidi okay according to Nick he told Heidi someone was trying to
break in and to call 911 someone's trying to break into my house they headed downstairs so they
could get out of the house what address are you at all right so you going first down the stairs or is she is she behind
you or is she in front of you or what um she's in front cuz I'm kind of trying to
move on quickly Nick said as they passed by the front door it burst open guy that
was there I think he he grabbed the barrel I don't remember exactly what happened but the gun went off so my
finger slipped onto the trigger Nick told Sergeant gray during the struggle over the weapon the gun
fired striking Heidi who he said was in the kitchen okay so the guns guns here chest High yep you and I are like this
yeah and then the gun goes off mhm I I mean I know it hit Heidi I just I know it did she was running away so it
definitely hit her in the back it hit her in the back yeah Sergeant gray started probing into their marriage you
guys uh have any problems or anything like that just the normal stuff like uh you know stresses about finances and
quality time and vacations and all that stuff yeah but you guys aren't behind in the bills
or anything like we are behind in in the bills um which is a little stressful in fact we
were planning on moving tomorrow um moving where well we hadn't figured that out yet we were and and this is a a
hard it's a hard place for us we were foreclosing on her we foreclosed on our house Nick revealed they were behind on
their mortgage payments and just 24 hours away from being evicted from their home well it's kind of I mean kind of
close notice I it is and I think the reason is cuz we're both kind of dealing with the shape of the whole thing gray
says his suspicions were raised and minutes later he was struck by the way Nick asked about
Heidi well I just want to know the final answer on the final answer on Heidi she didn't make
it I figured that I mean is that typically how someone asks if their loved one or spouse has been killed not
only is that not typical that that's how they'd ask it but they wouldn't wait an
hour and 40 minutes into this conversation to ask that question I've watched the interview obviously numerous
times and I understand people react to trauma differently but this was different than
what I'd seen anybody that's watched that interview cannot help but be struck by Nick's demeanor during
it

Nick Firkus called 911 and said someone broke into his home and shot him and his wife, Heidi. The investigation of Heidi’s death came down to one simple question: was there really an intruder in their home?

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Brief Summary

Nick and Heidi Fergus face a tragic home invasion leading to Heidi's death and Nick's injury, raising questions during the police investigation.

Key points

A Morning of Horror. On April 25th, a couple's morning routine turns into a nightmare as an intruder breaks in.
Tragic Outcome. Heidi is fatally shot during a struggle with an intruder, leaving Nick injured.
Unusual Reactions. Nick's demeanor during the police interview raises eyebrows about his emotional state.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You shot her! You shot me!

A neighbor recalls the agonizing yell during the incident.

2:11WatchDec 2, 2023

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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