JURY RULES NICHOLLS DELIBERATELY SET FIRE THAT KILLED HIS KIDS

A jury found Timothy Nicholls guilty of arson and murder Tuesday in the death of his three children in a 2003 fire that tore through the family’s Colorado Springs home.

The verdicts were announced in a hushed 4th Judicial District courtroom, capping weeks of dramatic court hearings in which Nicholls was alternately portrayed as a struggling businessman desperate for an insurance payout, and a loving father devastated by the loss of his children.

The first-degree felony murder convictions mean Nicholls will serve life in prison without possibility of parole. Sentencing is set for May 17.

Jurors deliberated for about 30 hours on the 19 criminal counts, including murder, arson, drug possession, child abuse, animal abuse, conspiracy and theft.

They deadlocked on two charges: conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and premeditated first-degree murder.

The children — Jay, 11, Sophia, 5, and Sierra, 3 — died in the March 7, 2003, fire that destroyed the Village Seven home. Nicholls was injured in the fire, and initially authorities thought the blaze was accidental. Within days, investigators determined it was arson, but it took more than two years to build a case against Nicholls, who was indicted by a grand jury in July 2005.

Arson investigators found traces of an accelerant on the children’s pajamas and a mostly empty can of Goof Off, a highly flammable cleaning solvent, under bushes outside the home.

District Attorney John Newsome said he felt obligated to pursue the case after previous prosecutors decided it couldn’t be won. He said the day after he took office in 2005, a letter arrived on his desk from Sandra Wilson, the children’s maternal grandmother, begging him to look into the “murder of her grandkids.”

After the verdict, Wilson said, “This is the second-saddest day of my life. The first was when I lost those kids. The horror is, I believe it’s true. . . . I’m here for Jay, Sophia and Sierra. My wish is that they now rest in peace.” She thanked the “team of heroes” who brought the case to trial.

Nicholls showed no emotion as the judge read the verdicts. He bowed his head slightly and put his hands behind his back.

The packed courtroom was silent as the first verdict was read — one in which the jury couldn’t reach a decision. There were quiet sobs and some in the courtroom hugged as the second verdict was read — a felony-murder conviction.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” defense attorney Dennis Hartley said moments after hearing his client will spend the rest of his life in prison. “The verdict is the verdict. The jury worked hard on this case. It was a complicated case, and I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”

Hartley argued the fire was accidentally caused by a candle.

He said there were several trial issues ripe for appeal but didn’t elaborate. A public defender would probably be appointed if there is an appeal, Hartley said.

The jury was escorted out of District Judge David Miller’s courtroom about 12:15 p.m. by El Paso County sheriff’s deputies. The seven men and five women did not respond to reporters’ requests for comment as they left.

The trial began March 19, and jurors heard about 13 days of testimony presented by prosecutors, were given hundreds of pieces of evidence and listened to almost three days of the defense’s case. Nicholls took the stand and denied setting the fire or planning to kill his children.

The family’s dog and cat also died in the fire.

The case against Nicholls was largely built on evidence and analyses compiled by arson investigators with the Colorado Springs Fire Department and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Deputy District Attorney Will Bain said Nicholls’ own words doomed him.

“The most damaging evidence was the number of misstatements by Mr. Nicholls,” Bain said. “He told so many versions of what happened. And he showed absolutely no emotion the day after his three kids were buried. . . . The crying the jury saw really was completely fake. He was crying for the jury, not for his kids.”

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty because of the amount of time that had elapsed since the fire and the standard of proof required to prove premeditation, said DA’s spokeswoman Denise Minish.

“It was a tough, cold case, evidenced by the jury being hung on the pre-meditation charges,” Minish said.

No one answered the doorbell Tuesday at the last known address for Nicholls’ wife, Deborah Nicholls, who faces attempted theft and drug charges in connection with the fire.

Deborah Nicholls, who wasn’t home when the fire broke out, refused to testify at her husband’s trial, citing her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

“These kids did not have an opportunity to live their lives and do what my kids are doing now — graduating from college and all,” said American Family Insurance agent Mike Burkett, whose company insured the Nichollses’ home.

Gazette staff writers Bill McKeown, Jennifer Wilson, Bill Vogrin and Brian Newsome contributed to this report.

CONVICTIONS AND CHARGES

A jury of five women and seven men convicted Timothy Nicholls of the following charges:

- Three counts of first-degree murder, felony murder, in the deaths of Jay, Sophia and Sierra. In other words, during the commission of a felony — arson — Nicholls killed his children.

- Three counts of knowing or reckless child abuse resulting in death.

- Three counts of fourth-degree arson that placed a person in danger.

- One count of third-degree arson with the intent to defraud.

- One count of criminal attempt to commit theft.

- One count of possession of cocaine.

- One count of possession of methamphetamine.

- One count of unlawful use of methamphetamine.

- One count of aggravated cruelty to animals in the death of the family dog.

Jurors could not come to a unanimous decision on the following charges:

- Three counts of first-degree murder after deliberation.

- One count of conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors announced Tuesday, after consulting with family, that they will not refile those charges.

Responses are mixed

A smoke-stained house with plywood-covered windows still sits in the center of Undimmed Circle, an otherwise quiet street that typifies suburban life.

For long-time resident Jan Miles, a friend of Timothy and Deborah Nicholls, the empty, damaged house is a reminder of memorable times with her neighbors that took a horrible turn on March 7, 2003. For newer neighbors, the house is just a house, if perhaps an eyesore.

Tuesday, 4107 Undimmed Circle became, at least in the eyes of 12 jurors, a place where a father murdered his three children.

Miles, who considers Deb Nicholls a best friend and has lived on Undimmed Circle for 16 years, was upset by the news of Tuesday’s verdict and thinks Timothy Nicholls was wrongfully convicted. She was in touch with Deb Nicholls on Tuesday but declined to say how she was doing.

“I watched him play with his children,” she said of Timothy Nicholls shortly after the verdict was announced. “These people loved their children.”

She became tearful when recalling memories of the Nichollses’ children playing with her grandchildren. She said they would throw toys over the fence so that her grandchildren would have to come to their house to return them. Miles would have a beer with the Nichollses in their front yard where they would share stories about parenting. The man she knew from those conversations, she said, was no murderer.

“It just makes me sick,” she said about the verdict.

Others believe he got what he deserved.

“You don’t do kids like that,” said Lloyd Haynes, who moved into the home across the street eight months ago. He said it’s hard to think about a loving parent as described by other neighbors committing such a crime, but he believes justice prevailed.

“I’m hoping he gets what he deserves,” said Charlene Starkey, whose house backs up to Undimmed Circle. She knew the Nichollses in passing and became convinced in following the story that he was guilty.

Larry Litke moved to Undimmed Circle in September. He said the story of what happened there will outlive any changes the property undergoes.

“Even after it will be cleaned up, remodeled or whatever, the image of that will resurface,” he said.

Tuesday evening in the rain, Wendy Bach and her 5-yearold daughter paid a visit to the boarded-up home to drop off three white roses and three teddy bears, each a different size. She didn’t live on Undimmed Circle but said she felt compelled to pay respect to the children.

“These kids died too soon. They shouldn’t have died,” she said. “He’s where he belongs.”

What will happen to the house where Timothy and Deborah Nicholls lived with their three children is uncertain. American Family Insurance, which carried the Nichollses’ homeowner’s policy, has determined the fire was arson and has refused to pay insurance claims.

If the Nichollses can’t pay off the mortgage, the bank could take possession and sell it to recover its losses.

Arson key to guilty verdict, juror says

“Tim was his own worst enemy.”

That was the judgment of one of the jurors who found Timothy Nicholls guilty Tuesday of arson and murder.

The juror, who would only grant an interview on the condition he remain anonymous, said “Arson was the key to the whole thing.”

Once jurors agreed prosecutors had proven that Nicholls set the fire, the murder charges fell into place.

“He would have had to have been the unluckiest guy in the world if he didn’t do it,” the juror said. “We didn’t believe him when he was on the stand.”

Jurors were surprised Nicholls testified in his own defense at the end of the fifth week

of the trial.

“He totally botched it,” the man said. “When it was good for him, he knew the answer. When it wasn’t, he couldn’t remember. Tim was dishonest.

“Almost everyone in there (the jury room) felt he was a creep and a bad person.”

Jurors got along and worked well together, he said. They took 30 hours spread over five days to deliberate because of all the testimony, evidence and charges involved. They started with the minor drug charges first, and worked their way up from there.

At one point, all four walls of the jury room were plastered with a timeline, flip charts, witness statements and pictures, he said.

The thing jurors found hardest to believe about Nicholls’ story was his failure to call 911 during the fire, though he passed at least two telephones. There was also no explanation how the garage door got halfway up.

“His story changed over time as different facts came out,” the juror said.

The jury couldn’t find beyond a reasonable doubt Nicholls premeditated a plan to kill the children. Most thought he intended to burn the house down and get the kids out, but the plan somehow went awry that night, he said. And because they couldn’t prove premeditation, they couldn’t convict on the conspiracy charge.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110 or dennis.huspeni@gazette.com

Fire suspicious from the start

Investigators from the Colorado Springs police and fire departments knew the fire at 4107 Undimmed Circle was suspicious almost immediately, they said at a news conference Tuesday.

“The CSPD was very vocal in its belief this was murder,” said 4th Judicial District attorney John Newsome.

The difficult part was proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. Here’s a glimpse at how the investigation unfolded:

- Early on March 7, 2003, a fire raged in the living room of the Nicholls home. When firefighters arrived at 2:07 a.m., Tim Nicholls was in the front yard saying his kids were inside. Jay Nicholls, 11, died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns on 65 percent of his body, the coroner ruled. He was found at the top of the stairs. Sophia, 5, died of brain damage from lack of oxygen from smoke inhalation about 17 hours after the fire. Sierra, 3, who was found curled under a blanket in her bedroom, died 45 minutes after arriving at the hospital.

- Investigators from the Colorado Springs Fire Department spent the next three days on their hands and knees searching through fire debris to determine a cause, or point of origin. “Initially we felt this was a horrible tragedy,” said fire investigator John Shumaker at Tuesday’s news conference. “But after three days at the fire scene, it was obviously an intentionally set fire.”

- On July 17, 2003, Fire Department officials announced the cause of the fire as arson. They named no suspects.

- In January 2005, 4th Judicial District Attorney John Newsome took office. Waiting for him was a letter from Sandra Wilson, the maternal children’s grandmother, asking him to find their murderer.

- Later that year, a grand jury was empaneled and spent “several months” looking at the Nicholls case, Newsome said.

- Colorado Springs police, knowing suspects talk more when a grand jury is in session, got permission to run wiretaps on Tim and Deborah’s cellular phones.

- On July 21, 2005, the grand jury indicted Tim Nicholls on first-degree murder and Deborah Nicholls on theft and drug-possession charges.

- Within days, Tim Nicholls was arrested. In his first days in jail, Nicholls told snitch Hiram Church how he used Goof Off, a highly flammable solvent, to start the fire, how he had the children sit on a couch doused with Goof Off and how he and Deborah were hooked on methamphetamine. Church became a key prosecution witness at trial. “I was very surprised when I got the call one week after Tim was arrested,” said Colorado Springs police detective Rick Gysin of Nicholls’ confession to Church.

- On March 19, after four delays, the murder trial of Tim Nicholls began with jury selection.

- Tuesday, jurors convicted Tim Nicholls of arson and murdering his three children.