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\"This is no sign that there had been any packing done and there was no evidence of any housing arrangements where they were going to stay,\" Ramsey County Assistant County Attorney Elizabeth Lamin said during Thursday's briefing. \"We believe we have sufficient evidence to not only charge Nicholas Firkus, that he planned and murdered Heidi Firkus on April 25, 2010, beyond a reasonable doubt.\"

The warrant further alleges that the shooting couldn't have happened as described by Nicholas Firkus based on the trajectory of the shot.

\"Furthermore, no struggle is heard in Heidi's 911 call, nor does Heidi say anything that suggests that an intruder had successfully gained entry into the house. Yet, one can hear police arrive in the background of Nicholas Firkus' 911 call,\" the warrant stated.

\"PHOTO:
Jean Pieri/Pioneer Press via AP, FILE
PHOTO: In this May 1, 2019, file photo, John Erickson walks by a photo of his daughter, Heidi Firkus, alongside a poem "On the Death of the Beloved," on the living room wall in his Falcon Heights, Minn. home.
>

Nicholas Firkus' defense attorney, Joseph Friedberg, declined to comment on the case when contacted by ABC News.

During Nicholas Firkus' first court appearance Thursday, Friedberg reportedly said it was \"still a completely circumstantial case,\" according to the Pioneer Press.

\"It was a circumstantial case where the state felt they just had insufficient evidence to proceed 11 years ago,\" Friedberg reportedly told the judge, adding that the prosecutors \"don't have anything new\" now.

On Thursday, Nicholas Firkus' bail was set at $3 million, or $1 million on the condition that he surrender his passport and not leave Minnesota.

He is next scheduled to appear virtually at an omnibus hearing on July 1 at 1:30 p.m. He faces a maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted.

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION UPDATE:

An arrest has been made in the murder case of Heidi Firkus, who was shot and killed in her own home around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 25, 2010.

At about 5:05 this morning, Nicholas James Firkus, 38, was taken into custody on a sealed arrest warrant.

— Saint Paul Police Department (@sppdmn) May 19, 2021

In a statement obtained by ABC News Minneapolis affiliate KSTP, the family of Heidi Firkus said they're \"extremely grateful for all those who have worked so hard and long to get the case to this point. And also for everyone who has prayed and stood beside us all these years.\"

\"We are hopeful that these charges will finally bring out the truth and result in justice for Heidi,\" the statement said. \"Even though we know we can't have her back, we believe Heidi would want us to have the truth.\"

Saint Paul Police Department homicide investigator Sgt. Nichole Sipes, who took over the cold case 18 months ago, said she was motivated by the family's loss.

\"I think the fact that we have a victim that there has never been any justice for, and a family that was left behind to wonder what happened and why they have this lost, and that's what spoke to me about this case,\" she said during Thursday's briefing.

Saint Paul Police Department Homicide Unit Commander Bryant Gaden credited Sipes with moving the case forward.

\"She happened to take a look at this case, and some things stuck out to her, she turned over some stones and some pebbles and decided to stay with it,\" Gaden said Thursday. \"So that's why we're here today, because of her tenacity and decision-making and excellent investigative intelligence.\"

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