‘It hurts your heart’: Firefighter relives fire that killed 3 children after Colorado Springs mother’s murder convictions vacated

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - More than 18 years after Deborah Nicholls was convicted in the deaths of her three children, an El Paso County judge has vacated those convictions, reopening one of southern Colorado's longest-running murder cases.

The judge found prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that would have been favorable to Nicholls' defense before her 2008 trial and ordered a new trial, according to court documents. The ruling is a dramatic turn in a case that began with a March 7, 2003, house fire that killed Jay, Sierra and Sophia Nicholls.

Long before she was convicted, Nicholls publicly denied she and her husband had anything to do with the fire.

After the fire, she invited KRDO13 into her home, where she spoke about the children she lost and the accusations that were beginning to surround her family.

"My kids were incredible," Nicholls said. "I have the best babies on the planet."

She called the fire "just a horrible tragedy."

As investigators focused on Deborah and Tim Nicholls, she insisted they were innocent.

"The allegation, or the implication, is that me and my husband, which is something I still can't wrap my brain around," she said.

Prosecutors later argued Deborah and Tim Nicholls intentionally set the fire to collect insurance money and pay off drug debts. During the trial, prosecutors told jurors flammable accelerants had been found inside the home, on the children and on Tim Nicholls' clothing.

In the order vacating Deborah Nicholls' convictions, the judge concluded prosecutors had failed to turn over evidence favorable to the defense, including evidence related to the state's accelerant theory. The judge ruled that those discovery violations denied Nicholls a fair trial.

As the legal fight begins again, KRDO13 Investigates spoke with people who still remember the night the children died.

Retired Colorado Springs firefighter Clark Gaddie was among the first firefighters to arrive.

He said from the moment crews pulled up, the fire was one that normally would have been fought from the outside because of how dangerous it was.

But firefighters knew three children were trapped inside.

"That was never an option because en route to the fire, we were told several times that there were children involved," Gaddie said. "So when we pulled up there, even though we seen that much fire coming out, we knew we were going in."

Gaddie helped carry one of the children from the home. Inside, he said, nearly everything was burning.

"When I went into that front room area, it was wall to floor, ceiling to floor, everything was painted. It looked like it was painted in fire. There was nothing that was not on fire in that room."

The smoke and heat quickly overwhelmed firefighters.

"Couldn't see anything because as soon as we popped that door between the house and the garage and the kitchen, the smoke was so black and so heavy and the heat was so much, it just shoved us right to the ground," he said.

KRDO13 Investigates also spoke with a woman who watched the fire unfold from the neighborhood that night.

She said she has always believed Nicholls was innocent and hopes she is released.

Gaddie testified during Nicholls' trial and said he still believes the original verdicts should stand.

Still, he said, the case isn't what stays with him most.

"It just makes your heart hurt for those kids," Gaddie said. "Those last few moments for those kids were just tough. They knew what was going on. They were out of their beds. They were scared to death."

When asked why the fire continues to weigh on him 23 years later, Gaddie paused before answering.

"You try not to think about it, but unfortunately, every year comes up and we know that. And we think about that March 7 every year. It's been 23 years and we've been thinking about that."

The 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office has appealed the judge's order.

"This office will continue to fight for justice for the three children who lost their lives in 2003," District Attorney Michael J. Allen said in a statement. "We will diligently defend the original verdicts, and we are prepared to retry the case, if deemed necessary by the Court of Appeals."

According to the Korey Wise Innocence Project, a status conference is scheduled for Aug. 20 in El Paso County District Court. The organization said it is seeking Nicholls' release while the appeal moves forward.

Under the appeal, no retrial can move forward unless the Court of Appeals upholds the judge's decision.

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