{"id":322,"date":"2026-05-13T21:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=322"},"modified":"2026-05-13T21:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:35:21","slug":"prosecutors-withheld-exculpatory-evidence-for-woman-convicted-of-killing-her-3-children-in-house-fire-judge-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=322","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence for woman convicted of killing her 3 children in house fire, judge finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Colorado prosecutors wrongly kept secret evidence that cast doubt on the guilt of a Colorado Springs woman while she was on trial for murdering her three children in a house fire more than 20 years ago, a judge found last month.<\/p>\n

Read more The condition PCOS is now called PMOS. What to know about the name change and what it means for care<\/a><\/p>\n

The revelation of prosecutorial misconduct comes four years in to Deborah Nicholls\u2019 latest push \u2014 backed by the Korey Wise Innocence Project \u2014 to overturn her 2008 convictions for the first-degree murders of her three children, who died when the family\u2019s house caught fire in the middle of the night on March 7, 2003.<\/p>\n

During Nicholls\u2019 jury trial, prosecutors relied heavily on findings from one Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist who found that chemical testing results were consistent with an accelerant being used in the deadly fire. But the district attorneys kept secret a second opinion from another CBI scientist who found that the testing did not show the presence of an accelerant. That second scientist also agreed with a defense expert that some testing had been contaminated, according to an April 28 order from El Paso County District Court Senior Judge Michael Mullins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suppressed exculpatory evidence in this case undermines the core foundation of the prosecution\u2019s case \u2014 whether by neutralizing key witnesses or by demonstrating a lack of reliable laboratory confirmation \u2014 and thus meets the materiality standard,\u201d Mullins wrote. \u201cAccordingly, there exists a reasonable probability that the outcome (of the trial) would have been different had the evidence been disclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors in 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen\u2019s office argued that the second CBI scientist\u2019s opinion \u2014 provided to the prosecution in the form of notes as they prepared for trial \u2014 was work product that did not have to be turned over the the defense under Colorado discovery rules, which govern evidence sharing in criminal cases. Mullins rejected that argument on the grounds that exculpatory information must always be shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly, based on the evidence at trial, the suppressed evidence is exculpatory, and it undermines the prosecution\u2019s material witness and supports the defendant\u2019s expert analysis,\u201d Mullins wrote.<\/p>\n

The judge did not take action on Nicholls\u2019 convictions in the April order but set the case for a hearing on May 27. At that hearing, Mullins could overturn Nicholls\u2019 convictions and order she receive a new trial, or he could continue the case in order to hear the rest of her post-conviction relief claims, which her defense team presented to the court separately from the prosecutorial misconduct claims. A spokeswoman for Allen, Kate Singh, did not return a request for comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Nicholls has long-maintained her innocence in the fire that killed her children, Jay, 11, Sophia, 5, and Sierra, 3. Prosecutors argued during the parents\u2019 separate jury trials that Deborah and Tim Nicholls killed their children in an attempt to collect insurance money to fund their methamphetamine addiction. The parents were accused of spreading a highly flammable cleaning fluid around the house \u2014 and on their children\u2019s pajamas \u2014 and then intentionally setting the home on fire.<\/p>\n

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Tim Nicholls allegedly confessed the murder plot to another prisoner while awaiting trial, and that man then became an informant and a key witness for the prosecution. Deborah Nicholls was not home when the fire started; her husband escaped the blaze with burns and injuries after jumping out a second-story window.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors alleged Deborah Nicholls masterminded the plot while her husband carried it out and set the fire; she has suggested she may have left candles burning unattended in the home. Deborah\u2019s murder convictions were\u00a0upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court\u00a0in 2017.<\/p>\n

The newly discovered second CBI scientist\u2019s notes were tucked in a \u201cstack of papers in a cardboard box in a shelf at CBI\u2019s warehouse,\u201d said Janene McCabe, an attorney for Deborah Nicholls. A CBI analyst tasked with reviewing the case amid Nicholls\u2019 2022 innocence claim pulled the whole file for the review and then disclosed the entire file to the defense for the first time in 2024, McCabe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really questionable as to whether she would have been found guilty and whether they would have proceeded to trial with this evidence,\u201d McCabe said. \u201cThe prosecutor knew that this science they were relying on was contradicted by another expert at the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n

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McCabe said Deborah Nicholls is both relieved and frustrated by the finding of prosecutorial misconduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wheels of justice turn very slowly,\u201d McCabe said. \u201cOn the one hand she is very relieved that finally somebody looked at her case in a different perspective \u2026 on the other hand she is still sitting in (prison). And it has been 18 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Capitol updates: Colorado House kills gun barrels bill, workplace protections bill dies in Senate<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

El Paso County prosecutors kept secret evidence that cast doubt on the guilt of Deborah Nicholls, of Colorado Springs, while she was on trial for murdering her three children in a house fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nProsecutors withheld exculpatory evidence for woman convicted of killing her 3 children in house fire, judge finds - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=322\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence for woman convicted of killing her 3 children in house fire, judge finds - 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