A jury Wednesday began its first full day of deliberations in the case of a father charged with killing his children in a fire.
Timothy Nicholls, 36, is charged with first-degree murder, arson, child abuse and other counts in the March 7, 2003, blaze at the northeast Colorado Springs home he shared with his wife, Deborah.
The fire killed the couple’s two children, Sierra, 3, and Sophia, 5, and Deborah’s son Jay, 11.
After investigating for more than three months, a grand jury indicted Nicholls on 18 counts in July 2005. His estranged wife was not charged in the children’s deaths but faces felony theft and witness- intimidation counts.
Prosecutors allege Nicholls set the fire to collect on a $250,000 insurance policy, and they said the family was deeply in debt.
But the defense said the fire was an accident caused by a candle.
Jurors received the case Tuesday morning.
