PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Kudo's to The Wet Mountain Tribune (Owner/Publisher Jordan Hedberg) on it excellent, in-depth coverage of this case. (The have even enclosed a link to the decision); Wonderful, important. reportage. Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Iris Eytan, Founder of Protect Ethical Prosecutors, commented on the conviction being vacated, “Prosecutors buried the evidence that should have stopped this prosecution before it started, and Deborah Nicholls lost eighteen years while they climbed the ladder to become elected DAs. If they keep fighting to hold her, they aren’t promoting justice — they’re protecting their own actions, and thanks to absolute immunity, they will never be held accountable for what they did.”
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "If Lindsey’s name sounds familiar to readers, it’s because he has made a career in Colorado of withholding evidence as a prosecutor to try and gain an unfair advantage in cases. Lindsey is currently the elected District Attorney in the 11th Judicial District, where, in just a year and a half, his office has racked up 23 discovery violations by withholding evidence from the defense in dozens of cases. As punishment for these repeated violations, Judge Lauren Swan tossed first-degree murder charges and lowered them to second-degree in July for a case against Toni Gurule. Judge Swan had earlier punished Lindsey in December of 2025 for a cover-up attempt to hide the repeated misconduct of Custer County Sergeant Pete Elliott in the Hanme Clark triple murder trial."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "This explanation by Lindsey is unconvincing, as the issue was not a clear and obvious error in failing to discover evidence, but an omission entirely. In addition, Lindsey explained in his opening statements in 2008 that there was scientific evidence showing accelerants were used in the fire, which he knew, or should have known, was not the truth. When asked if he would resign as District Attorney in the 11th Judicial District, Lindsey did not reply. "
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SUB-HEADING: "Breaking: Mother’s conviction vacated 23 years after she was accused of burning her children alive once it was revealed the El Paso District Attorney’s Office hid key evidence."
GIST: "A cold arctic wind had moved into Colorado during the early hours of March 7, 2003, and the temperature hovered at just 19 degrees as Deborah Nicholls drove home wearily at 2:30 a.m. to her house in northeast Colorado Springs.
She had just finished one of her many part-time jobs, where she ran a karaoke business to try and make ends meet for her family of five.
As she pulled down the street towards her house, she was greeted with an overwhelming sight.
Her house was completely on fire, lights flashing as firefighters rushed to contain the blaze, illuminating the neighborhood in an orange light.
Her house was completely on fire, lights flashing as firefighters rushed to contain the blaze, illuminating the neighborhood in an orange light.
In the chaos, Deborah may have spotted her husband in his boxers, EMTs trying to calm and protect the hysterical man who was screaming that he could not see, his arm dangling at an odd angle as it had been broken.
Her mind raced to the candles that she had lit earlier in the evening, a small comfort of warmth during the long winter months.
Her mind raced to the candles that she had lit earlier in the evening, a small comfort of warmth during the long winter months.
Her husband, Tim, must not have put them out, and it started a fire while he and their three children slept while she worked.
As rescue workers battled the fire, someone noticed Deborah, stunned; all she could ask was, “Is the damage at the back as bad as the front of the house?”
As rescue workers battled the fire, someone noticed Deborah, stunned; all she could ask was, “Is the damage at the back as bad as the front of the house?”
The firefighter thought it was odd she would ask such a question, but for Deborah, her entire world was burning before her eyes; a fate so horrible as to be beyond belief for her.
But the tragedy was only beginning on that cold night.
By 2008, Deborah and her husband Tim were both in jail for the rest of their lives.
But the tragedy was only beginning on that cold night.
By 2008, Deborah and her husband Tim were both in jail for the rest of their lives.
Prosecutors in the 4th Judicial District had told the jury and the public that the Nicholls’ had agreed to burn the house down and murder their three children to get insurance money to pay off drug dealers.
Tim Nicholls was convicted on May 1, 2007. Despite not being at the home when the fire started, Deborah was also convicted of murder on November 24, 2008.
A confident Senior Deputy District Attorney named Jeff Lindsey boasted to the Colorado Springs Gazette, “There was just a lot of pieces that came together,” after the verdict. “We argued that everything together fits. You can’t rely on one single piece (of evidence), you have to rely on it all together.” Lindsey had given the opening statement, weaving together the puzzle for the Jury.
A confident Senior Deputy District Attorney named Jeff Lindsey boasted to the Colorado Springs Gazette, “There was just a lot of pieces that came together,” after the verdict. “We argued that everything together fits. You can’t rely on one single piece (of evidence), you have to rely on it all together.” Lindsey had given the opening statement, weaving together the puzzle for the Jury.
Assistant District Attorney Amy (Mullaney) Folsom piled on during closing arguments, “People who commit a cold-blooded act feel nothing for those they have made suffer.”
What was cold-blooded, it turned out 19 years later, was that the District Attorneys in the case had hidden key evidence from the defense and the jury, evidence so exculpatory that on August 1, 2026, District Court Senior Judge R. Michael. Mullins vacated Deborah’s conviction and ordered the process for a new trial to be set.
What Lindsey and Mullaney hid from the defense and, ultimately, the jury was a Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report that showed there was no evidence that accelerants were used to start the fire.
Yet despite this fact, Lindsey confidently told the jury there was scientific evidence that Tim, with Deborah’s knowledge, had dosed his children while they were in their pajamas on the living room couch with a common household cleaner called Goof-Off and, without mercy, lit them and the house on fire.
But as Judge Mullins’s ruling highlights, the CBI expressly stated that there was likely no real evidence Goof-Off was used to start the fire and that there was no evidence of other accelerants in the testing that was submitted during the trial.
But as Judge Mullins’s ruling highlights, the CBI expressly stated that there was likely no real evidence Goof-Off was used to start the fire and that there was no evidence of other accelerants in the testing that was submitted during the trial.
As stated in the ruling, “…determined that the samples tested by CBI in 2003 did not contain an ignitable liquid.” In short, one of Lindsey’s “pieces” was not only wrong, but the CBI report that showed this was hidden from the defense.
If Lindsey’s name sounds familiar to readers, it’s because he has made a career in Colorado of withholding evidence as a prosecutor to try and gain an unfair advantage in cases.
If Lindsey’s name sounds familiar to readers, it’s because he has made a career in Colorado of withholding evidence as a prosecutor to try and gain an unfair advantage in cases.
Lindsey is currently the elected District Attorney in the 11th Judicial District, where, in just a year and a half, his office has racked up 23 discovery violations by withholding evidence from the defense in dozens of cases.
As punishment for these repeated violations, Judge Lauren Swan tossed first-degree murder charges and lowered them to second-degree in July for a case against Toni Gurule.
Judge Swan had earlier punished Lindsey in December of 2025 for a cover-up attempt to hide the repeated misconduct of Custer County Sergeant Pete Elliott in the Hanme Clark triple murder trial.
Vacating a murder conviction due to withheld evidence is extremely rare.
Judge Swan had earlier punished Lindsey in December of 2025 for a cover-up attempt to hide the repeated misconduct of Custer County Sergeant Pete Elliott in the Hanme Clark triple murder trial.
Vacating a murder conviction due to withheld evidence is extremely rare.
Known as a Brady Violation, Judge Mullins wrote in his order on Nicholls, “Under Brady and subsequent cases, suppressed evidence is considered material if there exists a reasonable probability that, had it been disclosed, the outcome of the proceeding would have been different. This probability is present only when nondisclosure undermines confidence in the verdict. Courts assess materiality by evaluating the impact of the undisclosed evidence in the context of the entire trial record. Having established the importance of laboratory results in shaping expert testimony, it is crucial to examine how suppressed evidence would have impacted the credibility of these witnesses. The suppressed evidence would have fundamentally altered the examination and perceived reliability of both prosecution and defense expert witnesses. For example, defense expert John Lentini’s testimony would have been bolstered by corroborating statements from other forensic scientists (CBI’s Griffin and Newman), who agreed that the lab results did not support the presence of ignitable liquids and that reporting xylenes was scientifically inappropriate. Conversely, prosecution expert Tom Netwal’s testimony would have been impeached, exposing confirmation bias and methodological flaws.”
Lindsey and Mullaney’s excuse was that they felt the information from the CBI experts and the opinions given to them were simply work product and did not need to be disclosed.
Lindsey and Mullaney’s excuse was that they felt the information from the CBI experts and the opinions given to them were simply work product and did not need to be disclosed.
Mullins swatted aside this excuse, “Clearly, the suppressed evidence in question is favorable to the Defendant and is exculpatory, and the prosecution suppressed the evidence believing it to be undiscoverable work product. The work product doctrine does not apply because the suppressed evidence is exculpatory pursuant to Brady.”
The Tribune reached out to Lindsey, asking him why such key evidence had seemingly been purposefully withheld. Lindsey responded, “The lead attorney was Amy (Mullaney) Folsom. The elected DA was John Newsome. I was added to the Deb Nicholls case late in the case to take the spot of William Bain. The case is being appealed. As you know from previous cases, the lead attorney is responsible for the discovery.”
This explanation by Lindsey is unconvincing, as the issue was not a clear and obvious error in failing to discover evidence, but an omission entirely.
The Tribune reached out to Lindsey, asking him why such key evidence had seemingly been purposefully withheld. Lindsey responded, “The lead attorney was Amy (Mullaney) Folsom. The elected DA was John Newsome. I was added to the Deb Nicholls case late in the case to take the spot of William Bain. The case is being appealed. As you know from previous cases, the lead attorney is responsible for the discovery.”
This explanation by Lindsey is unconvincing, as the issue was not a clear and obvious error in failing to discover evidence, but an omission entirely.
In addition, Lindsey explained in his opening statements in 2008 that there was scientific evidence showing accelerants were used in the fire, which he knew, or should have known, was not the truth.
When asked if he would resign as District Attorney in the 11th Judicial District, Lindsey did not reply.
Lindsey did state that the ruling by Judge Mullins’s was going to be appealed.
Amy (Mullaney) Folsom is an elected prosecutor now in Laclede County, Missouri.
Iris Eytan, Founder of Protect Ethical Prosecutors, commented on the conviction being vacated, “Prosecutors buried the evidence that should have stopped this prosecution before it started, and Deborah Nicholls lost eighteen years while they climbed the ladder to become elected DAs. If they keep fighting to hold her, they aren’t promoting justice — they’re protecting their own actions, and thanks to absolute immunity, they will never be held accountable for what they did.”
Deborah Nicholls was ordered to be transferred to the El Paso County Jail to await further proceedings. Tim Nicholls is still in prison, but this ruling will likely impact his conviction.
The Tribune will dive deeper into the Nicholls’ case to reexamine this tragedy from 23 years ago, plus look at the work that defense attorney Janene McCabe and the Korey Wise Innocence Project, along with others, undertook to bring this ruling about.
Jordan Hedberg
The ruling can be found by clicking this link
The entire story can be read at:
https://wetmountaintribune.com/2026/08/05/breaking-mothers-conviction-vacated-23-years-after-she-was-accused-of-burning-her-children-alive-once-it-was-revealed-the-el-paso-district-attorneys-office-hid-key-evidence/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
Lindsey did state that the ruling by Judge Mullins’s was going to be appealed.
Amy (Mullaney) Folsom is an elected prosecutor now in Laclede County, Missouri.
Iris Eytan, Founder of Protect Ethical Prosecutors, commented on the conviction being vacated, “Prosecutors buried the evidence that should have stopped this prosecution before it started, and Deborah Nicholls lost eighteen years while they climbed the ladder to become elected DAs. If they keep fighting to hold her, they aren’t promoting justice — they’re protecting their own actions, and thanks to absolute immunity, they will never be held accountable for what they did.”
Deborah Nicholls was ordered to be transferred to the El Paso County Jail to await further proceedings. Tim Nicholls is still in prison, but this ruling will likely impact his conviction.
The Tribune will dive deeper into the Nicholls’ case to reexamine this tragedy from 23 years ago, plus look at the work that defense attorney Janene McCabe and the Korey Wise Innocence Project, along with others, undertook to bring this ruling about.
Jordan Hedberg
The ruling can be found by clicking this link
The entire story can be read at:
https://wetmountaintribune.com/2026/08/05/breaking-mothers-conviction-vacated-23-years-after-she-was-accused-of-burning-her-children-alive-once-it-was-revealed-the-el-paso-district-attorneys-office-hid-key-evidence/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."Lawyer Radha Natarajan: Executive Director: New England Innocence Project; FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true;
