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Nikki Sue Entzel was convicted of three conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in prison after Chad Entzel was shot and killed in their Bismarck, North Dakota, rental home around December 31, 2019.

Chad Entzel was reported as 42 or 43 years old at the time of his death, with reports differing. Nikki Entzel was 39 when her co-defendant, Earl Howard of Belwood, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced in February 2022, and 41 at her own sentencing in February 2023. Prosecutors described Howard as her lover and said the case involved a love triangle and life insurance scheme.

Prosecutors said Chad Entzel was shot while sleeping. Trial reporting described two gunshot wounds and two separate non-accidental fires in the house. Security-system records showed the garage door remained open for almost two hours on December 31. Prosecutors said Howard bought a torch kit shortly before the killing, while Nikki Entzel bought insurance on the rental home and copied Howard on the paperwork. Text messages showed she misstated her whereabouts, and surveillance video showed Nikki Entzel and Howard moving her belongings out while Chad was bowling.

Nikki Entzel later called 911 to report a fire, and Chad Entzel's body was found inside. Prosecutors also said she searched online for funeral homes and met Howard at a jewelry store to discuss insurance. Investigators used phone, text, electronic security-system and surveillance records to place Nikki Entzel and Howard together around the killing and contradict her account. Prosecutors said the motive was insurance money.

The date and location of Nikki Entzel's recorded police interview were not stated. The interview took place after the fire, when she described herself to detectives as a grieving spouse. No admission by her to the killing was reported. She pleaded not guilty and has not been convicted of murder itself. Every count of conviction is a conspiracy count.

Howard pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. On February 14, 2022, Judge Douglas Bahr sentenced him to 50 years with 25 suspended on the murder conspiracy count, plus suspended terms of 10 years for arson conspiracy and 5 years for evidence tampering conspiracy, leaving 25 years to serve. He must serve at least 85 percent before parole eligibility. Howard did not testify at Nikki Entzel's trial.

After a two-week trial in Burleigh County and about two hours of deliberation, a jury found Nikki Entzel guilty on October 4, 2022, of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. On February 17, 2023, Judge Bahr sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She must serve at least 85 percent, about 36 years, before parole consideration. She appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient because Howard did not testify about any agreement with her. The North Dakota Supreme Court rejected the appeal and upheld her conspiracy-to-commit-murder conviction in a ruling reported on October 2, 2023, finding the evidence fairly warranted a conviction.

The video is a police interview-room recording that runs about 185 minutes. It presents the interview itself and opens with a short narrated introduction naming the people involved.

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Part 2 of 4 of the recording described above.

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Part 3 of 4 of the recording described above.

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Part 4 of 4 of the recording described above.