Scheming lovers tried to pass murder off as suicide

Nikki Entzel complained the heating wasn't working at home, but really it was all part of a cold-hearted plan

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Whether it was competing in the bowling league or racing cars down at the speedway track, Chad Entzel enjoyed being active. The 42-year-old would light up when he was around people, both on the golf course and while playing darts. That, and his kind nature, made him a perfect coach for the local little league team.

In 2019, Chad had been married for more than three years to Nikki Entzel, then 38, and was helping to raise her two children from a previous relationship. They shared a home in Bismarck, North Dakota, and were experiencing a harsh winter. She had been complaining that the furnace was broken and the cold was making her unwell, so she was staying in a local hotel while it was being looked into.

On the evening of 30 December 2019, Chad went out to compete in a bowling league. His wife’s children were away staying with other family members and he wasn’t working as it was the Christmas holidays, so no one noticed when he went missing.

When Chad failed to turn up for work on 2 January 2020, his colleagues called Entzel to see where he was. She told them she was “too busy” to go and check on her husband. Still concerned, they called the police. Officers went to check Chad’s home and found his vehicle in the driveway. When they knocked, no one replied and they didn’t enter the property.

But later that day, Entzel called the police herself. She reported a possible fire in her home and emergency services rushed to the scene. When they arrived, the house wasn’t ablaze but there was a small fire in the basement by the furnace, which they put out. Then they found Chad dead upstairs. He was naked on the bedroom floor with apparent shotgun wounds. It looked as though someone had attempted to set the room on fire with a propane heater – as well as start the second fire downstairs.