A 27-year-old woman who fatally shot her husband while he lay on the floor of their apartment has been sentenced to 35 years to life in prison, court officials announced.
The defendant, J. Nichols, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony. Judge Gingerry handed down the sentence in Superior Court, adding a 10-year firearm enhancement to her life term.
The crime took place in November 2020, when Nichols shot her 22-year-old husband, Matteo, three times while he slept on the living room floor with a blanket covering him.
A neighbor reported hearing two shots, then saw Nichols leave the apartment with the couple’s one-year-old child in a stroller. Nichols handed over the child and a note with the child’s name and the paternal grandmother’s contact information before returning inside. Moments later, a third shot rang out. Police arrived to find Nichols on the steps holding a gun, and she was immediately arrested.
Nichols later claimed she acted in self-defense, saying Matteo had threatened her and charged at her. But forensic evidence contradicted her story. Investigators found Matteo’s body lying flat, covered with a blanket, with two gunshot wounds to the head and one to the chest. One wound was a close-contact shot.
Surveillance footage also undermined Nichols’ claim, capturing the first shot, the sound of the weapon jamming, her clearing it, and firing again. The night before the killing, video recorded an argument in which Matteo said he planned to leave her the next day.
The case was delayed for years due to attorney changes and an attempted “Battered Woman Syndrome” defense, though no expert testimony supported it. In August 2025, Nichols accepted a plea deal to avoid trial.
At sentencing, Matteo’s family and friends described him as kind and gentle, rejecting claims of abuse. Prosecutors said the case underscored the critical role of forensic evidence in ensuring justice.
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