ABC’s ’20/20′ News Program Coming To Bismarck To Revisit Shocking Murder Case

The ABC News program, 20/20 is coming to Bismarck next week, on Monday, December 12th. Producers of the show informed us they are putting together a television program on the Nikki Entzel murder case.

The producers of the show will be stopping in the SuperTalk 1270 studio that morning to discuss the case and film for the television program. Listen to Steve Bakken on "Talk of the Town" at 9am the 12th to hear what they have to say.

The Nikki Entzel Murder Case

The case made national headlines.

All over social media, and across several news outlets, people were talking about this case.

The Murder Of Chad Entzel

It was December 30th, 2019 when Chad Entzel was shot and killed. Two days later, on January 2nd 2020, his body was discovered in a burning home in northeast Bismarck.

Hi wife, 39-year-old Nikki Entzel, was questioned by local authorities for several hours.

As the investigation went on, authorities shifted their suspicion from suicide to murder.

The Investigation

North Dakota's Bureau of Criminal Investigation discovered that Entzel had a romantic relationship, with a Canadian man, 43-year-old, Earl Howard. They were spotted together at a local hotel.

Investigators also found that Nikki Entzel had reached out to insurance agencies one day after Chad Entzel's death. She inquired about widow's benefits, his life insurance policy and a renter's policy worth $31,000, that was only days old at the time.

This, coupled with several inconsistencies in Nikki Entzel's story, led investigators to believe the two had plotted to murder Chad Entzel.

The Accusation

Nikki Entzel was arrested January 7th for arson, and the conspiracy to commit murder of her husband Chad Entzel.

43-year-old Earl Howard turned himself in at the Michigan-Canadian border just days later, on January 9th 2020.

Nikki Entzel maintained her innocence and told investigators she was not responsible for her husband's death; she named Earl Howard as the murderer.

The Outcome

On October 22nd, 2021 Earl Howard took a plea deal, and was listed as a prosecution witness, though he never testified in Nikki Entzel's jury trial.

Howard was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the murder of Chad Entzel.

Nikki Entzel's jury trial took place Tuesday, September 27th through Tuesday, October 4th, 2022. Nikki Entzel was found guilty on three conspiracy murder charges: murder, arson, and evidence tampering.

Air Date

ABC's 20/20 will be conducting several interviews and filming in Bismarck throughout next week. We have no information on when the TV special will be completed, or is due to air.