FARGO — ABC will re-broadcast a “20/20” documentary Friday about a North Dakota love triangle killing, the network announced Monday, Dec. 22.
The documentary, titled “The Last Strike,” initially aired in March 2023 and features an exclusive jailhouse interview of Nikki Entzel, who was
convicted in 2023 of murder conspiracy
in connection with her husband’s death. His body was discovered in their burned home near Bismarck on Jan. 2, 2020.
“When mother of two Nikki Entzel reported a house fire at her North Dakota home in January 2020, it appeared to be a senseless tragedy when police found husband Chad Entzel’s badly burned body still inside. As investigators dug deeper, inconsistencies at the crime scene and in Nikki’s story revealed something more sinister at play,” wrote ABC in
of the documentary. “’20/20′ reports on the dangerous love triangle between Nikki, Chad and Earl Howard and how it ended with murder and arson. The two-hour program features shocking security camera footage documenting the events leading up to the crime.”
The documentary also includes police interrogation tapes of Earl Howard, as well as recordings and interviews of investigators, officials, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations special agents and family and friends of Chad Entzel.
The two-hour documentary will re-air on ABC on Friday from 8-10 p.m. and starting Saturday will again be made available for streaming on ABC News digital platforms, Disney+ and Hulu.
Howard
pleaded guilty in October 2021
to arson and three conspiracy charges for murder, arson and tampering with evidence in connection to Chad Entzel’s slaying in 2021. A
plea agreement sent him to prison
for at least 21 years before he’ll be eligible for parole.
Nikki Entzel was sentenced to life in prison in February 2022, after a jury convicted her after two hours of deliberation.
She appealed her conviction, but in October 2023, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled against her.
Emergency workers were called to the Entzel home northeast of Bismarck on Jan. 2, 2020, in response to a fire call. In the home they discovered the body of Chad Entzel in a bedroom.
He had been shot twice with a shotgun, including a fatal wound to the head, and a shotgun was found on the bed, with a spent round in one of its barrels.
Nikki Entzel originally insisted the home had furnace problems. But investigators maintained she and Howard set two fires at the home to destroy evidence in Chad Entzel’s murder.
An initial murder charge against Howard was dropped when it became clear it wasn’t possible to prove who pulled the trigger.
Prosecutors said the two were involved in a love triangle and planned to obtain life insurance payments after Chad Entzel’s death.
Jeremy Fugleberg is editor of The Vault, Forum Communications Co.’s home for Midwest history, mysteries, crime and culture.
