COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO - More than 18 years after Deborah Nicholls was convicted in the deaths of her three children, an El Paso County judge has vacated those convictions, reopening one of southern Colorado's longest-running murder cases. As investigators focused on Deborah and Tim Nicholls, she insisted they were innocent. Prosecutors later argued Deborah and Tim Nicholls intentionally set the fire to collect insurance money and pay off drug debts. During the trial, prosecutors told jurors flammable accelerants had been found inside the home, on the children and on Tim Nicholls' clothing. Gaddie testified during Nicholls' trial and said he still believes the original verdicts should stand.