‘I killed my mother’ – Accused Princetown killer fired 44 rounds in less than 30 seconds, police testify

PRINCETOWN — The 19-year-old accused of killing his mother and her longtime partner at their Reynolds Road home last week fired 44 shots from an AK-style rifle in less than 30 seconds, State Police investigators testified during an hours-long hearing Monday night.

Footage from a Ring camera system there captured a hooded man, later identified as Nicholas Fiebka, wearing a mask entering the residence carrying a long rifle early in the evening last Monday, Nov. 21, the investigators testified.

Audio from the camera system captured a flurry of gunshots, and surveillance footage showed the gunman exit the home about 27 seconds later, according to investigators.

After his arrest and during booking at the Schenectady County Jail, Fiebka also responded to a suicide screening question about recent losses allegedly with “I killed my mother,” according to testimony.

Killed were Alesia Wadsworth and her partner William Horwedel, 61. Their bodies were discovered the next afternoon by deputies responding to a call to check on them. Fiebka was Wadsworth’s son.

Investigators testified that the gunman fired 44 shots from an AK-47 rifle that was equipped with a drum magazine that could hold up to 50 rounds.

Fiebka appeared Monday night in front of Judge Michelle VanWoeart in Princetown Town Court for a preliminary hearing in his case, to determine whether he would be held pending grand jury action. He was ordered held.

Fiebka was arrested and charged last Tuesday, hours after the scene’s discovery, with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths

The State Police investigators testified as part of a more than three-and-a-half hour long hearing and described graphic details of the slayings. The slayings happened the evening of Nov. 21 shortly before 5:30 p.m.

A day after the killings, Fiebka was apprehended by officers from the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office, who were staking out his apartment at 40 Union Ave. after he was identified as a suspect in a homicide.

Police followed the 2021 Schalmont High School graduate from his apartment to Lafayette Street, where he parked and began walking towards the entrance of the Schenectady Police Department. He allegedly told officers that he was at the police station to surrender.

Investigators later discovered a weapon that matched the description of the one spotted on the surveillance footage along with hundreds of unspent rounds of ammunition that matched the shell casings found at the crime scene.

Prosecutors provided other evidence as well, including a suicide screening Fiebka completed while being booked at Schenectady County Jail, where he was sent without bail following his arraignment last Wednesday.

Fiebka, according to testimony, when asked if he experienced a loss in the last 6 months said “I killed my mother.”

VanWoeart said that prosecutors presented enough evidence to show that Fiebka likely committed a felony and ordered him to be held at Schenectady County Jail.

A motive for the killings remains unclear.

The murders have rocked the small, tightknit community.

Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil last week and around two dozen people packed the courtroom for Monday’s hearing.

Members of the Wadsworth family, last week, described Wadsworth and Horwedel as a loving couple that were building a great life together. Wadsworth worked as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, while Horwedel owned a construction company and was the father of triplets, two of which went on to be State Troopers stationed with the local Troop G in Princetown.

Family members also described Fiebka as a troubled individual, who in recent years had made numerous threats against the life of his mother, who took out an order of protection earlier this year.

Jesse Horwedel, William Horwedel’s son and a New York State Trooper stationed in Princetown, described jumping into his patrol vehicle and driving to his father’s home on Nov. 22 after learning that a deceased male was discovered at the residence.

Jesse Horwedel described parking at the foot of the driveway and running up the driveway, where he was met by a colleague, who placed him in a patrol car before driving him to his brother’s house.

Before leaving the scene, Jesse Horwedel told troopers about problems between Fiebka and his mother.

“I had concerns that Nick was involved,” he told prosecutors.

District Attorney Robert Carney said the investigation remains ongoing and declined to discuss the case any further.

“I can tell you there are matters that are under investigation,” he said. “At this time, I’m not going to talk about the investigation beyond the scope of the evidence that we presented today.”

Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: [email protected] 

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