Digital Trail Cracks Ambush: How Investigators Solved the Attempted Murder of Nicole "Nicki" Lenway

The shooting

On April 20, 2022, Nicole "Nicki" Lenway, 33, a forensic scientist who worked night shifts for the Minneapolis Police Department, was shot twice — in the arm and the neck — and left for dead in the parking lot of FamilyWise, a parenting center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She had been entering the center to pick up her then‑5‑year‑old son, Callahan, after a supervised visit with his father, Tim Amacher.

Immediate aftermath and lifesaving aid

Surveillance footage captured an armed figure dressed in black running up behind Lenway, firing at point‑blank range, then fleeing in a black Dodge Ram. Right after the attack Lenway made a 911 call, but her injured vocal cords made her words difficult to understand. A passing motorist, Emilie Clancy, witnessed the attack, rushed across the intersection, helped Lenway into her car, applied pressure to a neck wound and stayed with her while paramedics arrived.

Medical condition and scene evidence

Lenway was rushed to the hospital in critical condition with a perforated lung, severe damage to her vocal cords and a bullet lodged between ribs. At the scene investigators recovered three spent shell casings and blood, and they reviewed surveillance footage showing the shooter fleeing in the black pickup — a vehicle that at first had no visible license plate.

Initial suspects and alibis

Inside FamilyWise, officers encountered Tim Amacher, Lenway's ex‑boyfriend and the father of her child, who was finishing a supervised visit. Amacher told investigators he had been inside the center for hours. In his first account he said he owned a Jeep and a Dodge Challenger, and made no mention of a black Dodge Ram.

Lenway's identification and new questions

The next day, after regaining consciousness, Lenway told investigators she believed Amacher was connected to the attack. Police brought Amacher in for a second interview and showed him still images of the fleeing truck. He again denied ownership, saying his Ram had a license plate and Superman‑decals near the front doors. He also said the only other person with access to the truck was Colleen Larson, a former taekwondo student who rented a room in his home. Larson initially denied being near the parenting center that day.

Following the digital breadcrumbs

Investigators turned to FBI special agent Richard Fennern, a technology specialist, to examine digital records. Fennern discovered the Dodge Ram had Wi‑Fi capability that, like a cellphone, produced a digital trail. By analyzing cellphone location records alongside the truck's Wi‑Fi activity, he mapped movement patterns and established that the black Ram had been driven to the FamilyWise center that day and that at one point Larson had been operating the vehicle.

Searches, forensics and arrests

A search of Amacher and Larson's home recovered bullet casings that matched those found at the scene. On April 28, 2022, police arrested Colleen Larson and charged her with attempted first‑degree premeditated murder. Investigators continued to examine Amacher's actions and discovered data suggesting he had driven the Ram without plates and without its Superman decals to a local fast‑food drive‑thru several hours before the shooting, which prosecutors say indicates an attempt to alter the truck's appearance. Amacher was arrested and charged with attempted first‑degree premeditated murder and with aiding an accomplice after the fact.

Confession and trial outcomes

Larson was interviewed twice by police. In her second, recorded interview she admitted, "I took the truck and I drove over there … and then I shot her," and said the plan had been Amacher's idea. She said she discarded the black clothing she had worn and that Amacher disposed of the firearm.

At trial, Amacher was convicted of attempted first‑degree premeditated murder and aiding his accomplice; he received an 18‑year prison sentence. Larson later pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting attempted first‑degree murder and was sentenced to 16½ years.

Aftermath

Lenway survived the attack and has rebuilt her life. She married Donovan Ford, a police officer, and the couple are expecting a daughter. Those close to Lenway say her son Callahan has been resilient through the recovery and legal process.

Key takeaways: Investigators used a combination of surveillance footage, shell casing matches and digital forensics — including cell‑phone and in‑vehicle Wi‑Fi data — to connect the vehicle, driver and a co‑conspirator to the ambush.