Get To Know Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi Of Investigation Discovery's New Series 'True Conviction'
Investigation Discovery
Anna Sigga Nicolazzi
Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi is a former homicide prosecutor from Brooklyn, New York. She worked for 21 years as a prosecutor with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, the last 16 of which she served in the Homicide Bureau. Nicolazzi has tried over 50 felony cases to verdict, and has an almost perfect record as a homicide prosecutor.
Notable cases Nicolazzi has tried include: the Fairfield College murder of football player Mark Fisher; the murder of Hunter College student Ramona Moore; the targeting and murder of Michael Sandy; the shooting death of New York City Police Officer Russel Timoshenko; and the murder of ABC news radio personality George Weber.
Now she brings her expertise to Investigation Discovery, with the six-episode series True Conviction, which follows Nicolazzi as she travels across the country to reveal how the nation’s top prosecutors tackled their toughest cases, taking viewers inside the fight for justice for victims and their loved ones. Along the way, Nicolazzi shares her personal reflections and insight into the case, connects elements of the story to her own experiences as a prosecutor, and reveals how the complex layers of each murder investigation came together in the courtroom.
The premiere episode of True Conviction airs on Investigation Discovery on Tuesday, January 16, at 11/10c!
CrimeFeed spoke to Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and got some insight into her work as a prosecutor and on the show:
CrimeFeed: Is Brooklyn a particularly tough place to work as a prosecutor?
Nicolazzi: Brooklyn is an amazing place. With over 2.5 million people residing in this borough of New York City, it’s a large city in its own right. As a prosecutor, you see and get everything – the good and the bad. One of my favorite things about being a Brooklyn prosecutor was how many different types of people I came into contact with — from different countries, different ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic spectrums – you name it and Brooklyn’s got it. I got to know and work with so many people from different communities within Brooklyn, and it made my work all the more interesting and rewarding.
What was it about working as a prosecutor that appealed to you?
I always felt lucky to get up each day to a career that was exciting and that also made me feel like I was doing something good – you can’t ask for much more than that from a profession.
What were the most difficult and the most rewarding aspects of the job?
The answer is one in the same. The people – the families and the actual victims were both the toughest and most rewarding thing about this job. The work requires a lot of problem solving, investigation, working with the rules of evidence, etc., but at some point in each case, usually during the trial – the incredible loss, the toll these cases take on the victims and their loved ones – was right there for me to feel. To feel that raw emotion is difficult, but also something that I think is important. As prosecutors, we should never forget what our work is all about. If you stop feeling it, you shouldn’t be doing it.
For True Conviction, you traveled the country investigating different cases. Is there one case, or one location, that stands out to you?
There isn’t one that stands out because each spoke to me in a different way. Each victim – each case – each family we spoke to, was meaningful.
For the show, you visit crime scenes, interview family, and go to courtrooms where trials happened, sometimes years or decades after the case. What is it about retracing the steps of a case that helps to bring it to the viewers?
It’s very effective and brings out some special moments when you bring people back to the actual locations. For example, Deputy Chief Gary Brannon in Davie Florida — back into the actual house where the murders of Hope Wells and Margarita Ruiz took place – he was able to show me exactly where shell casings were found, where the women were found, where the two children were who witnessed the attacks – that’s powerful stuff. Seeing these places firsthand gives me more than reading about them on paper ever would.
You were first featured on Investigation Discovery on an episode of On the Case With Paula Zahn. Can you tell us about that?
The interview with Paula Zahn about one of my own cases was the spark that eventually led me here. During that interview I remember thinking to myself that I’d like to be sitting in her chair asking the questions. As prosecutors, we ask lots of questions, to lots of different people. The television work is an extension of that. I’m still involved with a topic I know and care very much about, but now in a format that is brand new for me. Watch the "A Lamb Among Wolves" episode of On the Case With Paula Zahn on ID GO now!
Watch Investigation Discovery's True Conviction on ID GO now!
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