Man who killed Swansea firefighter, father of ‘miracle baby’ is sentenced in St. Louis

The man accused of killing a Swansea firefighter in a reckless attempt to evade police pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a St. Louis County courtroom on Tuesday.

Nicholas Washington, 24, was leading a police pursuit at over 90 mph when he collided his Chevrolet Camaro with another car at Page Boulevard and North Warson Road in St. Louis on April 4, 2019.

Brett Korves, 30, of St. Jacob, a 10-year veteran of the Swansea Fire Department and third generation firefighter, was killed.

Washington was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter and four years for resisting a felony arrest. The sentences to be served concurrently.

“Seeing a first responder lose his life in this senseless way is especially tragic,” said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. “There is no way to make the victim’s family whole again, but we pray this will provide some closure for the family.”

It was two weeks after her husband’s death that Alex Korves learned that she was pregnant with the couple’s second child. The two had been trying to get pregnant in the months, she said.

Their baby girl was born on Dec. 12, 2019 and is named Brett Grace Korves, after her father.

Alex Korves has said the baby is a “miracle” for her, the couple’s 4-year-old son, Brock, and the rest of their family.

“You lose somebody you love so much, you lose your best friend, but before they go they leave you with one more piece of them,” Alex Korves told the BND in 2019. “He’s gone and two weeks later we find out there’s one more piece of him left. …

““For us and for our family, this really is like a miracle. All I want to do is call Brett and tell him that it worked.”

In the weeks that followed, the community has rallied to the family’s side. The Swansea Fire Department set up a GoFundMe account to help support the family. To date, it has raised more than $16,000.

Korves’ family also launched a nonprofit called Brett’s First Responders to provide financial aid to other families of first responders who died outside the line of duty.

The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the incident.

This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 2:00 PM.