ORONO — Many people here who have been involved with the Jennifer Nickels case during the past eight months expressed shock upon hearing the news of Nickels’ past Wednesday.

Still, most said that news of Nickels having lived under several aliases and that she had fled California with her children before moving to Maine last year did little to change the enormity of her loss and the town’s reaction to it. Apparently, Jennifer Nickels also is an alias for her actual name, Rosemary Morris.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s something the attorneys can fight out,” said Capt. David Martin of the Orono Fire Department, one of three firefighters Nickels thanked during an emotional ceremony held this spring. “It’s an interesting twist, no doubt about that.”

Currently, Nickels is involved in litigation against the Town of Orono and Fransway Realty Trust, owners of the Grove Street building in which she lived.

Alberta “Bertie” Cota of the Orono Health Association, which organized the fund-raising for Nickels and her surviving son, David — whose real name is Clifford Holmes Prator IV — said Wednesday that the effort collected $38,000.

Cota said that although Orono residents might be hurt by the news, she believes they will continue to give to charitable causes. Many, she said, donated to the Nickels cause, including one man who emptied his wallet and said, “I’ll have a better Christmas because of this.”

Like others, Cota said she doesn’t regret helping Nickels during the aftermath of the fire, saying, “I just feel badly that she deceived the good people.”

Although he would offer no official comment, Superintendent of Schools Richard A. Moreau said that although the Nickels family lives in Old Town, David would continue to attend the Orono school system, where he will enter the seventh grade next month. Moreau said he would review school records, looking for any possible falsification.

Robert Robinson, David’s principal at Asa Adams Elementary School, said Wednesday that he could not recall whether David’s school records were hand-delivered by Nickels or mailed from Daivd’s former school, the usual route. Also, he said that school records might not necessarily include a birth certificate as long as they included a letter from a school official who claimed to have seen the document.

Also, the Nickels case sparked a successful move to increase manpower in the Fire Department. That battle eventually led to an interdepartmental fight, which resulted in the resignation of former Fire Chief Duane Brasslett.

Brasslett said Wednesday that the news was a bizarre twist in the story, and that it made him “feel even sadder” for Nickels and her son. “It must have been a very trying time for the lady.”

Kevin Cuddy, who represents the town in the matter, also expressed surprise at hearing the news, and said he was unsure how the developments would affect the litigation.

“It puts a somewhat different slant on the situation,” Cuddy said.