Follow the hours before a young Minnesota woman became a murder victim

On December 15, 2022, Matthew Ecker was on his way to work when he said he received a frantic call from his former colleague and friend Alex Pennig. He said Pennig told him that she had been arguing with her boyfriend, Shane Anderson, and was afraid of what he might do. So Ecker took his gun, which he legally owned, and drove to Pennig's apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ecker arrived around 2 p.m. He later said his only reason for going to Pennig was to protect her.

Early the next morning, Pennig was shot dead in her apartment. Investigators used surveillance footage to reconstruct her final moments.

The argument

Pennig and Ecker went to a few bars that evening and ended up at the Camp Bar at 12:30 a.m. on December 16, 2022. Anderson was at the bar. Surveillance video shows him walking up to Pennig and beginning to chat to talk to her. Ecker walked over to the two of them. Things got heated and when Ecker stepped between Pennig and Anderson, Anderson punched him. Anderson was kicked out of the bar and Pennig and Ecker stayed for about an hour, drinking and talking.

Matthew Ecker and Alex Pennig come home for the night

At 2:05 a.m. Pennig and Ecker reach their home after walking there from Camp Bar.

A return to the lobby

At 2:24 a.m. Pennig and Ecker can be seen again in the lobby leaving the building. Ecker later said he was going to his car to get his headphones. Pennig (pictured) came back first and waited for Ecker in the anteroom. She walks around and looks at her cell phone.

Alex Pennig was last seen alive

Ecker returns two minutes after Pennig at 2:30 a.m. The two then walk through the lobby and back to Pennig's apartment. This is the last time Pennig was seen alive.

St. Paul police officers arrive at the scene

At 2:50 a.m. Ecker called 911 and reported that Pennig had shot himself in the head. St. Paul police officers ran to the residence and Ecker let them in at 2:56 a.m

Matthew Ecker's story

After leading the police to Pennig's apartment, Ecker sat in the hallway and appeared desperate and emotional. Police officer Justina Hser came up to him and asked him what happened. Their conversation, which lasted nearly an hour, was captured on her body camera. Ecker told her that everything was fine between him and Pennig and that they had not had an argument. He said she grabbed his gun from his backpack, backed into the bathroom and locked the door. Moments later, Ecker said he heard a gunshot, so he broke down the bathroom door and found Pennig lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his left temple.

The weapon

Responding officers found the gun. It lay on Pennig's chest, her left hand resting on it. They noted that this seemed strange. An officer then moved the weapon to the sink (pictured) to place it in a safe location.

Remarkable evidence

Ecker had told officers he washed his hands after trying to help Pennig, which is why his hands were clean. But when officers arrived, they discovered the bathroom sink was dry. Investigators suspect that if Ecker had just washed his hands, the sink would probably still have been wet.

A lack of evidence for Matthew Ecker

Ecker was interviewed by investigators at approximately 6:30 a.m. on December 16, 2022. He had no visible blood on his body or clothing. It later turned out that Ecker had no gunshot residue on him either.

The decisive proof

While Ecker was being questioned at the police station, the forensic department processing the crime scene told investigators that they had found a new piece of evidence after Pennig's body was brought back. It was a metal piece of the bathroom door lock that was discovered on the floor where Pennig's head was. Investigators suspected the small piece of metal landed on the bathroom floor when Ecker broke down the door. According to investigators' theory, Ecker broke down the bathroom door, then Pennig was shot and fell on the piece. They say this is evidence that the bathroom door was broken down before Pennig was shot and that Ecker lied to them.

The defendant: Matthew Ecker

On December 19, 2022, Matthew Ecker will be formally charged with second-degree murder. Ecker denies killing Alex Pennig.

The trial of Matthew Ecker

The trial against Ecker begins on February 8, 2024. Eight days later, on February 16, 2024, he is found guilty of second-degree murder.

Sentencing of Matthew Ecker

On April 3, 2024, Ecker will be sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing his conviction.