In December 2022, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, was rocked by the tragic and mysterious death of Alexandra Pennig.
Pennig’s death initially appeared to be a suicide.
She was found in her bathroom with a gunshot wound to her head.
However, as investigators Abby DeSanto and Jennifer O'Donnell started analyzing the scene and talking to people who knew Alexandra, new details came to light.
What seemed like an open-and-shut case quickly took a dark and unexpected turn.
Who Was Alexandra Pennig?
Alexandra Pennig was a 32-year-old nurse working in St. Paul, Minnesota.
She had dedicated herself to helping others.
Penning was known by her friends and family as a bright and caring individual.
Though she had battled with depression and addiction in her past, recent years saw her overcoming these struggles with the support of her family and professional help.
She seemed to have her life back on track.
This was why the news of her sudden death left her parents and friends shocked and confused.
The Fateful Night: A Suspicious Scene
On December 15, 2022, Alexandra Pennig’s friend and coworker, Matthew Ecker, was on his way to work when he received a panicked call from her.
According to Ecker, she told him she’d had a fight with her boyfriend, Shane Anderson, and was afraid of what he might do.
Concerned, Ecker took his legally owned gun and drove to Pennig’s apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Ecker arrived at Pennig's apartment around 2 p.m..
He claimed that his only intention was to protect her.
Tragically, early the next morning, Pennig was found shot dead in her apartment.
In the early hours of December 16, 2022, first responders arrived at Alexandra Pennig’s apartment in response to a reported suicide.
Alexandra’s Co-worker, Matthew Ecker, who was with her at the time, claimed that she had locked herself in the bathroom and shot herself.
He said he tried to break down the door to save her but was too late.
When detectives arrived, they noted several troubling details that didn’t quite fit Ecker’s story.
According to Ecker, Pennig had locked herself in the bathroom after grabbing his gun.
He claimed that he heard the shot, broke down the door, and found her dead, the gun resting on her chest.
However, investigators DeSanto and O’Donnell quickly began noticing inconsistencies in his story.
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| Alexandra Pennig |
A Troubling Background and History
As detectives continued their investigation, they dug deeper into Alexandra’s personal history.
Speaking with her parents, they learned that Pennig had struggled with depression in her past and had once attempted suicide.
But she had been open with her family about her struggles, and with professional help, she had gotten her life back on track.
Her parents, who had just seen her over Thanksgiving, couldn’t believe that their daughter would take her own life.
For Pennig’s family, her recent progress made the suicide theory even more questionable.
Her mother, who had spoken to her the night she died, said she seemed to be doing well.
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| Alexandra Pennig |
Uncovering Clues: A Metal Ring and Forensic Evidence
Ecker’s account raised further doubts as the detectives noticed more inconsistencies.
Although Ecker claimed he broke down the bathroom door after hearing the gunshot, detectives had a different perspective.
Forensic investigators discovered a small metal ring at the crime scene.
This ring was a piece of the bathroom lock and it was lying underneath Pennig’s body.
This critical finding led detectives to a new theory.
If the lock had broken off before she was shot, it meant Ecker likely forced his way into the bathroom before the shot was fired, contrary to his claims.
This implied that Pennig may have locked herself in the bathroom to protect herself from Ecker.
The broken lock and the position of the metal ring were enough to suggest that an argument had likely taken place.
Detectives beleived that Ecker might have forced his way in before ultimately shooting Pennig.
This theory strengthened the detectives’ belief that this was no suicide, but a murder.
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The Fight for Justice: Ecker’s Trial and Conviction
With mounting evidence and inconsistencies in Ecker’s account, prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder.
During the trial, the prosecution presented their case that Ecker had broken down the bathroom door during an argument.
He then ultimately shot Pennig after she locked herself in to escape.
In February 2024, after a lengthy trial, Matthew Ecker was found guilty of second-degree murder.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
This conviction brought some measure of closure to Pennig’s family, though they continue to grapple with the loss of their beloved daughter.
Ecker has since filed an appeal.
He maintained his innocence and claimed that Pennig’s death was indeed a suicide.
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