Tracking the hours before a young woman became a murder victim

On Dec. 15, 2022, Matthew Ecker was headed to work when he said he got a frantic call from his former co-worker and friend Alex Pennig. He said Pennig told him she got in a fight with her boyfriend Shane Anderson and was scared of what he might do. So, Ecker took his gun, which he olwned legally, and drove to Pennig’s St. Paul, Minnesota, apartment.

Matthew Ecker, left, and Alex Pennig / Credit: Terri Randall/Mary Jo Pennig

Ecker arrived around 2 p.m. He would later say his only reason for going to Pennig’s was to protect her.

Early the next morning, Pennig was shot dead in her apartment. Detectives used surveillance footage to piece together her final moments.

The altercation

From left, Shane Anderson, Alex Pennig and Matthew Ecker inside Camp Bar. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

Pennig and Ecker went out to a few bars that evening and ended up at Camp Bar at 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2022. Anderson was at the bar. Surveillance video shows he walked over to Pennig and began talking to her. Ecker walked over to the two of them. Things got heated, and when Ecker stepped in 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 chatting.

Matthew Ecker and Alex Pennig arrive home for the night

Alex Pennig, followed by Matthew Ecker, arrive at Pennig's apartment building after a night out. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court — Alex Pennig, followed by Matthew Ecker, arrive at Pennig’s apartment building after a night out. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

At 2:05 a.m., Pennig and Ecker arrive at her apartment building after walking there from Camp Bar.

A return to the lobby

Alex Pennig is seen in the vestibule of her apartment building. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

At 2:24 a.m., Pennig and Ecker are seen back in the lobby as they walk out of the building. Ecker would later say he was going to his car to get his headphones. Pennig (pictured) returned first and waited in the vestibule for Ecker. She paces around looking at her phone.

Alex Pennig last seen alive

Alex Pennig, foreground, and Matthew Ecker walk through the lobby together for the last time. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

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

St. Paul police officers arrive on scene

Matthew Ecker meets St. Paul police officers responding to his 911 call in the lobby of Alex Pennig's apartment building. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court — Matthew Ecker meets St. Paul police officers responding to his 911 call in the lobby of Alex Pennig’s apartment building. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

At 2:50 a.m., Ecker called 911 and reported that Pennig shot herself in the head. St. Paul police officers raced to the apartment building and Ecker let them inside at 2:56 a.m.

Matthew Ecker’s story

A distressed Matthew Ecker is seen on a police body camera as he talks to police in the hall outside Alex Pennig's apartment. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court — A distressed Matthew Ecker is seen on a police body camera as he talks to police in the hall outside Alex Pennig’s apartment. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

After leading police officers to Pennig’s apartment, Ecker sat in the hallway, appearing distressed and emotional. Officer Justina Hser approached him and began asking him what happened. Their conversation, which lasted nearly an hour, was captured on her body camera. Ecker told her everything was fine between him and Pennig and that they did not have an argument. He said she grabbed his gun out of his backpack, backed into the bathroom and locked the door. Moments later, Ecker said he heard a shot, so he broke open the bathroom door to find Pennig laying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her left temple.

The weapon

Responding officers located the gun. It was on Pennig’s chest with her left hand resting on top. They noted that this seemed odd. One officer then moved the gun to the sink (pictured) to place it in a safe position.

Notable evidence

Evidence photo of the sink in Alex Pennig's bathroom. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court — Evidence photo of the sink in Alex Pennig’s bathroom. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

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

A lack of evidence on Matthew Ecker

Matthew Ecker photographed during his police interview. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

Ecker was interviewed by detectives around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2022. He had no visible blood on his body or his clothes. It was later discovered that Ecker also had no gunshot residue on him.

The defining evidence

This small piece of metal from a bathroom door lock was key evidence in the death of Alex Pennig. / Credit: Ramsey County District Court

While Ecker was being interviewed at the police station, the forensic unit processing the scene notified detectives that they had found a new piece of evidence once Pennig’s body was moved. It was a metal piece of the bathroom door lock, and it was discovered on the floor where Pennig’s head was. The detectives suspected that when Ecker broke open the door, that small metal piece landed on the bathroom floor. According to the detectives’ theory, Ecker broke open the bathroom door, then Pennig was shot and fell on top of the piece. They say this proves the bathroom door was forced open before Pennig was shot, and that Ecker had lied to them.

The accused: Matthew Ecker