In the early morning hours of January 24, 2019, the life of 24-year-old Katlyn Alix, a female St. Louis police officer, was tragically cut short. She was fatally shot in the chest at the apartment of a fellow officer, 29-year-old Nathaniel Hendren. Alix, a married military veteran, was off-duty at the time, while Hendren and his partner were on duty but away from their assigned patrol area.
The events that led to Alix's death unfolded as a reckless game of Russian roulette.
Inside Hendren's apartment, he and Alix were playing with his personal revolver. Hendren emptied the cylinder of the revolver and then placed a single cartridge back inside. He spun the cylinder, pointed the gun away, and pulled the trigger, but the weapon did not fire. Alix then took the gun, pointed it at Hendren, and pulled the trigger; again, it did not discharge. Hendren then took the gun back, aimed it at Alix, and pulled the trigger a third time. This time, the gun fired, striking Alix in the chest. Hendren's partner, who was also present, had reportedly expressed his discomfort with the gunplay and was leaving the room when he heard the fatal shot. He and Hendren then transported Alix to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Nathaniel Hendren was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. Initially pleading not guilty, he later changed his plea to guilty in February 2020 as part of a plea agreement. During the emotional court proceedings, Hendren expressed remorse for his actions. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, the maximum sentence for that charge, to be served concurrently with a three-year sentence for armed criminal action.
In the aftermath of the criminal case, Katlyn Alix's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hendren, his partner, their supervising sergeant, and the City of St. Louis. The lawsuit alleged that Hendren had a history of concerning behavior involving firearms. However, a federal judge dismissed many of the charges against Hendren and the city, determining that he was not acting in his official capacity as a police officer at the time of the shooting. The civil case was eventually settled in March 2024. Hendren was scheduled to be released from prison in October 2024.
