St. Louis cop pleads not guilty to manslaughter in the death of a female colleague who was shot in the chest during a 'drunken game of Russian roulette'
- Nathaniel Hendren has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in death of colleague
- Hendren was charged with manslaughter following shooting death of Katlyn Alix
- Alix, 24, was killed during a variation of the game Russian roulette in January
- The officers had been drinking when they started playing the fatal game
A St. Louis police officer pleaded not guilty on Monday in the fatal shooting of a female colleague who died during a drunken game of Russian roulette.
Nathaniel Hendren, 29, is charged with first-degree manslaughter and armed criminal action following the January shooting death of 24-year-old Katlyn Alix.
The grand jury indictment returned Thursday doesn't affect the charges but means the case can proceed without a preliminary hearing. Hendren appeared in court Monday.
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Nathaniel Hendren (center, leaving court in March), 29, has pleaded not guilty in the fatal shooting of a female colleague while playing a variation of Russian roulette
Hendren (left, leaving court in January) was charged with first-degree manslaughter and armed criminal action following the January shooting death of 24-year-old Katlyn Alix (right)
It was revealed in February that Hendren and Alix had been on patrol together two days before her death.
The pair worked an overnight shift on January 22 - marking the female officer's final time on duty before she was killed.
Documents obtained by local news station KSDK revealed the two partners, who joined the police force in 2017, had monitored the city's second patrol district and responded to six calls between midnight and 5am that night.
After that shift, Hendren served his next two patrol shifts with Officer Patrick Riordan on January 23 and January 24 - the night of Alix's death.
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Records show at 11.48pm that night, the two male cops received a call about a burglary but it was later deemed a false alarm and they were back on patrol at 12.14am.
Some time after that, Hendren and Riordan are said to have gone to Hendren's home where they met Officer Alix.
Sources told the local news station that Hendren and Riordan's patrol vehicle did not have a GPS meaning their exact moves from that night could not be tracked.
Within an hour, Alix was dead from a gunshot to the chest, allegedly shot by Hendren in a twisted game of Russian roulette.
Hendren (left) allegedly killed Alix (right) while playing the deadly game at his home on January 24. Alix died from a gunshot to the chest, allegedly shot by Hendren
Officer Patrick Riordan (center) was on duty with Hendren when he allegedly witnessed the cops play the game that cost Alix her life. He is pictured at his graduation ceremony in April 2017
The two male officers rushed her to Saint Louis University Hospital where she died.
Hendren was charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action and is currently under house arrest after posting $10,000 — 10 percent of his $100,000 bail.
After a hearing earlier this year, Hendren had to seek a new judge in his case.
Defense attorney Talmage Newton IV said in the filing that Circuit Judge David Roither's comments at the hearing suggested bias against his client.
Among other things, Roither had said that as a hunter he knows you 'don't point a muzzle at anything you don't intend to shoot'.
Just days later, the judge recused himself from the case.
Hendren, Alix and Riordan had been drinking alcohol when Hendren and Alix began taking turns firing his revolver- which was not his service weapon - at each other.
After Alix's death Hendren is said to have headbutted the rear window of his police SUV with such force that it shattered. That's why his booking photo shows him with a black eye
Hendren is said to have placed one round in the gun's chamber and pointed it at Alix and pulled the trigger. She then did the same, aiming at him.
The gun did not go off either time. But on the third attempt, Hendren allegedly fired and shot Alix in the chest.
Alix got married for a second time with another police officer Anthony Meyer in October — just three months before her death.
Her death is still raising more questions than it has given answers, such as what she was doing at her colleague's home in the early hours of the morning, why Hendren decided to abandon his patrol and drive 10 miles home in the middle of his shift and how much alcohol was drunk at the home.
Hendren's partner, Riordan, who is currently on paid administrative leave, told investigators he had told his fellow cops off for playing with the gun and felt so uncomfortable he decided to leave the apartment.
As he reached the door he heard the shot.
After Alix's death Hendren is said to have headbutted the rear window of his police SUV with such force that it shattered.
That, police say, is why his booking photo shows him with a black eye.
Riordan has not been charged in the criminal courts but both he and Hendren face internal disciplinary action for allegedly drinking on duty.
His lawyer, James Towey said that his client 'blew all zeroes' after having 'a few sips of a beer' while at Hendren's home.
'He poured the rest out in a kitchen sink, leaving the can by the sink, and that should be confirmed by crime scene photos,' Towey said.
