ST. LOUIS — Two weeks after changing his plea to guilty in the Russian roulette-style shooting death of St. Louis police officer Katlyn Alix, former officer Nathaniel Hendren said he owes her family no damages because she “voluntarily engaged in [the] activity” and knew the risk she was taking.
The statement came in a response Wednesday to a wrongful death lawsuit that Alix’s mother, Aimee Wahlers, filed against Hendren; his partner, Officer Patrick Riordan; the officers’ supervisor, Sgt. Gary Foster; and the City of St. Louis.
Hendren said on the night Alix was shot, she initiated contact by text message: “‘Hi, I’m happy, lets hang out.’ To which the defendant responded. Defendant further states that at [11:18 p.m.], Alix texted Hendren directly, ‘Come see me.'”
Hendren and his partner arrived at Hendren’s home in the 700 block of Dover Place at approximately 11:50 p.m. He and Riordan were supposed to be on patrol in a different district.
Alix was already there, according to the lawsuit.
Hendren admitted they both consumed a small amount of alcohol. And while he also acknowledged taking out his personal firearm, he said Alix was the first person to show a weapon that night, according to KDSK.
Hendren said he and Alix were taking turns pulling the trigger with his revolver while the weapon was aimed at each. It had a single round in the cylinder.
Each dry-fired the weapon once. The second time Hendren fired it, the gun discharged. The bullet struck Alix in the chest. Riordan reportedly did not see the shooting.
After she was hit, Hendren and Riordan attempted to perform first aid and transport her to SLU Hospital.
Alix’s mother said Hendren dropped her daughter multiple times, which Hendren denied. However, he said he had difficulty putting her in the back seat of his police SUV.
Shortly before 1 a.m., Alix, Hendren and Riordan arrived at SLU Hospital. Alix’s shirt had been removed, and her sports bra was pulled over her head.
Hendren said that happened when she was being carried from the apartment to the SUV and because of “lifesaving efforts in the vehicle on the way to the hospital.”
At 1:22 a.m., 26 minutes after first arriving at SLU Hospital, Alix was taken inside the hospital.
One minute later, Hendren was taken outside the hospital by Officer Phillip Vonderheydt. He then rammed his head through a police SUV being driven by Sgt. Foster, his supervisor, KSDK reported.
Hendren also admitted to certain allegations in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in October, including that he and Alix were involved in a romantic relationship and that Alix had been planning to divorce her husband, Tony Meyers, also a St. Louis police officer.
Hendren said that Alix was in the process of moving in with him when she was shot.
In his court appearance late last month, Hendren pleaded guilty to armed criminal action and involuntary manslaughter. As a result, he received a seven year prison sentence.
At the time, he apologized to Alix’s mother, saying he hoped “in some small way” that his plea could help heal the “brokenness” he’d caused.
St. Louis police Chief John Hayden declined to comment on the lawsuit because it’s pending litigation, he said last year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also declined to say if the department had had any concerns about Hendren’s behavior before the incident. A police department spokesman, Sgt. Keith Barrett, said that, in general, the department has all applicants go through a psychiatric evaluation before being hired.
