Naman Shrestha
When 32-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Pennig was found dead in her apartment’s bathroom, the investigators thought that it was a case of suicide. At the time of her death, Matthew Ecker was the only other person present in the property. As the detectives zeroed in on him, they found several inconsistencies in his story. It turned out that he had shot her to death during a heated altercation in her house. In the episode titled ‘The Strange Shooting of Alex Pennig’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the focus is on the gruesome murder carried out by Matthew and his attempts to make the authorities believe that it was a suicide.
Matthew Ecker Had an Extramarital Affair With Alex Pennig
Born on September 13, 1978, to Blaine Ecker and Terri Randall, Matthew Phillip Ecker was married to Elizabeth Ecker, with whom he shared four children, when he began an extramarital affair with Alexandra “Alex” Pennig. The two worked at a Fergus Falls medical clinic, where he worked as a nurse practitioner while she served as a licensed practical nurse. They began as coworkers, but as sparks flew, they got into a relationship in 2020. Two years into their affair, Matthew still resided with his wife and children in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He occasionally traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota, to catch up with Alex, with his wife having no clue about his infidelity.
According to Matthew, on December 15, 2022, he received a call from Alex, who told him that she might be in danger following a heated argument with her boyfriend, Shane Anderson. Worried for her, he went over to her apartment at 260 East Fifth Street in St. Paul, armed with a gun. Several hours later, in the early hours of December 16, Matthew called 911 to report the death of 32-year-old Alex Pennig. When the authorities arrived, he claimed that she had taken his gun and locked herself into the bathroom before shooting herself in the head. He also told the detectives that she had been struggling with mental health issues and addiction, and had also tried taking her life by overdosing on medications in another instance.
Detectives Found Multiple Holes in Matthew Ecker’s Version of the Story
When the investigators asked him about what events led to the incident, he claimed that he and Alex had gone to multiple downtown bars the previous night. At one of the bars, he said that he was confronted by her boyfriend, who ended up punching him. Furthermore, he told them that soon after they returned to Alex’s residence, he heard the sound of a gunshot from the bathroom. As per his accounts, he proceeded to break open the bathroom door, only to find her unresponsive. However, upon inspecting the scene of the crime, the detectives found that the evidence portrayed an entirely different version of the story, indicating several inconsistencies in his story. The authorities found it strange that the gunshot wound was to the left side of her head, when Alex was known to be right-handed.
Matthew also claimed that before calling 911, “I tried to do what I could. And then I washed my hands…That’s why I don’t have anything on my hands.” However, when the detectives arrived at the scene, they noticed that the sink was dry. Moreover, when Alex’s remains were moved, the investigators found a piece of the bathroom door’s lock underneath her, indicating that the door was forced open, but before she was shot, contradicting Matthew’s claims. All these pieces of evidence led the detectives to suspect that an argument broke out between Matthew and Alex, who supposedly locked herself in the bathroom to get away from him. Thus, he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder of Alex Pennig.
Matthew Ecker is Serving His Sentence at a Minnesota Prison Facility Today
Around February 2024, Matthew Ecker stood trial for the murder of Alexandra “Alex” Pennig. While the prosecution claimed that the defendant fired the fatal gunshot to her head, the defendant argued that she took her own life in the bathroom. The prosecution also pointed out a few possible motives that Matthew could have had, including her plans to live with her new boyfriend, Shane, who punched him in the face about an hour before the murder. On February 16, the jury found the 46-year-old nurse practitioner guilty of second-degree intentional murder. Less than a couple of months later, on April 3, 2024, Matthew Ecker was sentenced to three decades in prison for his crime, but received credit for 57 days that he had already served behind bars.
That same year, on June 25, he and his defense counsel filed an appeal to get his conviction overturned, claiming that there was not sufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The appeal also pointed to the physical as well as forensic evidence being inconsistent with guilt, the nature of the gunshot wound, the absence of blood or gunshot residue on his body or clothing, and more. However, in April 2025, the Minnesota Court of Appeals denied the appeal and upheld the murder conviction. As of today, he is currently incarcerated at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater in Bayport, Minnesota, with his anticipated release date scheduled for February 2044.
