ST. LOUIS (AP) — The parents of a St. Louis police officer who allegedly was killed by another officer during what authorities have described as a deadly game with a revolver have hired a legal team.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that attorney Scott Rosenblum says the team will look into "all avenues," which potentially includes civil litigation. He says the family of 24-year-old Katlyn Alix has a "substantial amount of unanswered questions" about her death, given her police and military training. Alix served in the Army before joining the city police department.
Twenty-nine year-old Nathaniel Hendren is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Alix's death last week at an apartment. He and another officer were on-duty at the time, while Alix wasn't working. Hendren's attorney says Alix's death was a "tragic accident."
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — The St. Louis city officer who was shot and killed during a Russian roulette-style game will be laid to rest Wednesday morning.
Visitation for Officer Kaitlyn Alix will be today at Kutis City Chapel from 1 to 9 p.m. Her funeral will be at the same location at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Her burial service will be private.
Alix was with two male officers at an apartment when she was killed just before 1 a.m. Thursday. A probable cause statement from police, provided by Gardner's office, offered a chilling account of the dangerous game that led to her death: a revolver's cylinder was emptied, one bullet put back and the two colleagues took turns pointing at each other and pulling the trigger.
The probable cause statement said Alix and 29-year-old Nathan Hendren were playing with guns when Hendren produced a revolver.
"The defendant emptied the cylinder of the revolver and then put one cartridge back into the cylinder," the statement said. He allegedly spun the cylinder, pointed the gun away and pulled the trigger.
The two men were on-duty at the time of the shooting. Police Chief John Hayden has declined to answer questions about why the officers had gathered at the apartment, which was home to one of the men.
Hendren was so upset by the shooting, he reportedly banged his head to the point of bleeding on an SUV window. Sources say he's on a suicide watch at a local hospital, which explains he's charged with an "at large" warrant, rather than under arrest.
Police immediately launched an internal investigation and placed both officers on paid leave. Gardner also began her own investigation on Thursday and enlisted the Missouri State Highway Patrol to conduct it.
Alix was a patrol officer who had graduated from the St. Louis Police Academy in January 2017.