The Star Tribune took home the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting this week for reporter Andy Mannix and photographer Renée Jones Schneider’s multiyear story “What Happened to Heather Mayer?”
The story investigated the death of a woman in the bondage, dominance, submission and sadomasochism (BDSM) community, and served as an exposé on how police, judges and lawyers failed to protect Mayer and other women from a serial abuser who preyed on their vulnerabilities.
The national award is selected annually by the University of Colorado Boulder and the Denver Press Club. The Star Tribune’s entry won over nearly 30 national media outlets that submitted entries this year. Contest judge Chuck Plunkett praised the long-form investigative piece in an announcement article on the university’s website.
“It was a really gutsy piece of journalism done with a lot of heart and a lot of empathy,” Plunkett said. “It’s clear they went the extra mile and then some to do right by the subject matter.”

The story investigated the case of Heather Mayer, a 33-year-old woman who was found hanged in a dungeonlike basement in South St. Paul. Police were quick to rule her death a “suicide” or “tragic accident,” but Mayer’s mother, Tracy Dettling, believed otherwise.
The piece detailed the significant abuse Mayer and other women suffered while in relationships with professional fighter Ehsan Karam, revealed how the police and legal system failed the victims and explained the dynamics of BDSM and where the line is drawn with abuse. BDSM is the umbrella term for consensual sexual role-play and includes bondage, dominance, submission and sadomasochism.

Some of the story came from court documents and police reports, but the most crucial details came as the two journalists earned the trust of Dettling and the other women involved. Fellow contest judge Tory Lysik praised the sensitivity in which the bold details were presented, a tone which she said other entries “struggled to match.”
Mannix said it was “heartening” to read the judges’ comments and that he felt like the judges understood why the story mattered.