Nick Koenig

CLICK HERE FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF THIS SHOW

CLICK HERE FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF KOENIG’S INTERVIEW

Imagine getting shot and doctors not being able to remove the bullet. Now imagine coughing up the hunk of lead more than two and a half years later.

That’s what happened to Nick Koenig, who one night in October 2009, was among the victims of a brutal robbery turned home invasion that left off-duty St. Louis police officer Isabella Lovadina clinging to life and Koenig’s cousin, Gina, dead.

Koenig, Lovadina and their families relive the terrifying incident in a gripping edition of 48 HOURS MYSTERY entitled “LIVE TO TELL: An Officer and a Hero,” airing Saturday, May 19 at 10:00 PM on the CBS Television Network.

“So I was in a car accident,” Koenig explains on LIVE TO TELL. “And I had hit my head against the windshield. And then a couple days later I was sitting at the edge of my bed, and I feel a lump in the back of my throat and over a few minutes this lump gets bigger and bigger…and I sort of bend over and I cough. And when I do, this object flies outta my mouth. And when I bend over to grab it I realize it’s the bullet – the same bullet that was lodged in my cervical spine.”

After midnight on Oct. 5, 2009, Lovadina had put her bulletproof vest and pistol in her car and turned to give herthen-boyfriend, Koenig, a goodnight hug. They were outside his grandmother’s house. Moments later they were rushed by two men with guns, who forced them inside where Koenig’s cousin, Gina, her two children, his aunt and his grandmother were staying. They thought they would be killed. Lovadina was hit by five shots, Koenig was shot three times, and Gina was killed.

“I looked at how small this bullet was, and I just couldn’t believe how one little bullet had… killed my cousin, Gina,” Koenig adds. “But at the same time, it’s made me think a lot about how Isabella and I are a miracle.”

LIVE TO TELL is a short-run series from the producers of 48 HOURS MYSTERY delivering first-hand accounts of extraordinary people who refuse to give up when facing death.  

This broadcast is produced by Shoshanah Wolfson and Sara Rodriguez. Judy Tygard is the series creator.  Al Briganti is the executive editor.  Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.  Doreen Schechter, Joan Adelman and Atticus Brady are the producer-editors.

The primetime broadcast entitled “LIVE TO TELL: An Officer and A Hero”will air on Saturday, May 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

# # #

Press Contact:  

Richard Huff      212-975-3328   huffr@cbsnews.com