Man killed co-worker who 'repeatedly rebuffed' his advances, advised him to 'not make things uncomfortable at work'

Left: Nicole Hammond (Facebook). Right: Michael Carpenter (Benton County Jail).

A 38-year-old man in Minnesota will likely spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing a female co-worker, shooting her in the parking lot of their workplace after she “repeatedly rebuffed” his romantic advances.

A jury in Stearns County, Minnesota, found Michael J. Carpenter guilty of first-degree and second-degree murder in the 2022 slaying of Nicole Hammond, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the St. Cloud Police Department at about 6:59 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2022, responded to a report of shots being fired outside of a textile factory in the 400 block of Lincoln Ave NE.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they immediately observed a female victim who was an employee of the business “laying in the parking lot with a puddle of blood around her head.” Lifesaving measures were attempted but unsuccessful. The victim, later identified as Hammond, was pronounced dead on the scene by medics.

At the scene, police noted that Hammond’s driver’s side door was open and a spent shell casing and keys were found near the body.

A witness told police they were pulling into the company parking lot when they saw Carpenter get out of his car and walk toward the south end of the lot. By the time the witness got out of their car, they said they heard a gunshot coming from that direction and saw Carpenter run to his car and drive away.

Police performed a forensic search on Hammond’s cellphone and said they came across “numerous text messages” between her and Carpenter from the night before the shooting “indicating [Hammond] did not want to be touched by the defendant [Carpenter], nor did she want to be manipulated by him,” the affidavit states.

“She also informed him to not make things uncomfortable at work,” police wrote. “Officers also found a text from [Hammond] to another person who stated that the defendant was mad at her. In speaking with various co-workers, they indicated that the defendant had made numerous advances toward [Hammond] but his advances had been repeatedly rebuffed over the course of the past month. Co-workers also described the defendant as having a bad temper.”

While officers were interviewing the victim’s co-workers, it became known that one of them was on the phone with Carpenter, who confirmed that he knew Hammond had been shot and said that he was “not doing okay.” Carpenter said he was at his sister’s house, where police responded and took him into custody.

A search of his car revealed a 9 mm handgun and magazines that matched the brand and style of the shell casings found near Hammond’s body.

In an interview with police, Carpenter denied shooting Hammond. He said he was walking toward her car when he “heard a gun shot” and then “saw a person in a hat attending to [Hammond]. Carpenter said he “saw a lot of blood” and was “too traumatized, so he turned around and left” without rendering any aid or calling 911.

“The defendant also admitted to officers that he did not seep well the night before, as, he kept waking up due to the text argument that he had with [Hammond],” the affidavit states. “The defendant stated that he was upset about that text conversation.”

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