A Minnesota man, 38-year-old Michael J. Carpenter, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
According to court documents, he was sentenced for the murder of his co-worker, 28-year-old Nicole Hammond.
He fatally shot Nicole Hammond in a parking lot after she rejected his romantic advances.
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| Michael J. Carpenter |
The shooting occurred on October 24, 2022, around 7 a.m., outside a textile factory in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Police responded to reports of gunshots.
When they arrived, they found Nicole Hammond lying in the parking lot with a pool of blood around her head.
Despite efforts to save her, Hammond was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators discovered a shell casing and Hammond’s keys near her body.
Additionally, her car door was found open.
A witness told police they saw Micheal Carpenter walking in the parking lot before hearing a gunshot.
The witness then saw him running back to his car and driving away.
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| Nicole Hammond |
The tragic incident happened after Nicole Hammond repeatedly rejected Carpenter's unwanted advances at their workplace.
Hammond had reportedly told Carpenter not to create an uncomfortable atmosphere for her at their workplace.
A text message from Nicole Hammond to another person revealed that Carpenter was angry with her.
Co-workers confirmed that Carpenter had been pursuing Hammond for about a month.
However, she consistently rejected his advances.
They also described Carpenter as having a bad temper.
During the police investigation, it was revealed that one of Hammond's co-workers was on the phone with Carpenter shortly after the shooting.
Carpenter admitted during the call that he knew Nicole Hammond had been shot.
He also said that he was "not doing okay."
He told the co-worker that he was at his sister’s house, where police later found and arrested him.
A search of Michael Carpenter's vehicle uncovered a 9 mm handgun.
Additionally, magazines found in the car matched the shell casings recovered at the scene of Hammond’s murder.
When questioned by police, Micheal Carpenter denied any involvement in the shooting.
He claimed he was walking toward Nicole Hammond’s car when he heard a gunshot and saw someone attending to her.
Micheal Carpenter said he was "too traumatized" to help or call 911 and quickly left the scene.
He also admitted that he hadn’t slept well the night before due to an argument he had with Hammond over text.
However, detectives knew he was not being truthful.
Messages found on Nicole Hammond’s phone showed that the night before the murder, she had clearly told Carpenter she didn’t want him to touch or manipulate her.
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| Michael J. Carpenter smirking in court |
Unfortunately, Carpenter showed no remorse during his sentencing.
He was even smirking as the court handed down the life sentence.
Nicole Hammond’s mother, Terri Anderson, expressed her anger toward Carpenter’s lack of remorse.
"He smirked so much it’s like now I want him behind the walls," she said.
"I just want him to pay for what he did to her," she added.
In another case, a woman has pleaded guilty to murder after she killed her husband and dismembered his body.
Click here for more details on that case.
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