Man Found Guilty of First-Degree Murder in Shooting of Co-Worker in St. Cloud After She Rejected His Advances

(KNSI) – A man accused of shooting and killing a female co-worker after she rebuffed his romantic advances has been found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder.

Michael Carpenter was accused of shooting coworker Nicole Hammond the morning of October 24th, 2022, in the parking lot of a St. Cloud textile factory before their shift started. Witnesses say that they saw Carpenter get out of his vehicle and walk toward the south end of the lot, where he fired a pistol at 28-year-old Hammond, killing her.

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St. Cloud Police say they found the pistol in Carpenter’s car when he was arrested. Investigators believe Hammond had spurned Carpenter’s repeated advances. The night before the shooting, Hammond had texted Carpenter, saying she didn’t want him to touch or manipulate her and that he should not make things weird at work.

Carpenter was initially charged with second-degree murder, but those charges were upgraded by a grand jury to first-degree premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

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