Man Convicted of Murdering Coworker Sentenced To Life In Prison

(KNSI) – A man convicted of killing a coworker who had spurned his advances in October 2022 has been sentenced to life without parole.

A grand jury in Benton County elevated the murder charge against Michael Jordan Carpenter to first-degree murder in April 2023. He received a two-week jury trial this summer and was found guilty in early August.

Carpenter shot and killed Nicole Hammond in the parking lot of Dubow Textile on the morning of October 24th, 2022. Investigators uncovered text messages from Hammond to Carpenter the night before that he needed to quit touching her and manipulating her, saying she felt uncomfortable at work.

After Carpenter had been arrested, he gave conflicting statements to police. He said that he had seen Hammond get shot by a man in a hat and fled without calling 911 because he was traumatized. He also said he didn’t arrive at work until after Hammond had been shot and saw people helping her when he got out of his car.

Law enforcement officials sought a search warrant for Carpenter’s vehicle. They found a .9mm pistol and loaded magazine on the rear seat on the driver’s side. The ammunition was a match for what was recovered at the scene.

Police believe Carpenter parked at work, got out and walked to the south end of the lot, where he shot and killed Hammond. They presented witnesses during trial who put Carpenter at the scene and who saw Carpenter jogging back to his vehicle after gunshots were heard.

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