ST PAUL, Minn. — The man who was convicted of murdering his former coworker after she declined his romantic advances has been sentenced to life in prison.
A Benton County district court sentenced 38-year-old Michael Carpenter to life in prison for the 2022 murder of 28-year-old Nicole Hammond on Friday.
Hammond and Carpenter were coworkers, and Hammond declined Carpenter's advances.
The statement of probable cause outlines that Carpenter knew the victim and declined his advances in texts sent the night before. She also told him "to not make things uncomfortable at work." In other messages police found on her phone, Hammond told someone else that Carpenter was mad at her.
Co-workers told officers that Hammond declined Carpenter's advances for the past month and that he was known for having a temper, according to the court document.
Police found the 28-year-old victim in the parking lot of their workplace on October 24, 2022 with a pool of blood surrounding her head.
During interviews with witnesses, Carpenter allegedly called one of them and said he already knew about the victim not showing up to work and getting shot. When the co-worker asked how Carpenter was doing, he allegedly said "he was not doing okay." Carpenter added that he was at his sister's house, and police then took him into custody at that location.
According to the complaint, Carpenter gave police "contradictory statements" about the timeline of events that morning and what he told different people.
Carpenter was convicted of the murder on Aug. 5.
