Michael Carpenter, 38, was sentenced to life in prison for the October 2022 murder of Nicole Hammond. He was found guilty of 1st degree premeditated murder and 2nd degree intentional murder on August 2, 2024, after a two-week trial.
According to a press release from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the statutory sentence for 1st degree premeditated murder is life without the possibility of release.
After Hammond’s loved ones gave victim impact statements, Carpenter reportedly spoke to the court, calling the victim “a really amazing person” who was “really nice, and very caring.” Per FOX 9, Carpenter did not apologize. Those comments were “quite shocking” to Hammond’s mother, Terri Anderson, who added, “If she was such an amazing girl to him and a beautiful girl and everything, this shouldn’t have happened.
Details of Hammond’s Murder
“Michael Carpenter shot and killed Nicole Hammond following a text message exchange in which Hammond requested not to be touched by Carpenter,” said the Attorney General in his release, addressing the events of October 24, 2022.
“Carpenter approached Hammond before her work shift in the parking lot of Dubow Textile, armed with a 9mm pistol, and fired a single shot through Hammond’s neck,” added the statement.
When the St. Cloud Police Department responded to a report of shots fired, they reportedly found the victim “laying in the parking lot with a puddle of blood around her head.” Hammond died at the scene, while a spent shell casing was found near the body.
A witness, meanwhile, told authorities they saw Carpenter get out of his own car and walk toward the other end of the parking lot, before hearing a g.u.nshot and seeing him run back to his vehicle and drive off. He was later located at his sister’s house and taken into custody.
His cellphone turned up “numerous text messages” from the night before the shooting between him and the victim. These messages allegedly indicated Hammond “did not want to be touched by the defendant, nor did she want to be manipulated by him.”
Per the arrest affidavit, via Law&Crime, “She also informed him to not make things uncomfortable at work.”
“Officers also found a text from [Hammond] to another person who stated that the defendant was mad at her,” the report continued. “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.”
A 9mm handgun and ammunition matching the shell casings located near the victim’s body were found in his car.
Despite this, Michael Carpenter initially denied shooting Hammond and claimed he only “heard a gun shot” while walking toward her car. He told police he “saw a lot of blood,” but ran off because he was “too traumatized” by what he saw, claiming he saw a man already attending to his coworker.
