St. Cloud man sentenced to life in prison for killing his co-worker

BENTON COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The St. Cloud man who shot and killed his co-worker after prosecutors said she rebuffed his advances was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Michael Carpenter, 38, smiled when he entered the Benton County courtroom and smirked before he was sentenced.

Carpenter shot Nicole Hammond, 28, once in the neck after she arrived for work at Dubow Textile in St. Cloud in October 2022, leaving her to die in the parking lot.

A jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder in August.

Prosecutors said Carpenter harassed Hammond and made unwanted overtures toward her in the weeks prior to the shooting.

"He smirked so much it's like now I want him behind the walls," said Terri Anderson, Hammond’s mother. "I just want him to pay for what he did to her."

After victim impact statements, Carpenter spoke but offered no apology.

"I agree that she was a really amazing person," he said. "She was really nice, and very caring."

Hammond’s family found his words hollow.

"That was quite shocking," said Anderson. "If she was such an amazing girl to him and a beautiful girl and everything, this shouldn't have happened."

In a statement on Friday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the case, said, in part: "I am pleased that today, the court held Michael Carpenter fully accountable for the crime he committed. I hope this accountability is eventually able to bring some measure of peace to Nicole’s loved ones."

Carpenter is not eligible for parole.