Man kills his co-worker after she rejected his sexual advances

Nicole Hammond was so fed up with being sexually harassed at work, she decided to confront her abuser. The next day, she was dead. WARNING: Graphic

Warning: Distressing

Nicole Hammond had the world at her feet.

She was just 28 years old, about to start her very own jewellery business and spent her days reading, travelling and hanging out with family.

Everything in her life was perfect, except for an issue at work.

Nicole was being incessantly sexually harassed by her colleague, Michael Carpenter, who was almost ten years older than her and who would not accept that she was not interested in him.

The pair worked together at a textile company in St Cloud, Minnesota. Michael allegedly repeatedly made Nicole uncomfortable with his sexual advances.

She was constantly rejecting him, yet the harassment only amplified. He had started touching her during her shifts and becoming more aggressive.

Nicole tried to stop her co-worker’s advances. Picture: Supplied

Nicole decided enough was enough and decided to finally stand up for herself by sending him a stern text on the night of October 23, 2022.

In the message, she confidently asked him to “stop touching” her and to stop making things “uncomfortable at work”.

Tragically, she had no idea this simple act was enough to send Carpenter into a deadly rage that would ultimately lead to her senseless murder.

The very next morning, as she got out of her car to go to work, he aimed his 9mm pistol and shot her straight in the neck.

Nicole died alone in her work car park in a pool of her own blood.

Her murderer fled the scene but was arrested a few hours later at his home.

Carpenter claimed he heard a gun shot and saw someone else at the scene but was “traumatised” from all the blood so decided to leave.

However this story was quickly debunked and police grew suspicious of his disjointed stories that simply were not adding up.

Carpenter shot Nicole the morning after she told him to stop harassing her. Picture: Benton County Jail

She sent him a text that she was not interested. Picture: Supplied

One witness said they heard the gun shot, then saw Carpenter jog to his vehicle before driving away, while another said he saw him putting on a black jacket while wearing black pants.

He was charged with second-degree felony murder later that day and for the past almost two years, has been locked up in Benton County Jail awaiting his court date.

This day finally came last week when Carpenter showed up at the courthouse, eerily smiling from ear to ear, appearing bizarrely joyful.

Nicole’s mother and cousin spoke through tears about the impact her murder has had on their lives.

“Nicki was my life, my girl, my world, my everything. This beautiful young lady had a loving family and so many friends,” her mother Terri told the court.

He was all smiles in the courtroom. Picture: Fox9

“This was so devastating to everyone in her life. I cannot begin to explain the feeling I had when I got that call.

“My life changed forever from that moment on. She is gone, and nothing will bring her back.”

Her cousin Kenneth said he hopes her murderer is “haunted” by what he had done.

“She was a ray of sunshine and she did not deserve her life to be ended in such a horrific manner,” he said.

“My only hope for this murderer is that he is haunted by the images of the crime scene and autopsy photos.

“I hope he finds no peace or salvation.

“I find the loss of Nicki’s life senseless and the full brunt of this murderer’s shoulders. No means no.”

Nicole was shot in the car park of her work. Picture: Google Maps

His eerie grin throughout the trial made Nicole’s family blood run cold.

“He smirked so much it’s like now I want him behind the walls,” Nicole’s mother Terri Anderson told FOX9.

“I just want him to pay for what he did to her.”

After hearing the emotional victim impact statements, Carpenter spoke a few words about his admiration for Nicole but never apologised for killing her.

“I agree that she was a really amazing person,,” he said.

“She was really nice, and very caring. She was someone who would listen to you if you had something going on.

“She was always concerned and caring. I always appreciated that about her.

“I appreciate you guys for making her the person that she was.”

Carpenter smiled after the verdict was handed down. Picture: Fox9

Nicole’s family said they found his words extremely 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.”

Carpenter was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After the verdict, he let out a strange grin and shook his head, appearing rather unshaken by the news.

Nicole’s boss Rob Dubow said the business “had no idea” about Carpenter’s unwanted advances.

“Women should be able to go to work without being hit on by their co-workers,” said one woman in a Facebook post, sharing a statement from Violence Free Minnesota.

She was a beloved member of her family and the community. Picture: Supplied

“Women should be able to say they aren’t interested in someone without worrying about being murdered.”

Sadly, rejection and jealousy are among the top reasons why men kill thousands of women each year.

Head of Monash University’s School of Education, Culture and Society, Professor Steven Roberts, recently told news.com.au that being hurt or insulted by a woman can trigger already violent men to act out abusively.

“Violence is the reminder and re-establishment of the normative power relation,” he explained.

“Men’s violence against women becomes socially endorsed by the idea that men should be in control of the women in their lives and discipline them.

“Women thus become a ‘legitimate’ target – consider this in contrast to other relations, such as work, where it is highly unlikely that a man would hit his boss to regain control (in a situation), or as a response to feeling humiliated.”