Minnesota woman, 28, killed outside workplace for ‘repeatedly’ rejecting colleague
A Minnesota woman was gunned down outside her workplace for “repeatedly” rejecting a co-worker’s relentless advances.
Nicole Hammond, 28, died in the parking lot of her St. Cloud workplace on Oct. 24 after co-worker Jordan Carpenter shot her in the neck, police said.
Carpenter, 36, fled but was tracked down about three hours later hiding in a home in nearby Sauk Rapids, according to a statement by St. Cloud police.
The suspect was in possession of a handgun and was arrested on murder charges.
The woman had texted the creepy co-worker one day before her slaying and insisted that she did not want to be touched or manipulated by him, a probable cause statement obtained by the Kansas City Star revealed.
Hammond had “repeatedly” rejected Carpenter’s romantic advances in the month leading up to the violent murder, police said, asking him “not to make things uncomfortable at work.”
Police found a text Hammond sent to a friend saying Carpenter was mad at her.
The harassment was evident among other co-workers, who said Carpenter has a “bad temper,” according to the media outlet. The alleged killer admitted to officers he was “upset” about Hammond’s rejection the night before her death.
However, the ongoing harassment was never reported to their employer, Dubow Textile Inc., CEO Rob Dubow told Fox 9.
“Unfortunately, we had no idea,” said Dubow. “Any time there is anything that requires our intervention, we step in. But in this case, we had no indication that there was anything awry.”
Carpenter did not admit to the slaying, according to the probable cause statement, but claims he had been walking toward Hammond’s car when he heard the gunshot.
The alleged killer told cops he ran away because he was “too traumatized” after seeing his love interest’s body.
“He didn’t render aid, go to work, nor did he call 9-1-1,” police said.
One of Hammond’s supervisors remembered her as a “beautiful, smart, determined young woman.”
“You deserved to live your best life but instead got your life taken from you,” Savannah Shawn Townley shared on Facebook. “Our team is forever broken without you. Fly High Angel!”