Minnesota Man Allegedly Kills 20-Year-Old Coworker with Sledgehammer Because He ‘Didn’t Like Her’

NEED TO KNOW

• David Delong, 40, is accused of killing 20-year-old Amber Czech, his coworker at the Advanced Process Technologies in Cokato, Minn.

• He was charged with second-degree intentional murder on Thursday, Nov. 13

• “He mentioned in his statement that she had kind of given him a bad look and he was upset about that,” says Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes, noting that the alleged “bad look” was some time ago

A Minnesota man was charged with second-degree intentional murder on Thursday, Nov. 13 after he allegedly beat a coworker to death with a sledgehammer.

David Delong, 40, is accused of killing 20-year-old Amber Czech, his coworker at the Advanced Process Technologies in Cokato.

Wright County Sheriff’s officers were called to the food and dairy processing facility around 6 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in response to “an adult female being found at her workstation with significant head trauma,” per a sheriff’s press release.

First responders arrived and attempted life saving measures but pronounced Czech deceased at the scene.

Surveillance footage showed the coworkers walking past each other prior to the killing.

“They actually pass by each other but it doesn’t even appear that they address or engage each other at all,” Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes tells PEOPLE.

Delong allegedly then put on work gloves at his station and made his way back to where Czech was working, picking up a sledgehammer along the way.

“The first swing is horizontal,” Lutes says. “And I took that to mean she’s standing upright at that time. And then he makes four more swings and they’re very aggressive, violent, forceful swings.”

Lutes says Czech is out of the view of the surveillance camera when she is attacked.

After the attack, Delong allegedly “made an admission to an identified male witness, in which the defendant said something to the effect of, ‘I hit her with your hammer, she is by your toolbox, she is gone,’” per a complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

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“It looks like the employee that he reported what happened to kind of went out on the shop floor to see what happened,” says Lutes. “And that’s when the cops were called.”

According to the complaint, Delong allegedly confessed to the killing to authorities and admitted that he intended to kill her. “The defendant admitted to not liking the victim. The defendant said he has been planning to kill the victim for some time,” the complaint states.

“He mentioned in his statement that she had kind of given him a bad look and he was upset about that,” says Lutes, noting that the alleged “bad look” did not happen on the day of the killing. “Apparently, the bad look was some time ago and he just didn’t like her. It’s illogical type behavior.”

Czech died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Advanced Process Technologies released a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 12, after the attack, per CBS News: “We are heartbroken by yesterday’s tragedy, and our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends in this terrible moment. We are also making sure our employees have the support they need and working closely with law enforcement as they continue their investigation. Production at the facility has been paused for the remainder of the week, and administrative staff are working remotely.”

Delong is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 24. He is being held on $2 million bail and has yet to enter a plea.

Read the original article on People