‘Hardworking’ 20yo woman killed with a sledgehammer by her co-worker – because he simply did not like her

A young and hardworking woman with a bright future has had her life stolen by a co-worker who revealed that he had been planning on killing her “for some time.” Amber Czech was just 20 years old when 40-year-old David Bruce Delong struck her repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

Czech worked as a welder at the Advanced Process Technologies fabrication facility in Cokato, Minnesota, and was reportedly a “hardworking” individual. However, on Tuesday November 11, around 6am, her co-worker, Delong, left his workstation, walked over to Czech, picked up a sledgehammer and hit her to the ground as per the Daily Mail. He then proceeded to strike her four more times while she was on the ground.

The shocking moment was caught on the facility’s security cameras. After the attack, Delong reportedly told another employee, “I hit her with your hammer, she is by your toolbox, she is gone.” He was arrested by police the same day and charged with second-degree murder, although it could potentially be changed to first-degree in the future.

When asked why he did it Delong simply stated that he “didn’t like her,” and that he had been planning her murder for quite a while. Czech’s body was found by paramedics on the floor and while life-saving measures were attempted they ultimately ended up being fruitless and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tributes pour in for Amber Czech

Online people have sent their condolences to Czech’s family. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the unexpected costs of the funeral as well as other expenses. The page describes Amber as a “hardworking welder who took great pride in her craft and dreamed of building a bright future through her work.”

Elsewhere people shared their outrage over the senseless killing with many commenting on the shocking kind of treatment women often have to put up with in the workplace, especially in male-dominated fields. This might be an extreme example, but many women in construction and manufacturing face discrimination from men.

In wake of the tragedy welders and others in similar fields shared tributes to Czech. One TikTok shows a welder at work along with the caption, “Amber Czech, rest easy sister. I’ll be thinking about you under the hood.”

A few individuals on TikTok and Reddit claimed that Czech had reported Delong to HR five times although where they got this piece of information is unclear.

Right now Delong’s motivation is unclear although some have theorized he made advances that were rejected by Czech, but this is pure speculation by people online right now. It’s likely that his charge could also be changed to first-degree murder considering he admitted to planning Amber Czech’s murder.