Man Kills Co-Worker with Sledgehammer Because He Doesn't Like Her | Crime Alert 6AM 11.25.25

Amber Czech is dead at 20 years old. Police in Minnesota say a coworker who said he didn’t like her, walked over to her workstation and bashed her with a sledgehammer at the manufacturing plant that employed them. A Georgia woman nearly dies after her ex-boyfriend shoots her ten times, kidnaps her, and drove around for hours. A traffic stop in Florida ends with a drunk-driving arrest and an unplanned DoorDash delivery by an officer after the driver passed out at a traffic light. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime al Art hourly update, breaking crime news. Now, I'm
Drew Nelson. Amber Zek is dead at twenty years old.
Police in Minnesota say a co worker who said he
didn't like her walked over to her workstation and bashed
her with a sledgehammer at the manufacturing plant that employed them.
Prosecutors say he planned to kill her for a long time.

(00:20):
The death of the young welders shocks the state and
sends a wave of grief and anger through women in
the trades across the country. A visitation in Hutchinson marks
the latest moment of mourning for Amber, whose life ended
inside advanced process technologies. In Cocado, A steady line of
people moved through Saint Anastasia Catholic Church. Family member Shannon

(00:42):
Visser spoke to our TV news partners at Fox nine Milwaukee.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Great Now, we are just trying to bless Amber and
remember Amber in every part of her life that has
touched people and touched everybody in this community.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Loved ones describe her as joyful and ambitious. Investigators say
Ambe was busy at her station when coworker David Bruce
DeLong walked over with the sledge Deputies found her with
fatal head trauma and significant blood loss. The bloody hammer
lay nearby. Surveillance video showed DeLong leaving his workstation moments earlier.

(01:16):
He allegedly told a witness quote, I hit her with
your hammer. She is by your toolbox, she is gone.
DeLong faces a second degree murder charge. Wright County District
at Turning Brian Lutz is evaluating first degree premeditated murder,
which would require a grand jury. A judge has ordered
a competency evaluation. The company has paused production and says

(01:37):
it is cooperating with investigators. Hundreds of women in the
trades convened an emergency meeting of the National Association of
Women in Construction. Members shared stories of gender harassment, safety fears,
and the sense that Amber's murder represents something bigger.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Our heart breaks for her family, for her friends, for
all those who were touched by what happened to her.
This was not thing that such a young woman deserved ever. Ever.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Ever, That's Association president Rita Brown Workers Nationwide made a
showing by wearing blue in Amber's honor. Trade unions issued
statements calling for safer work sites, more accountability, and a
cultural reset around hostility. Toward women. Amber had completed a
ten month welding program in the spring of twenty twenty four.

(02:23):
She was known for her precision and pride in her work.
Her obituary remembered her standard quote, if you are not
going to do it right, don't do it at all.
Friends and family said she loved the outdoors, took care
of people without being asked, and never hesitated to help
with a hard task. The response has poured into her
family's online fundraiser as well. The GoFundMe stands at one

(02:45):
hundred twelve, nine hundred and seventy six dollars toward a
one hundred twenty thousand dollars goal, with North America's Building
Trades Unions the top donor at five thousand dollars. Donors
left messages about their own experiences in mail dominated trades
and their heartbreak at Amber's death. One contributor writing quote,
as a woman working in a traditionally male job who

(03:07):
gets discriminated against constantly, I stand with Amber. Another donor
posting quote, we may not have known each other, but
we were sisters in the trades. More Crime and Justice news.
After this, you see that.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Red flat runaway.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Those are the words of a Georgia woman who ignored
her own warning and nearly died because of it. Recovering
into Cab County near Atlanta after her ex boyfriend shot
her ten times, kidnapped her, and drove her through multiple
counties while she pleaded for her life, Shamae Pitt, twenty three,
told WSB she met her ex Joshua Woodruff on November
two to talk, then watch the man explode into violence

(03:53):
inside her car, she spoke in an exclusive interview.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
He steps back, he steps forward, and he starts shooting
me up. My ears are ringing, but I come into
a realization that he's shooting at me.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Pitt says. She sat bleeding from ten gunshot wounds as
Woodroff drove her from Snapfinger Road in unincorporated to Cab
County to Douglasville. She said she heard him making two calls.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Basically asked them what's to do with my body? I'm scared?
I asked them, Can I just can I Can I
just write a letter to my son?

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Pitt says. Woodroff abandoned her at a hospital after hours
on the road. Paramedics moved her to another trauma center
while security detained. Woodruff Police charged him with aggravated assault
and false imprisonment. Pitt's mother, Sherry Tucker, wants the charge
is upgraded, including a charge for a modified assault rifle.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
He needs to be chried for bringing over county lights.
He needs to be federally charge for having automatic which
was federal effect.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
The attack has left Pitt with an overwhelming stack of
medical bills. A GoFundMe set up in her name has
raised only seven hundred and thirty dollars toward a twenty
two thousand dollars goal. On the campaign page, Tucker wrote, quote,
on Sunday, November second, he ambushed her in an act
of unthinkable violence. He shot my daughter ten times with
an AR rifle that had an internal switch and was

(05:12):
loaded with seven sixty two AAC blackout round ammunition. She
tried jumping out the car on the highway, but couldn't
due to all the broken bones, as he constantly threatened
to shoot her in the head. Through it all, my
baby begged for her life, and by the grace of God,
she survived. Sami is now fighting through surgeries and a
long recovery to take care of her four year old

(05:34):
autistic son, A traffic case in Florida ends with a
drunk driving arrest and an unplanned home visit by police
after officers find a door Dash driver passed out at
a traffic light. Cape Coral police say they found twenty
five year old Luis an hell Alania Astraea slumped over
the wheel of his Toyota Sedan at Skyline Boulevard in

(05:55):
Cape Coral Parkway. Body camera footage shows officers shouting for
him to put the car in park. They found an
open bier inside his vehicle. The breathalyzer recorded a point
one five blood alcohol content, nearly twice the legal limit.
He was charged with DUI and driving with a suspended license.
Spoke into the Lee County jail. Officers learn he was

(06:15):
on a door Dash run and concerned themselves with the
late delivery. Bodycam shows an officer confirming the address, shrugging,
and deciding to finish the job. The department reported that
quote the actions of the officer helped ensure the resident
received the meal safely and without unnecessary delay. Astraya appeared
confused on scene and spoke to officers in Spanish. Door

(06:36):
Dash later said the company had permanently removed estraya from
the platform. A spokesperson told ABC News the company has
quote zero tolerance for driving under the influence and thanked
officers quote for keeping the community safe and going above
and beyond to deliver this customer's dinner. For the latest
crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on

(06:57):
your favorite podcast. Out with this Crime Alert and Drew
Nelson

Speaker 3 (07:06):
H