Woman Welder’s Workplace Murder Prompts Calls for Change
Date Posted: November 20, 2025
Posted In: What we are thinking about, Workforce,
From Construction Dive: At 6 a.m. on Nov. 11, Amber Czech was found dead at her work station at Advanced Process Technologies, in Cokato, Minnesota. She was 20.
Czech, who had finished a 10-month welding program in Spring 2024, was still new to the trades. She was working at the facility for the mechanical and electrical/automation engineering firm when her coworker David Bruce Delong allegedly struck her with a sledgehammer multiple times, according to a criminal complaint filed by Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes on Nov. 12.
Delong confessed to officials that he had killed Czech after planning to do so for some time, per the criminal complaint. Lutes is seeking second degree murder charges.
Delong reportedly told investigators he “just didn’t like” Czech, according to the Dassel, Minnesota Enterprise Dispatch. The newspaper reported that a purported family member issued a public statement on Facebook, saying Delong’s relatives had cut off contact with him years ago due to safety concerns.
Construction Dive did not receive further comment from Advanced Process Technologies at press time.
In response to her death, trade groups and organizations called for action. Industry stakeholders are advocating for better measures to protect employees, especially women, from facing violence at their workplace.
“We must confront the truth that too many tradeswomen have endured hostility, intimidation, harassment, and threats on jobsites where warning signs were visible—but unaddressed,” said Rita Brown, president of the National Association of Women in Construction, in a statement.