Amber Czech workplace death: David Delong found incompetent to stand trial
Woman killed by coworker with sledgehammer in Wright Co.
A 20-year-old woman was killed by her coworker with the sledgehammer in Wright County. That man has since been charged with second-degree murder. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the story.
COKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man accused of murdering a female co-worker with a sledgehammer last November has been found incompetent to stand trial.
David Delong facing murder charges
What we know:
David Delong, 40 of Watkins, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge last December in Amber Czech’s death.
On Monday, Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes provided an update on the case. Delong’s attorney filed a motion to challenge his competency to go to trial. After being examined by a licensed psychologist, it was determined in a 19-page report that Delong lacks the capacity to stand trial due to mental illness.
Delong remains in custody, and the Wright County Attorney’s Office has filed a petition to have Delong committed as mentally ill and dangerous. He would be locked and secured into a state hospital for treatment.
"Delong’s finding of incompetence is not the end of this case. I fully intend to prosecute Delong for the murder of Amber Czech. I intend to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Delong," Lutes said.
What we don't know:
Officials say once Delong has been treated for mental illness, prosecutors plan to go forward with a trial based on his competency.
Cokato workplace murder
The backstory:
Delong is accused of bludgeoning Czech to death with a sledgehammer. The two were co-workers at Advanced Process Technologies in Cokato when the incident happened on the morning of Nov. 111, 2025.
Surveillance video reportedly captured Delong walking from his work area to Czech's workstation and swinging the sledgehammer. While Czech is not visible in the video, deputies say Delong is seen swinging the hammer horizontally with the first swing, then making four downward swings, as if striking her on the ground, charges say.
The complaint states Delong allegedly admitted to a witness that he "hit her with your hammer, she is by your toolbox, she is gone."
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene at around 6 a.m. and located the bloody sledgehammer next to Czech’s body. Authorities tried to revive Czech, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motive behind the attack has not been disclosed, though prosecutors say Delong told deputies he didn't like Czech and had been planning to kill her for some time.