A 57-year-old Minnesota man, Michael Carbo, has once again been sentenced to life in prison for the 1986 rape and murder of Nancy Daugherty in Chisholm, following a retrial earlier this year. The case, which remained unsolved for decades, was finally cracked after advances in genetic genealogy linked Carbo to DNA evidence found at the crime scene.
Carbo was first identified as a suspect in 2022 when investigators used DNA technology to trace genetic material from the scene to his family line. After gathering enough evidence, a grand jury indicted him, and he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison later that year.
However, in 2024, the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered a new trial, ruling that Carbo should have been allowed to present limited evidence suggesting another possible suspect. That decision reopened the case, giving Carbo a second chance to defend himself.
During the retrial, which took place in January, Carbo changed his account of events. While he had previously denied knowing Daugherty, he testified this time that he might have had a consensual sexual encounter with her but could not remember it. Prosecutors argued that the DNA evidence, along with the brutal nature of the crime, left no doubt about his guilt. The jury agreed, once again finding him guilty of rape and murder.
Daugherty, 38 at the time of her death, was a well-known community member and caregiver in Chisholm. Her murder shocked the small Minnesota town and remained a haunting cold case for more than three decades. The renewed investigation, supported by modern DNA analysis, ultimately brought closure to her family and community after nearly 40 years.
With the second conviction, Carbo will serve another life sentence without the possibility of parole, reaffirming the original verdict and closing a long and painful chapter in Minnesota’s criminal history.
