Welder Amber M. Czech had barely launched what seemed like a promising career in the skilled trades before her life was cut short last year at the age of 20. From an early salary working for his uncle’s landscaping business, he graduated with honors from a 10-month welding program at Alexandria Technical & Community College in Alexandria, Minn.
“We think Amber was influenced by summers helping Grandpa Virgil and Uncle Joe on the farm,” says Czech’s mother, Angie Czech. She adds that encouragement from an uncle, fellow lawn staff and high school welding classmates helped her cultivate a passion for working with her hands.
“Have [her teacher] in high school welding classes that saw and encouraged his passion, … I think that positive experience, along with only having to go to college for 10 months and being able to make a good salary, were his selling points,” says Angie. “He loved going to work and welding every day. She saw it as a long-term, well-paid way of life.”
On November 11, 2025, at approximately 6:00 a.m., police were called to the Advanced Process Technologies manufacturing and equipment manufacturing facility in Cokato, Minnesota, where Amber Czech was working as a welder. She had been bludgeoned to death by a male companion. The incident, partly captured on CCTV footage, sent shock waves across the skilled trades, with industry groups calling for greater workplace support and protection for women in the workplace.
“We must treat safety, respect and access as universal operating standards, not gender debates…[so that] performance improves for everyone,” says National Association of Women in Construction President Rita Brown about the changes needed in the industry after Cheka’s murder.
Amber’s family “had no concerns about the experiences she might have going into a welding career,” says Angie. “She had people mentoring her and wanted to mentor her.” However, the incident highlighted a harsh reality for women working in the skilled trades, she adds.
“We started seeing feedback about the negativity toward women occurring in the workplace in male-dominated fields,” she says. “We live in a somewhat rural area. That doesn’t happen in small country towns. [Amber] he was the person on the crew who did the fun, competitive work, who could get done first, but quality was the judge of the competition.”
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Fighting for Justice
David Delong, 40, who was accused of murdering Amber Czech, has been found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness, according to an update from the Wright County, Minn., district attorney’s office.
According to an April 6 report on Fox 9 local television in Minnesota, he remains in custody and a petition has been filed to commit him as mentally ill and dangerous. The Bar said it intends to seek “life without the possibility of parole,” adding that “Delong’s finding of incompetence is not the end of this case.”
For Angie, her daughter’s story has led her to question how skilled trades could improve workplace incident management and mental health. “Women can do things just as well as men, but men seem to have the hardest time accepting that,” she says. “The most alarming thing is that many women in the trades have a history of a man who has verbally or physically assaulted them.”
A scholarship has been established at Alexandria Technical & Community College in Amber Czech’s memory in hopes that her story can open doors for others. For women considering careers in the skilled trades, her mother offers this advice. “There’s a great need. It’s not easy work, but it’s rewarding in the way that you’re literally helping to build America. We take care of each other, not just other women.”
Angie Czech also offers advice for employers: “Consider the mental health of your employees. The tools of the trade can clearly become deadly when people are not in a good frame of mind,” she says. “I think Amber’s memory can best be honored with a saying she had: ‘If you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it at all.’
