Bail set for Michael Carbo, as he awaits retrial in cold case murder

VIRGINIA, MINN. — Michael Allen Carbo Jr., incarcerated for the past four years, could be released with conditions while he waits to be tried again for the murder of Nancy Daugherty, a Chisholm woman who was found dead in her home on July 16, 1986.

Carbo made his first appearance at the St. Louis County Courthouse since the Minnesota Supreme Court kicked the case back for a retrial. The high court ruled that it erred in not originally allowing Carbo an alternate perpetrator defense.

Judge Robert C. Friday set Carbo’s bail at $350,000 with conditions. His new trial is set to start Jan. 13, 2025, and could last up to three weeks. He will be back to court for a hearing Aug. 19.

Carbo was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder in August 2022 and sentenced to life in prison, with a chance for parole after 17 years. His attorney wanted to introduce evidence that would point to Brian Evenson, Daugherty’s friend, who had hung out with her the night before she died and was among the people who found her the next day.

Carbo appeared in head-to-toe blue for the hearing, handcuffed and chained, between his attorneys JD Schmid and Bruce Williams. Judge Friday set Carbo’s bail using a mathematical formula based on Carbo’s presumed earnings from his work at a Chisholm care facility before he was arrested. He will have electronic home monitoring and cannot use mood altering substances if he is released. His original bail, set at the time of his arrest, was $1 million.

Daugherty, a mother of two who was beloved at the local nursing home where she worked, was strangled and raped in her bed. She was discovered hours later by friends and law enforcement conducting a welfare check. Investigators spent three decades, and tested dozens of DNA samples, looking for her killer.

Carbo was the only suspect ever arrested for the murder. Aside from attending the same high school as Daugherty’s children, he seemingly had no ties to the victim. Investigators used a genealogy website and DNA taken from Daugherty’s fingernails and the lid of her toilet, which led them to Carbo. During the trial, Carbo claimed that he had consensual sex with Daugherty that night but did not kill her.

Carbo was charged with burglary in 1988 and 1990, but had lived quietly since then. More than 20 people wrote letters to the court in support of Carbo when he was first arrested. Schmid argued Monday afternoon that Carbo should not be judged by who he was more than 30 years ago.

“The person I was would not be a reflection of how I am now,” Schmid said in comparison.

Friday repeated that first-degree murder is the most serious of crimes.

“The result is a human life,” he said.

Carbo had two supporters in the courtroom, who were led away to a conference room by Schmid after the accused was led away.