A former Wendy’s worker in Illinois has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars after admitting she tried to kill a co-worker in a terrifying knife attack inside the fast-food restaurant.
Tichina Marshall, 29, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder after prosecutors said she walked into a small office at a Wendy’s in Danville and attacked her co-worker while the victim was speaking with a manager.
“I am going to kill you,” Marshall told the woman moments before the stabbing, according to prosecutors.
The attack happened on May 26, 2025, at the Wendy’s on North Vermilion Street, which has since closed.
Investigators said Marshall entered the office carrying a knife and struck the victim at least twice in the face and once on the top of the head.
When Danville police officers arrived, they found the wounded employee lying on the floor, bleeding heavily and nearly unconscious.
Prosecutors said the victim suffered a stab wound approximately 3 centimeters deep to the head as well as a fractured skull.
The entire attack was captured on the restaurant’s surveillance system, authorities said.
Even more disturbing, investigators learned the violence had apparently been preceded by a previous threat.
According to the Vermilion County State’s Attorney’s Office, Marshall had threatened to kill the same co-worker about one month before the stabbing while the two were working at Wendy’s.
Authorities have not publicly disclosed what led to the dispute or what may have motivated Marshall to target her co-worker.
Marshall was later charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Court records show she had been scheduled to stand trial in October 2026.
Instead, the case ended with a plea agreement.
On Sept. 24, Marshall pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony in Illinois. The aggravated battery charge was dismissed as part of the deal.
Judge Karen E. Wall sentenced Marshall to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Under the terms of the sentence, Marshall must serve at least 85% of her prison term. She will receive credit for approximately 477 days she had already spent in the Vermilion County Jail while the case was pending.
After leaving prison, Marshall will also be required to serve three years of mandatory supervised release.
Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy said the sentence reflected both the seriousness of the attack and the injuries suffered by the victim.
Lacy also thanked the victim for cooperating with prosecutors throughout the case and praised the Danville Police Department and its Criminal Investigations Division for their work.
While the criminal case has now ended with Marshall’s guilty plea and prison sentence, prosecutors acknowledged that the consequences for the victim will extend far beyond the courtroom.
“No sentence can undo the lasting effects” caused by the attack, Lacy said.
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