Illinois Wendy’s worker told co-worker, ‘I am going to kill you,’ before allegedly attacking her with a knife. Now she regrets it

A Danville, Illinois, woman is going to prison for 12 years after she allegedly warned a fellow Wendy’s employee that she would kill them, and, a month later, stabbed that same person on the job.

The first sign of trouble came while the co-worker and Tichina Marshall, now 29, were sharing a shift at the North Vermilion Street Wendy’s. A month before the attack, Marshall told the co-worker she would kill them, per the report by Vermilion County First. The released info by prosecutors doesn’t specify what the reason behind this threat was.

Marshall allegedly walked into the restaurant’s small office carrying a knife on May 26, 2025, which was Memorial Day, while the co-worker was talking to their manager. She announced, “I am going to kill you.” The knife then struck the co-worker’s face two or more times, with one more blow landing on the crown. Surveillance cameras recorded the entire altercation.

When Danville police arrived, the co-worker was “bleeding uncontrollably, and nearly unconscious.” The head wound went three centimeters deep, and the co-worker’s skull was fractured.

Marshall wasn’t allowed to leave custody after the arrest. A trial on two counts, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, was on the calendar for October 13, 2026. Now it won’t go through, because Marshall entered a guilty plea on the attempted murder count before Judge Karen E. Wall, and the battery count went away under the deal. (via WCIA)

Marshall will spend 12 years in prison per the judge’s ruling, and then another three years outside under mandatory supervised release. As for the Wendy’s, it’s not clear when operations will continue, but for now, the branch has shut its doors.

What Illinois law says about Marshall’s sentence

Attempted first-degree murder is a Class X felony in Illinois, and the prison terms for that class go between 6 to 30 years, with probation off the table entirely. Marshall’s 12 years falls in the lower half of that range, though her three-year supervision term matches the default. The three years of mandatory supervised release come after the prison sentence, and can’t be a substitute for it.

Discussing the victim’s willingness to plead guilty, here’s what State Attorney Jacqueline Lacy talked had to say about the case and its development: “While no sentence can undo the lasting effects caused by this defendant, this prison sentence reflects the violent nature of this attack and the devastating injuries suffered by the victim.”

For good behavior, Illinois’ truth-in-sentence rules allow Marshall to complete 85% of that term, or about 10.2 years. The time Marshall spent jailed in Vermilion County, some 477 days, counts toward that total.