Source: The Washington Post

A Southeast Washington man pleaded guilty yesterday to murder charges in the slayings of three employees at a McDonald’s restaurant near Capitol Hill, admitting he shot them point-blank after herding them into a freezer.

Kenneth Joel Marshall, 29, a co-worker of the victims, spoke in a near whisper as he said “guilty” to two counts of felony murder and another of second-degree murder in the August 1995 killings. He claimed he opened fire after one of the employees resisted him in a robbery at closing time.

Marshall said he didn’t plan on killing anyone when he robbed the place with a .32-caliber pistol. He said that all he wanted was money and that he was frightened …

Added: October 12, 2010


Source: Email sent by “Lynn” on September 28, 2007

On August 4th or 5th, 1995, a man, by the name of Kenneth J. Marshall was employed at McDonalds in Southeast Washington, DC. That night when it was closing time, he knocked on the door and because they knew him, they let him in. Marshall pulled a gun, forced the manager to open a safe, herded his co-workers into a basement freezer and pumped bullets into the heads of three of them, a woman and two men. Bent on leaving no witnesses, police said, he turned to the fourth worker, a woman. Twice, he allegedly aimed his gun at her head and squeezed the trigger. Twice, the gun clicked but did not fire.

Marshall fled in the car of one of his victims, detectives said. The terrified woman hid in the freezer for 30 minutes more, then ran to a nearby home and called police. Within 12 hours, detectives arrested Marshall near his apartment — one block from the home of the slain woman whose car he had taken.

He received 80 years in prison for this crime.