*A Taco Bell employee accused of throwing boiling water on a coworker says the incident was the culmination of repeated harassment that she believes escalated throughout the day before she finally “blanked out.”
Makayla Henderson, 19, is facing an aggravated assault charge after Memphis police say she threw a pot of boiling water on a coworker inside a Taco Bell restaurant, leaving him with second-degree burns.
But in an interview with Memphis television station Action News 5, Henderson described a very different version of the events leading up to the confrontation.
According to Henderson, the coworker wasn’t even scheduled to work that day but had been inside the restaurant since early that morning. She said he repeatedly made comments she considered inappropriate, invaded her personal space and ignored multiple requests to leave her alone.
“He kept getting mad that day… he kept just saying a whole bunch of inappropriate things that I did not like. He kept coming into my personal space; I kept telling him, ‘Can you get back?'” Henderson said.
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Her account offers context for what she says became hours of escalating frustration before the encounter turned violent.
Police Say the Dispute Ended in Violence
According to a Memphis Police Department affidavit, officers responded to the restaurant on July 18 after receiving a complaint about an assault involving two coworkers.
The injured man told investigators he and Henderson had been “horse-playing” when she warned that she was going to burn him.
Police allege Henderson then walked to the back of the restaurant, picked up a pot of boiling water and threw it on him before leaving the business.
The man was transported to a specialized burn unit for treatment after suffering second-degree burns to his leg and stomach, according to investigators.
Henderson was arrested the following day and later released on a $5,000 bond. Court records also require her to complete anger management classes while the criminal case proceeds.
The Two Sides Tell Different Stories
While Henderson acknowledges throwing the hot water, she disputes the circumstances that led to it.
She told Action News 5 the confrontation reached its breaking point after the coworker allegedly took her iPad, hid it and repeatedly refused to return it despite her asking several times.
“Before you know it, I had blanked out after asking him many times to give me my iPad, right?” Henderson said. “Before you know it, once I blanked out, I was just pouring water on him.”
Her comments do not address the allegation contained in the police affidavit that she threatened to burn the coworker before the incident occurred.
Those differing accounts are likely to become a central issue as the criminal case moves forward.
What the Court Will Decide
Henderson now faces an aggravated assault charge, while prosecutors will be tasked with proving the allegations outlined in the police investigation.
Her defense, if it mirrors her public statements, is likely to focus on the events she says preceded the incident, including her allegations of repeated harassment and unwanted behavior by the coworker.
The case underscores how quickly workplace conflicts can escalate, but the criminal proceedings will ultimately focus on whether the evidence supports the aggravated assault charge—not simply on the competing explanations for how the confrontation began.
For now, investigators maintain Henderson intentionally threw boiling water on her coworker, while Henderson insists the incident followed hours of conduct she repeatedly asked him to stop.
Whether her explanation affects the outcome of the case remains to be seen. What is already clear is that investigators and Henderson describe the confrontation in sharply different ways, leaving a court to determine which account is supported by the evidence.
Henderson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 27.
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