Suspect in McDonald’s slaying being evaluated for competency

EASTPOINTE — An Eastpointe woman accused of stabbing her manager to death at a McDonald’s drive-thru window is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she is fit to stand trial for first-degree murder.

The latest development in the case of suspect Afeni Badu Muhammad, 27, was announced by the office of Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido Sept. 3.

Earlier that day, a hearing was held in 38th District Court regarding the suspect’s competency and criminal responsibility in the incident. Muhammad had been interviewed by a psychiatrist the week prior, and a full report is expected later this month.

The findings will help determine whether Muhammad understands the charges against her, and whether she is able to participate in her own defense.

“This evaluation is to ensure that the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial and is a standard step in cases where questions of mental health arise,” Lucido said in a written statement. “This step is essential to protecting the rights of the accused while maintaining the integrity of the judicial process.”

Muhammad’s attorney, Josh Jones, declined to comment on the case.

The original incident occurred the morning of July 10 at the McDonald’s location on the north side of Nine Mile Road, west of Kelly Road, in Eastpointe.

Officers were dispatched to the restaurant at around 7:55 a.m. on reports of a stabbing and a shot fired. There had reportedly been a verbal dispute between Muhammad and her manager, Jennifer Harris, 39, and Harris had sent Muhammad home early.

While Harris tended to a customer at the drive-thru window, Muhammad allegedly returned to the venue brandishing a knife and proceeded to assault Harris in plain sight of the customer.

“The customer first starts yelling — ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ — but it had no effect. He then pulled out his gun (which he was registered to carry) and fired a shot — not trying to hit anyone, but to stop (the suspect),” Eastpointe Police Lt. Alexander Holish said previously.

“The shot startled the assailant. She dropped her knife and ran out the door on the complete opposite side of the restaurant. And the customer — this good Samaritan — he exited his vehicle and chased her, stopping her as she attempted to leave in her truck, and keeping her there at gunpoint until we arrived to arrest her,” he said. “We also took the victim to the hospital, but unfortunately, she was pronounced dead there.”

The victim, Harris, was a mother of six children. She had worked at the McDonald’s restaurant for 15 years.

Muhammad was arraigned the following day, July 11, in 38th District Court before Judge Kathleen Galen, charged with first-degree premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence without parole, and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, a five-year felony. The judge set Muhammad’s bond at $25 million, cash or surety only. She was held in the Macomb County Jail as of Sept. 8.

According to the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, Muhammad was previously convicted in a separate incident involving a knife, which took place in Virginia in April 2022.

In that case, she pleaded guilty in Alexandria Circuit Court to unlawful bodily injury without malicious intent, receiving a four-year suspended sentence and one year of probation, according to online court records.

Holish previously confirmed that an apparent video testimonial that Muhammad posted to Instagram in the days prior to the assault was indeed legitimate.

In the video, Muhammad complains about having been sent home early by Harris multiple days in a row, repeatedly calling Harris “a bully.”

“All that animosity and (expletive) that she keeps putting in the air and stuff and then trying to tell me I’m always snapping on people — no, that’s false. No, I don’t snap on people — I don’t go in there doing that. I told her, ‘No, I make peace.’ That’s what I’m doing,” Muhammad said in the video.

She later concluded her video by saying, “So, you know, she can keep being a bully if she wants to, but that (expletive) is going to catch up to her, because it ain’t funny at all — it ain’t.”

On Sept. 5, Holish explained the next steps in the proceedings.

“In homicide cases, if the defendant is found to be incompetent to stand trial, the prosecution has 15 months to get to the competency level. At this time, she would remain in jail and receive mental health treatment,” he said via email. “After 15 months, if she is still not deemed competent, then she would be transported to the psych ward where she would continue receiving treatment. If at any point she would regain competency, then she would be tried at that time.”