Coworker Traps Employee in Steam Room

Madisonville, KY (WorkersCompensation.com) – A woman was injured after her co-worker trapped her inside a 200-degree steam room, authorities in Kentucky said.

According to the Madisonville Police Department, Barrett Korinta, 23, was working with the victim at the Land O’Frost plant in Madisonville. At one point, while the two were working in the rack washroom of the factory, where trays are sanitized using steam, Korinta allegedly told the victim they could close one another inside the room. Although the woman objected to the comment, Korinta left the room, closed the door to the room, trapping her inside. Korinta then allegedly locked the latch and turned the machine on, police said.

With the machine on, chemicals and 200-degree steam filled the room, spraying the woman who had no means of escape. While Korinta had locked the main door, a secondary door was blocked by pallets, police said. The woman was able to activate the emergency shut off valve, officials said, but not before sustaining injuries. The woman reportedly lost consciousness and was taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries.

"At this point, we don’t want to speculate on exactly why he did it, if it was just joking around, even though that’s not really a good joke. But at this point, we charged him accordingly,” Jason McKnight, Madisonville Police Public Information Officer, said. “We don’t know if it was malicious or if it was just one of those things where you’re not really thinking things through. But at the end of the day, she was put in there against her will, locked in, and somehow the machine was started.”

Korinta was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment and unlawful imprisonment. Land O’Frost officials said Korinta was also fired.

The incident was the latest of co-workers attacking, or planning on attacking, those they work with.

In February, an Arizona woman was accused of making plans to attack her workplace and kill her co-workers.

Officials with the Phoenix Police Department said Keelin Paige Pascoe, 20, allegedly sent text messages to a co-worker outlining her plans to “carry out a mass casualty event at her workplace.” Pascoe worked at a Walmart in the Cave Creek area near Phoenix.

According to arrest reports, Pascoe had a conversation with one of her co-workers on Feb. 20 describing her “recurring dream” of coming to work, shooting and killing several co-workers and then shooting and killing herself.

“(Pascoe) then began describing a plan of how she could carry out the dream in real life; (Pascoe) would find someone who looks like her, kill her and assume the decedent's identity, then come kill her co-workers posing as the decedent," investigators wrote.

Pascoe allegedly had a list of more than three dozen people she wanted to “kill or see dead.” Police said she allegedly named the people on the list to the co-worker, and the co-worker recognized the names as people they work with at Walmart.

“(Pascoe) added; she has (March 2, 2025) off from work, and she could ‘do it then,’” a portion of the court document read. "When the complainant tried to be dismissive about (Pascoe's) plan, (Pascoe) seemed irritated and said ‘(no one) believes me’ and also added that she was excited for the plan because ‘that’s how they'll know me.’”

Pascoe’s alleged plan was provided to Walmart management which “caused concern for the safety of Walmart employees and customers.”

Pascoe admitted to having the dream to police officers when they interviewed her later. She said she’d been having the dream for about five months, and that "the co-workers she kills in her dream are co-workers she has had real life conflicts with at Walmart."

“According to (Pascoe), after the first occurrence of the dream, she wrote a list of names of people from Walmart and her other job," read a portion of the court documents. "When asked what the list was for, (Pascoe) said they were people she wanted dead."

Walmart said in a statement they appreciated the police intervention in the case.

"The safety of our associates and customers is always a top priority.  We’re thankful for the partnership with police and are cooperating with their investigation,” the company said in a statement.

Pascoe is accused of making a terrorist threat, as well as using electronic communication to threaten.

"Interviews with Walmart managerial staff and law enforcement database searches reveal (she) has a documented history of suicide attempts and self-harm, as recent as 02/07/2025," court documents said.

Pascoe’s bond was set at $50,000. A judge said if she makes bond, she would be required to submit to electronic monitoring and would not be allowed to leave her home except during certain hours.

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