The whole closing staff of a Burger Chef in suburban Indianapolis disappeared one November night in 1978, and their bodies were discovered two days later in the woods.
Police later identified the victims as assistant manager Jayne Friedt, 20, and employees Ruth Ellen Shelton, 17, Daniel “Danny” Davis, 16, and Mark Flemmons, 16. The four disappeared from the restaurant in Speedway, Indiana, on November 17, 1978, and were discovered in a forested area in nearby Johnson County on November 19, according to Indianapolis Monthly and A&E.
According to Indianapolis Monthly, a teenage coworker arrived after midnight to assist close the restaurant and discovered the rear door partially open, as well as the safe and cash drawers exposed. Friedt’s automobile, a Chevrolet Vega, was later located in a nearby park, according to the site.
Investigators discovered the victims nearby: Davis and Shelton were shot, Friedt was stabbed with a hunting knife whose blade broke off in her chest, and Flemmons died from asphyxiation after sustaining blunt-force injuries, according to A&E, citing Julie Young’s book The Burger Chef Murders in Indiana.
According to A&E, $581 was taken from the restaurant, but purses and approximately $100 in coins were left behind, complicating a possible basic robbery motivation.
Early investigative missteps most likely jeopardized the case: officers allowed the restaurant to be cleaned the next morning before forensic work was completed, and various agencies drove cars through the clearing where the murders were discovered, according to A&E. Former Speedway Police Chief Buddy Ellwanger later admitted that authorities “screwed it up from the beginning,” according to the publication.
Detectives have gradually concentrated on a heist squad linked to a series of fast-food holdups that summer. According to the Indianapolis Star and ABC News, one working idea is that one of the victims recognized someone and was killed as a result.
In 1986, an Indiana inmate named Donald Forrester confessed and led officers to a septic tank where they were able to collect. According to the Indianapolis Monthly, detectives thought 38-caliber shot casings were linked to the shootings.
But Forrester eventually recanted and failed polygraph exams, so no charges were pursued. Detectives involved in the case have publicly disagreed on how much weight to give his comments, according to the publication.
Physical evidence has been reviewed numerous times. According to the Indianapolis Star, a palm print taken from Friedt’s car in 1978 was later searched through databases once palm-print records were established, but the person identified in that examination was eventually ruled out. According to the site, the case was later assigned to Indiana State Police Det. Nicholas Alspach, whose grandpa assisted with the first scene investigation.
On the 40th anniversary of the killings in 2018, investigators released a photo of the four-and-a-half-inch knife blade discovered in Friedt’s chest and announced that evidence was being submitted for updated forensic testing.
“Jayne, Mark, Daniel, and Ruth are real individuals with real families and friends, and they deserve justice. “I hope to have those answers before my time on Earth is up,” said Shelton’s sister, Theresa Jefferies, at an Indiana State Police news conference at the time.
