1970s Quadruple Teen Homicide Remains a Mystery

Four young restaurant employees… a night of terror. Let’s take a deep dive into the brutal Burger Chef murders of 1978, which left Indiana police scrambling to identify the killers and uncover their motives for more than 40 years.

What happened in the Burger Chef murder case?

Around 11 p.m. on Nov. 17, 1978, four young employees of Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana, disappeared from the restaurant at 5725 Crawfordsville Road. One hour later - around midnight - another employee arrived and discovered no one at the restaurant. The back door had been left ajar, and the restaurant’s safe stood open.

Two days later, hikers discovered all four victims’ bodies nearly 20 miles away from the restaurant, in a wooded area of Johnson County, Indiana.

Who were the victims?

Here is what we know about the four unfortunate victims:
1. Jayne Friedt, age 20, worked as assistant manager at Burger Chef. Friedt had recently received a series of obscene and threatening phone calls in the days and weeks leading up to her death.

2. Mark Flemmonds, age 16, had not originally been scheduled to work the night of Nov. 17. However, he had agreed to cover someone else’s shift.

3. Ruth Ellen Shelton, age 18, a Burger Chef employee, was described as a good-natured and hard-working person.

4. Daniel Davis, age 16, also a Burger Chef employee, was also described as a good-natured and hard-working person.

How were the victims murdered?

The hikers discovered all four victims still wearing their Burger Chef uniforms.
- Davis and Shelton had been shot multiple times with a .38 caliber firearm.
- Friedt died from two stab wounds to her chest. The 5-inch blade broke off and remained inside her.
- Flemmonds had been severely bludgeoned - possibly with a chain. He died by asphyxiation from choking to death on his own blood.

The positioning of the victims’ bodies suggested that Davis and Shelton were likely shot first, and then Friedt and Flemmonds tried to run - but the killers caught them.

How did police initially respond?

When police first arrived on scene, they treated the case like a petty theft. Only $581 had been stolen from the safe, and it wasn’t immediately obvious that the four employees had been kidnapped; they could have simply left the restaurant on their own accord.

However, when all four employees failed to show up the next morning, concerns started to grow. Later, Friedt’s vehicle was found abandoned in town.

Why did the initial investigation fail to capture crucial evidence?

Because Speedway police didn’t initially realize the employees had been kidnapped, they didn’t secure the restaurant and treat it as a crime scene. As a result, police allowed employees to clean the restaurant early the next morning, thereby destroying potential forensic and fingerprint evidence.

Did police have a leading theory about the motive behind the murders?

Investigators’ leading theory suggested the murders actually resulted from a botched robbery attempt. They hypothesized that maybe one of the victims recognized one of the perpetrators, and that’s why the crime escalated to a murder.

However, police found the victims’ money and watches still intact at the crime scene, which suggests there may have been a deeper motive than robbery.

What other leads did police investigate?

Let’s review two other promising leads pursued by police:
- Because Friedt had been receiving harassing phone calls, investigators believed the phone calls might be connected to the murders in some way. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation files, one particular Burger Chef employee (not one of the victims) had been arguing with Friedt, the manager. The employee had been fired but hadn’t been notified yet. On the night of the murders, that employee was scheduled to work but didn’t show up until after midnight. This connection was never proven.
- According to an Indianapolis News story from spring 1979, Speedway police believed a drug ring might be operating out of the Burger Chef restaurant. Investigators never proved this, but it’s possible that drug use and drug dealing may have been connected to the murders in some way.

Did police ever identify any suspects?

At the time of the murders, an eyewitness reported two suspicious looking men sitting in a car outside the Burger Chef restaurant, immediately before closing. The eyewitness described the men as white and in their 30s, one with a beard and one without.

Since 1978, investigators have come to believe they know who committed these crimes - in fact, some of the killers may still be alive and living in Johnson County, Indiana, they say. Unfortunately, police lack the physical evidence needed to prove their case and prosecute.

Is there hope that the Burger Chef case will ever be solved?

As of 2024, this murder technically remains an unsolved active investigation. Police have made no arrests so far.

However, Indiana State Police continue to work with DNA technology, hoping scientific advancements will one day allow them to test two items of clothing found at the crime scene - a fleece-lined denim jacket and a Burger Chef uniform shirt. The DNA on these items could help positively identify the perpetrators and finally bring closure to one of Indiana’s most notorious unsolved murders after four long decades.

References: 1978 Burger Chef murders haunt retired detective: ‘This is the type of case that I will take to my grave’ | Podcasters unearth original FBI file on Burger Chef killings | On an autumn night in 1978, 4 fast-food workers vanished from their shift. 41 years later, police still don’t know who killed them.