Burger Chef Murders of 1978

Daniel Davis, 16.

Jayne Friedt, 20.

Mark Flemmonds, 16.

Ruth Ellen Shelton, 17.

November 17, 1978 was like most fall days in Indiana. It only reached 66 degrees that day in the Speedway area. The weather was dreary and rainy, more of a drizzle than a downpour with about an inch of raining falling that day.

At the time, Burger Chef was a Midwest founded burger franchise. During the peak of franchise, there were about 1,000 locations nationwide. The founders of the franchise were the first to patent the flame-broiler device. The company no longer exists. It was bought out by Hardees. Like most fast food joints, it was a right of passage first job for most teenagers.

Ruth Ellen Shelton, Mark Flemmonds, Daniel Davis, and Jayne Freidt were all working at Burger Chef that night. Jayne Freidt was the assistant manager at the speedway location that evening. All of the employees were scheduled to work for an hour or so after close. Just typical prep and cleanup. So it is believed that everything was going as it should until about midnight. The theory is that at this time, when one of the boys opened the back door to take out the trash the evening took a turn for the worse.

Later that evening, another employee who wasn't scheduled to work that evening had plans to meet the ones working after they got off to go do something. It isn't documented what they had planned to do. When this employee arrived, he found the building empty and unlocked, so he called the speedway police department.

Upon arrival, the officers did not suspect foul play. Instead, they thought that the employees had taken off with some cash from the registers. Only somewhere between $500 and $581 was taken from the registers, this varies depending on the publication where you find the information. $500 is close to $2,000 in today's terms. It was believed that the employees had just taken off on the company dime to party. The only thing was, why would the girls leave their purses at the restaurant? Why did no one take their coat? As someone who lives in Indiana, I can assure you that no one in their right mind would go outside without a coat in November.

The police still didn't find it to be to be suspicious. No pictures were taken at the Burger Chef restaurant that evening. The manager was called and the building was locked up. The next morning, the employees on the next shift came in and cleaned up the work that wasn't finished the night before. Business went on at the Burger Chef as usual.

At this point the families of the Burger Chef employees who had worked the previous evening had reported their children missing. It was when the reports came in that the kids were still missing, that the police started to suspect foul play. They returned to the burger chef located at 5725 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana. The location is now a cash advance business.

The police reconstructed the scene to the best of their ability. Any critical forensic evidence would have been erased by the cleaning that had taken place. The same day, Jayne Freidt's vehicle was found. She drove a Vega, which was found a few blocks away from the Speedway Police Department. The vehicle was still not treated like a crime scene. No forensic evidence was taken. It was noted that the driver side door was locked, but the passenger side door was not. It was noted that the doors were manual lock.

The bodies of the four victims were not found until November 19, two days after they disappeared. The bodies were approximately 20 miles from the Burger Chef location in Speedway. The victims were found in a field in Johnson county.

(The picture above, shows the approximate location of where the bodies would have been found. Bodies were found close to state road 37, but near Center Grove High School on 700 East.)

The bodies where in three different places in the field that they were found. Two of the individuals, Ruth Ellen Shelton and Daniel Davis, were shot in way similar to an execution. A short distance from their bodies, Jayne Freidt was found. She had been stabbed multiple times. The blade of the knife had broken off in her chest. A distance away from them, Mark Flemmonds was found. He had been beaten around his head. It appeared as though it might have been done with a chain. His injuries didn't cause his death alone.

Mark drowned on his own blood when he fell to the ground. It is believed that if one of two other options had happened he would have survived. If Mark had been found one day earlier or had M fallen the other direction so that the blood didn't cause him to choke, it is probable that the police would have a living witness.

Another slew of mistakes we made at this scene. Some officers that were on the scene claimed that the Indiana State police department officers had moved some of the bodies before the forensic technicians or the corner even arrived. Officers also failed to rope off the field and department vehicles all over the field, this could have destroyed evidence of vehicle tracks. With the three departments on the scene, the Speedway Police, the Indiana State Police, and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department, the scene was hectic and haphazard at best. One officer was quoted as saying "too many chiefs and not enough Indians."

The same day that the four victims were found, Burger Chef held a press conference in front of the Speedway location. This particular location was closed on this Monday due to the tragedy at hand. The company offered a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in connection to the murders. Steak n' Shake added another $1,000 to the fund. The state wouldn't approve a reward until September 15 equal to that of Steak n' Shake.

When the quality of work of the Speedway Police Department came into question, the Speedway Police Chief at the time, Bill Burger, stated that it would be inappropriate for him to question the work his officers had done. He admitted to not being present at either scene, the Burger Chef or the field where the bodies were found. The chief also claimed that allowing the business to open without collecting evidence was the right decision. All of the departments gave statements claiming to be cooperating with the other one another, but anonymous officers came forward to say the lack of communication was sending the investigation into a tailspin.

Officers were not allowed to give statements to the media at the time the bodies were found due to the orders given by the Johnson County Prosecutor, Charles Gantz. Ken York is a retired detective turned private eye. He was on the case from the beginning. He didn't have anything to say nice about the way the scenes were handled during the numerous interviews he has given. He believes that all scenes should be treated as if the worst case scenario is at hand.

A witness came forward stating that on November 17 he had seen two individuals in the Burger Chef parking lot at about ten o'clock in the evening. At the time, it didn't seem suspicious until the bodies were found. He described the men as one being fair-haired and the other had a beard. Based on the witness description, the State Police had sketches made up. When the sketches were released to the public and didn't generate new leads, the Police had 3D clay models made up.

It is believed that this crime escalated from burglary or robbery to murder because one of the employees recognized one of the  perpetrators. Police speculate that the employee was Jayne Freidt. She had only been working at the Speedway location for a short period of time, before that she had worked at the Plainfield location. It has been suggested that one of the assailants was probably a regular at the Plainfield restaurant. 

Over the years many suspects have been vetted. In 1978, the same years of the murders, there was a report that a man had been bragging in a bar to his buddies about how he had committed the murders. When he was questioned by police, he passed his polygraph. The man did give up the names of individuals in a fast food robbery group.

Ken York was one of the officers that helped looked for the suspects that were given by the man from the bar. The search led them to Franklin, Indiana. The officers found a man that fit the description and didn't have an alibi, but this did not constitute enough evidence to take him. This man, who had a beard, was threatened with a lineup. This resulted in him shaving. York had known the man for five years, he had never shaved.

The bearded suspect's next-door neighbor was another suspect in York's opinion. This suspect later served time on a charge related to a shotgun, thus earning himself the nickname SHOTGUN. The third suspect fit the description of the fair-haired man. He also served time on unrelated charges. Both of these suspects were offered a deal if they would give up information in the Burger Chef murders, they held their ground saying that they knew nothing about the case.

March of 1979 led police to checking Roger Dale Stafford. He was convicted of murdering fast food workers in Oklahoma. This led police to checking to see if he had been in the state at the time of the murders. He was cleared of any suspicion.

Two men that were convicted of a double murder in Milwaukee were added to the suspect pool in April of 979. They were ruled out without much effort.

In 1983, a Marion County inmate claimed that a man he had served time with admitted to be responsible for the murder. The suspect was in custody at the time. The evidence was substantial, but not conclusive. The inmate claimed that the suspect had said he was a drug enforcer and had gone to collect a debt from one of the employees, but then another employee had recognized him and there was no choice, but to get rid of the witnesses. No name was ever given to this suspect. This lead appears to be another dead end where there is no evidence to connect the suspect to the murders.

A year after the murders, State Police Superintendent John Shettle gave a press conference. That conference has been called a disaster. It was obvious that he was not familiar with the details of the case or how the case was making progress. He stated that there were no leads on the case.

In January of 1980, Ken York and another officer were on a special task force set up to solve this case. They approached the Johnson County prosecutor requesting arrest warrants for two suspects and were denied.

On the 35th anniversary of the killings, many local stations ran stories about the case. Sergeant Bill Vann of the Indiana State Police stated that he felt that the case was closer to getting closed. The clay 3D models that the department had made are still located at headquarters hoping that answers may still come forward.

Family members of the victims were also interviewed and they talked about how they have lost hope. Ruth Ellen Shelton's mother passed away before the interviews aired. In her interview, she told the killers that she hoped they would ask God for forgiveness. She didn't need justice, but they needed saved by the grace of God. Flemmond's father spoke similarly.

Ken York has stated that he believes that the three individuals that were involved in the murders have already been questioned and let go on lack of evidence. He believes that the bearded suspect from earlier played a part in the slaying. This suspect has passed away due to a heart attack. There have been claims that this man's son has confirmed that his father was involved in the slaying. The fair-haired man and Shotgun have never been charged.

This case hasn't been solved and is considered active. It doesn't have a happy ending, but it does still yield hope. In January of 2015, a young man, Jake Query, discovered that Mark Flemmonds didn't have a headstone. The family simply couldn't afford one. So Jake took to twitter. He and his followers raised enough money to purchase a headstone.

Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to still report that to the police. Call the Indiana State Police if you have any information in regards to this case (317) 899-8508.

___Sources___

"Authorities Report a Possible Lead in the Still Unsolved.." UPI. November 19, 1983. http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/11/19/Authorities-reported-a-possible-lead-in-the-still-unsolved/7692438066000/

"Burger Chef Murders, a 25-year Old Mystery." 13 WTHR. Warren Mills. November 12, 2003. http://www.wthr.com/article/burger-chef-murders-a-25-year-old-mystery

"Detectives: Errors Hurt Investigation." The Daily Journal. November 17, 1988. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/154878563/

"Headstone Donated for Burger Chef Murder Victim." WISHTV. Abby Llorico. January 19, 2015. http://wishtv.com/2015/01/19/headstone-donated-for-burger-chef-murder-victim/

Jayne Friedt. Indiana State Police Case Overview. http://www.in.gov/isp/2551.htm

"Leads Sought in Local Cold Cases." Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Leslie L. Fuller. February 13, 2015. http://www.indianapolisrecorder.com/news/article_be470d62-b38c-11e4-a482-cfad2996ea37.html

Mark Flemmonds. Indiana State Police Case Overview. http://www.in.gov/isp/2549.htm

"Police Seek Clues in Kidnap-slaying of 4." The Chicago Tribune. November 21, 1978. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1978/11/21/page/5/article/police-seek-clues-in-kidnap-slaying-of-4

"Retro Indy: The Burger Chef Murders." The Indy Star. Dawn Mitchell. November 17, 2013. http://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2013/11/17/burger-chef-murders/3588927/

"Unsolved: Burger Chef Murders." 13 WTHR. Sara Galer. November 14, 2013. http://www.wthr.com/article/unsolved-burger-chef-murders

Weather Information. November 17, 1978. https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KIND/1978/11/17/DailyHistory.html?req_city=&req_state=&req_statename=&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo=

All Posts were originally posted on my wattpad account. https://www.wattpad.com/427499657-cold-cases-of-indiana-a-study-of-unsolved-cases-in